County: Galway Site name: Ballynakill, Co. Galway
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR GA109-064SMR GA109-002GA109-001GA108-021 Licence number: —
Author: —
Site type: GRAVES OF INDETERMINATE DATE
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 569205m, N 704593m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.091042, -8.459730
In November 1950 human remains were discovered during quarrying operations in a sandpit at Ballynakill, near Eyrecourt, Co. Galway.99 The sandpit was being worked by the Irish Land Commission when the bone was found. According to the Garda report received by the Museum, one burial was visible at a depth of c. 0.8m below ground level, while another lay just 0.1m from the surface. The report does not mention the disposition of the remains or the presence of any structural stones or artefacts in the vicinity of the burials. The local doctor had been called to the scene on the day of discovery, and stated that the remains represented an adult and a child. The remains then came to the attention of the local parish priest, who had them reinterred in a nearby cemetery. As the remains were reburied prior to notification, no investigation was carried out by the Museum. The ‘kill’ element in the townland name Ballynakill may indicate the former presence of a church site, and the SMR lists a holy well, an enclosure and a graveyard.100
99. Ballynakill, parish of Clonfert, barony of Longford. SMR GA109-064——. The exact location of the site is not marked, but the report on file states that the quarry was on the main road between Eyrecourt and Banagher, Co. Offaly.
100. SMR GA109-002——; GA109-001——; GA108-021——.
