Water mill — unclassified in Garristown

Site of a 'Mill' in the townland of Garristown that was described in the 1654-56 Civil Survey of Dublin as standing on the lands of Elizabeth Talbott of Malahide, an English Papist, which in 1641 was 'valued (as afores[ai]d) at three poundes p[er] annum' (Simington 1945, 17). The location of this watermill appears to be the same as the watermill annotated 'Bawther Mill' on Roque's 1760 map County Dublin where it is shown 1.2km to the ENE of Garristown church. A watercourse runs through the village of Garristown heading NE onto Baldwinstown Road and this form part of the watercourse associated with this 17th century mill. The location of the present road crossing the watercourse and the bend in the tail race of the watermill are clearly visible on OSi 25-inch map and on Digital Globe orthoimage taken between 2011-13. In June 1994 the Vernacular Buildings Survey of County Dublin recorded that the 'site is overgrown and no structures are visible as a result, although millrace (dry) is visible. Millwheel said locally to have been visible to about 30 years ago' (SMR File). According to folklore collected from Garristown School 'Bawther Mill' was a flax mill and that the site of this mill was 'pointed out at a place called "Bother Lane" ' (https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4428184/4384624;The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0787, Page 76). See attached section of Rocque's 1760 Map of County Dublin showing the watercourse and the location of Bawther Mill Compiled by: Geraldine Stout Updated by: Christine Baker Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 7 March 2023