What is recorded here
Human bones waited sixty centimetres beneath the Galway sand, unmarked by stones or memory. Quarrymen broke that silence in May 1931, pulling a skull from the earth before the rest of the skeleton emerged. The dead person had no name, container or ceremony preserved, only the temporary witness of men digging for sand. Even official attention retreated, leaving the bones to drift into a university collection while the quiet earth kept its own judgement.
In May 1931 human remains were discovered while digging sand at a quarry near Claregalway, Co. Galway. The skull was the first part of the skeleton to be discovered. It was found at a depth of c. 0.60m below the surface. The site was reported to the Gardaí, and to Dr S. Shea, Anatomy Department, University College, Galway, who visited the site. A report was sent to the MNI by the Gardaí and the site remained undisturbed pending an investigation. According to the report, there was no evidence for cist stones in the vicinity of the burial. The site was not investigated by NMI personnel and the remains appear to have been acquired by Dr Shea for the anatomical collection at UCG (pers. comm. M. Cahill and M. Sikora, NMI).
The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.
- What survives
- Recorded monument