Graveyard in Tralee

Graveyard associated with the Dominican priory of the Holy Cross founded in 1243 by John Fitz Thomas FitzGerald who was buried there in 1261 together with his son Maurice, after their deaths in the Battle of Callan. In 1295 Nicholas Strange was charged with stealing four ells and one mark of silver from the priory and also wheat from the chapel of St. Mary there. In 1325 Diarmait Mac Carthaig, king of Desmumu, was killed in the priory by Nicholas FitzMaurice or his son, William (AI sub 1320, 1328; Butler 1849, 17). The friary also served as the burial place of the FitzGerald lords and earls of Desmond. Contemporary records are known of the burial at Tralee of Maurice, 1st earl of Desmond (d. 1356), Thomas, 8th earl (d. 1468), and Joan, daughter of Gerald, the 3rd earl, and wife of Tadg MacCarthaig, king of Desmumu (d. 1411) (Brewer and Bullen 1871, 166; AFM, A. Conn. A. I. sub 1428). Rowan (1854, 33-4) lists three lords of Desmond and seven earls said to have been buried in the priory. The date of the priory's suppression is not known but it could hardly have functioned later than 1580, when the Lord Justice, Sir William Pelham, garrisoned it with 300 footmen and a company of horse, because it was apparently the only suitable building not destroyed by the retreating earl of Desmond (Brewer and Bullen 1868, 237). The 1584 Survey of Desmond's possessions, however, described it as ruinous and in great decay" ( PRO 1881, 31-2). The survey added that the Priory was large and ample before the rebellion, [and] had a certain church adjoined to it in which the ancestors of the said late Earl were honourably buried". The priory was granted to Edward Denny in 1587 (16 RDKPRI, 39: no. 5043)' (Bradley et. al. 1987, 106-09). In 1997 archaeological testing at the Abbey carpark under licence number 97E0232 by Martin E. Byrne on the site of the Dominican Priory was summarised as follows; 'An archaeological evaluation of a proposed development site was undertaken on 8 July at the request of a potential purchaser. The site lies on the western side of the Abbey Carpark, Tralee, and presently consists of two single-storey ‘lock-ups’, formed by the partial demolition of houses that existed on the site. These structures are the only extant remains of a row of two-storey houses which fronted onto the former Lower Abbey Street. The site is located within the area of archaeological potential for Tralee and in the vicinity of the postulated location of the Dominican Priory of the Holy Cross. This priory was founded in 1253 but the date of suppression is not known, although some of its buildings were still extant and in generally good condition in 1580, but described as ruinous four years later. The low roof levels and low door lintels denied access to the site by mini-digger. Therefore only two trenches could be excavated by parking the machine outside the doors, through which the machine arm was extended. A certain amount of hand-digging was also undertaken. The remains of in situ human skeletal material were uncovered in the northern trench, 1960mm (1.555m OD) below the present ground surface. The remains of a wall were uncovered in the southern trench. The wall, which is 860mm wide, stands for a height of c. 1000mm above the ‘natural’ surface (1.355m OD) and the top is located some 1100mm below the present ground surface. The foundations of the wall, along the northern face, appear to be sealed by in situ human skeletal remains, and it was not feasible to investigate the southern wall face. The skeletons appear to be generally orientated east-west. It is clear from the evaluation that evidence for the priory and associated graveyard was uncovered, although it is unclear what part of the priory the wall actually represents. Archaeological monitoring undertaken during 1996 at the adjacent site to the north did not uncover any in situ archaeological features, although window and column masonry pieces were recovered' (www.excavations.ie 1997:248 - Abbey Carpark, Tralee, Kerry). The following year archaeological testing by Laurence Dunne at Lower Abbey Street under licence No. 98E0263 was summarised as follows; 'This test excavation was carried out in advance of the construction of a commercial unit at Abbey Court, Lower Abbey Street, Tralee. The site lies within the zone of archaeological potential for Tralee and is near the site of the Dominican Priory. This priory was established in 1243 and was suppressed sometime before 1580. There are no above-ground remains surviving today. Recent test excavations by Martin Byrne, in the UDC (Abbey) carpark area that adjoins this development site, revealed in situ human skeletal remains, possible church foundations and fragments of masonry (Excavations 1997, 87, 97E0232). Two areas were selected for excavation within the proposed development site. The work was carried out with the aid of a mechanical digger and by hand. In Area 1 a trench 4m east-west x 1.6m was opened in the western section of the site. A very substantial wall, possibly dating to the medieval period, running north-east/south-west and c. 1.2m wide, was recorded in the base of the trench. The trench was not excavated any further upon exposure of the wall. The wall consisted of medium and large unhewn pieces of limestone laid horizontally and set in clay; no mortar was recorded. Two layers of silty clay, which included fragments of bone and charcoal, had accumulated above the remains of the wall. A layer of cobbles dating to the 18th/19th century had been laid on the surface of the silty clay. The layers above the cobbles were all modern deposits. A trench 5m north-south x 2m was opened in Area 2 in the eastern section of the site. A number of structural features were uncovered in the trench. Two 18th/19th-century wall sections exposed in the trench were left in situ. A third, more substantial wall, running north-south, was exposed at the base of the trench. This wall consisted of medium and large pieces of limestone laid horizontally, similar in fabric and construction to the wall in Area 1. However, the wall was only partially exposed to a maximum width of 0.8m, as it ran under the baulk of the trench. It appears that this wall runs at right angles to the wall in Area 1 and may be its return. Layers of silt overlay the wall and underlay 18th/ 19th-century demolition fill/deposits. The walls probably represent the basal or lower remnants of the south-east range of the Dominican Abbey. As the two exposed sections are running at right angles to one another, it is likely that they reflect the same structure. No batter or dressed architectural fragments were recovered or revealed. No human remains were found. Archaeological stratigraphy is present at a minimum of 1.1m in the test excavation areas. However, it is possible that further archaeological remains are present in the development site at higher levels' (www.excavations.ie/1998:289 Lower Abbey Street, Tralee, Kerry). Two years later archaeological excavations at the Abbey carpark complex by Michael Connolly of Aegis Archaeology Ltd. under licence no. 00E0433 was summarised as follows; 'Eighteen trenches were excavated within the bounds of The Abbey carpark (Trench Nos 1–12, 17, 18, 20, 36, 37 and 38), and all available areas were investigated (trenches had to be moved or split to avoid services—water, electricity and telephone). In order to keep traffic disruption to a minimum, the road network through the carpark was also left substantially untouched, although trenches were excavated along the full length of the roadway edge. The testing strategy was chosen to give the best possible picture of the archaeological remains and strata, if any, preserved under the carpark. Of the eighteen trenches excavated, twelve contained intact walls (Nos 1–9, 11, 12 and 36), eight contained articulated burials (Nos 1–3, 5, 8, 9, 20 and 37), while tombs were recorded in three of the trenches (Nos 1, 8 and 20). Decorated and