2023:680 - Mountjoy Square Park, Dublin 1, Dublin

A programme of archaeological test-trenching was carried out in Mountjoy Square Park, Dublin 1, over three days from 29 to 31 May 2023. The testing was carried out in order to investigate if any remnants of the original park layout survives beneath the modern paths and lawns.

Five test trenches were excavated by hand in the southern corner of the park. These identified extensive and deep disturbance towards the centre of the park, most likely related twentieth-century works possibly associated with the installation and removal of tennis courts in the central lawn and later works regarding circular rose beds.

In two areas outside the disturbance, the remains of two earlier paths predating the existing path were identified. One of these was tarmacadam, and dates to the mid-twentieth century. The earliest path, which survived only in parts as a compacted stone sub-surface, was considerably wider than the existing concrete path and conforms with the 1847 OS map path layout. It seems likely this represents the original path layout of the park designed in 1803. It is also likely, based on the findings in the undisturbed sections of the trench, that the modern ground levels of the park are broadly similar to the historic levels.