2024:631 - 5 Glenagad Road (Scrothea East Townland), Clonmel, Tipperary

As part of seeking planning permission to construct a new dwelling house and home office at No. 5 Glenegad, Clonmel, a programme of archaeological testing was undertaken. Located c. 350m to the south of the historic core of Clonmel centre (TS083-019), across the River Suir, the site is just to the northeast of St Nicholas’ church and graveyard. The church is known as Tempull na Plaighe, which translates as the church of the plague, due to the large numbers of plague victims who were buried at the site between the 14th and 17th century. In use as late as 1669, it was one of only two churches used for Catholic worship in Clonmel in the post-Restoration period. In a ruinous state, the church occupies the north-west quadrant of a sub-rectangular shaped graveyard. The earliest noted gravestones within the graveyard date to the 18th-century.

The site is separated from the church and graveyard by a tributary stream off the river Suir.  To alleviate flooding the stream was channelled c. 15 years ago by the construction of substantial concrete retaining walls.  One of these very substantial walls was built along the rear of the site.  As part of these flood alleviation works it was necessary to access the stream from the site under consideration here. Accordingly the rear of the site had been heavily disturbed to accommodate these works.

No archaeological features/remains were uncovered in either of the two test trenches opened. Where the site had not been disturbed by these works a well-worked very dark brown topsoil/garden soil overlaid the natural deposition.