M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Improvement Scheme: Archaeological Resolution

FINAL REPORT Ministerial Direction: A027/000 Registration No.: E2392

Site AR 50, Foulkscourt Co.

Authors: C. Hardy & B. Green Site Director: C. Hardy Senior Archaeologist: P. Stevens Job No.: 1269-06-400 Client: Date: July 2008

Valerie J. Keeley Ltd.

M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Improvement Scheme Archaeological Resolution Final Report E2392. Site AR 50, Foulkscourt, Kilkenny

ABSTRACT

This report is a final report and comprises the results of the archaeological investigations at Site AR 50, in the townland of Foulkscourt, Co. Tipperary South Riding. Work was undertaken as part of the archaeological programme for the M8N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Improvement Scheme. Excavation was conducted under Ministerial Direction No. A027/000 (Registration No. E2392), by C. Hardy, for Valerie J Keeley Ltd. on 23 rd October 2006.

An area of 396m 2 was stripped of topsoil to identify possible archaeology, additional to two small postholes resolved during testing by Margaret Gowen and Co. Ltd. in 2006. Excavation of this site produced no additional features of archaeological significance. As such, no further work is recommended at this site.

All archaeological work is now complete for this site and this report constitutes the final report on this excavation. The digital and paper archive for this excavation rests at the post excavation offices of Valerie J Keeley Ltd., Brehon House, Kilkenny Road, , Co. Kilkenny. No artefacts or samples were recovered from this excavation.

i M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Improvement Scheme Archaeological Resolution Final Report E2392. Site AR 50, Foulkscourt, Kilkenny

CONTENTS

ABSTRACT i

List of Figures iii

List of Plates iii

1.0 INTRODUCTION 1

2.0 BACKGROUND 2

3.0 THE EXCAVATION 8

4.0 THE FINDS 9

5.0 DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION 9

6.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 9

7.0 REFERENCES 10

8.0 EXCAVATION RECORD 12

ii M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Improvement Scheme Archaeological Resolution Final Report E2392. Site AR 50, Foulkscourt, Kilkenny

List of Figures

Figure 1 Location Map (Discovery)

Figure 2 Scheme map with area investigated denoted

List of Plates

Plate 1 Aerial view of site AR 50, showing site location and surrounding landscape. Looking northeast

Plate 2 Post–excavation view of site, showing AR 49 & R435 Rathdowney Road in background. Looking west

iii M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Improvement Scheme Archaeological Resolution Final Report E2392. Site AR 50, Foulkscourt, Kilkenny

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Aims & Objectives Valerie J. Keeley Ltd. was appointed by Kilkenny County Council to excavate archaeological sites first identified during a programme of centreline testing carried out by Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd., Scheme No./ Works No. A0027/000 (McQuade et al 2006). The scope of the archaeological measures were: • To strip the topsoil from an area measuring 400m 2 along the main M8/N8 road corridor and identify the previously discovered archaeological features and any other features that may be present in this area. • Photograph and plan any archaeological features or possible features. • Excavate any features identified and record their contexts and sections, retaining samples where necessary, to resolve them with preservation by record. The goal of this project being to preserve by record the archaeological site/s exposed within the take of the proposed route, and to further assess areas previously unavailable for testing (McQuade et al 2006). These works took place in accordance with the Directions issued by the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government under Section 14A(2) of the National Monuments Acts (1930-2004), in accordance with the terms of the Contract between Kilkenny County Council and Valerie J Keeley Ltd and according to the terms of the Code of Practice agreed between the National Roads Authority and the Minister of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands. The excavations also complied with the Policy and Guidelines on Archaeological Excavation (Govt of Ireland 1999) and were overseen by the Project Archaeologist.

1.2 Summary of Archaeological Significance No additional features of archaeological significance were uncovered in this phase of archaeological works. No further work is recommended on this site.

1.3 Timescale Topsoil was stripped from this site on 23 rd October 2006. Excavation commenced and concluded on the same day. The site was backfilled on the same day by machine immediately after the work was carried out and the ground reinstated.

