2010:268 - ST Paul’s Church, King Street North/BlackHall parade, Dublin, Dublin

It is proposed to develop an open area to the south of St Paul’s Church, North King Street, Dublin, originally a cemetery but currently a carpark and derelict space. The church and graveyard was first established in 1697 but the current church, designed by William Farrell, dates to 1824. It fell into ruin and was deconsecrated in 1987. An assessment was carried out by Franc Myles in June 2008 on the southern part the graveyard, where a 19th-century school was originally sited (Excavations 2008, No. 420, 08E0309). This work established the presence of in situ burials and grave-slabs lying between 0.2m and 0.7m below present ground level. Additional testing was carried out by the writer further south and this confirmed that the graveyard deposits lie between 0.3m and 1m below the current ground level and are between 1m and 1.7m in depth. The assessment also established that the old school house did not have a basement and, as a result, there are surviving wall foundations, founded on solid concrete lean mix. The discovery of more grave-slabs in the middle of the site suggests, as previously suspected, that there may be more just beneath the current car park.