Milltown, County Cavan

Milltown () is a population centre and townland in County Cavan, Ireland. The Milltown catchment area, including Milltown Electoral Division, comprises several neighboring townlands within the historical barony of Loughtee Lower and the civil parish of Drumlane.

Name

Milltown derives from the Irish ''Baile an Mhuilinn'', meaning 'town of the mill'. In late medieval times, the area around Drumlane was referred to in the annals as ''An Bolgan'' (meaning 'belly'). During the 19th-century survey of County Cavan, by John O'Donavan, it was noted that the village of Milltown was called 'Bellanaleck' (from ''Beal Atha Na Leice'', meaning 'mouth of the ford of the flagstone'); There are no other records in County Cavan with this name.

History

The ''Archaeological Inventory of County Cavan'' notes "(507) Derrygeeraghan", a raised circular ringfort (rath) area with two substantial earthen banks and a wide deep fosse dating from earlier medieval times.

The earliest recorded mention of Milltown is found in the register of deeds dated to 1725. It refers to a "house and farm commonly known and referred to as Milltown situated in the parish of Drumlane and County of Cavan and the mill and other appurtenances there onto belonging". The mill referred to may have been located across the road from the present day community centre.

Miltown village is from the town of Killeshandra on the R201 road. Milltown is near Ardan Lough and Drumlane Lough and is known for Drumlane Monastery, a twelfth-century Augustinian St Mary priory church and round tower, located one kilometer south of the village.

Historic Ordnance Survey maps of the Milltown area, dating to around 1837, show a Roman Catholic chapel and a National School House within the townlands of Milltown and Money ''(Monea)''. The Griffith Valuation survey of tenement dwellings, which was carried out in 1856/7, shows the village predominantly formed part of the Earl Annesley estate. Annesley was then "County Cavan's second biggest landholder". Other parts of Milltown village were under other landlords and freeholders. Later Ordnance Survey maps, produced between 1888-1913, show a range of buildings including a school, blacksmith forge, the Catholic church, parochial house and a temperance hall. The original parish of Drumlane RC Church in Milltown consisted of a thatched, barn-shaped structure described in records as a "humble shed". The present St Patrick's RC Church in Milltown dates from 1868 and was designed by William Hague.

At the time of the Great Famine (), it was reported that the parish population stood at around 400 persons and there was opposition locally to the building of a fever hospital in the village, then built at the townland Milltown/Monea crossroads. The 1901 and 1911 census lists between 83 and 93 people living in the village.

The earliest Milltown school house, within the townland of Monea dates from around 1824 and was probably multi-denominational under the original free national schools programme for children's education. A report published in 1826, for the ''Commission of Irish Education Enquiry'', recorded that the teacher was Edward Roden and that there were forty pupils. A new school opened in 1863 on a site bought for the local parish.

By the end of the 19th century, there were several local businesses including shops and a public house. The village was reported as having two other ale houses and included a cooper and carpentry business, police barracks, a post office and several houses with slate roofs. The Temperance Hall opened in 1906 and grew to over 200 members, until the building was destroyed maliciously by fire in 1921. A replacement hall was built in 1939 and functioned until it was demolished in 2003 to make way for a new community centre which was officially opened in 2005. This centre includes a Gaelic games sports grounds and space for a community garden.

The dairy industry has historically had a presence in the local area. The Milltown Branch Creamery (now closed) operated for most of the 20th century as a collection point for local farmers milk delivered in churns (cans) for processing at Killeshandra Co-op Creamery into butter and other dairy products. A local farmer, Anthony Leddy (1930-2004), was national president of the Irish Creamery Milk Supplier Association (ICMSA) between 1978-1981.

Classification and development

Milltown was classified as a "rural community node" under the settlement hierarchy of the Cavan County Development Plan 2022-2028. https://www.cavancoco.ie/file-library/planning/development-plans/development-plan-2022-2028/written-statement/cdp-written-statement.pdf Although not classified as a "village", the core settlement plays a role in serving the economic, social, cultural and community needs for its residents and those living in the hinterland. Milltown is close to the UNESCO designated Cuilcagh Lakelands Global Geopark.

Community and sport

The Drumlane Community Partnership CLG, registered as a charity, aims to support the voluntary welfare and cultural needs of the local community across all denominational age groups for residents and visitors with a range of indoor and outdoors activities.

Milltown is home to Drumlane GAA club. The club fields ladies, men's and juvenile teams. Its pitch, club house and stand is located on the outskirts of the village.

Further reading

* Census 1901 and 1911 for Milltown a
census.nationalarchives.ie
* Griffith Valuations (1847-1864) for Milltown a
askaboutireland.ie
* ''Our Sacred Spaces'', a book written locally to commemorate St Patrick's (RC) Church Milltown 1868-2018 & Drumlane Abbey

References

{{County Cavan

Towns and villages in County Cavan
Townlands of County Cavan