1.4 Site Location & Access Work was carried out along the line of the proposed M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Improvement Scheme, from Gortmakellis, Cashel, Co. Tipperary to Oldtown Townland, Cullahill, Co. Laois. The road

M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Improvement Scheme Archaeological Resolution Final Report E2392. Site AR 50, Foulkscourt, Kilkenny scheme consists of a 39.5km route from its tie in with the M7/M8 Portlaoise to Cullahill Scheme south of Cullahill in Co. Laois to its tie in with the N8 Cashel bypass north of Cashel in South Riding. Site AR 50 was located along the northern section of the proposed M8N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Improvement Scheme in Foulkscourt townland, 1.5km northwest of Johnstown, Co. Kilkenny (NGR 229338E, 167543N, Ordnance Survey Kilkenny sheet No. 8. Chainage 32765 – 32785. See Figure 1, 2; Plate 1). The site was accessed via a farm and farm trackway, off the Rathdowney to Johnstown Road .

2.0 BACKGROUND

2.1 Topography & Geology

The site was located in the northern section of the M8N8 Cullahill to Cashel road scheme, in Foulkscourt townland, in the of , Co. Kilkenny. This section comprises solely of the through which the road scheme passes: in Galmoy; , Mountfinn, Warrenstown, Foulkscourt, Grangefertagh, Baunrickeen, Glashare, Rathlogan and Coolnacrutha.

This area is set within a broad low lying 25km east – west, 40km north – south plain with a gradual northeast – southwest slope trend (falling 130 – 110m OD). The present undulating nature of the landscape was created during the last glacial period from the morainic deposition of churned bedrock material, smoothed by passing glaciers. The plain is bounded by the Silvermine and Devil’s Bit range of hills to the west and north, the Slieveardaghs to the east and is dotted with a small number of low hills not exceeding 235m OD. From 15km north of Thurles to the south, it is effectively bisected and drained by the and its tributaries. Between the limit of useful farmland east and northwest of the Suir and the Slieveardaghs, is a network of raised bogs – Derryville Bog to the northwest and Littleton Bog to the east. This section of the scheme is situated on relatively well-drained land, northeast of the junction of both stretches of bog. The underlying bedrock throughout the plain is Carboniferous limestone with occasional erosion resistant blocks, such as the knoll that forms the Rock of Cashel. The bedrock is sealed by glacially deposited sediments, which in poorly drained regions tend to support tracts of raised bog. The greater proportion of the plain however, supports well drained farmland, the majority of it dairy farming pasture interspersed with marshy areas around the low lying flood plains of minor rivers.

The topography and geology of this section of the scheme is typical of the plain in general, with a gentle undulating northeast – southwest slope trend from (falling 130 – 110m OD) and occasional hillocks not exceeding 134m OD. The area is drained by the and its tributaries. The majority of land use was dairy farming pasture with some tillage.

M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Improvement Scheme Archaeological Resolution Final Report E2392. Site AR 50, Foulkscourt, Kilkenny

2.2 Historical Overview

While the scheme as a whole comprises an essentially artificial geographic unit, defined by townlands traversed by the M8/N8 road corridor, the townlands of the central section can be readily placed in a historical/geographic context as they lie entirely within the pre-Norman territory of Magh Sedna , the medieval manors of Foulkscourt and Glashare, and the modern Barony of Galmoy.

