Mountmellick the Manchester of Ireland

Industry
Such was the level of industrial activity in Mountmellick, in the late 18th Century, that Mountmellick became known as "The Manchester of Ireland". Its role as a leading textile producer during the industrial revolution of the mid 1700’s brought favourable comparisons to Manchester, the industrial centre of England at the time.

Deciduous woodlands, which once covered Laois, provided a ready source of bark for a tanning industry, which converted animal hides into leather. William Edmundson (1627-1712).

The first Quaker to settle in Mountmellick owned a tannery, and the Goodbodys and Pim families also owned tanneries in the 1800’s.

Towards the end of the 18th Century, the textile industry grew significantly. A number of large mills were opened in the 1780’s. These produced the necessary raw materials to develop weaving as an important cottage industry, providing many households with a secondary source of income to supplement agricultural incomes. By 1837 it was estimated that 4,000 persons were employed in the cotton and woollen business, in the Mountmellick area.

The three main centres of this industry were established at New Mills in Drinagh, Barkmills, near Ballyfin and Anngrove in Irishtown. Initially these mills were powered by water, but steam engines were gradually introduced during the 19th Century.

In 1801, there were five breweries in Mountmellick and these supplied beer to towns within a 25 mile radius. These breweries declined as larger breweries, elsewhere, developed their distribution on the railways and canals. As abstinence became popular in the second half of the 19th Century, there was a shift from brewing to malting.

The first bank in the town was opened 1824 and the first modern sugar factory in Ireland was opened in Mountmellick in 1852. It was situated behind the present MDA building in Irishtown. Despite its huge aspirations, economic factors dictated its closure in 1862.

Two malting enterprises in Irishtown were developed by the Codd family in the early 1900’s and malt production still takes place in Mountmellick today.