2024:628 - Market Place (Burgagery-Lands West Townland), Clonmel, Tipperary

As part of granted planning permission to build an 18m Monopole at the EIR Exchange close to Clonmel town centre, archaeological monitoring was undertaken of the ground works of the base to support the Monopole.  The development site is located within the east area of the medieval walled town of Clonmel, with the site itself situated c. 6m inside its eastern circuit.

Occupying a car-parking area associated with the Eir Telecommunications Exchange building, the area excavated for the Monopole base was positioned just in excess of 6m west of a 6.4m high plaster rendered wall which is built on the projected line of the medieval town wall and 2.5m south of the Eir Exchange building. Prior to the insertion of 12 mini piles, it was necessary to reduce the site of the base for the Monopole, which measured 3.5m x 3.5m and some of which fell within the imprint of the site of two test trenches opened in late 2023, by a depth of 1.4m. On the completion of the reduction works the site was backfilled with hardcore and then piled.

During the archaeological testing the remains of two mortared walls, sealed beneath a demolition/rubble layer and within an area of high disturbance, were exposed in the course of opening the two test trenches. It was considered these walls, which was probably no earlier than the eighteenth century in date, were likely to be associated with the extensive buildings which formerly stood on the site and were demolished to accommodate the existing Eir Telecommunications Exchange building.  In the course of the monitoring works for the base to support the Monopole, a new wall was exposed extending east-west along the south baulk of the excavated area. Truncating one of the two walls exposed in the test trenching phase of works at is southern end, the remains of this wall are still partially extant above the site’s ground level and associated with buildings which formerly stood on the site and were demolished to make way for the Telecommunications Exchange.  Other than these walls no other archaeological features were uncovered in the course of the monitoring.