Milltown Malbay

Milltown Malbay Sráid na Cathrach
—  Town  —
Milltown Malbay Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 52°51′N 9°24′W / 52.85°N 9.4°W / 52.85; -9.4Coordinates: 52°51′N 9°24′W / 52.85°N 9.4°W / 52.85; -9.4
Country	Ireland
Province	Munster
County	County Clare
Elevation	20 m (70 ft)
Population (2011)
• Town	1,580
• Urban	575
Time zone	WET (UTC+0)
• Summer (DST)	IST (WEST) (UTC-1)
Irish Grid Reference	R054791

Milltown Malbay (Irish: Sráid na Cathrach, meaning "street of the stone ringfort")^[1] is a town and parish in the west of County Clare, Ireland, near Spanish Point.

Name

There is a townland on the southern edge of the town called Poulawillin or Pollawillin (from Irish: Poll a' Mhuillinn, meaning "hole/pool of the mill"). There is evidence that this name was once applied to the town – for example, in the Parish Namebook of the Ordnance Survey (1839) there is a reference to "Baile an Mhuillinn anciently Poll a’ Mhuillinn, Milltown Malbay".^[1]

Malbay is the name of the bay to the west of Milltown. The name Malbay is thought to come from the Irish meall-bhaigh, which roughly means "treacherous coast". It could also stem from the legend of the witch "Mal" who was drowned in the bay by Fionn mac Cumhaill.^{[citation needed]}

Business

The main sources of employment in the area are tourism & hospitality, construction and agriculture.

The town has thirteen pubs and 5 hairdresser/barber's shop. Other businesses are, amongst others, four supermarkets, a hostel, a hardware shop, a bank, a post office, a bridal shop, a bookmaker's office, a Chinese restaurant/takeaway, a pizzeria, a clothes shop, a surf shop and a photo studio. There are two pharmacies and two restaurants in the town. Lyons Travel is the main coach hire business in the area.

There are two large hotels in the parish, the Armada Hotel and The Bellbridge Hotel. There are numerous B & Bs in Milltown and its surrounding area.

Transport

Milltown Malbay was served by the West Clare Railway, which operated from the 2 July 1887 and finally closed on 1 February 1961.^[2]

Spanish Point Airfield

Spanish Point Airfield is a privately owned airfield between Milltown Malbay and Spanish Point. The airfield, located on Sandhill Road in the townland Leagard South, was established by three local pilots in 1991, and the original clubhouse was opened by then Irish Minister for Defense Mr. Brendan Daly that year.

The airfield has a single 580m grass runway (coded: 24/06), that is serviceable for approximately 10 months of the year. It has a clubhouse and hangarage for a number of aircraft. It also possesses two landing pads for rotary winged aircraft. The airfield is mainly used by small aircraft, microlights and helicopters.^{[citation needed]}

Education

There are 4 primary schools and 1 secondary school in the parish. The primary schools are Milltown Malbay National School (in town), Rockmount National School (N.S.), Rineen N.S. and Moy N.S. (gaelscoil). The secondary school is St Joseph's Secondary School, Spanish Point. St Joseph's draws pupils from the parishes of Milltown Malbay, Kilmurry Ibrickane, Doonbeg, Inagh and Cooraclare.

Oidhreacht an Chláir Teo

Oidhreacht an Chláir Teo (English: Clare Institute for Traditional Studies) is a research institution located on Flag Road. Its main field of work is research and stimulation of the traditional culture in County Clare.

Oidhreacht an Chláir Teo tries to reach her goals by the following ways:

^[3]

The main target of the Institute are researchers, local people and students.^[4]

GAA

Milltown is home to St. Joseph's Miltown Malbay GAA Club, Clonbony GAA club and Moy GAA club. St. Joseph's are the only senior team in the parish. They have won the County Clare Senior Football Championship on 12 occasions with the latest win in 1990. It has teams in Senior, Junior A, U21, U18, U16, U14, U12, U10 and U8. It also has ladies' teams with Senior, Junior, Minor, U16 and U14.

Willie Clancy

The town is home to the annual Willie Clancy Summer School and Festival. The Willie Clancy Summer School (Irish Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy) is Ireland's largest traditional music summer school^[5] held annually since 1973 in memory of and to honour the uilleann piper Willie Clancy.

