2017:324 - Teevurcher Wind Farm Grid Connection, Co. Meath & Co. Cavan, Meath

In January, February and August 2017 monitoring was carried out during the excavation of trenches for pole sets, their accompanying pole stays and 3 stretches of underground ducting for a grid connection from an existing ESB sub-station in Baileborough (Co. Cavan) to a wind farm in Teevurcher (Co. Meath). The vast majority of the grid connection was overground and passed through the townlands of Carnan’s Lower, Blackhill’s Upper, Tullynaskeagh, Greaghnamale and Greagharue (all of which are in Co. Cavan). These works were carried out in accordance with a Section 5 of planning recommendation by Meath and Cavan Co. Council Planning Ref. KA/S5 1624 and followed on from an Archaeological, Architectural and Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment Report prepared by Courtney Deery Heritage Consultancy in 2016. The development entailed ground works for 58 pole sets and their accompanying stays, as well as stretches of underground ducting (measuring c. 500m in total).

Following the recommendations in the Impact Assessment Report, monitoring works concentrated purely on areas which showed archaeological potential (i.e. close proximity to RMP sites, within areas of bogland, or in areas with features of interest on the 1st edition OS map). As such, 32 pole set trenches (and all relevant accompanying stay trenches) and three areas of trench digging for underground ducting were monitored. Each pole set required an excavated trench into which the pole was placed. These trenches measured c. 2.5m x 0.45m and were excavated to a depth of 2.3m. After excavation and erection of the pole set in poor ground a further excavation was occasionally necessary. This consisted of a linear excavation perpendicular to the line (offset by 9m) necessary to install wooded sleepers in an excavated trench measuring c. 2m x 0.45m excavated to a depth of 1.6m. Trenches for underground ducting was carried out in three areas and measured 0.6m wide x c.0.85-0.95m in depth with a combined length of 375m. Works took place across a landscape consisting of pastureland and bogland.

General depths of natural: in the pastureland a gritty tan/grey coloured natural subsoil appeared at a depth of 0.4m, whilst in the bogland areas a blue/grey silty marl (natural) appeared at depths ranging from 0.6m (at the outskirts of the bog) to 3m (within the bog). No archaeology was found during these monitoring works. No further archaeological works were recommended in relation to this development.

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