2021:555 - Rooaunmore, Galway

Flood relief works along a section of the L4506 necessitated the lifting and re-setting of a milestone at Rooaunmore (GA113-189). The relief works comprised the raising of the carriageway and adjacent verges by approximately 1m over a length of 320m. The Rooaunmore milestone is one of a series of milestones surviving along the public road network between Gort and Kilcolgan in south County Galway.  The stones are located along the R458 regional road and local roads to the west, all of which formed part of the old Galway Road. A recent report suggests the stones date from the mid-18^th century and were erected along a coach road by the County Grand Jury (O’Sullivan, 2021). The milestones are limestone pillars inscribed with distances from Galway in old Irish miles. The Rooaunmore stone is 1.55m long and 0.31-0.43m thick. The upper part of the stone (Length 0.92m) is well-dressed on all surfaces with a slight chamfer to the front margins. The stone bears the inscription ‘12 From Galway’ although the numerals are partly obliterated by heavy spalling to the crown of the stone, presumably a result of hedge-cutting. The lower part of the stone (Length 0.63m) is roughly-hewn and was clearly intended to be buried.

Monitoring of the lifting of the stone took place on 20^th October 2021. A soft strap was fitted around the centre of the stone and it was then lifted from its socket with the aid of an excavator. The socket was lined with medium and large irregular-sized packing stones. It was 0.75m deep and measured 0.8m x 0.75m at the surface narrowing to 0.4m² at the base. The stone was placed in temporary storage and re-erected following the completion of road works on 8^th December 2021. The opening around the stone was filled with layers of compacted soil to ensure the stone was secure in its new setting.

Reference:
O' Sullivan, J. (2021) Nine 18th-century Milestones on the 'Old Galway Road', unpublished report

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