County: Dublin Site name: Parnell Street, Dublin
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: E4492; C592
Author: Steven McGlade
Site type: Georgian cellar and cobbled surface
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 715742m, N 735004m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.352571, -6.261457
Excavations were carried out for the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA). The works were carried out as part of the Luas Cross City (LCC) Investigation and Treatment of Cellars Works contract, designed to identify and record coal cellars which will be impacted by the construction of LCC. A total of five licence areas, from St Stephen’s Green to Dominick Street, were investigated under the contract (Licence Numbers 13E197; 13E200-13E203?).
In association with these works monitoring of two small trenches located on the north and east sides of the Allied Irish Bank at No. 37-38 O’Connell Street, on the corner of O’Connell Street and Parnell Street, was undertaken. The works were carried out in conjunction with the main Parnell Street section of the project (Licence Number 13E197?), however due to the proximity of the Parnell National Monument were included under Ministerial Consent Number C592/E4492. They were excavated from 2-4 October 2013.
One small trench was monitored on Parnell Street to the north of the bank revealing the former cobbled street surface at a depth of 0.45m below the present pavement level. A slightly larger trench on O’Connell Street to the east of the bank was opened revealing the crown of a cellar at a depth of 1.16m below the present pavement level. A later brick structure constructed on top of the cellar and the concrete base of former street furniture were also identified. The cellar, which was not associated with the current bank building, was found to have been filled with concrete and was not accessed during the works.
Aileach Archaeology, on behalf of Archaeology and Built Heritage, 79 Queen Street, Dublin 7
