|
CROOKSTOWN MILL
Crookstown Corn
Mill lies in the Greese Valley close to the Quaker Village of Ballitore.
The mill was built in 1840 of local limestone by a large landowner John Bonham, and the
first tenant of the mill was Edward Morrin.
It is recorded that it was most profitable during the famine years, and very little
emigration or starvation occurred in this area during that sad period in our
history. The mill has three millstones and a drying kiln.
Beside the millwheel is a spring well which has never been known to run dry.
Due to its high mineral content, the well attracted people from miles around to
partake of its health giving qualities.
The last miller, Paddy Fleming, who has a horn pipe named after him, held dancing classes
in the upper floors of the grain store. The mill has now been converted to an
historical and heritage centre with unusual and interesting displays of industrial
archaeology.
MULLAGHMAST RING FORT
Between Crookstown and
Ardscull lies The Rath of Mullaghmast, a complex of earthworks, ring forts, barrows and a
standing stone. In 1577, the O'Dempseys massacred their rivals here, and in 1843,
Daniel O' Connell addressed a meeting on the rath for a repeal of the Act Of Union (1801)
between the Irish and British Parliaments. In tradition, the Wizard Earl of Kildare
was said to have been buried under the rath, and his ghost was believed to emerge from
time to time. |