Thurles — Garryvicleheen,monacocka,thurles Townparks

Situated on flat pasture with good views in all directions. The town appears to have been established along a fording point of the River Suir which runs N-S along the E side of the present town. Barry's Castle (TN041-042002-) and stone bridge (TN041-042006-) are located on or close to the site of the medieval fording point over the River Suir. Thurles was established as an Anglo-Norman town by Theobald Walter in the late twelfth century around which time the earth and timber motte-castle (TN041-042004-) was constructed (Bradley 1985, 54; Empey 1989, 32, 36). This Anglo-Norman fortification known locally as the 'Moat' was located 70m NW of Liberty Square in the NW quadrant of the medieval town. It is possible that there was a pre-Norman fortification located here which gave its name Durlas / Thurles meaning 'oaken ringfort' to the town. No evidence of a pre-Norman fortification has been uncovered at Thurles although the ringfort at Bowling Green (TN041-041--) is an example of such a ringfort. It is recorded that Donal Mór O'Brien won a military victory here in 1192, presumably his target being the newly established settlement (Smyth 1991, 166-7; Nolan 1989, 12). The earliest reliable reference to a castle in Thurles is in a charter granted by Theobald Walter, who died in 1206 (Curtis 1933, 18). In the year 1211-12 Theobald Walter paid King John an annual sum of £26 13s. 4d. for the 'farm of Thurles' (Davies and Quinn 1941, 69). A manor court had been established at Thurles in the 13th century, on the 2nd of April 1309 the King wrote to the sheriff of Tipperary ordering him to 'forbid the bailiffs of Edmund Butler of Thurles to hold the plea which is in the said lord’s court of Thurles between Thomas Broun, plaintiff, and Philip Baroun, tenant, 6s 8d concerning 6s 8d rent in Sythan in a writ of right, because Philip who is tenant put himself in the grand assize' (Close Roll 2 Edward II, No. 88; RCH 9/88). The borough status of the town is clear from an early fourteenth-century reference (1336) to two knights' fees held as a burgage to the value of £22 17s 2d (Martin 1981, 51; Cal. inq. post mortem, 18). By the fourteenth century the town was probably defended by a wall as is supported by a murage grant to Thurles dated 1356-7 (Thomas 1992, vol. 2, 192). In this year the Chancery Rolls recorded a royal exemption on 'certain specified customs from articles for sale coming to that town' for a period of 20 years, 'to the town of Thurlys [Thurles] in aid of the paving [of that town] and its enclosure with a stone wall' (Patent Roll 30 Edward III, No. 43) In 1432 the reeve and community of Thurles were summoned to the seneschal's court (Martin 1981, 51; Curtis 1933, 95). The Ordnance Survey Letters of 1840 described a destroyed W gate as 'geata na gcoileach', the letters also mention a round building known as Crow's tower which stands on the W side of the town on the road to Cashel (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 2, 78). This tower may have been a mural tower associated with the town walls of Thurles (Carey and Farrelly 1994, 85-100). It was locally believed that five castles were pulled down to construct the courthouse in Thurles (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 2, 78). There is no depiction of a town wall on either the Down Survey map of 1655-9 or Rocque's map of 1755 (NLI 16 I 3/9). The possible footprint of the medieval town and its buildings are depicted on the 1755 map which shows that the town buildings were located on E and W sides of the River Suir. It is not certain whether the town defences were of stone (Bradley 1985, 53) but there were gates at E, N and W that gave access to the town. Only the springing arch of the E gate survives protruding from 'Barry's Castle' (TN041-042002-) - there is only the placename evidence for the W gate while there is no surviving evidence for a N gate. Cartographic and historical documents along with the monumental remains suggests that by the seventeenth century the town consisted of three distinguishable areas, namely a core area centering on the market square now Liberty Square; an eastern quarter to the E of Barry's Bridge (TN041-042006-); and a western quadrant to the W of the town square and outside the town walls and the West gate (Smyth 1991, 166-7). The Civil Survey of 1654-56 recorded that James Earl of Ormond and Elizabeth Lady Viscountesse Dowager of Thurles were the proprietors of the town in 1640 and that the town yielded an annual value of £260 (Simington 1934, 53). In 1640 the town of Thurles had 'the privileges of a Mannor and a Marckett twice a week, and a fayre twice a yeare (vizt.) on Eater Twesday and the 9th of August. It is well inhabited. In Thurles there is a faire house wherein the Lady of Thurles liveth with a Castle [TN041-042006-] and severall Turretts upon the Bawne, three stone houses; In the Towne, and severall thatch Cabbins, a stone bridge [TN041-042006-] upon the River Shewer, a small Castle [TN041-042002-] at the bridge foot and old ruinous Aby [TN041-042008-], & the walls of the p[ar]ish Church' (ibid.). 17th century taxation records (Hearth Money Returns) suggested that the areas outside the town defences were the poorest and that the eastern quadrant was the main artisan quarter, containing many kilns, ovens etc. (Smyth 1991). Within the modern town there are the remains of a destroyed late 12th century motte castle (TN041-042004-), a 13th/14th century Carmelite friary (TN041-042008-), two 15th century tower houses represented by 'Black Castle' (TN041-042001-) and its enclosing bawn (TN041-042020-), and 'Barry's Castle' (TN041-042002-); two church sites, St Bridget's (TN041-042003-) in the western quadrant and St Mary's (TN041-042009-) in the eastern quadrant. Other monuments include the remains of sheela-na-gig (TN041-042005-), the site of a castle (TN041-042013-) and the late medieval 'Barry's Bridge' (TN041-042006-). In 2002 archaeological monitoring at Croke Street, Thurles carried out by Aine Richardson for a commercial development revealed no archaeological features. Monitoring of the excavation of foundation trenches was carried out at Croke Street, Thurles, Co. Tipperary. The site, on the eastern side of Croke Street, is within the zone of archaeological potential as outlined in the Urban Archaeological Survey. The development proposal involved demolishing the buildings on the site and constructing a larger retail unit with car-parking facilities to the rear. Testing of the site had been carried out by John Tierney as part of an assessment (Bennett 2003, No. 1231, 01E0542). However, the locations of the foundations for the new building were not tested, as the demolition of the old structures had not taken place, so the assessment recommended that all groundworks associated with the development be monitored. Seven foundation trenches were excavated for the development. Although historical research pointed to the possibility of finding the enclosing wall of the medieval town of Thurles, no evidence of medieval activity was discovered on the site. The sediments removed from the foundation trenches were mainly relatively modern or late post-medieval. Only one context showed any likelihood of being earlier, and this was inconclusive: a layer of rubble that may be the remnants of a demolished wall. It was in the centre of the site and consisted of limestone blocks held within dark brown/black, mortar-enriched clay. It was 0.9m deep. The average dimensions of the stones were 0.22m by 0.1m by 0.08m. No coursing was evident, but the wall may have been demolished to create a level ground surface. It is possible that any medieval layers were removed at the time of the construction of the original retail unit. At the eastern end of the site, under the upper modern layers, the sediments were largely natural. This monitoring was carried out under Licence No. 01E0542ext. (Bennett 2004, 482). In 2002 archaeological trenching at Friar Street, Thurles carried out by Brian