2016:169 - Westport Demesne, Mayo

Test excavation of a site in advance of development at Westport Demesne townland, 4km west of Westport, County Mayo, was carried out between 27 April and 16 May 2016. The development consisted of the demolition of a cottage and the construction of a single replacement dwelling and domestic garage with a wastewater treatment system. Testing was required as Further information by the Local Authority and was necessary due to the proximity of the proposed development to the site of a castle (MA087-007). The monument was marked on the Ordnance Survey 1st edition six-inch map of 1838 as 'Site of Bawn Castle' and on later editions as 'Bawn Castle (Site of)'. There was no further information available on the monument. No visible surface remains were in evidence.

The development site was located in a field of pasture near the shore of Bawn Strand on Westport Bay, part of Clew Bay. The dwelling to be demolished was an early 20th-century cottage which was located at the east end of the site. The testing consisted of the excavation (by machine) of seven trenches located to best cover the area of the proposed development. The trenches measured 16m, 14.2m, 9.5m, 7.5m, 17.6m, 7.8m, and 5.6m long respectively; 1.8-2.2m wide and 0.15-1m deep. Below the topsoil was rubble fill, above natural subsoils. The fill produced artefacts dating to the 18th/19th century. Three sections of an early 18th- or early 19th-century wall were uncovered, which appeared to be that marked on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey six-inch sheet which was surveyed in 1838, specifically a north-south orientated broken/dashed line forming the western boundary of the building marked as 'Site of Bawn Castle'. No evidence of the castle was uncovered during the testing. A pit was also found, the upper fill of which contained pottery sherds which appeared to date the feature to the same 18th/19th-century period as the wall and rubble fills.

4 Lecka Grove, Castlebar Road, Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo