Forristal’s Mill of Graiguenakill, Glenmore

Danny Dowling interviewed Nicholas Forristal, of the Mill, Graiguenakill concerning the mill twice in 1957 and once in 1979. Danny also interviewed Nicky’s son, Patrick Forristal in 1984. Throughout the greater Glenmore area Nicholas was referred to as Nicky the Miller and his son was known as Paddy the Miller.

The corn mill at Graiguenakill was built in 1813 or 1814 by a man named Murphy. He had £1200 and he spent the entire sum building the mill, farmyard and premises and equipping the mill. When it was completed the landlord raised the rent both on the mill and the farmyard and premises. Unfortunately, Murphy was not doing well and coupled with the raising of the rent Murphey had to leave. Although Paddy the Miller identified Mackessy of Waterford as the landlord, last week Danny stated that he is not certain that Mackessy was the landlord in the early part of the 19^th century.

At one time in Glenmore three mills were being run off of the Glenmore Stream. Gaffney’s mill was in operation at the time of the 1798 Rebellion and there was a mill located upstream in Mullinahone. The Graiguenakill mill was the last mill on the stream. At least one other mill was built in the early 19^th century in Glenmore Parish. [ Correction 19 July 2020–the mill at Ballyrowrah is not in Glenmore Parish. It is in Slieverue Parish. The Mill is built very close to the border of the two parishes.] It was Donovan’s Mill at Ballyrowragh on the old Waterford to New Ross post road today generally referred to as the High Road. In the 20^th century the Creamery also operated a mill that was not dependent on water for milling.

The Graiguenakill mill was built about the same time as St. James Catholic Parish Church was being built in Robinstown’s Townland in the Village of Glenmore. The stones used to build the mill came from a quarry in nearby Ballyverneen. In 1957, Nicky the Miller stated that the stones were quarried in the cliff under Jim Linegar’s cottage in Ballyverneen. He also stated that Bridget Henneberry’s grandfather, Mártín Henneberry remembered when the mill was being built. When Mártín was a youngster he went into the Ballyverneen quarry and took a pick in his hand which he let fall on his foot putting the blade right through his foot. This very man was working in the Ballyverneen Brick Marches during the Famine and on one occasion he worked nine days with nothing to eat but green cabbage.

The man who built the mill race for the Graiguenakill mill was a man named Cleere, who was a native of Kilkenny City or near Kilkenny City. He was a mill race constructor by trade. Cleere contracted to supply water for an overshot wheel. Cleere dug and constructed the mill race from Glenmore Village, to bring the water supply to turn the mill wheel. Although the mill race constructed by Cleere was about a mile long an overshot wheel was not installed. An overshot wheel proved to be impossible because of the lowness of Glenmore. Where the mill was built in Graiguenakill was tidal. To put in an overshot wheel would have required the mill to have been built beneath the level of the stream or pill with the result it would be stopped when the tide rose to that point which would be quite often.  In the end a breast shot wheel had to do the work which was incapable of doing the same work as an over shot wheel. Failing to adhere to the terms of his contract Cleere never received any payment for his work. Nicky the Miller, identified Tommy Cleere, of Tinakilly, near New Ross as a descendent of the unpaid builder.

[A helpful reader who is a civil engineer kindly explained that a breastshot wheel is designed where the water enters the wheel usually at the level of the axis of the wheel. Breastshot water wheels were used extensively in England and Germany in the 19th and early 20th centuries. See, Muller, G.U. and Wolter, C. (2004) The breast shot water wheel: design and model tests. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Engineering Sustainability, 157 (4), 203-211 where tests in this century showed that breastshot waterwheels are an efficient and eco friendly converter of hydraulic energy with the potential for further development.]

James Cardiff a miller from Wexford came to the Graiguenakill mill. On the 28^th of September 1871 his daughter, Margaret Cardiff (c. 1853 -c 1904) married Patrick Forristal (1849-1931), a farmer from Ballyverneen. It is believed that shortly after their marriage James Cardiff and his family moved to New Ross. When his grandson, William Forristal (1881-1899) was born Patrick Forristal and his wife were residing in Graiguenakill and on William’s birth cert Patrick was listed as a farmer. By the time their son Nicholas “Nicky the Miller” Forristal (1888-1979) was born in February 1888, Patrick was listed on the birth cert as a miller and farmer. Thus by 1888 the Graiguenakill mill was being run by Patrick Forristal and the Forristals continued running the Graiguenakill mill until it closed completely in about 1958.

