Underground Galway?

JohnCleary

Following from this thread: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055035912

Does anyone know of any tunnels/underground passages in Galway? I need some adventure!

po0k

Not that I know of, bar sewers and service access.

Why not fly to Toronto?

yaledo

- There was a souterrain on the grounds of Dangan house. about 10m long... it's about 9 years since I saw it though, and it was overgrown with nettles.
- If you turn right at Neylands shop in Kilcolgan, you come to a big burned out house called Tyrone house. You can go down into the basement where there is some grafitti from 60 years ago, there is a small souterrain there too, but I don't know if it is accessible. Be very careful if you are exploring this place, there are holes you can fall into.
- There used to be a railway tunnel for the clifden line... The exit was at the small park behind Lidl. Have heard of people being down in it 15 years ago, but never saw any sign of it myself.
- There used to be rumours (hundreds of years ago) of a tunnel under the river for escorting prisoners, between the courthouse and the gaol (near where the Salmon Weir bridge is now).
- I believe that Park College (leaving cert repeat school type place on Forster St.) has classrooms in the basement which extend well out under the street. It's a reasonable guess that a lot of buildings in Galway city centre have (or had) similar basements out under the street. If you know someone who works in a business in the city centre, ask them about it. (and post here if you find anything interesting)

Exploring hidden places in Galway might best be done in a kayak. Some of the canals find their way to places that streets don't. Head upriver a mile, and you get the hidden lakes (entrance marked by an iron bar among the reeds on the right, at the start of the long straight after corrib village) head upriver another 3 miles (keep left at glenloe abbey) and you find a long canal leading into Madden's Nurseries (entrance on the left, can be difficult to spot). There is the remains of an old railway bridge here (from the clifden line)

ARGINITE

Their are a few small ones, out beside the dock the railway bridge over the lough atalia road and a few other railway bridges around their. Also the bridge beside the science an technology building in NUIG.
Really only bridges in Ireland, unless you take a trip to dublin and go to the port tunnel

Karl Hungus

There's supposedly a lot of underground passages beneath the Cathedral, and St. Annes in Salthill has a lot of secret passages, most of which aren't sealed.

hoody

I used to work in the Cellar Bar, which is on the site of Lynch's castle (I think, apologies if I'm completely wrong), and the store for the spirits, which is located off the dancefloor in the downstairs area, was actually a dungeon at one time. You could still see some of the iron bars from whenever. Spooky spot at night too.

As well, there is also some tunnels under UCHG, mainly for maintenance purposes. One particular one connects the boilerhouse with the hospital basement, and the story goes that an alcoholic maintenance man used to spend his days hiding in this tunnel (it's quite large), drinking himself into a stupor. Despite the sauna-like heat down there.

Also, there's an urban legend that most UCHG workers might have heard of, that the Nurse's Home Building - the old one with the clock in the middle - has a tunnel connecting it to some parts of NUIG, which would have been used for the discreet transportation of cadavers some time ago.

Barry.Commins

There's an underground passage connecting the Convent and the School on St. Francis Street (between the town hall and Eglington Street). It goes directly under the road.

I was in there once about 15 years ago when my father's aunt was a nun in that convent (can't remember the convent's name, or the school's for that matter).

Not alot of people know that...

sgthighway

There is a tunnel in the Ringfort in Ballybane. Located in Monivea Pk. behind the Ballybane Shopping Centre.

Railway Tunnel behind Tonerys Bar. Bring a pair of Wellies and watch out for the Winos.

Coopers Cave is down at the back of Glenburren Pk., Tuam Rd.

There is a Danes Hole in Oughterard. This was a very long tunnel once upon a time.

I heard about the tunnel from the Hospital to the College too.

Common sense tells you don't go to any of these places by yourself and always tell people where you are going and when you are coming back.

JohnCleary

yaledo wrote:

Exploring hidden places in Galway might best be done in a kayak. Some of the canals find their way to places that streets don't. Head upriver a mile, and you get the hidden lakes (entrance marked by an iron bar among the reeds on the right, at the start of the long straight after corrib village) head upriver another 3 miles (keep left at glenloe abbey) and you find a long canal leading into Madden's Nurseries (entrance on the left, can be difficult to spot). There is the remains of an old railway bridge here (from the clifden line)

Have you a boat on the Corrib?
I've been on the water a few years. Hidden lakes is great... Used to plough in there at 20MPH on an inflatable - Serious fun until you land on the reeds!