2.2.1 Early Origins

The historic period in Ireland begins with the arrival of writing in the early medieval period, concurrent with the spread of Christianity. Little can be definitively stated about the internal geographic boundaries and political structures of Ireland prior to this time and indeed until about the 8 th century AD, although we can project known early medieval divisions back to the near proto-historic period. The earliest traditional division of the country was into two halves along a boundary that ran roughly from to Galway (Byrne 2001 p168). The north was Leth Cuinn (Conn’s Half) and the south was Leth Moga (Mugs Half). Conn was the progenitor of the Connachta, a tribal grouping from whom the later rulers of Connaught and Ulster claimed descent, while Mug was believed to be the first of the Eoganachta, from whom the kings of Munster and claimed descent. The two Halves of Ireland were more cultural than they were political, but it is from them that the very real polities of the Fifths of Tara ( Mide ), Ulster, Connaught, Leinster and Munster emerge. Munster itself was subdivided into Fifths; Aurmumu (Ormond) east Munster, Taudmumu (Thomond) north Munster, Medón Muman mid Munster, Desmumu (Desmond) south Munster, and Iarmumu west Munster ( ibid. p165). Each Fifth was a conglomeration of sub-provincial kingdoms under the suzerainty of a provincial over-king. The sub-provincial kingship of Aurmumu was centred on the rock of Cashel, as was the kingship of Munster itself, and was held exclusively between the fifth and tenth centuries by various septs of the Eoganachta. In the proto- historic period and for the majority of the early medieval period, the site fell under the hegemony of the Fifth of Aurmumu , in the Tricha Cet (an area that could nominally muster 3000 fighting men) of Osraighe (whose boundaries are preserved within the modern Catholic Diocese of Ossory in counties Kilkenny and Offaly). The territory of Osraighe was subdivided into seven plains ( Magha ); the site lay within Magh Sedna (The Plain of Sedna; northwest Co. Kilkenny, southwest Co. Offaly) under the kingship of the O’ Broithe (O’ Brophy), of whom Sedna – great grandson of Aengus Osrithe, progenitor of the Osrighe – was the traditional ancestor (Dowling 1980, p16-17). The site and the general route of the M8N8 also lay along a branch of the broad northeast – southwest running corridor of the Slige Dála, the main prehistoric and early medieval route way from Leinster to Munster, with which the M8/N8 shares a similar axis (Byrne 2001, p169).

M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Improvement Scheme Archaeological Resolution Final Report E2392. Site AR 50, Foulkscourt, Kilkenny

2.2.2 Early Medieval

There is scant evidence for the O’ Broithe or the territory of Magh Sedna in the surviving sources during the early medieval period. We know however, that the broader kingship of Osraighe became an autonomous kingdom separate from Munster and the provincial system during this time. Although not explicitly stated in the annals, the rise of an independent Osraighe possibly occurred in the mid ninth century during a period of intense Viking incursions up the Rivers Barrow and Nore. Cerball mac Dúnlainge, king from 847 – 888, saw the new strategic importance of the river systems (Barrow, Nore & Siur) not only for the security, but also the advancement of his kingship. He neutralised the threat posed by Viking raiders by developing relationships with some groups, playing others off each other and marrying his daughters into powerful Norse families (Byrne 2001 p162). The depth of Cerball’s relationship with the Vikings is reflected in his probable role of protector of the Dublin settlement in 873, earning him the sobriquet Kjarvalr Írakonungr – The Irish King Cearball – in Icelandic geneologies ( ibid. p162). The Osraighe maintained shifting alliances between Viking, Munster and Leinster kings from this time onwards, however; throughout the politically volatile tenth century their focus was challenging for the kingship of Leinster and in 1036 Donchadh Mac Gilla Pátraic became the first and last Osraighe king of Leinster (ibid. p163). Donchadh Mac Gilla Pátraic laid the foundations for the continuing hold the Mac Gilla Pátraic sept maintained over the Osraighe until the early seventeenth century (although the territory was to become divided into separate northern and southern allied kingships under two branches of the Mac Gilla Pátraic sept) Magh Sedna and the O’ Broithe kingship would have fallen under the early medieval Diocese of Ossory, as the area does today, and there is at least one early medieval church in this section of the scheme in Grangefertagh – Fearta na gCaireach . The earliest historical reference to Fearta na gCaireach is from 861, when an Osraighe victory over Vikings (which particular group is unknown) is recorded. Cearbhall, the king, received 40 heads from the battle and banished the Vikings from his territory (O’ Donovan 1990 Vol. II p499). The church at Fearta na gCaireach and its community largely escaped the notice of the annalists for the next 200 years until 1156, when the death of the chief master Eochaidh Ua Cuinn – burned in the cloictheach (bell tower/round tower) – is noted (O’ Donovan 1990 Vol. II p1119). That the church had a cloictheach (partly upstanding and one of only 66 known examples) suggests considerable patronage and a local prominence that is not reflected in the annals. Fearta na gCaireach was one of five major pre-Norman ecclesiastic sites in proximity to the route of the road; Cashel, Doire Edhnigh (Derrynaflan), Liath Mor (Leigh), Doire Mor (Longfordpass North) and Fearta na gCaireach (Grangefertagh) being the others.