There were three pairs of grinding stones in the Graiguenakill mill. Two of the pairs of mill stones were for oats and a third pair was for grinding wheat and maize. Every mill stone set is made up of a bottom stone called a bedstone and the top stone of the pair is called the runner. Although the bedstone was stationary the runner rotated on a spindle that ran down through the bedstone. This spindle was embedded in a brass cup in an upright position. These stones were dressed about once a month, if working constantly. The shelling stone was a light stone about 6 feet in diameter, and about 5 inches thick. This stone was used for dehulling oats. The oatmeal stone was a grinding stone, about 5 to 6 feet in diameter, and about 6 inches or more in thickness. The above thicknesses referred to the runners.

For grinding raw corn the hard French Birr (sic) stone was used. The French Birr millstone that ended up in Nicky Forristal’s yard in Graiguenakill had an iron plague on it. Danny recorded the inscription on the plague “Millstone Balance, Patent _____, Clarke & Dunham 1859.” Nicky the Miller explained to Danny that the hard French Birr stones were imported as they were deemed the best of stones. Small stones were cut and bound together with iron hoops. According to Penn State University, The Grist Milling Process in Colonial Pennsylvania French buhr stones were very sought after and expensive. The French quarried the stones, shaped them to fit together and bound them with heavy iron bands. (For a concise explanation of how milling was performed see, Penn State, The Grist Milling Process at https://www.engr.psu.edu/mtah/articles/grist_milling_process.htm).

Although the Graiguenakill mill did not have an overshot wheel it did have something that no other mill in Glenmore Parish had; next to the Graiguenakill mill was Barron’s Quay that allowed North American maize to be landed next to the mill. According to Paddy the Miller the grain was imported by R & H Halls, of Ferrybank, who placed about 40 tons of the grain on smaller boats that could come up the pill on high tide to Barron’s Quay. The grain was stored in the mill lofts and ground as required. The ground maize was supplied to Fluskey’s and Hanrahan’s shops in Glenmore and sometimes to Doyle’s shop in Rosbercon. The maize was a great feed for all the farm animals: pigs, calves and poultry. It was boiled by the farmers into a porridge and mixed with bran or pollard.  

Paddy the Miller in an article he wrote for Glenmore Times (2000) stated that they worked from October until the end of May everyday except Sunday. His father, Nicky the Miller, told Danny that they often milled during the summer months so long as the stream allowed it. Before the grain could be ground it had to be dried. The mill had a kiln that dried the grain. The fire for the kiln had to be constantly watched from seven in the morning until ten at night when it was damped down for the night. If a farmer brought in 14 stone of oats, to be ground into meal he would bring home about 7 stone of meal because the drying and shelling removed about half of the initial weight of the oats. [For our international readers a stone is a British Imperial weight of 14 pounds.]

In the Glenmore Times (2000) article Paddy the Miller related a near fatality which occurred at the mill. A boatload of corn came to Barron’s quay and there was a rush to unload the boat. The mill was put into motion to work the hoist. When the three lofts were loaded the beams gave way and at least the top loft collapsed. A young man, John Walsh, was looking out the top loft window when the floor under him collapsed. He survived the collapse and emigrated to the US. In about 1930, John Walsh returned as a 70 year old man and visited the mill.

Between the World Wars the charges at the Graiguenakill mill was £3 per barrel for oaten or wheaten meal. During the Second World War the price increased to £5 per barrel. The last time oaten meal was ground at the Graiguenakill mill was in 1950. The mill closed completely about 1958. Nicky the Miller stated that in the last few years the mill was only used to crush oats and barley for animal feed and he ground a bit of yellow corn for Jim Fluskey.

After the mill closed Nicky the Miller and his wife continued residing in their home until their deaths. During the building of the N25, from Waterford to New Ross, in about 1994 (when the main road was removed from going past the Pink Rock) the entire Graiguenakill mill and the Forristal house were removed. Barron’s quay was also removed, but it is not known exactly when this occurred.  There are no known photos of the Graiguenakill mill but for Glenmore Times (2000)  Paddy the Miller drew a sketch of the Graiguenakill mill buildings. Today, the new Glenmore roundabout in Graiguenakill Townland, that connects the old N25 to the recently opened Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy bridge, is just north of where the Graiguenakill mill stood for about 180 years.

For further information and photos of old Irish mills and millstones etc. see, The Society for the Preservation of the Ancient and Traditional Irish Mills at https://www.millsofireland.org/ .

[Explanations above provided on 7 June 2020 after the post was initially published.]

Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh