Archaeologist

26/09/2025

Welcome to our new staff spotlight section which highlights the many services delivered by Cork City Council on a daily basis. 

In this edition of our staff spotlight, you'll get to know our Archaeologist, Ciara Brett. 

Tell us about your job?

I am based in the Planning and Integrated Development Directorate and my job is to advise on all matters of an archaeological nature within the city area. So, this is quite wide-ranging and involves development management (advising on planning matters), policy development, research and recording and active public engagement. I negotiate and provide assistance and practical information to developers, planning consultants, architects, engineers and archaeological consultants. I am responsible for monitoring the condition of monuments in the city too and since 2020 I have managed the Community Monuments Fund and received c.€750,000 in funding for conservation and interpretation works. A key part of my job is to develop and maintain public interest in & understanding of the archaeology of the city, so I have produced several publications and frequently do schools visits and talks, such as the autumn lecture series in the City Library. Through my position as CCMA Representative on the RIA Standing Committee for Archaeology, I present Local Authority archaeological aims in local, regional and national policy.

How did you end up working as an Archaeologist for Cork City Council?

I worked in private consultancy for a number of years and I was a licenced archaeologist which means I directed archaeological excavations in both urban and rural areas. The role of archaeologist in the city council came up and it was a change from the private sector work that I was doing. I loved digging and working on excavations, but I also wanted a new challenge and working in the public service appealed to me. The job is ideal as it gives me an opportunity to still get my hands dirty a little bit but I am also able to promote archaeology through my planning work, lectures and publications.

What does a typical day involve?

My days can be varied, interesting, challenging and not boring!

No one day is the same for me which is great as it keeps the day and job interesting!! My everyday work involves assessing planning applications for archaeological considerations. So I advise on whether an archaeological investigation or surveys should take place before a development can proceed. I work with all the Directorates within the council so I can spend all day at my desk some days writing reports and advising on briefs or tenders and on other days I can be down a hole in the ground recording the city’s medieval walls!

What is your favourite part of your job?

I get to meet many and varied people in my role both within Cork City Council and outside it. I have an opportunity…most days…to tell the story of the city but also to show how we as a council work for the city and its people. I love interacting with the public so I’m lucky that as well as my statutory obligations and ‘desk’ work I get the opportunity to engage with the public through talks and events like Medieval Day. Recently I co-curated an exhibition Beneath Our Feet which has allowed me to promote archaeology in a new and imaginative way through art.

What can make your job challenging at times?

There can be difficult choices to make between preserving archaeological remains, and the need to allow our city to thrive and develop. My role is to provide sound information and analysis and where possible to reconcile tensions so as to facilitate the achievement of both. It can be challenging to do this sometimes in a specialist role such as archaeology, as it involves having a level of patience and pragmatism while remaining positive and encouraging! I hope those I work with feel that I’m positive most of the time!!!

What advice would you give your younger self?

You know more than you think…..listen to your heart, your head and your gut…one isn’t always right!! If something doesn’t feel right, then it’s probably not right. So, trust your intuition and instinct. But also trust that everything happens for a reason too…and every challenge, mistake or setback is a lesson to grow from so trust the process and keep moving forward too.