2.2.3 Anglo – Norman Era

The 12 th century saw a dramatic change to Gaelic Ireland, following the arrival of Anglo-Norman armies and the submission of Irish kings to Henry II, making Ireland a lordship of England. While daily life for

M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Improvement Scheme Archaeological Resolution Final Report E2392. Site AR 50, Foulkscourt, Kilkenny

the majority of the population continued much as it had before, a new population group became established across the country bringing with them a new material culture and a new system of civil and ecclesiastic administration. In areas under Anglo-Norman control the various strata of provincial, sub- provincial and local kingships were replaced with a manorial system under lordships and earldoms. The idiosyncratic organisation and practices of the Irish church were adapted to fit the European norm with the introduction of a parochial system following the submission of the Irish Bishops to Henry II at Cashel in 1172 (Scott & Martin eds. 1978, p99). New geographic units such as cantreds, baronies, counties and palatinate counties were created to facilitate the Anglo-Norman colonisation. The manorial system and new geographic units by and large followed pre-existing boundaries, although their precise definition and function remained in a state of flux throughout the medieval period. The kingdom of Osraighe lay in a strategic position between Munster and Anglo-Norman forces in Leinster. Both the Mac Gilla Pátraic kings of northern and southern Osraighe initially resisted, and whereas the southern Osraighe were defeated in battle between 1169 and 1170 and their lands effectively seized, the undefeated northern Osraighe submitted to Strongbow in 1171 and managed to maintain their lands (O’ Byrne 2003 p41). The arrangement was short-lived as northern Osriaghe continued to be a disputed frontier zone between the Irish of Munster and English of Leinster. In order to protect Leinster, the Mac Gilla Pátraic’s tenure of their lands was revoked in 1191/1192 and were displaced to the Slieve Bloom mountains in Offaly to the north, the same year as the construction of Kilkenny castle ( ibid. p42). The territories of the Osraighi now fell under the Lordship of Leinster and were broken up into various baronies. The territory of Magh Sedna and the petty kingdom of the O’ Broithe of became the barony and cantred (group of manors) of Galmoy ( Gabhal Maoth – The Watery Angle; name probably derived from the meandering course of the river Gowl). Galmoy was one of 12 baronies in the newly established county of Kilkenny (under the Butlers of Ormond), the administrative centre of which was the town of Kilkenny, which first received a charter in 1207 (Frame 1981, p86). The townlands of this section of the scheme in Galmoy fell under two separate manors centred at Foulkscourt in the south and Glashare in the north, which both had probable 13 th century origins but little early surviving documentary evidence The progress of the colonisation programme in the 13 th / 14 th century Tipperary was erratic and subject to pressure from Gaelic lordships bordering the colony, conflicts between Anglo-Irish lords themselves and the paucity of colonists beyond urban centres. Settlers in Galmoy in the Earldom of Ormond were constantly under threat from the Gaelic lordship of the dispossessed Mac Gilla Pátraics to their immediate north (O’ Byrrne 2003 p88). A major setback for the colonists was the worst recorded famine in medieval Ireland in 1314-1318 coupled with the wide spread devastation caused by de Bruce’s invasion in 1315-1318 (Marnane 2003 p193). The spread of bubonic plague throughout the urban centres of Ireland in the 1350’s had a major impact on the English colony as a whole, but a minor one on the dispersed populations of the Gaelic lordships. The weakening civil administration of the colony

M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Improvement Scheme Archaeological Resolution Final Report E2392. Site AR 50, Foulkscourt, Kilkenny fuelled continuing conflict throughout the fifteenth century between Desmond, Ormond and Thomond and factional conflict between the various lords within these earldoms and lordships defined the political background for the region in this period.

