Souterrain in Kilclare Lower

In the back garden of a private dwelling, a subterranean structure, possibly a souterrain, was discovered under a flower bed by the owner. The structure is not accessible and only visible through a roughly circular opening (0.70m EW; 0.80m NS) obstructed by a metal sheet strongly embedded within the top soil to the NW and SE of the opening. Other debris were found when the monument was first discovered, suggesting that those and the metal sheet were used to cover up the underground chamber, perhaps when it was first discovered in the past. The current house used to be part of a blacksmith's forge marked ‘Smithy’ on the 25-inch OS map, and while it is not indicated to be a forge on the 1st edition 6-inch map, a longer E-W building is represented, which may have stood over the souterrain.    A number of flat stones embedded around the opening c. 0.27m down from the current ground level may represent the lintel stones (T c. 0.07m) that would have roofed the souterrain. Despite the obstruction created by the metal sheet, it was possible to take some photographs of walled surfaces which may represent the S and W walls of a subterranean chamber. The chamber appears to be oriented E-W (L c. 1.10m, Wth c. 0.95; D c. 0.55m). Based on the photographs that could be taken, there appeared to be roughly four to five courses of stones on the S and W sides of the chamber.  There is no recorded ringfort or early monument recorded in the direct vicinity of the souterrain, but the remains of the medieval parish church of Knockmourne and its associated graveyard are located c. 75m to the south (CO045-031002- and CO045-031001-).   Compiled by: Anne-Julie Lafaye    Date of upload: 24 November 2025