2016:817 - Dangan Lower and Menlough, Galway

Trench excavations for an underground electricity cable at Dangan Lower and Menlough, Co. Galway were monitored between 8 April and 2 August 2016. The development forms part of the underground grid cable route connecting the Galway Wind Park on-site substation at Knockranny to the existing Galway substation at Ballybrit on the east side of the city, a distance of approximately 26km. The section of route subject to monitoring (c.800m in length) commences at the N59 adjacent to the entrance to the NUIG Sports Campus at Dangan Lower and continues through the campus grounds before crossing under the River Corrib. The cable re-emerges at Menlough c.200m north of Menlough Castle (GA082-064) on the east bank of the river and continues c.250m northwards along the local road and past the gate lodge at the former entrance to Menlough Castle demesne. Almost all of the trenching took place in existing track and road. The route passes within the area of archaeological constraint for GA082-033 (Barrow – unclassified), which is located west of the NUIG Sports Campus entrance at Dangan Lower. Pre-development testing was carried along this section of the route in January 2015 and no archaeology was found (2015:396). All excavations associated with the development were monitored. No archaeology was found.

Dominic Delany & Associates, Creganna, Oranmore, Co. Galway