2.2.4 Late Medieval

The ongoing nature of low-scale warfare throughout north Munster in the late medieval period created a political and militarily unstable society for Anglo-Irish and Gaelic areas alike. A physical manifestation of this was the proliferation of tower houses constructed in the 15 th and 16 th century, with multiple strongholds built in each lordship. The scale of conflict between Ormond and Desmond can be seen in the largest densities of tower houses in the country in counties Limerick (Desmond), Kilkenny and Tipperary (Ormond) (Marnane 2003 p220). The comparatively large number of such strongholds in the area may also be due to the fact that Ormond and Desmond escaped the Elizabethan plantations of the early 16 th century. Three tower houses were constructed along this section of the route in Foulkscourt, Glashare and the strategic crossing point of the River Goul at Urlingford. The second half of the 16 th century saw the most dramatic political change in Ireland since the submission of the Irish kings to Henry II. In the 1540’s Henry VIII instituted wide scale administrative and ecclesiastic reforms in Ireland including the Reformation of the church, and a new Irish policy of Surrender and Regrant; through which the Gaelic lordship of Thomond became the earldom of Thomond (Lennon 2005 pp145-166). The definitive symbol of this period of transformation was the change in title of Irish crown territory from the Lordship of Ireland to the Kingdom of Ireland in 1541. The new found English interest in Ireland also meant the projection of direct influence on what for centuries had been semi-autonomous Anglo-Irish earldoms and a diminution of the independence of Gaelic lords. This interference in feudal Irish society, in addition to forced Anglicisation and opposition to the Reformation caused simmering resentment against the crown that spilled over into the unsuccessful Desmond Rebellions of 1569-73 and 1579-83. The result of the rebellions was the creation of the Presidency of Munster in 1576 and the crown confiscation of Desmond land in Munster in 1586 (Marnane 2003 pp247-266, Lennon 2005 pp210-231). There is little documentary evidence for the manors of Foulkescout and Glashare in the late medieval period; however we do have some documents from a period of stock taking of estates in the late 16 th and early 17th centuries following the turmoil of the Desmond Rebellions. A 1595 indenture from the Earl of Ormond granted a William Dullard the chief serjeantship (farm manager) of his lands and manors in Galmoy based at Fowlkescourt, indicating that by this stage the chief manor of the cantred was at Foulkscourt (Curtis 1941 Vol. IV p84). The records of an enquiry dating from 1600 – 1614 into the precise boundaries of the manor of Glashare offer some glimpses into local 16 th / 17 th century estate management and petty land desputes. From it we learn that in the absence of natural boundaries, a ditch marked the manorial boundary for long stretches and that at one stage a gate was erected at the

M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Improvement Scheme Archaeological Resolution Final Report E2392. Site AR 50, Foulkscourt, Kilkenny

