2017:506 - Sean McDermott Street, Dublin, Dublin

Testing was carried out at the former Magdalene Laundry site at Sean Mac Dermott Street and Railway Street, Dublin 1 on behalf of Dublin City Council. The site is partially located within the zone of archaeological potential of Dublin’s historic town (DU018-020). One RMP site is located within a 250m radius of the site, a mill (DU018-020501) c. 200m to the south. A review of the available cartographic material shows the site in a greenfield setting during a large part of the 18th century after which time the site and its immediate surrounds became more urban in character, containing residential housing and associated yards.

The results from the testing clearly show that the site has been subject to a large amount of disturbance. This was due to the construction of post-medieval houses and outbuildings and their subsequent demolition and the construction (and demolition) of later large-scale industrial laundry buildings. Whilst only accessible sections of the site were subject to test excavations, no evidence for burials was identified, either as features or within a collection of stray bones retrieved from some of the trenches. The gathered bone assemblage has been examined by an osteo-archaeologist (Maeve Tobin), who has confirmed all the bones to be animal in origin.

While nothing of archaeological significance was identified during the course of testing, it is possible that previously unrecorded features or deposits of archaeological potential exist within the site outside of the footprint of the test trenches, or at a deeper level, beneath the made ground identified within the site. Any future ground disturbances associated with the redevelopment of the site have the potential to negatively impact on any such remains.

It is therefore recommended that any future ground works within the site be monitored.

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