2023:898 - Kilboght, Galway

A programme of conservation works was undertaken in October-November 2023 at Kilboght Church, Co. Galway. The works were funded under the Community Monuments Fund 2023 and follow on from a Conservation Management Plan compiled under funding from the Community Monuments Fund 2021. The results of archaeological monitoring and recording of conservation works support the findings of the pre-conservation Archaeological Impact Assessment (Delany, September 2021), which identified evidence of four phases of construction within the existing church ruin. The earliest phase is represented by the fragmentary remains of a medieval parish church, which probably consisted of a simple nave. This church was subsequently extended to the west and east, and a transept was added to the south. Differences in the masonry and building styles suggest the two extensions and south transept were constructed at different stages in the late medieval period, and it is safe to assume that all are associated with the development of the Franciscan friary founded here by Hugo de Wall in the late 15^th/early 16^th century. Forty-six architectural stones were identified and recorded at the site, including twelve stones re-used as grave markers. Many of the loose architectural stones were contained within existing stone dumps, having been set aside during the course of previous graveyard clean-up schemes.