2026:274 - Keeraun and Mincloon, Galway, Galway

The proposed GAA club development comprises two grass playing pitches, one all-weather synthetic playing pitch, with dugouts, floodlighting, ball-stop netting system, score board structures, covered viewing stands and perimeter fencing to all pitches, a single-storey facilities building, a single-storey pitch-maintenance building, a public playground area with fencing, a looped amenity walkway, parking for 95 cars, 3 coach spaces, 1 drop-off zone and 144 bicycle parking spaces and associated services and infrastructure at Keeraun and Mincloon townlands, Rahoon, Galway.

There are no known or recorded monuments or cultural heritage receptors within the site boundary. The closest monument is a bullaun stone (GA082-077—-) located roughly 280m to the east of the site boundary, listed in the SMR as non-extant; the stone could not be located during archaeological survey and is not marked on the OS mapping.

The testing was carried out in response to a Request for Further Information issued by Galway City Council. Eleven test trenches were excavated. An earlier site inspection had confirmed that the terrain comprised uneven topography including steep-sided glacial ridges, boggy terrain, extensive scrub, and exposed boulders and near-surface bedrock, and it was flagged in advance that it might not be feasible to complete all proposed trenches. In the event, all 11 trenches were excavated in full, comprising a total distance of 780m. The works were carried out on 9 September 2026, in dry and bright conditions. The trenches were excavated using a 30-tonne Hitachi excavator fitted with a toothless ditching bucket, which removed topsoil and sod to natural subsoil, and the excavated ground was assessed for the presence of archaeological features.

The stratigraphy encountered across the majority of the site comprised a thin topsoil, generally no more than c. 100mm in depth, directly overlying shattered stone, large boulders and bedrock, consistent with the shallow geology and rough, undulating terrain identified prior to testing. Two localised areas of deeper peat deposits were encountered within the eastern part of the site; these were excavated by machine until flooding occurred at a depth of 1.2m, precluding further excavation to natural subsoil or bedrock within these two areas. A further area in the north-western part of the site, characterised by overgrown, steeply banked and marshy ground, was identified as unsuitable for testing and was not excavated. Nothing of archaeological significance was noted.