The visitor to Newmills, in Letterkenny, County Donegal, can experience the pleasure of seeing one of the largest water wheels in Ireland in action as it drives the machinery of the cornmill.
One of the few monuments of industrial archaeology in state care in the Republic is the complex of mills at Newmills, three miles west of Letterkenny in County Donegal.
The oldest surviving building here is said to be 400 years old. Indeed, the whole complex is an interesting reminder of a stage in the industrial development of this country which has now given way to a more sophisticated but usually far less fascinating technology.
The complex of industrial buildings includes both corn and flax mills powered by the river Swilly. The visitor to Newmills can experience the pleasure of seeing one of the largest waterwheels in Ireland in action.
