John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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299. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the detail of the archaeological discoveries adjacent to and in the surrounding area of the Hellfire Club in Rathfarnham, Dublin 16; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15007/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Archaeological investigations have been in progress on Montpelier Hill since 2015 as part of the ‘Hellfire Club Archaeological Project’. The investigations have been licensed by my Department under the National Monuments Acts and funded by the local authority under the South Dublin County Heritage Plan.

The archeological investigations have examined the remains of a particular monument beside the ruins of the Hellfire Club. A preliminary report submitted to my Department’s National Monuments Service indicates that the monument is a badly-disturbed Neolithic passage tomb: such monuments primarily date from 3300 to 2900 BC. Of particular interest was the discovery of a previously unrecorded piece of megalithic art and the finding of part of a polished stone axehead.

A final report will be submitted to my Department when further research and specialist analyses are completed in due course.