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The Great Windmill of Skerries has been dominating the town skyline for 200 years while its older and smaller 400 year old companion has been less prominent.
One night in 1844 a storm blew up and the 4 sails of the Great Windmill began to spin out of control . The build- up of heat, caused by friction, resulted in the roof and sails catching fire. The conflagration was seen for miles around and was compared to a "Catherine wheel" by the townspeople.
The windmill was repaired, this time with five sails and a galvanised tin roof to replace the previous wooden one. The interior was fitted with two sets of millstones & a sack hoist. A tail-pole , attached to the roof, was used to turn the windmill sails so that they faced into the wind direction of the day.
Both windmills were abandoned in the early 1900s as the Mill bakery found it more economical to use flour produced by a modern mill, e.g. Bolands in Dublin. The bakery itself was shut down after a disastrous fire in 1986 and lay abandoned to the elements for some years.
It was not until the mid 1990s that both windmills were rescued from dereliction as part of the general Mills restoration project undertaken by Dublin Co.Council, FAS , (the state training agency ) and local Skerries community associations. The older mill received a new thatched roof and a set of four canvas covered sails, while the Great Windmill was given a copper roof and five sails, each fitted out with louvre doors which could be opened and closed to suit weather conditions.
1999 saw the re-opening of Skerries Mills to the public as a heritage site providing guided tours, restaurant, craft shop, exhibition area , musical and cultural events. All went well until the 6th Dec 2006. On that day hurricane-force wind gusts swept through the Dublin Fingal area causing damage and upsetting operations at the airport. They also closed down the great windmill after two sails cracked at their bases and were left trailing from their stabilising cables, threatening to tear off the entire roof.
The Mills staff had to hastily go aloft in the teeth of the storm and lash down the broken sails , not an easy task. It was not until after Christmas that work on the repairs started.
Scarce antique pitch pine was the timber of choice. This was eventually sourced from a Tipperary timber merchant who had imported the wood from Scotland. Five 35 foot beams were purchased (three for spares) and transported to Skerries where work began in the Mills maintenance workshop on shaping, morticing, cutting etc. The three remaining sails on the windmill had already been fitted with a temporary brace as the whole structure was out of balance. By the end of April the the two new beams were lifted by crane and bolted onto their newly re-inforced mountings.
At the time of writing (May 23rd 2007) the new beams have had the framework for the louvre sail doors attached, the work being done by Fingal County Council workers ,Eric and Tom, with the aid of a mechanical "cherry picker". They are currently painting the woodwork with three coats of preservative. When dry, the louvre doors (taken off the damaged sails) will be re-fitted and at the same time some of the older ones which are rather the worse for wear will be replaced.
Hopefully the great windmill will once again be in full flight on the hill above the mill next June, a sight that has, in the past, caused many a passing traveller to stop in Skerries town to investigate further.
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