Maddens little river is cool also. Nice and deep until you get to the old railway bridge, very shallow from there on.... Used to navigate up there on a RIB ~ 35MPH .... One wrong move and its over!

JohnCleary

Karl Hungus wrote:

There's supposedly a lot of underground passages beneath the Cathedral, and St. Annes in Salthill has a lot of secret passages, most of which aren't sealed.

I came across one in St. Anne's when I was really young (Used to go playing in the fields around there before building started) and I found a tunnel, with stone steps. I couldn't get very far, and I was sh1tless scared because we were around 7-8 and had no torch. I wonder where they lead to? Could be a well I guess

Kazooie

Barry.Commins wrote:

There's an underground passage connecting the Convent and the School on St. Francis Street (between the town hall and Eglington Street). It goes directly under the road.

I was in there once about 15 years ago when my father's aunt was a nun in that convent (can't remember the convent's name, or the school's for that matter).

Not alot of people know that...

I did and I was going to sy so till you beat me to it. My aunt is a nun in there and she let us through it once. Not much to write about just a tunnel.

Steyr

Karl Hungus wrote:

There's supposedly a lot of underground passages beneath the Cathedral

thats true as i went to school in Enda's secondary and it used to be a Hospital in ww2 ( you can just about make out the faded red cross on the roof facing the soccer pitch ) and we were told that there are tunnels that run from Enda's to the Cathedral and elsewhere, i dunno if they are sealed off now but i remember playing indoor footie in one of the indoor rooms and being told the square bumps on the ground are access points, they are covered up by carpet though

darrenh

the cave behind glenburren only goes in about 30 metres but if you get to the back of it and are small enough there are small short tunnels that you can climb through. they say not to go in though because the new road has made it unstable. a short distance from that is where the sandy river disappears. there is a cave that it goes into, blocked by iron bars and they say the river resurfaces into the sea in oranmore.

JohnCleary

Steyr wrote:

thats true as i went to school in Enda's secondary and it used to be a Hospital in ww2 ( you can just about make out the faded red cross on the roof facing the soccer pitch ) and we were told that there are tunnels that run from Enda's to the Cathedral and elsewhere, i dunno if they are sealed off now but i remember playing indoor footie in one of the indoor rooms and being told the square bumps on the ground are access points, they are covered up by carpet though

A tunnel from Enda's to the Cathedral? That's a lot of digging!

Fracture

hoody wrote:

I used to work in the Cellar Bar, which is on the site of Lynch's castle (I think, apologies if I'm completely wrong), and the store for the spirits, which is located off the dancefloor in the downstairs area, was actually a dungeon at one time. You could still see some of the iron bars from whenever. Spooky spot at night too.

I work for the company that ownes the cellar bar and yeh it was a dungeon at one time, it also had a tunnel which was/still is (not too sure) linked to a few other tunnels under the city. They are linked up to de burgoes (on middle street i think) and the kings head + a few other places. De burgoes was also an old jail at one time also.
The tunnel in The Cellar Bar is blocked up now for a bout 5 years tho, the owner of the building bricked most of it up, maybe because of rats or something....who knows.
Id love to get into it tho.

JohnCleary

fracture wrote:

I work for the company that ownes the cellar bar and yeh it was a dungeon at one time, it also had a tunnel which was/still is (not too sure) linked to a few other tunnels under the city. They are linked up to de burgoes (on middle street i think) and the kings head + a few other places. De burgoes was also an old jail at one time also.
The tunnel in The Cellar Bar is blocked up now for a bout 5 years tho, the owner of the building bricked most of it up, maybe because of rats or something....who knows.
Id love to get into it tho.

May I interest you in a Kango?

po0k

They're fun to use and educational!

mike o

Steyr wrote:

thats true as i went to school in Enda's secondary and it used to be a Hospital in ww2 ( you can just about make out the faded red cross on the roof facing the soccer pitch ) and we were told that there are tunnels that run from Enda's to the Cathedral and elsewhere, i dunno if they are sealed off now but i remember playing indoor footie in one of the indoor rooms and being told the square bumps on the ground are access points, they are covered up by carpet though

was this in the gym

also my history teacher told my class that their was a tunnel going from the school to around the shop

Steyr

Ya the Gym across from what his face class you know the Gym literally next to Home ec room.

mike o

yep i heard that too
there might be tunnels under the church in claddagh

?banned?