baronial and manorial boundary at Ballylehane to protect the main woodland of the manor ( ibid. pp132 – 135). The brief window of peace following defeat of the second Geraldine rebellion in the south of Ireland at the close of the 16 th century was closed by another major rebellion led from the north of the country - The Nine Years War, during which Ormond lands in Kilkenny and Tipperary were attacked by the Earl of Tyrone’s forces, as were most pro-crown settlements in Munster and west Leinster. The ultimate failure of the Desmond and O’Neill rebellions and the subsequent Flight of the Earls were followed by a period of relative peace and increased English settlement on confiscated lands. Ormond loyalty to the crown was to prove disastrous when it and The Confederacy of Kilkenny allied itself with Charles I in the 1640’s English Civil War. Unlike the relatively organised military Desmond Rebellions that preceded it, 1641 was more typified by sectarian conflict and the brutal activities of the Roundhead army. The ruthless suppression of this rebellion by Oliver Cromwell led to a massive confiscation of rebel Catholic property and the ethnic cleansing of their former owners (To Hell or to Connaught). The unparalleled land seizures, larger in scope than the first Anglo-Norman period of settlement, were facilitated by the commissioning of the Civil and Down Surveys, which mapped out lands to be divided up amongst a new wave of English settlers. The Williamite War of 1689-1691 was the last formal war in Ireland. Its conclusion following the Treaty of Limerick in 1691 was marked by a mass exodus of Irish soldiers and commanders to the continent and with them left the last vestiges of autonomous Irish military strength (Murphy 1994 p23). The following centuries saw the demise of Gaelic Ireland and the firm establishment of English law and governance across the country. The 18 th century saw the economic development of territories seized as a result of the 17 th century wars; in particular large scale drainage works, the development of an integrated road network and a renewed investment in urban centres. A new town was built at Urlingford on reclaimed bog in 1755, replacing the dilapidated village which built up around the tower house there (Lanigan 1980 p69).

2.3 Archaeological Background

2.3.1 Prehistoric Archaeology

Prior to the current scheme of archaeological works undertaken by Valerie J Keeley Ltd there was only one known prehistoric site – a burnt mound in Glashare – identified in the townlands of the northern section. There are however, 23 undated enclosures and enclosure sites, some of which may be prehistoric.

M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Improvement Scheme Archaeological Resolution Final Report E2392. Site AR 50, Foulkscourt, Kilkenny

2.3.2 Historical Archaeology

In contrast to the lack of upstanding prehistoric sites and monuments in this section of the scheme, there is a wealth of surviving medieval settlement evidence. There are 13 early medieval ringforts or ringfort sites in the 10 townlands of this section; none in Islands, Urlingford, Mountfinn, Warrenstown and Baunrickeen, one each in Foulkscourt and Grangefertagh, two in Coolnacrutha, three in Rathlogan and eight in Glashare. There are also eight undated enclosures in Glashare some of which may also be early medieval. There are major ecclesiastic remains at Grangefertagh including an enclosure, church, graveyard and roundtower. Heavy early Anglo-Norman settlement can be seen not only in the manorial centres of Foulkscourt and Glashare, but also in three rectangular enclosures/moated sites at Mountfinn and Warrenstown (2), and six undated earthworks thoughout this section which are possibly early Anglo-Norman in origin. A motte and bailey was constructed in Grangefertagh and churches were built or redeveloped in Islands, Foulkscourt, Grangefertagh, Rathlogan and Glashare. There are deserted medieval settlement sites at Islands/Urlingford (also a mill site) and at Grangefertagh. The tower houses and tower house sites at Urlingford, Foulkscourt and Glashare provided physical evidence of continuing settlement in the area through to the late medieval period.

2.4 Foulkscourt Townland

Foulkscourt townland falls within the modern parish of Galmoy and the barony of Galmoy, Co. Kilkenny. It is bounded by the townlands of Grangefertagh to the north, Warrenstown to the south, Johnstown to the east and Crosspatrick to the west. The majority of the townland is undulating pasture drained by the River Goul and its tributaries to the north and west. Foulkscourt contains no known prehistoric sites; however there are four enclosures and enclosure sites some of which may be prehistoric (RMP Ref.: KK 008: 08601, 08602, 089 & 93). A large 60 – 70m diameter ringfort (RMP Ref.: KK 008: 092) indicates relatively high status settlement at this location long in advance of the siting of an Anglo-Norman manor here in the thirteenth century. The historical background for the manor is dealt with above and there is little more that can be stated about its archaeology. It was likely centred in the vicinity of the site of the later tower house (RMP Ref.: KK 008: 087), church and graveyard (RMP Ref.: KK 008: 09001, 09002). The church site also contains an associated earthwork site (RMP Ref.: KK 008: 09004) and a baptismal font (RMP Ref.: KK 008: 09003). The townland name does not have a Gaelic origin and may be derived from the early Anglo-Norman family name of Fulk, who settled in the wider area in the 13 th century, although the precise definition is elusive. Testing undertaken by Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd in 2005/2006 in advance of the M8/N8 road scheme (McQuade et al 2006) revealed three potential sites; E2390 /AR 48 (burnt mound), E2391/AR 49 (burnt mound) and E2392/AR 50 (isolated postholes).

