Clare Abbey, Co. Clare

As part of works associated with the N18 Ennis Bypass and N85 Western Relief Road, Clare County Council requested the construction of a small car park next to Clare Abbey linked to the new N85 by a narrow roadway.

The excavation, which took place in Autumn 2005, revealed archaeological features and structures associated with the monastic occupation of the abbey.
Indications of scaffolding, used during the construction of the abbey were also recorded. More surprising, were the post-monastic occupation layers and features recorded during the excavation. Artefacts from the 17th and 18th centuries recovered during the excavation. Suggest that armies may have camped at The Abbey during the Cromwellian and/or the Williamite wars.


     The final excavation reports                                                              An article published in The Other Clare