Survey Data
Reg No
30407012
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Social
Original Use
Handball alley
Date
1950 - 1955
Coordinates
137274, 233216
Date Recorded
30/10/2009
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached handball alley, dated 1953, now disused. Rectangular plan with concrete walls, side walls sloping up towards playing wall, and rear and sloping walls having concrete buttresses to exterior face. Three-bay single-storey roofless lean-to structure to rear. Later concrete block wall to east, entrance, end with square-headed doorway. Remains of iron posts to top of rear and side walls. Set back from road with fieldstone boundary wall to road and adjacent fields.
Appraisal
Handball was once a commonly played sport throughout Ireland and promoted by the Gaelic Athletic Association. Alleys could be found in most villages and towns and were a social gathering point for the local community. Although no longer in use, this hand ball alley is relatively intact and contributes to the streetscape of Claregalway as well as to the social heritage of the area.