M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Improvement Scheme Archaeological Resolution Final Report E2392. Site AR 50, Foulkscourt, Kilkenny

3.0 THE EXCAVATION

3.1 Site Description & Topography

The site AR 50 was situated on the steeply sloping land under crop, in the townland of Foulkscourt, Co. Kilkenny (See Figure 1; Plate 1). Excavation of this site produced no additional features of archaeological significance.

3.2 Method

This phase of works was undertaken by mechanically topsoil stripping an additional area of 396m 2 of topsoil around the feature, previously identified and resolved in testing. The area was cleaned by hand and photographed. On conclusion the area was backfilled by machine using topsoil from the site.

3.3 Stratigraphic Summary

The natural subsoil of the site consisted of gravel and boulder clay [c2]. Archaeological testing by Margaret Gowen and Co. Ltd in September/October 2005 revealed two small postholes (at NGR 229338.05E, 167543.62N). Both features were revealed in excavation to be fully resolved. No additional features were recorded from this excavation. Topsoil [c1], with a depth of 0.5m, was a dark brown medium compaction silty clay with small to medium sized stone inclusions .

3.4 Condition Post Excavation

The site was backfilled by machine immediately after the work was carried out and the ground reinstated. The contractor Roadbridge / Sisk Joint Venture took possession of the site in November 2007 for the construction of the M8N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Scheme. The site formed part of mainline for the new road.

4.0 THE FINDS

No artefacts or samples were recovered from this excavation.

5.0 DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION

Two small post-holes were revealed and resolved at this site, by Margaret Gowen and Co. Ltd. in a programme of centreline testing carried out in 2005 (under directive A027/003. McQuade et al 2005).

M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Improvement Scheme Archaeological Resolution Final Report E2392. Site AR 50, Foulkscourt, Kilkenny

These features were re-examined in this phase of works by mechanically topsoil stripping an additional area of 396m 2 of topsoil around the feature. During this work no other features of archaeological significance were uncovered. Therefore, no further work is recommended on this site. The archive for this site is located at the offices of Valerie J Keeley Ltd.

6.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We wish to acknowledge the following people for their involvement in this site: Joe Gannon (Kilkenny Co Co), Richard O’Brien (NRA), Mairead McLaughlin (NRA), Hamish Bennet (MORSW), Pat Holland (former landowner). Work was undertaken by Colum Hardy, Paul Stevens, Barry Green, Aideen Burke on behalf of Valerie J Keeley Ltd. The site was directed by Colum Hardy, this scheme was project managed by Paul Stevens, Valerie J Keeley Ltd .

7.0 REFERENCES

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Bradley, J. (ed.) 1988. Settlement and Society in Medieval Ireland. Boethius Press

Byrne, F. J. 2001. Irish Kings and High Kings . Four Courts Press

Duffy, P. J. 2007. Exploring the History and Heritage of Irish Landscapes. Four Courts Press

Duffy, P. J. D. Edwards, E. Fitzpatrick (eds.) 2004. Gaelic Ireland. Four Courts Press

Fairburn, N. el al 2003 N8 Cashel Bypass Results, in I. Bennet (ed.) Excavation 2003. Wordwell

Gowen, M, J. O’Neill, M. Phillips (eds.) 2005. The Lisheen Mine Archaeological Project 1996-8. Wordwell

Grogan, E., & Roche, H. 2003. Prehistoric Pottery Report for the N8 Cashel Bypass. Unpublished Report

