Mill — Collooney

Not included in the SMR (1989) but listed in the RMP (1995) and classified 'Mill'. On the E bank of the Owenmore river, on the N side of Collooney. Most of the mill complex is demolished though the remains of wheel-pits and arched headraces and tailraces are evident. Some ancillary late 19th-century mill buildings remain, the main blocks are around and attached to a church and graveyard (SL020-203001- and SL020-203002-) on the E side of the cleared yard. The ruins of late 18th-century buildings on the river front and to one side of the lumber yard were noted during a previous inspection in 1992 (SMR (1989) file). A substantial bleach mill complex still stands on the opposite bank of the river (see SL020-272----). According to local information, both mills were owned by the Sims family. Valuation Office Mill Books recorded Alex Sims as the miller of a flour mill in Collooney, powered by a waterwheel (diam. 36ft [10.97m]; breath 8ft [2.43m]), which turned six pairs of stones (Hogg 1998, 108). According to Wood-Martin (1882, 240), Collooney mills 'occupy the site of a much older concern'. This mill is probably post-1700 AD in date. Compiled by: Archaeological Survey Unit, UCC Date of upload: 12 December 2011