2024:747 - Church Fields, Tyrrelstown, Mulhuddart, Dublin 15, Dublin
County: Dublin
Site name: Church Fields, Tyrrelstown, Mulhuddart, Dublin 15
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A
Licence number: 24E0054
Author: Marc Piera
Author/Organisation Address: c/o IAC Ltd, Unit G1 Network Enterprise Park, Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow
Site type: Ring-ditch enclosure
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 706820m, N 741338m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.411348, -6.393271
There are four recorded monuments within c. 500m of the permitted development area, the closest of which comprises a Ritual Site – Holy Well (DU013-009) located immediately to the east of the site boundary. A Church and Graveyard (DU013-010001 and DU013-010003) are located c. 40m and c. 60m to the east and a 16th-century House (DU013-006) is located c. 340m north of the development area.
A number of archaeological assessments were carried out in advance of the development, by Courtney Deery and Archaeology Plan in 2021 and in 2022 (Courtney 2021, McGlade 2021 and McGlade 2022). These reports identified that while the development site has been substantially disturbed in the past, the potential remains for previously unrecorded sub-surface archaeological features to survive here. Courtney (2021) recommended that monitoring be carried out within the residential development area (northern extent of site), while McGlade (2021) recommended that a programme of test trenching be carried out in the vicinity of three recorded monuments: Church and Graveyard (DU013-010001 and DU013-010003) and Well (DU013-009). A second assessment carried out by McGlade (2022) recommended that a programme of monitoring be carried out within Wellview Park (southern extent of site). As such it was decided that a programme of monitoring would be carried out during the construction phase of the development.
Archaeological monitoring was carried out between January and June 2024. A ring-ditch enclosure was identified during topsoil removal in the Wellview Park area, within the southern portion of the site in an open green area. The contractor decided to preserve in situ the archaeological area and create an exclusion zone of c. 20m around the monument in order to safeguard the site and its immediate environs. The proposed methodology was described within a Monument Protection Plan prepared by IAC Archaeology and submitted to the National Monuments Service in July 2024.
No additional features of archaeological significance were uncovered in the remnants of the development site; therefore, no further mitigation measures are deemed necessary.