Deirdre McQuillan: A recent tour of the mill in the Vale of Avoca with guide Allan O’Neill was a fascinating insight into the mill’s history, workmanship and design. He explained how in the 1800s Avoca, with one of the biggest open cast mines in Europe, was a vibrant community mining copper, zinc, lead and gold. The mill was the nucleus of the village and many of the mine workers were spare-time weavers, using wool from local sheep to clothe their families and later making army blankets in white, grey or red.