History

Aerial view of Milltown Malbay from the Northwest

The town has only existed since about 1800 but grew rapidly: by 1821 it had a population of 600. During the Great Famine (1844 - 1848) many farmers were evicted by the unpopular landlord Moroney. In the years after the famine the (protestant) Moroney family went on with rack renting and evictions. At one time the population had enough and started a boycott. The government did not like that and imprisoned al pub-owners and shopkeepers who refused to serve the family or their servant. So at the end of 1888 most pub-owners and shopkeepers were in jail.^[6]

Milltown is also home to the site of the Rineen Ambush which is located near Rineen on the main road to Lahinch and Ennistymon. On September 22, 1920 a RIC tender was ambushed there by Mid-Clare Brigade IRA mainly in retaliation for the killing of Martin Devitt at Crow's Bridge earlier in the year. The ambush led to the deaths of six policemen. In reprisal for Rineen Ambush, the RIC ran amok in Ennistymon, Lahinch and Milltown Malbay killing six people and burning 26 buildings, including Ennistymon and Lahinch Townhalls.

The Atlantic Hotel was one of the victims of the War of Independence. Owned by the Moroney family and mainly visited by English gentry it had no future and closed down around 1925.^[7]

Population

The town had a population of 575 according to the 2011 Census. Including the rural area around the town it counts 1,580 inhabitants.^[8]

Notable people

• Aindrias Mac Cruitín (Andrew MacCurtin) (c.1670–1738) - poet and scribe.
• Dr. Patrick Hillery - President of Ireland 1976-1990, was born at Spanish Point near Milltown Malbay in 1923.
• Matthew Joseph Kenny - lawyer and politician
• Chief Superintendent Anthony McMahon - founder and former head of the Murder Squad of An Garda Siochana and Irish Liaison to Interpol was born in Milltown Malbay. He was responsible for the hiring of the country's first State Pathologist, Dr John Harbison.
• Seán Óg - Singer and musician
• Colonel Noel S. Walsh (1935) was Commanding Officer of the First Battalion of the Irish Army and former Chairman of the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association

musicians and singers

• Willie Clancy - (1918–1973), uilleann piper
• Junior Crehan - fiddler player
• Kitty Hayes - concertina player
• Nonie Lynch - traditional singer

Trivia

• In 2009 Andrea Corr from The Corrs got married to Brett Desmond in St. Joseph's Church.

Gallery

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• List of Irish Towns with a Market House

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Placenames Database of Ireland: Milltown Malbay/Sráid na Cathrach
2. ^ "Miltown Malbay station". Railscot - Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf. Retrieved 2007-11-04. 
3. ^ About OaC
4. ^ About OaC
5. ^ Festival in danger due to cutbacks Last visited 21-11-2009.
6. ^ Milltown Malbay Historical Background
7. ^ Paddy Casey, lecture for the "Kilfarboy Historical Society, 13-10-2009.
8. ^ Population and Actual and Percentage Change 2006 and 2011 by Electoral Division, Statistical Indicator and Year Last visited 23 April 2012.
9. ^ For 1653 and 1659 figures from Civil Survey Census of those years, Paper of Mr Hardinge to Royal Irish Academy March 14, 1865.
10. ^ Census for post 1821 figures.
11. ^ http://www.histpop.org
12. ^ http://www.nisranew.nisra.gov.uk/census
13. ^ Lee, JJ (1981). "On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses". In Goldstrom, J. M.; Clarkson, L. A.. Irish Population, Economy, and Society: Essays in Honour of the Late K. H. Connell. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press. 
14. ^ Mokyr, Joel; O Grada, Cormac (November 1984). "New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700-1850". The Economic History Review 37 (4): 473–488. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0289.1984.tb00344.x. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120035880/abstract 

v t e Places in County Clare County town: Ennis Towns Ennis Kilkee Kilrush Shannon Villages Ardnacrusha Aughinish Ballynacally Ballyvaughan Barefield Bodyke Bridgetown Broadford Cahiracon Carrigaholt Clarecastle Clonlara Cloonanaha Connolly Cooraclare Coore Corofin Cratloe Cree Cross Crusheen Doolin Doonaha Doonbeg Ennistymon Fanore Feakle Hurlers Cross Inagh Ivarstown Kilbaha Kildysart Kilfenora Kilkishen Killaloe Killimer Kilmihil Kilnamona Knock Labasheeda Lahinch Liscannor Lisdoonvarna Lisseycasey Meelick Milltown Malbay Mountshannon Mullagh Murroogh Newmarket-on-Fergus O'Brien's Bridge O'Callaghans Mills Parteen Quilty Quin Ruan Scarriff Sixmilebridge Spancill Hill Spanish Point Tuamgraney Tulla Whitegate Townlands Ardsallis Ballaghline Burren Coolmeen Deer Island Drumcliff Inis Cathaig (or Scattery Island) Ogonnelloe Tullig Baronies Bunratty Lower Bunratty Upper Burren Clonderalaw Corcomroe Ibrickan Inchiquin Islands Moyarta Tulla Lower Tulla Upper List of townlands in County Clare Category:Mountains and hills of County Clare Category:Rivers of County Clare Category:Geography of County Clare