Milltown Malbay

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".

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.

History

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 all 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.

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

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

Business

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

The town has thirteen pubs and five hairdresser/barber's shop. Other businesses are, amongst others, five supermarkets, a hostel, a hardware shop, a bank, a post office, a bridal shop, a bookmaker's office, a pizzeria/take-away, a clothes shop, a surf shop and a photo studio. There are two pharmacies and two restaurants in the town.

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

Culture

There are 4 primary schools and 1 secondary school in the surrounding townlands. 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.

The town is in the parish of Kilfarboy in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe, which covers Milltown Malbay and Moy. Parish churches are St Joseph's in Milltown Malbay and St Mary's in Moy.

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 establishment of an institute for education in the traditional culture of Clare, directed primarily towards the higher education and lifelong learning sectors; the provision of a permanent, easily accessible, archive and library for material relevant to the traditional arts in general and, in particular, to the abundant material of local relevance; the provision of a performance centre and associated facilities. The main target of the Institute are researchers, local people and students.

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 held annually since 1973 in memory of and to honour the uilleann piper Willie Clancy.

GAA

Milltown is home to St. Joseph's Milltown Malbay GAA, Clonbony GAA and Moy GAA. St. Joseph's are the only senior team in the parish. They have won the County Clare Senior Football Championship on 13 occasions with the latest win in 2015. 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.

Notable people

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.

Trivia