2026:133 - Baldungan Graveyard, Dublin

Archaeological monitoring was carried out under Ministerial Consent C001490 issued to Fingal County Council for a proposed footpath replacement project within Baldungan Graveyard, Baldongan, Co. Dublin. The Consent was subsequently transferred to the author, an osteoarchaeologist.

The site lies within a National Monument in State care; Baldungan Graveyard (DU005-037002-) and is adjacent to the ruins of Baldongan Chruch, also a National Monument (DU005-037001-; No 310) and a Protected Structure as listed in the Fingal County Development Plan 2023–29. Both monuments are listed in the Record of Monuments and Places (RMP) or Sites and Monuments Record (SMR). Additionally, DU005-038, an Anglo-Norman castle, and DU005-039, a fishpond, also lie within the immediate vicinity of the site.

Cartographical sources and aerial imagery were examined as part of the site assessment. The site is illustrated as an enclosed cemetery with upstanding ruins in the historical maps, with the ruins of the castle becoming smaller over time. Early aerial photographs show a small portion of the castle as surviving into the mid-20^th century, but it is completely absent by the late 20^th-century imagery. Subsequent aerial imagery shows little change to the site. A significant number of cropmarks, suggestive of the below-ground remains of the castle or earlier structures, are visible on the 2025 Google Earth imagery.

Monitoring took place in May 2026. The footpath being replaced was located at the north side of the graveyard and was the centre path of a parallel row of five, running north/south. The concrete was removed using a handheld pneumatic hammer. The path measured c.11m in length, 0.6m in width and had a varied depth of between 0.15m and 0.22m. No archaeological features were identified following the removal of the concrete path, and no artefacts, human remains, or architectural fragments were found.

Works are now complete. No further archaeological mitigation is required.