2012:567 - NENAGH: O’Rahilly Street Car Park/Nenagh Castle, Tipperary

The monitoring of the demolition of two walls and the excavation of trial holes at O’Rahilly Street, Nenagh, immediately adjacent to Nenagh castle, Co. Tipperary, was carried out on various dates in 2011 (Excavations 2011, No. 576) and 2012, and also the monitoring of landscaping works in Nenagh castle field in May 2012. Where the walls had been demolished, and piles of rubble were to be examined, any stone which could be re-used was brought to the OPW storage facility in Nenagh Castle. One architectural fragment was recovered from the monitoring of removal of stone from the moat area (23 March 2012). It was brought to the OPW yard in the castle, where it is now stored. The trial holes were excavated into modern fill. No archaeological features were noted.

The Castle Field is on the north-western side of the keep. It was necessary to landscape this area in advance of a presidential visit in June 2012. Monitoring of landscaping works was carried out over two day from 15–16 May 2012. A trench was excavated from the control box/shed at the eastern side of the site, and measured 0.4m wide and averaged 0.4-0.5m in depth. This trench was cut through topsoil. Yellow boulder clay was encountered at a depth of approximately 0.4m below the ground surface. This trench was excavated at the east, north and western sides of the Castle Field. The gravel remains of a modern path were encountered immediately below the sod in the northern section of the trench. The western section of this trench was cut through the current access track, then alongside it on its western side. This section was 0.5m deep. Boulder clay was noted at the bottom of the trench. An area for a pathway and kerbs was also excavated, following the general line of a now overgrown gravel path. This was shallow, and involved the removal of the top sod.

No archaeological featured were encountered or artefacts recovered.