Clonmoyle Mill was a watermill in the townland of Clonmoyle East, situated south-east of

Aghabullogue Aghabullogue or Aghabulloge () is a village and parish in the barony of Muskerry East in northwest County Cork, Ireland. It lies around west of Cork City, south of the Boggeragh Mountains and north of the River Lee. The parish of Aghabullogue ...

village and north-east of Coachford village. The ''Archaeological Inventory of County Cork'' (1997) describes it as a (now roofless and without floors) mid to late nineteenth century corn mill, rectangular, four-storey, with a three bay entrance front, and located on the western bank of the Dripsey River. Access to the third floor of the mill was gained from a 'modernized residential house' via a stone platform and cement bridge. A wheel pit housed a cast-iron suspension water wheel with a diameter of 4.9 metres, and inscribed 'J. Steel and Sons, Vulcan Foundry, Cork'. A pinion-wheel, via a pit-wheel within the mill, powered two line shafts, which in turn powered two pairs of French burr

millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...

s on the first floor. A similar gable-ended structure was attached to the mill north wall, with intact roof and floors, but in poor condition. Foundation blocks for machinery remained on the ground floor, but all gearing and machinery had been removed, with a

Crossley Crossley, based in Manchester, United Kingdom, was a pioneering company in the production of internal combustion engines. Since 1988 it has been part of the Rolls-Royce Power Engineering group. More than 100,000 Crossley oil and gas engines ...

Engine lying discarded to the north. Clonmoyle Mill is not depicted on the 1841 surveyed OS Map, nor mentioned in Ordnance Survey name books, and would appear to be of later construction. It exists by the mid-nineteenth century, as the Primary Valuation of Ireland (

Griffith's Valuation Griffith's Valuation was a boundary and land valuation survey of Ireland completed in 1868. Griffith's background Richard John Griffith started to value land in Scotland, where he spent two years in 1806-1807 valuing terrain through the examinati ...

) records a Hamilton as occupier of a 'Flour Mill' in Clonmoyle, with the buildings valued at £34, and the Lessor being Jonathan Bruce. This is the same Jonathan Bruce who was then occupier of nearby

Clonmoyle House Clonmoyle House was a English country house, country house in the townland of Clonmoyle East, situated south-east of Aghabullogue village and north-east of Coachford village. The house and demesne was one of several eighteenth and nineteenth c ...

, leased from Charles Colthurst. On the 1901 surveyed OS Map, it is depicted as 'Clonmoyle Mill (Corn)', with a nearby footbridge,

sluice Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

to the Dripsey River and mill race originating to the north near

Luskin's Bridge Luskin's Bridge is situated north-east of Coachford village, County Cork, Ireland, south-east of Aghabullogue village, and is depicted on both the 1841 and 1901 surveyed OS maps. It is located at the meeting point of Clonmoyle East townla ...

. The Irish Tourist Association survey of 1944 confirms

as the residence of Mrs Young, who also 'owned nearby Clonmoyle Flour Mills'. A separate survey entry is contained for Clonmoyle Flour Mills, giving the company name of 'John Young and Sons Limited, Clonmoyle, Coachford', which company appears to exist to this day. The survey states that numerous mills were erected around the

Great Famine (Ireland) The Great Famine ( ga, an Gorta Mór ), also known within Ireland as the Great Hunger or simply the Famine and outside Ireland as the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a h ...

period to meet increased demand for the processing of

Indian meal Cornmeal is a meal (coarse flour) or a cell membrane ground from dried corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies, but not as fine as wheat flour can be.Herbst, Sharon, ''Food Lover's Companion'', ...

and it was thought Clonmoyle Mill was built for this reason as between 1847 and 1854. The exact year of construction was uncertain, but a grinding stone, said to be a replacement from another mill, bore the date 1856. Clonmoyle Mill was said to have first been operated by 'Charles Colthurst of Ballyvourney' and that methods introduced by him were still followed in 1944, and the mill independently operated, some ninety years later. Wheat was kiln dried in the loft, heated through a perforated floor, and then ground into flour by stone rollers driven from the mill wheel. The older milling method employed was said to be preferred. Oats and barley were also ground for the feeding of cattle, pigs and poultry. Visitors were admitted to the mill, free of charge, but at their own risk. O'Donoghue (1986) refers to 'flour mills' located at the eastern side of Clonmoyle East, which were by then disused. Today, Clonmoyle Mill is in a ruinous condition and its surroundings neglected.

References

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External links

acrheritage.info
Watermills in the Republic of Ireland