Blennerville Windmill

The mill was built around 1800 by Sir Rowland Blennerhassett to grind grain, worked commercially until the 1880s, and then fell derelict for a century - by the 1980s it was a roofless stump. It was restored between 1981 and 1990 and now works again, grinding on demand, at about twenty-one metres the tallest working windmill in Ireland and among the tallest in these islands. The quay beside it matters as much as the building. Blennerville was Tralee's port, and in the Famine years thousands emigrated from here; the Jeanie Johnston, a barque built in Quebec and sailing from this quay to North America between 1848 and 1855, made sixteen crossings without losing a passenger or crew member, which was exceptional for the period. A replica was built in Blennerville in the 1990s and is now moored in Dublin. The visitor centre covers milling and the emigration story.

History

The mill was built in 1800 by order of Sir Rowland Blennerhassett, with two pairs of French burr millstones, and it ground grain for local people and for export to Great Britain. It stands 21.30 metres high over five floors (Wikipedia, Blennerville Windmill).

The main sights

• The working mill - twenty-one metres, restored and grinding again.
• The machinery - the millstones and gearing, on the internal floors.
• The emigration quay - where the Jeanie Johnston sailed from.
• The visitor centre - milling and the Famine emigration history.

When to go

April to October; the mill is seasonal and closed in winter. The sails turn when wind and staffing allow, not on demand. Allow an hour or two.

Things to know

Seasonal opening. The internal stairs are steep and narrow between floors. The sails do not always turn. The Jeanie Johnston replica is in Dublin, not here.

Nearby

Tralee is east; Ardfert and Banna Strand are north-west.

Key facts