2008:568 - Mirehill/Carrowmore/Shrulegrove, Galway

Galway County Council proposes to realign a sector (c. 900m in length) of the N84 national secondary road between Headford and Shrule, traversing the townlands of (from south to north) Mirehill, Carrowmore and Shrulegrove. Construction will take place on farmlands previously purchased by Galway County Council.
Seventeen known monuments lie within 1km of the proposed works. One of these (Doonlaur ringfort, GA042–161) lies immediately adjacent to the existing road. While the monument itself will be unaffected – in fact proposed realignment works will pull the road further away from the standing elements of the fort – a small portion of the constraint area will be impacted on. No features of archaeological interest were noted in the area of the proposed works. The remaining monuments will be unaffected.
Activity in the area around Headford from the prehistoric period and into the early historic, medieval and post-medieval periods is indicated by existing archaeological records. Examples of standing stones, ringforts and other enclosures, houses, churches, castles and a tower-house are all recorded or visible in the environs of the town. That being the case, there was a possibility that unknown and buried or levelled archaeological features may have existed along the route of the proposed realignment. Five hand-dug pits (Test-pits 1–5, extending from south–north) were excavated within the constraints area of the ringfort and fourteen machine-dug test-pits (Pits A–N, extending from south–north) were excavated along the remainder of the route of the proposed realignment. Stripping of topsoil was also monitored. Nothing of an archaeological nature was noted during the course of excavations.