Steyr wrote:

Ya the Gym across from what his face class you know the Gym literally next to Home ec room.

I think those teachers may have been taking the piss... I went to endas for 5 yrs and never heard that. Jaysus we hardly had roads back then nevermind a tunnel all the way from Endas to the cathderal!!
Although, u never know but I seriously doubt it

mike o

you never know the school was built during the war as a hospital if we ever got bombed so thats why there is supposed to be a lot of tunnels and secret doors there

Steyr

mike o wrote:

you never know the school was built during the war as a hospital if we ever got bombed so thats why there is supposed to be a lot of tunnels and secret doors there

True you can make out the red crosses on the roof of the school but just about as they are well well worn now.

DRakE

tunnel all the way from enda's to the cathedral? what a load of bollocks

5times

I remember as a young lad (20 years ago - oh my God , I'm getting old) , myself and a gang of friends used to go to the tunnels under the Cathedral . You could get to them by a gate that was down the lane beside fisheries field , just opposite the side door (the one nearest UCG) of the Cathedral . You had to climb down an embankment , which was fairly dodgy , and there was a stream of water there that the tunnel opened out to . It was fairly low and dark as hell , and covered in muck inside , but it went in a fair stretch , but was blocked off by another gate , when you were approximately under the road , if you know what I mean . Not sure if it's still there - I am sure they would have blocked it up by now .

Steyr

Speaking of the Cathedral has anybody been into the Crypt there? As you come over the Bridge from the Court you will see it just behind the barrier for cars, it just says "Crypt" and then an arrow pointing downstairs, is it open to the public? Whats in there? Bishops Coffins?

5times

You can't just stroll in there . It's where they have the bodies of the dead bishops (that's not a punk band btw) . I doubt the public are allowed in at all .

_Whimsical_

I've been in the crypt in the Cathedral. It's open to the public at least once a year and always on November 1st which is some religious feast day. (Possibly Holy Souls Day ..or All Souls Day or All Saints Day?...suffice to say it was curiousity that had me there rather than religious reasons. I only remember it was the day after Holloween:) )
It's a big dark room under the the side entertance to the church. There are bishops coffins lying on wooden benches and some are just on the ground .They are very plain wooden boxes . It was lit only by candle light. There is nothing at all special or remotely ornate about the place. Everyone I was with thought it was very disappointing. I thought it was creepy though... but that was partially owing to the wheezy mumble of old people saying the rosary from further into the darkness than I could see. A quick glance to know I wasn't missing anything was enough and I left !

Steyr

Id so try to open a Coffin!:D

yaledo

5times wrote:

I remember as a young lad (20 years ago - oh my God , I'm getting old) , myself and a gang of friends used to go to the tunnels under the Cathedral . You could get to them by a gate that was down the lane beside fisheries field , just opposite the side door (the one nearest UCG) of the Cathedral . You had to climb down an embankment , which was fairly dodgy , and there was a stream of water there that the tunnel opened out to . It was fairly low and dark as hell , and covered in muck inside , but it went in a fair stretch , but was blocked off by another gate , when you were approximately under the road , if you know what I mean . Not sure if it's still there - I am sure they would have blocked it up by now .

Sounds class! (and dangerous) I guess the stream of water is the canal that goes in between the two roads side-by-side (one to fisheries field and Macnas, one to tribesmen rowing club and old UCG psychology dept). Does that sound right - or is it a different stream?
They have done a fair bit of construction work on either side of those 2 roads in the last few years, but the canal in the middle still looks fairly dilapidated (as if no work has been done on it for years)

5times

yaledo wrote:

Sounds class! (and dangerous) I guess the stream of water is the canal that goes in between the two roads side-by-side (one to fisheries field and Macnas, one to tribesmen rowing club and old UCG psychology dept). Does that sound right - or is it a different stream?
They have done a fair bit of construction work on either side of those 2 roads in the last few years, but the canal in the middle still looks fairly dilapidated (as if no work has been done on it for years)

That's the place - dodgy to get down to - especially if it was wet weather . We spent half of a whole summer down there one year tryimg to see how far in we could get . We'd get in a piece of the way , then one of us would get scared and we'd all come running out . Must have taken us a couple of weeks to get as far as we could . From memory it split in 2 just before we got to where it was blocked off . Fun times - oh to be young again .