By Róise Collins
CALLS have been made to extend the visiting season at Newmills Corn and Flax Mill on the outskirts of Letterkenny.
A local to the area Councillor Donal ‘Mandy’ Kelly has requested that Donegal County Council engage with the Office Public Works (OPW) to extend the current visiting season at the popular tourist attraction.
He said the current visitor season which runs from the middle of June to the start of October every year is “far too short”.
“The facility should be opened from the spring right through to the end of October, if not into November.”
During a recent visit Patrick O’Donovan, the Junior Minister from the Department of Tourism, said that if the footfall increased they could explore increasing funding to the facility.
Cllr Kelly advocated that if the season was extended then this would offer an opportunity to increase footfall, whilst also offering “great potential” for tourism and school tours.
He passionately spoke about what he described as a “fabulous facility on the banks of the Swilly”.
The mill had been an important element of the local economy for centuries with the oldest surviving building dating back 400 years ago.
The first mill at the site appeared in the early 19th century and provided crucial supplies to the linen industry, the backbone of Ulster’s economy at the time.
The original waterwheel that drove the corn mill is one of the largest working waterwheels in the country.
Cllr Kelly’s motion at Tuesday’s meeting was seconded by Mayor of the Letterkenny-Milford Municipal District, Cllr Kevin Bradley.
He said he was embarrassed to admit that he only recently visited the facility for the first time.
Cllr Bradley strongly encouraged others to visit what he described as a “brilliant” attraction which is right at our doorstep in Letterkenny.
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