archaeological & built heritage assessment - The Heritage Council

• Mohill
• Drumod
• Roosky
• Strokestown
Contained in Appendix 4 is a table of buildings/structures that are located within both the primary and
secondary zones of influence relating to the waterway corridor that are protected under the relevant
county and town development plans for the study area.
Dowra
Dowra is a small village located northeast of the north-eastern portion of Lough Allen in Co. Leitrim,
along the river Shannon. From Dowra there is a three-mile stretch of an ancient frontier earthwork
running roughly southwest from the village to the lake, a linear earthwork known as the Black Pig’s Dyke.
Some 4.5kms south of Dowra, adjacent to the north-eastern shores of Lough Allen are the remains of a
post-medieval creamery at Ballenagleragh and a corn mill, associated stores and a mill race at Drumristin.
Little remains of the creamery, although the gate piers are of note. While the mill is much dilapidated, its
original layout is apparent amongst the wooded overgrowth. It was originally small in proportion and the
area for corn grinding is intact with the displaced perforated stone mill wheel still present together with
the millrace. It seems that a series of stone steps, still visible, once led from the mill and river to a storage
building located on the opposite side of the present roadway. There is a carved stone plaque inset on one
of the walls indicating ‘erected by ML Mc …’. Furthermore, new works are presently ongoing on the
shores of Lough Allen south of the mill in the area of Cleighran More for a possible mooring/marina point.
There are no structures or buildings located in Dowra village that are listed for protection in the County
Development Plan.
Drumkeeran
Drumkeeran is a small village, located west of the north-western portion of Lough Allen, Co. Leitrim.
Lewis noted c. 1837 that it contained fifty-one houses and 284 inhabitants. At this time it also had ‘…a
penny post to Carrick-on-Shannon, a market on Wednesday, and twelve fairs (one each month)…petty
sessions are held every fortnight…’. There are on-going regeneration works being conducted at
Drumkeeran in terms of street and road improvements as well as restoration of the townhouses and the
creation of a Heritage Centre. There are presently no buildings or structures in Drumkeeran listed for
protection in the County Development Plan.
Arigna
Arigna is a small village located west of the southern area of Lough Allen and its primary associations are
with the mining works that were carried out in the locality until 1990. The smelting of iron, using locally
produced charcoal, began in Arigna in the sixteenth century. The Elizabethan planter, Charles Coote, built
iron works at Arigna and Creevlea. Both were destroyed during the 1641 Rebellion, however they were
subsequently rebuilt only to close in 1690 when the timber supply from the surrounding forests was
exhausted.
Iron smelting was resumed by the O’Reilly brothers in 1788 when, for the first time in Ireland, coal was
used in the smelting process. Throughout the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century the mines were in
operation until the iron works closed permanently in 1838. Coal mining continued intermittently during
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