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| © Eugene Brennan |
Reading about the demise of Odlums Mill in Sallins and commencement of demolition work last month led me down a rabbit hole to this 2019 article from The Irish Times. Apparently, according to the article, there were 900 mills still in operation in Ireland in the 1940s. In the Kilcullen region alone, there were around seven mills operating at various periods over the centuries: a corn mill just north of the bridge in the town itself, which was demolished in the 80s, two more at Carnalway/Harristown, one on the Mill Stream at New Abbey and another in Mile Mill in the field behind The Mill pub. At Ardenode between Kilcullen and Ballymore, there was a mill on the Toor Brook, a tributary of the Liffey. There was also of course the large woollen mill in Ballymore Eustace and water powered cotton factory at Inchaquire (located on the left side of the road, between the two turns for Colbinstown), both of which employed hundreds of people.