2013:142 - Old Market Street, Abbeyquarter South, Sligo, Sligo

Footpath replacement took place along the north side of Old Market Street along with a new cut for kerbing, new ducting and some gully traps. The total length involved was c. 70m. These superficial works took place at short notice in July 2013 and, following discussions with NMS, unlicenced monitoring was found acceptable.

The material under the existing footpath and kerb was very disturbed; there were several old pipes in the ground. The cobblestone archway entrances at Gillespie’s and McGlynn’s were treated with care and loose and missing cobbles were replaced or reset giving a restoration of the surface; in time the new white grouting will darken to match the intact cobbling.

Finds were three fragment of oyster shell at three positions 20m apart, two fragments of bone found close together and one small cream-coloured bead. All were found in disturbed contexts; the bead was found immediately under the tar just outside the old kerb. At such a location it could be of any date, including quite recent. It seems to be ceramic and will be examined later by a specialist.

The interpretation of the street name may that the name Old Market Street derives from the Old Market being, not here, but at the north end of the street as it was in former times, at the junction of where Abbey Street, Castle Street, Thomas Street and Teeling Street now meet. Market Street, as opposed to Old Market Street, is where the Lady Erin statue of 1898 stands, a location known as Market Cross and the location of the medieval Market Cross as recorded by Rev. William Henry in 1739. Pearse Road, formerly The Albert Line, was cut through Old Market Street in 1846 or thereabouts, cutting off what we now call Teeling Street from Old Market Street.

The name Old Market Street has been wrongly interpreted in the popular mind for generations. Today, if asked to describe Old Market Street most Sligo people would say ‘going from the top of High Street down to near The Court House’. The realisation on site, arising from the paucity of finds, was that the Old Market being referred to was a market place further north than the Court House, where Abbey Street, Castle Street, Thomas Street and Teeling Street now meet, a place where there were castles and the old market space. The probability is that we should be thinking in reverse direction, that Old Market Street led southwards from this old market place towards the open country (see Gallagher 2008; Gallagher and Legg 2012 and O’Connell 2002).

Bóthar an Corainn, Keash, Co. Sligo