Windmill Closed for Christmas

The Windmill is now closed until the New Year.

A Big Thankyou to everyone who has paid us a visit or supported us over the last year and we look forward to welcoming new & old friends in 2017.

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year to you all.

Christmas Open / Close Information 2016-17

Christmas open/close information.

The Windmill will close for the Christmas and New Year holidays from Monday 19th December through until the first week of January.

May we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year

What people are saying about the Elphin Windmill on trip advisor

Elphin Windmill (Ireland): Top Tips Before You Go - TripAdvisor

https://www.tripadvisor.ie › ... › County Roscommon › Elphin › Things to do in Elphin

 Rating: 4.5 - ‎19 reviews

Elphin Windmill, Elphin: See 19 reviews, articles, and 4 photos of Elphin Windmill on TripAdvisor

“A privilege to visit...”
5 of 5 bubblesReviewed 13 September 2016 via mobile
This beautifully restored windmill is a treasure, that no one should miss. Just to have the privilege to gaze upon it, much less be able to enter and climb the stairs to the top to see working features, is totally mesmerizing..... Barry is the man who led us on and upward. Very knowledgeable in the history, and was there for the restoration, and still is there to guide you.. 20 years of service to this beautiful windmill says so much for his love and dedication, and to share his teaching abilities with all who visit.
Visited September 2016

“Beautiful example”
5 of 5 bubblesReviewed 23 August 2016
Very small 'visitor centre' however, still well worth a visit for the history and experience of such a beautifully restored piece of our past

“A lot more interesting than expected ”
4 of 5 bubblesReviewed 20 August 2016 via mobile
I detoured a little to see the Elphin windmill and was glad I did. Beautifully restored and I understand one of only three windmills in Ireland, the history and mechanics of the windmill are very interesting. Tour guide Kathleen did a great job showing me around despite that I was a little pressed for 

Items on display in the Windmill museum

Sickle as can be seen at the windmill museum, is an ancient tool used to cut wheat and barley , dates back to the Roman times.. Because of the short handle the farmer would have to work in a stooped position, a strong back necessary for this job. A sickle was slow and low cost farm tool used all over the world to cut corn. The farmer would hold a sheaf of corn in one hand and cut using the sickle in the other hand cutting towards themselves. the sickle blade needed constant sharpening, using a sharpening stone, payment would depend on how much one could cut in the day. It was said that it would take 3 men a full day to cut an Irish acre of corn using a sickle

The Windmill Museum

Call in to see the Farm Museum at the Windmill, where you will find a range of items connected to the windmill. Items such as the thresher, used for separating the straw from the grain. A picture of a thrashing day in September 1959 out at Mantua, picture shows Michael Flanagan, (forking) C)hristy Rogers,(cutting) Paddy Feely,(feeding) Paddy Dowd,(bagging) and Pat Kiernan.(in front) The machine might belong to Patrick Beirne who had a thrasher working around that time , The thresher is a Garvie make imported from Aberdeen Scotland 1954, the price would have been £300.00 at the time. The thresher was invented 1784 by Andrew Meikle from Scotland. The threshing was a big event in each parish in its day and a lot of good stories were told about the time the thresher came to the parish.

We have miniature models of the Bishop's Palace, St Mary's Cathedral, and St Patrick's Church on display. These were constructed by students of Elphin secondary school then purchased by Mary Gormley, Mary then donated the 3 models to the windmill museum. 
The Bishop's Palace where the the Bishop resided, was built in 1759 by the then Bishop Synge, but a fire in 1911 destroyed the building. 
St Mary's Cathedral was built around 1200. In the early 1960's a storm did enormous damage to the building after this it was knocked by 1964 including its clock tower. The Famous Percy French attended Church in the Cathedral. There is also an adjoining cemetery. The building and site was partly restored in 1982.
St Patrick's Church celebrated its centenary in 1994.

Summer Season 2016 Opening Times

Elphin Windmill amended opening hours for the 2016 Summer Season;

Week days;
Monday to Friday 11am to 8pm 
Weekends;
Saturday to Sunday 11am to 4pm

Come along and enjoy the oldest, fully restored windmill in Ireland and the only one of its type in the West, dating back to the 1730's. A unique piece of Irish & Roscommon history and heritage.

Summer 2016 at the Windmill

The Summer Season is well & truly with us, glorious sunshine & blue skies!

The schools are breaking up for the summer holidays over the next few weeks & parents & children will be looking for something to do, so why not come to the Elphin Windmill for a visit & tour?

We are the oldest fully restored, fully working windmill in Ireland, dating back to the 1730's & the only one in the West of Ireland. We are also a 'community run, not for profit organisation' that relies on public support, donations & grants to keep the windmill open & providing everyone who visits, with an insight into the activities of the local farmers in the mid & late eighteenth century.

Elphin Windmill 2nd St Patrick's Day Tea Party

A Happy & Prosperous New Year to all of our friends in Ireland & further afield.

The Windmill re-opens to the public after the Christmas break on Wednesday 6th January, 2016, we look forward to welcoming you to the Mill for tours or just to have a cup of coffee in the peaceful surrounds of the windmill.

The December edition of the Heritage Council e-zine also features the Elphin Windmill, (see the attachment below).

http://heritagecouncil.newsweaver.ie/1k0b8fq7q6chhnzi7b4n3j?email=true&a=11&p=49657472