Sculptures commemorate Roscrea’s milling industry

Sculptures placed recently on the Monastery Road in Roscrea commemorate the thriving milling industry that once existed in the town.

Roscrea Tidy Towns, which has been instrumental in the initiative, says  the sculptures add so much to the town. They not only commemorate part of the history of Roscrea, but also create wonder and discussion by those who stop to appreciate them.

A number of the sculptures, donated by Jerry Cahir, had previously been placed on sites in the town, the most prominent in The Mall. Jerry also sold his artwork and donated the proceeds to both Roscrea Tidy Towns and Roscrea Hospice.

This year, the last of Jerry’s sculptures has been installed on the Monastery Road. These two sculptures commemorate the contribution to society of the various mills throughout the locality, but especially the Monastery Mill.  They were enabled by the generous donations of a millwheel and augers by local millers whose mills have survived through the ages.

HISTORY OF MILLING

The importance of the flour milling industry in the fabric of Roscrea cannot be overlooked.

Kathleen Moloughney, in her books ‘Roscrea, Me Darlin’ (1987) and ‘Roscrea, My Heart’s Home’ (1992), records that there were as many as 14 mills in the locality, making a large contribution to the local economy with their labour-intensive production.

She further records that not only was the locality largely dependent on them for employment, but also a large range of craftsmen who were sub-contractors - carpenters, blacksmiths, coopers, farmers, together with labourers - all contributed to the production of flour etc.  The sourcing of cheaper American flour in the late 19th century was a death blow to many of the mills, causing their closure and contributing to the mass migration of many Roscrea labourers and craftsmen to seek work abroad.

The location of the sculptures outside Mount Dudley is most significant - the road here is properly called Mill Road. Across the road from Mount Dudley, where the water treatment plant is now located, was the site of Bunnow Mills, a large mill in the 1800s that gave the road its name.  There was no road to the monastery - this was only constructed in the late 19th century following the arrival of the monks to Roscrea.

The sculpture is in two parts - one is an actual millstone - donated by Barry Liffey of Liffey Mills - from the old mill - quite possibly one of the monastic mill’s original stones, while the other is a complementary construction by Jerry using three augers - donated by Ivan Hastings of Hastings Mill, Abbey Street, which were used to transport the grain horizontally from one area to another.

To these Jerry has added three heads that he has sculpted to represent the monastic millers. In constructing this sculpture, Jerry wanted to acknowledge the work of the monks in Mount St Joseph and to commemorate their generosity.  He also wanted to put on record their famous Abbey Bread.

MONKS’ BREAD

Some people will probably remember the loaves which the monks produced and sold to the public. This operation was discontinued in the not too distant past, but has recently been revived by Manus Heenan, a formerstudent at Mount St Joseph, who won the Overall National Student Enterprise award 2018.

During the years 1896-2010 as many as 200 loaves were baked daily by the monks.

The installation of all of Jerry’s sculptures was completed by Roscrea Community Forum Workers under the supervision of Mr Paddy Reidy.  Because they had become rusty, the sculptures were painted by the CE workers before being transported to and installed at their various locations.

This current installation represents not only the monastic and other millers and workers, but is also a true community co-operative effort with the donations of the artifacts from local mills, the unique sculpture construction by Jerry Cahir for Roscrea’s enhancement and the installation work by Roscrea Tidy Towns Section of the Community Employment Forum workers. The official launch of these sculptures took place on Thursday, January 11, 2024.

THANK YOU

Roscrea Tidy Towns would like to thank Jerry for his generous contributions over the past few years.  We also wish to thank the Sharpe family, outside whose property they stand, for their support in allowing the installation to take place. We also wish to acknowledge the Trojan work completed by Roscrea Community Employment Forum workers under the supervision of Paddy Reidy.  We would especially like to thank both Ivan Hastings and Barry Liffey - owners of the two still existing mills in the area - for their donations of the artifacts.