2014:149 - CARRICK-ON-SUIR: 76 Main Street, Tipperary

Following the discovery of 81 gold coins during building restoration works at 76 Main Street, Carrick on Suir, Co. Tipperary, an archaeological assessment and metal detection survey was carried out to further assess the find site by Shanarc Archaeology Ltd. Seven test trenches were excavated across the development site, trenches 1-6 were located within the northern extent of the building site while the 7th trench was situated along the internal eastern boundary wall where the coins were found. The hoard comprised 81 gold coins dating to the reigns of Charles II (1660-85), James II (1685-8), William and Mary (1688-94) and William III (1694-1702). The earliest coin dates to 1664, and the latest to 1701. It can therefore be assumed that the coins were buried after the year 1701 or perhaps added to the hiding place between 1664 and 1702. According to the workmen who made the discovery, the coins were laid out in a line under a layer of soil beneath the floor level of the building. The hoard is thought to represent the accumulated wealth of a single family that once lived in the building. Documentary sources (such as the 1654-56 Civil Survey and the 1799 Census of Carrick-on-Suir) do not record who occupied the premises in the 17th and 18th centuries. Griffith’s Valuation records that in 1853 Charles Fennessy owned Nos. 76, 77 and 78, Main St. Each property is described as a ‘house, office and yard’, and No. 78 had a garden. No. 76 is described as ‘vacant’; Nos. 77 and 78 were leased by John Lowry and Patrick Callaghan, respectively. No. 75 Main St, held by James Moore, is listed as being a weigh-house.