Often referred to locally as Uncleen's and Anteen's wood, this is a small wood on the East side of Galway City. It has some gravel trails that you can walk and ample parking at the entrance for a few cars.
At the GZ you will find a large crater measuring approx. 40-50ft across and 25-30ft deep. What caused the crater is often disputed, accounts and different maps often refer to it as a cave.
My favourite explanation is that it was caused by a shell from a British Navy ship in 1915. Looking at the crater suggests it is the wrong shape to be caused by an explosion above ground, and mapping evidence suggests it was there before 1913. However the below is a quote from the HM Forces UK website.
“The ninth HMS Gloucester was a Town Class Light Cruiser launched in 1909. During WWI she saw action in the Mediterranean and at the Battle of Jutland. She was also deployed to the west coast of Ireland in April 1916 where she engaged targets around Galway during the Easter Rising. Gloucester was scrapped in May 1921.”
It may be further supported by Thomas Hynes' witness statement from Bureau of Military History Collection, describing activity in Galway around the Easter Rising.
“George Nicolls, Tommy flanagan, Johnny Faller, Seamus Carter, Frank Hardiman, Pardraic O Maille and Professor Steingeberger, U.C.G. (Professor Steingeberger was a German Professor of Languages) - they were bundled off to a destroyer in Galway Bay somewhere near the Lighthouse. (It was the same ship that shelled Castlegar from the Bay)”
Whatever you choose to believe enjoy the walk in the woods, and a little speculation as to what caused the crater.