Plans to push ahead with the development of Nenagh Castle in Co Tipperary have halted, with further archaeological excavations expected to delay the project over the summer.
Town councillors were informed this week that the Office of Public Works would be carrying out further excavations during the first two weeks of August, with a report on the excavations expected to be completed by the end of the month.
Donal Purcell, the town clerk, said he had been informed that "further investigation needs to take place" and that a minor redesign in the plan for a visitors' centre and renovation of the castle would be required before a final plan was submitted for planning permission.
"It is expected that planning application will be lodged at a later date," he said.
The delay is the latest in a series of snags that have delayed plans for the 13th-century castle.
Last January, the discovery of significant archaeological remains surrounding the castle halted renovation works.
Archaeological excavations in five trenches unearthed interesting findings at the rear of a house on Pearse Street, in a property once owned by the Ayers family.
Archaeologists unearthed the remains of a stone "curtain wall", which would have formed part of a medieval keep and manor house, and would have been part of a defensive-type structure surrounding the castle.
The castle, which dominates the skyline of Nenagh and the surrounding hinterland, was constructed by Theobald FitzWalter, an ancestor of the Butlers of Ormonde, in the 1200s.
Soon after the 1169 invasion, the Anglo-Normans began the construction of permanent stone castles to ensure they held their positions and extended their control. The earliest 13th-century fortifications consisted of simple stone-built keeps with strong surrounding curtain walls and moats.
The development of flanking towers to defend the weakest parts of the castle soon followed, as did the construction of a barbican at the main entrance.
The OPW is expected to complete extensive archaeological investigations by the end of August, with a detailed planning application expected to come before Nenagh Town Council following their completion.