Burial ground

The National Monuments Service's description

Twenty-two human burials excavated by Maedbh Saunderson (08E0462) at the rear of the 18th-century Kilkenny Courthouse (NIAH 12000084), Parliament Street, Kilkenny (Saunderson 2008, unpublished; 2010, 257-8). An earlier castle (KK019-026093-) is probably incorporated into the present 18th-century courthouse (Farrelly et al. 1993, 76). In the 13th century, William le Gros built a castle here, which became known as 'Grace's Castle' (O'Carroll 1983). In 1566, it was yielded to the Crown for use as a 'Sheire Gaol' (Carrigan 1905, vol. 3, 69-70). It seems to have served this function until c. 1794, when it was probably rebuilt as a courthouse (ibid.).
The excavated area was to the E of the tower house and encompassed the centre of a series of E-W aligned burgage plots with associated boundary and drainage ditches, pits and cesspits, several of which were timber-lined (KK019-026203-). The 22 burials, representing a minimum of 30 individuals, were provisionally dated to the 18th/19th century, when the area was a yard to the rear of the County Jail and Courthouse (Farrelly et al. 1993, 76). Five of the burials were buried simultaneously and were aligned N-S. Two military buttons found with one of this group carried the insignia of the 17th Royal Regiment of the Meath Militia, which was stationed in Kilkenny from July 28th to August 8th 1798 (Saunderson 2008). All of the exposed burials were fully excavated. It is probable that the unexcavated areas at the SE and SW of the site contains further burials.

See attached photograph.

Compiled by: Cóilín Ó Drisceoil

Date of upload: 4 November 2020

References

Carrigan, Rev. W. 1905 (Reprint 1981) The history and antiquities of the diocese of Ossory, 4 vols. Kilkenny. Roberts Books and Wellbrook Press.

Farrelly, J., O'Reilly, B., and Loughran, A. 1993 Urban archaeological survey - county Kilkenny (2 vols.). Unpublished report commissioned by the Office of Public Works, Dublin.

Saunderson, M. 2008 Kilkenny Courthouse Preliminary Report (incomplete draft report by ArchTech Ltd).

Saunderson, M. 2010 Kilkenny Courthouse, Parliament Street, Kilkenny, in I. Bennett (ed.) Excavations 2007: summary accounts of excavations in Ireland, No. 969, 257-8. Bray. Wordwell.

O'Carroll, J. 1983 Historic Kilkenny. Kilkenny. Self-published.