Restoration of miller’s cottage could spur Tuam heritage trail

The restoration of an old miller’s cottage in Tuam should provide the opportunity to develop a heritage trail in this part of the town.

But disappointment has been expressed that there are no plans to replace the concrete slabs that linked Shop Street to where the old miller’s cottage is located.

The millar’s cottage is a focal point in Tuam but the rear part of it was removed to facilitate the construction of the town’s inner relief road.

However, there are now works taking place to have this part of the building restored and it is expected that this will be completed in a matter of months.

Local independent councillor Shaun Cunniffe took issue all along with its demolition as only the façade remained in place. He is demanding that it be replaced with cut stone.

The majority of the cottage was demolished during the construction of the inner relief road in Tuam, but since then it has not been restored.

The rear of the building was demolished as part of the works and there are now demands that it be put back together again.

It is a major focal point in the town and its restoration has been promised by a local supermarket owner who obtained planning permission late last year for the development.

The building was to be used as a venue for the Old Tuam Society and Tuam Tidy Towns while a conservation expert would be employed to monitor the works during the reconstruction phase.

The miller’s cottage, which was part of the old Garvey’s Mill, is one of the main historical points in Tuam.

It is one of the few remaining water powered corn mills in the West of Ireland. It closed as a working mill in 1964 having been operating since the 1830s.

“I welcome the rebuilding that has begun on the miller’s cottage and look forward to its completion and I believe that this is the ideal time to replace the concrete slabs that were put there during the road construction.

“It will be a missed opportunity not to replace these slabs with a suitable stone wall perhaps with small railings on top like the original structure.

“This would greatly improve this area and I am urging the council not to let this opportunity pass when construction work is ongoing in this area.

“I have asked over and over again to have these replaced and I genuinely believed, as indicated to me, that these slabs would be replaced,” Cllr. Cunniffe added.