2011:562 - CASHEL: The Green, John Street, Tipperary

Monitoring was undertaken of the renewal of a section of the footpath along the east side of John Street. The works required Ministerial Consent owing to the proximity of the town wall.

These works on John Street were located parallel to the projected line of Cashel town wall. It had also previously been considered that a gate was positioned across John Street near the entrance of the Church of Ireland church. The monitoring of the groundworks associated with the pavement renewal has confirmed the presence of the town wall at this location. The upper wall layer was bonded with an early Portland cement-based mortar, which appeared to have been a later addition, probably to consolidate the exposed wall fabric. What is surprising is the shallowness of the extant wall remains, which appear to be almost immediately beneath the concrete surface.

No evidence was found to suggest a gate across John Street. This may well have been discovered during the construction and opening of the manhole immediately to the west of the wall. It was noticeable that the cut for the manhole chamber had distinctly impacted upon the wall itself.

The cobbled surfaces were of distinctly 19th-century construction, datable from associated pottery found on the surface as well as a single sherd wedged into the surface.

On discovery of the town wall, Cashel Town Council decided to terminate the works after protecting the wall with geo-textile fabric and sand.