2018:040 - Magee Barracks, Hospital Street, Kildare, Kildare

A programme of archaeological testing was undertaken within the south-eastern section of the former Magee Barracks, which was opened in 1901. The barracks are located to the north of Hospital Street in the townland of Kildare, c. 500m to the east of Kildare town centre and its historic core. The key objective of the assessment was to establish the extent and date of archaeological remains on site, as well as to investigate whether the location was used as a burial ground for a Lock Hospital. The Curragh Lock Hospital, which was sited to the north-west, occupied the site of the subsequent barracks from 1868–87.

Six test trenches were opened within rear yards, gardens and green spaces along the southern, south-eastern and eastern edges of the former barracks. However, no archaeological remains were uncovered within any of the trenches, which instead produced evidence for activity related to the use and construction of Magee Barracks in the twentieth century.

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