County: Galway Site name: Ardrahan
Sites and Monuments Record No.: GA114-001003-007 Licence number: 12E152
Author: Anne Carey
Site type: Medieval church, round tower and graveyard
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 545968m, N 712222m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.157751, -8.807900
Trial trenching was carried out at the site of a proposed Sunday school building in Ardrahan, Co. Galway on 27 June 2012. The proposed school site was located within the boundary wall of the graveyard, to the north-west of the Church of Ireland church (1809), with remains of a medieval parish church to the east of the proposed development site and the remains of a round tower to the south-west.
Prior to the commencement of testing, a large mound of re-deposited field stones, slate and other debris from the graveyard and the church was removed under supervision. A number of low stone grave markers were discovered under the mound of stone to the north and north-west, adjacent to the graveyard walls, but there were no extant markers within the small area proposed for the Sunday school building. A single trench, orientated east-west, was excavated through the centre of the proposed Sunday school building. It measured 7m in length and 1m in width. At a depth of 0.4m, an in situ human skeleton, orientated east-west, was revealed and partly exposed. The remains were recorded and the trench was reinstated. No further excavations were carried out.
80 Portacarron, Ballymoneen Road, Galway
