Stella Power Design

Milling has always played a prominent part in the history of Kells, the first known mill existing at the time of Baron Geoffrey FitzRobert de Marisco around the 1170s. At one point there were 16 mills in operation on a 5 mile stretch of the Kings River.

One of these mills has been restored and is open to the public. This is Mullins Mill and it currently houses a Mill Museum.

It has the distinction of being situated on the site of the first mill to serve the priory in the 1170s. The mill was named after the Mullins family who took over the operations around 1782 after another venture, a timber mill in Ennisnag, was destroyed by flooding. A flax mill was set up adjacent to the grain mill as flax was a popular and valuable crop at the time. However, after penal trade laws were imposed on Ireland following the Act of Union in 1800, the flax industry collapsed and the mill fell into ruin. The thatched cottage over the road from the mill was the Mullins family home and it was from here that they ran the mill until 1965 when the last of the Mullins died. The mill operated for one more year before closing for good.

A4 Glossy Print