BALLYSHANNON — Camp,coolcholly,townparks (ballyshannon Ed)

The town is situated on a ford at the mouth of the river Erne on the main routeway between Sligo and Donegal. The name is derived from Beal Atha Seanaidh "the mouth of the ford of the hill-slope" (Bradley & Dunne 1989, 18). The importance of Ballyshannon is fundamentally integrated into its strategic location as a fording point at the mouth of the Erne. Control of this fording point effectively bestowed control of the route from Connacht to Tirconnell. Added to this is the fact that Ballyshannon also overlooks the estuary of the Erne which forms a natural harbour here. This harbour has been of importance since prehistoric times as is shown by the remarkable bronze sword hilt, of 1st century B.C. (Ryan et. Al. 1983, 104) which was brought up from the sea-bed by a fisherman's net in 1916 and was probably imported directly from Gaul. The continuing importance of the harbour is attested again in the late middle ages. In 1420, for instance, an English trading ship arrived in the harbour (Nicholls 1987, 419). Again in 1614-15, after the foundation of the town, the Arthur of Ballyshannon, which carried wine from Bordeaux for Sir Henry Foliot (Hunter 1981, 69). The strategic significance of the future town site was not lost to either the Anglo-Normans or to the English when they attempted to penetrate Ulster in the late sixteenth century and ultimately it is this combination of geographical factors which accounts for the location of the town. In the mid-thirteenth century the Anglo-Normans under Maurice FitzGerald, lord of Sligo, made repeated attempts to penetrate Tirconnell but they never succeeded in establishing a foothold (Orpen 1911-20, iii, 268). In 1247 the annals record an actual battle fought at the ford of Ballyshannon itself (A. Conn.). The construction of a castle (DG107-053002-) here in 1423 by O'Donnell marked their appreciation of the significance of the ford and signalled their intention to control access between Connacth and Tirconnell. The strategic significance of Ballyshannon was apparent to the Dublin government as early as 1562 when the lord deputy, Perrott, wanted to post a garrison at Ballyshannon. It was one of the key strategic points during the Nine Years War (1594-1603) and in 1597 it was the scene of the defeat of Sir Conyers Clifford. In 1601 the lord deputy, Mountjoy, evolved a plan of cutting off Tirconnell from the rest of the north by establishing forts at Derry and Ballyshannon (DG107-053001-). Later in the year Sir Henry Dowcra put this plan into effect by landing at Derry and by capturing Donegal Abbey. He then moved south against Ballyshannon Castle but, without artillery, he could not capture it until March 1602 when guns were landed by sea. After the conclusion of the Nine Years War and pace was made with Rory O'Donnell, Ballyshannon Castle (DG107-053002-) and fort (DG107-053001-) was retained by the government together with 1000 acres on which it was intended to develop a town. The task of developing the town was entrusted to Sir Henry Foliott and the borough was incorporated in 1613. It continued to return two members to parliament until the passing of the Act of Union in 1800. The settler commuinty was relatively small and it is described as consisting essentially of "Irish houses" lived in by "soldiers for the most part and some few Irish" (Hunter 1981, 61). The adult population in the census of c. 1659 is given as 63 English and Scots and 71 Irish (Bradley and Dunne 1989, 19-20). The town is described in the Urban Survey of Donegal as 'The street plan is essentially linear consisting of Main St, with Castle St and Market St aligned diagonally towards it. The Mall, the Back Mall and College St would seem to be additions to this layout. On the southern side of the river East Port and West Port may be built on an early suburb. The original market place would seem to have consisted of the expanded area at the junction of Market St, Main St and Castle St. The Market Place, beside the Erne, is a later addition (Bradley & Dunne 1989, 20-1). MAIN STREET, BALLYSHANNON An archaeological assessment, in advance of a proposed supermarket development, was carried out by Christiaan Corlett for John Channing under licence No. 97E001 on the site at Main Street, Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal. Seven trenches were excavated mechanically in January 1997 throughout the area to be disturbed by the proposed development. All were excavated to limestone bedrock. The four trenches in the western half of the site revealed a stratigraphy which consisted of a black humic garden topsoil above a consistent sterile layer of brown humic clay, which in turn overlay a thin layer of subsoil of gritty boulder clay. Two small trenches immediately behind the building fronting the main street indicated that the cellar of that building had been built directly on bedrock. The final cutting on the street frontage, in a garden plot within the angle formed by the L-shaped building, revealed a layer of possible boulder clay above the bedrock. Immediately above this clay were a number of layers of soil and rubble which appear to have been dumped to bring the ground level up to the level of the street. No archaeological features or finds were identified. Bishop Street, Ballyshannon Seven test-trenches were opened by Mary Henry, Mary Henry Archaeological Services Ltd under licence No. 01E0773 on a greenfield site (NGR 18743/36165) on the outskirts of Ballyshannon town. The pre-construction testing works were carried out pursuant to planning permission to construct a dwelling-house. The remains of a modern domestic dump were found in five of the trenches; the others revealed nothing of archaeological interest. (Excavations Bulletin 2001). Excavation licence number 04E0686 Pre-development testing was undertaken by Martin Fitzpatrick, ofArch. Consultancy Ltd under licence No. 04E0686 at the site of a proposed development on the south side of the Mall in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal. The proposed residential and commercial development is located immediately west of the large, poorly preserved historical house known as the Condon Building. Five trenches were mechanically excavated. The stratigraphy revealed consisted of an orange/brown clayey fill which covered the site. The original ground level was reached at a depth of 0.9-1.1m in the east of the site, but elsewhere the fill was encountered up to a depth of 2-2.1m. No finds of archaeological significance were uncovered in the course of testing at the site. (Excavations Bulletin 2004) Pre-development testing was carried out by Richard Crumlish under licence No. 05E0745 on 5 July 2005 at a site (NGR 18743/36165) in advance of its development at Upper Main Street, Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal. The proposed development was located within the constraint area for Ballyshannon. It consisted of the erection of an extension to a premises. The site was located to the rear of Reid and Sweeney's solicitors' office (which appears to date to the early 19th century) and was accessible via an alleyway off Church Lane. The site consisted of a small backyard covered in stone flags. The alleyway from which the site was accessible was tested by the writer as part of an adjacent development in April 2003 (Excavations 2003, No. 387, 03E0529). One trench excavated (by machine) through the centre of the yard measured 8.1m long, 0.95-1m wide and 0.3-0.5m deep. Below the roughly cut stone flags was topsoil. Below the topsoil was grey/cream friable sandy silt loam. The topsoil contained roots, red-brick fragments, a small number of oyster shells and modern pottery sherds. The sandy silt loam contained a moderate amount of stones and pebbles. The testing revealed evidence of modern activity on the site only; i.e. stone flags (probably contemporary with or later than the adjacent 19th-century building), laid over topsoil which contained modern artefacts, over natural subsoil. (Excavations Bulletin 2005). The Rock, Ballyshannon NGR G87906120 T