2023:449 - Glenamaddy, Clooncon West, Clooncaun Road, Church Street, Creggs Road, Kilkerrin Road and Ballymoe Road, Galway

The archaeological monitoring of groundworks was undertaken for Uisce Éireann’s Water Network Programme, Clooncaun Road, Glenamaddy scheme (UÉ Scheme ID: 25776677) located in Glenamaddy, along the R362 road (Church Street and Creggs Road), along the R364 road (Kilkerrin Road and Ballymoe Road) and an unnamed road in the townlands of Clooncon West and Glennamaddy in Co. Galway. The scheme involved the installation of c. 2,282m of rehabilitated water mains within the existing road carriageways.
The archaeological monitoring was carried out intermittently between 12 September–21 November 2023. Excavation of sections of a continuous open-cut trenching measuring c.650m long by 0.6–1.5m wide and 1–1.4m in depth was monitored. The Cultural Heritage Screening Assessment (CHSA) noted that the scheme would not impact the Zone of Notification (ZoN) for any Recorded Monuments; however, it traversed through the town of Glenamaddy which is listed on the Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) (GA018-018—-). The CHSA also noted there was potential for archaeological remains to be present in the vicinity of four Cultural Heritage (CH) sites: a possible quarry (site of, CH02), a watercourse/townland boundary (CH05), a quarry (site of, CH06), and a well (site of, CH07).
No potential archaeological objects, features and deposits were found during the monitoring. In the trench along Church Street – opposite St Patrick’s Catholic Church (RPS 22/NIAH 30401802), underlying the road surface, at a depth of 0.3m below ground level (BGL), a 15m long and 0.2m deep layer of sandy lime mortar, stone rubble and four worked limestone blocks were found. Two of these limestone blocks, identified as wall stones, were cut square, with face and sides roughly dressed, and back unworked. Another two limestone blocks, identified as potential door or window opening quoin stones, were cut square, face and sides had long vertical or horizontal punching with drafted margins finish, and back unworked. One of the latter stones had a vertically finished face and horizontally finished sides and the second had face and sides vertically finished. Following further southeast, a portion of the north-east facing face of a stone wall foundation was revealed, backfilled with stone rubble and mortar. The wall was built with roughly hewn angular limestone, possibly squared built to courses, and bound with sandy lime mortar; it measured 9m long by 0.7m high
The only dwelling in this area, adjacent to the north side of the road (today, Church Street, R362) in Glenamaddy village, was depicted on the first-edition six-inch OS map (1840). It was demolished by 1892, as it is not present on the first-edition 25-inch OS map (surveyed 1892, published 1893). We can assume that the worked limestone blocks originate from that demolished building.