What is recorded here

Mutton Island is a low offshore island two kilometres south of Galway town whose unusual shape still resembles a star-shaped fort, hinting that guns and walls once dominated its small frame. Batteries appeared there in 1611, were discussed again in 1691, and were strengthened in 1702 and the mid-18th century before demolition in 1815 made way for a lighthouse. No surface trace remains, yet the island itself seems to have been shaped into a weapon, as if the sea had swallowed a military map and kept only its outline.

On Mutton Island, a low irregular offshore island 2km S of Galway town (GA094-100----). No visible surface trace survives but the fortifications may have been quite extensive: the island's shape bears a remarkable resemblance to a star-shaped fort. An artillery battery was constructed here as early as 1611 and a report of 1691 considered Mutton Island, 'where the old castle stoud', as the best place for the construction of a fort (Walsh 1981, 70, 115). Whether it was ever built is unclear; in 1691 Goubet drew a plan of the (?proposed) fortifications (NLI MS 2742; pers. comm. P. Walsh). The island was subsequently re-fortified as a battery in 1702 and again in the mid-18th C (Walsh 1981, 118, 128). Demolished in 1815 to make way for the lighthouse. (Kerrigan 1980, 136; Hardiman 1820, 164-5, 167, 316-17) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. I - West Galway'. Compiled by Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1993). Date of upload: 05 August 2010

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