Identifying and Interpreting Ireland’s Post Medieval Conflict Archaeology

The archaeological investigation of the violent past is a topic that has been somewhat neglected in Ireland, although recent work being carried out by a number of archaeologists both north and south of the border has begun to make good this deficiency. Through a series of case-studies this paper shows that a strategy involving a range of archaeological techniques in combination with historical and cartographic research can greatly illuminate post-medieval conflict sites in Ireland. The principal sites considered are Kinsale, Co. Cork (1601), Dún an Óir, Co. Kerry (1580), Ballymore, Co. Westmeath (1691), Carrickmines, Co. Dublin (1642), and Aughrim, Co. Galway (1691).