Crookstown Index


CROOKSTOWN MILL
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.

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