Skeletons may tell a tale of the gallows

Archaeologists have discovered human remains of possible victims of the gallows in Galway's Eyre Square.

The skeletal remains are estimated to date back to the 17th century, and were discovered during archaeological monitoring of the new broadband network for the city. Mr Declan Moore of Moore Archaeological and Environmental Services, who is carrying out the work on behalf of Galway City Council and County Council, said that the skeletons may be those of two adult males.

The skeletons were lying north-south, rather than on the normal east-west alignment for burials. "We found them between 15 and 20 metres away from where the gallows was located on Speed's 1651 map of Galway," Mr Moore told The Irish Times.

This would suggest that they may have been victims of the hangman's noose.

The skeletons will be examined in more detail by a palaeo-pathologist, who will focus on dietary ailments, diseases such as osteoporosis, dental caries and tooth loss, as well as the individual's age at death, cause of death and gender. Mr Moore said that some pieces of 17th-century pottery had been found in the area, which would help to pinpoint the precise date.

The archaeologists have found fragments of medieval cut stone from a trench on the Dublin road, a post-medieval pit on the Newcastle road and 18th or 19th-century cobbled surfaces on Eyre Square during the monitoring work. The broadband project is being undertaken by both Galway City Council and Galway County Council, under the management of European Access Providers (EAP), and will provide broadband cover for Galway city and Oranmore. It is being grant-aided by the EU and the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources.