County: Laois Site name: Old St Peter's Church and Graveyard, Railway Street, Portlaoise
Sites and Monuments Record No.: LA013-041002, LA013-041004 Licence number: 19E0747
Author: Colm Flynn
Site type: Post-medieval church and graveyard
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 646981m, N 698467m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.034808, -7.299530
Archaeological monitoring of conservation works at Old St Peter's Church and Graveyard, Railway Street, Portlaoise, was carried out by Colm Flynn for Laois County Council during the Autumn of 2020. The conservation works comprised the removal and treatment of vegetation from the 16th-century bell tower of the church, followed by masonry consolidation, and repointing with lime-mortar, of all four levels of the bell tower. This was achieved through the erection of a specially constructed scaffolding tower, that sat around the bell tower.
Masonry repair works to some of the 18th- and 19th-century gravemarkers (including tabletombs, slabs, and pedestal tombs) was also carried out. The works resulted in the recovery of some disarticulated human remains from the loose soils around the collapsed grave tombs. It is proposed to carry out some further works in 2021.
Mountmellick
