2023:886 - Coole Demesne, Galway

An 18th-century milestone at Coole Demesne townland in south Co. Galway forms part of a series of nine milestones between the town of Gort and the village of Kilcolgan. Labane and Ardrahan Community Development Association (LACDA) organised the South Galway Milestones Project to record and conserve the milestones and raise public awareness of them.

The milestone at Coole Demesne was originally a simple limestone pillar, trapezoidal in horizontal section and flat on top, with well-dressed faces. It was designed to stand 36 inches (c. 0.9m) above ground, with a rough, undressed root below ground. The milestone is inscribed ‘16 From Galway’ (in old Irish miles) on its narrow, outer face. An Ordnance Survey benchmark was cut into the head at some later date.

The stone had previously been moved from its original position on the opposite or east side of the road, during road improvements by Galway County Council. There was some damage around the upper part of the stone where spalls appear to have been struck off but the inscription remained intact. Also, as found, the stone was badly damaged by a recent bonfire set at the roadside, resulting in extensive cracking and spalling.  The fire-damaged stone was excavated and removed to a specialist workshop at the Kerry Training and Education Centre in Tralee to facilitate repair work by a conservation mason, under licence from the National Museum of Ireland. When conservation work in Tralee was completed the stone was returned to Galway and reinstated on site in Coole Demesne in its secondary site as found—i.e. on the west side of the road.

The work was supported by grants from Galway County Council and the Heritage Council and by practical support from the County Council’s Gort Area Office.