2023:888 - Kiltartan, Galway

An 18th-century milestone at Kiltartan townland in south Co. Galway forms part of a series of nine milestones on the public roads 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 Kiltartan is 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 ‘15 From Galway’ (in old Irish miles) on its narrow, outer face.

As found, the milestone was overgrown and partly engulfed by an earth embankment. Also, part of the inscription had been removed when spalls were struck from the stone by the defence forces during World War II (local information).  Following excavation the stone was reinstated on the same site in a more prominent position, free of encumbrance by the earth embankment, weeds and briars, and at its correct height relative to the modern road surface.

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.