County: Mayo Site name: Strake, Clare Island
Sites and Monuments Record No.: MA085-013 Licence number: 13E056
Author: Richard Crumlish
Site type: Possible ditch
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 468887m, N 784476m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.793302, -9.990042
Monitoring of groundworks at a development at St Patrick’s National School in Strake townland on Clare Island, County Mayo was carried out on 5 and 10 April 2013. The development consisted of an extension to the school, which is located at Kille in the south-west of the island. Monitoring was necessary due to the location of the site within the constraint for ecclesiastical remains (MA085-013) with a graveyard (MA085-013002) 40m to the east and Clare Island Abbey (MA085-013001 and National Monument No. 97), 51m to the east.
The existing school building was constructed in the 1880s with an extension added in the 1990s. The location of the proposed extension consisted of an area of grass bisected by the concrete footprint of an outbuilding demolished in the past and bounded to the east and south by concrete footpaths. The excavated area measured 10m east-west by 7m and 0.3-0.8m deep. Below the topsoil and concrete on the surface was modern rubble fill, which contained a number of services, orange/grey loose sand and orange/brown (rust coloured) bedrock.
In the western half of the area excavated a possible ditch feature extended north-north-west/south-south-east across the site (NGC 068907 284462). The feature was located 0.5–0.8m below the surface at its north-north-west end and measured 5.2-5.3m long, 1.8-2.4m wide and up to 0.7m deep (not fully excavated). It was filled with dark grey/brown friable silt loam with a moderate amount of small rocks and appeared to be cut into the bedrock. Unfortunately the fill did not contain any datable artefacts or material. The south-south-east end of the possible ditch was disturbed by the existing school building.
Given its location and orientation the feature could form part of an ecclesiastical enclosure, although there is no surface evidence for such an enclosure in the vicinity of the monument (MA085-013). Following discussions with National Monuments Service and Mayo County Council it was decided not to excavate the feature as it could safely be preserved in situ.
4 Lecka Grove, Castlebar Road, Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo.