Halpin, A. & Newman, C. 2003. Ireland an Oxford Archaeological Guide . Oxford University Press

Hennessy M. 1996. Manorial Organisation in Early Thirteenth-Century Tipperary in Irish Geography Vol. 29(2)

Henry, M. 2002. Ballykelly, Co. Tipperary, in I. Bennet (ed) Excavation 2000. Wordwell

Hodkinson, B., 1994. Excavations at Cormac’s Chapel, Cashel, 1992 and 1993: a preliminary statement in W. Nolan, (ed.) ‘ Tipperary: History and Society’

Keeley Ltd., V.J. 2004 M8/N8 Culahill to Cashel Road Development, Environment Impact Statement, Volume 2, Part 2, Chapter 12 – Cultural and Architectural Heritage.

M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Improvement Scheme Archaeological Resolution Final Report E2392. Site AR 50, Foulkscourt, Kilkenny

Lennon, C. 2005. Sixteenth Century Ireland . Gill and Macmillan

Marnane, D. G., 2003. Land and Settlement: A History of West Tipperary . The Ara Press

McQuade, M., B. Molloy, C. Moriarty, S. Phelan, and K. Ward, K. 2006. M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Improvement Scheme, Phase 1 Archaeological Testing Report. Unpublished Report : Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.

Moore, E. 2007. Final Report E2357 Site AR 3 Ballykelly, Co. Tipperary. Valerie J. Keeley Ltd.: Unpublished Report.

Murphy, J. H. 1994. The Wild Geese in The Irish Review No. 16 Autumn/Winter 1994. The Institute of Irish Studies

Nicholls, J. 2005. Geophysical Survey of M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel Proposed Road Development Counties Laois, North and South and Kilkenny. Unpublished report: Target Archaeological Geophysics

O’Donovan, E. 2004. Excavations at Friar Street Cashel in Tipperary Historical Journal 2004. County Tipperary Historical Society

O’Donovan, J. Lt. 1840. Ordnance Survey Letters for the County of Tipperary Vol. I .

Pender, S. (ed.) 2002. A Census of Ireland circa 1659. Irish Manuscripts Commission

Power, P. C. 1989. A History of Tipperary. Wolfhound Press

Scott, A. B. & Martin, F.X. (eds.) 1978. Expugnatio Hibernica The Conquest of Ireland . Royal Irish Academy

Simington R. C. 1931. The Civil Survey AD 1654-1656. Irish Manuscripts Commission

Simms, K. 2000. From Kings to Warlords . The Boydell Press

White, N. B. (ed.) 1932. The Red Book of Ormond . Irish Manuscripts Commission

M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel Road Improvement Scheme Archaeological Resolution Final Report E2392. Site AR 50, Foulkscourt, Kilkenny

8.0 EXCAVATION RECORD APPENDIX A: LIST OF CONTEXTS C # Type Interpretation Description Dimensions

Dark brown medium compaction topsoil, [c1] Deposit Topsoil 0.50m in depth clay. Small to medium stone inclusions.

Mottled grey/white/orange compact gravel [c2] Deposit Natural N.A. and boulder clay with frequent stones.

APPENDIX B: LIST OF ARTEFACTS Artefact No. Area Context Cut No. Material Type Description

*No artefacts were recorded from this site

APPENDIX C: LIST OF SAMPLES Sample Context Type/purpose Specialist Analysis No. of Bags Feature Type Cut

*No samples were recorded from this site

APPENDIX D: LIST OF QUANTITIES Context Drawings Samples Finds Photos Registers Notebooks Sheets

2 0 0 0 4 Digital 0 0

**Archive is located at the offices of Valerie J Keeley Ltd., Brehon House, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny

PLATES

Plate 1: Aerial view of site AR 50, showing site location and surrounding landscape. Looking Northeast

Plate 2: Post – excavation view of site, showing AR 49 & R435 Rathdowney Rd in background. Looking west