Unveiling female monasticism in later medieval Ireland: survey and excavation at St Catherine's, Shanagolden, Co. Limerick

Abstract:This project provides new insights into the chronology and character of St Catherine's, Shanagolden, the best-preserved later medieval nunnery in Ireland. Fieldwork comprised a survey of the ruins followed by two seasons of excavation. Trenches were excavated in the cloister, refectory, kitchen and inside and outside the church. Archaeological evidence for the construction and use of the nunnery was found along with a small assemblage of artefacts. There was a change of layout during the main construction phase and a pre-existing structure was apparently repurposed. The cloister garth was not used for burial and was delimited by a stone wall. Burials of women, children and men, dating from the thirteenth to the seventeenth century, were found in the church, ambulatories and outside the church. It is proposed that the west doorway of the church was originally intended as the chapter-house doorway. It is argued that the fifteenth-century 'Black Hag's Cell', previously interpreted as a sacristy, was an anchorhold.