North Atlantic Skyline - - Photographs from the west of Ireland (Galway, Mayo, Clare, Limerick, Roscommon and even Leitrim)

Elphin Windmill

This week, Winter has been preceded by a fanfare of shrieking wind, icy rain and the gentle nip of frost (though today was a warm sunny day). The silver lining was that the rough weather generated a bit if electricity, thanks to all the wind turbines lining many of the hills around the country. Ireland doesn't have much of a tradition for wind power, but there are a few restored windmills around the country. This one, in Elphin, Co Roscommon, spent more than 100 years grinding corn before the practice ended during "Black 47", as the Famine worsened. This photo was taken just before the gales last week - it's still standing, though.

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