Early Belturbet Town remains discovered

Early 16th-to-17th century stone remains, believed to be among the first foundations laid in the municipal development of Belturbet, have been discovered on an archaeological dig in the town.

The remains were unearthed after an excavation licence was secured as part of the ongoing redevelopment of the town hall. Since arriving on site last week, the county council-funded excavation, led by Belturbet native Michael Drumm and his heritage consultancy services company, Wolfhound Archaeology, has made several fascinating discoveries.

One of only two towns in the county, along with Cavan Town itself, Belturbet has a heritage status and therefore has a zone of archaeological protection around it. The current town hall building was constructed in 1928 by Cavan architect James O’Reilly on the site of an earlier building, a post-medieval market hall, the origins of which are understood to go back to around 1613, when Sir Stephen Butler was first granted rights to build a town there.

As part of the rights bestowed to Butler under the plantations, considering it was one of the best places for crossing the River Erne, he was allowed to host a market twice a week and a fair on occasions throughout the year. “Based on the civic and municipal architecture of the town and the construction at that time, there would have been a market hall here where the corporation of the town was actually managed,” said Mr Drumm.

See this week's Anglo-Celt newspaper for full report