There is a townland on the southern edge of the town called Poulawillin or Pollawillin (from IrishPoll a' Mhuillinn, meaning 'hole/pool of the mill'). There is evidence that this name was once applied to the town – for example, in the Parish Namebook of the Ordnance Survey (1839) there is a reference to "Baile an Mhuillinn anciently Poll a’ Mhuillinn, Milltown Malbay".[2]
Malbay is the name of the bay to the west of Milltown. The name Malbay is thought to come from the Irish meall-bhaigh, which roughly means "treacherous coast". It could also stem from the legend of the witch "Mal" who was drowned in the bay by Fionn mac Cumhaill.[3]
History
The town has only existed since about 1800 but grew rapidly: by 1821 it had a population of 600. During the Great Famine (1844–1848) many farmers were evicted by the unpopular landlord Moroney. In the years after the famine the (Protestant) Moroney family went on with rack renting and evictions. At one time the population had enough and started a boycott. The government did not like that and imprisoned all pub-owners and shopkeepers who refused to serve the family or their servant. So at the end of 1888 most pub-owners and shopkeepers were in jail.[3]
In the lead up to the Irish War of Independence there were a number of incidents in Milltown Malbay. On 14 April 1920 the local population were celebrating the release of hunger strikers from Mountjoy Prison. It turned into the Shooting at Canada Cross when members of the Royal Irish Constabulary and the Royal Highland Infantry Regiment fired into the crowd wounding seven and killing three: Volunteer John O’Loughlan and two civilians Thomas O’Leary and Patrick Hennessy.[4]
Milltown Malbay was also the site of the Rineen Ambush, which took place near Rineen on the main road to Lahinch and Ennistymon. On 22 September 1920, a RIC tender was ambushed there by the Mid-Clare Brigade of the IRA mainly in retaliation for the killing of Martin Devitt at Crow's Bridge earlier in the year. Six policemen were killed in the ambush. In reprisal for the Rineen Ambush, the Black & Tans ran amok in Ennistymon, Lahinch and Milltown Malbay killing six people and burning 26 buildings, including Ennistymon and Lahinch Townhalls.
The Atlantic Hotel was one of the victims of the War of Independence. Owned by the Moroney family and mainly visited by English gentry it had no future and closed down around 1925.[5]
Milltown Malbay was served by the West Clare Railway, which operated from the 2 July 1887 and finally closed on 1 February 1961.[6]
The main sources of employment in the area are tourism and hospitality, construction and agriculture.
The town has seven pubs, a hairdresser and a barber's shop. Other businesses are, amongst others, three supermarkets, a hardware shop, a haberdashery, a post office, a bridal shop, a bookmaker's office, a pizzeria/burger takeaway, a Chinese takeaway, a fish & chip takeaway, a clothes shop, and a beauty salon. There are two pharmacies and three restaurants in the town. There are two medical practices and veterinarian practice. The town has two petrol stations and two vehicle repair workshops.
Culture
There are 4 primary schools and 1 secondary school in the surrounding townlands. The primary schools are Milltown Malbay National School (in town), Rockmount National School (N.S.), Rineen N.S. and Moy N.S. (gaelscoil). The secondary school is St Joseph's Secondary School, Spanish Point. St Joseph's draws pupils from the parishes of Milltown Malbay, Kilmurry Ibrickane, Doonbeg, Inagh and Cooraclare.
Oidhreacht an Chláir Teo (Clare Institute for Traditional Studies) is a research institution located on Flag Road. Its main field of work is research and stimulation of the traditional culture in County Clare. Its stated goal is "the establishment of an institute for education in the traditional culture of Clare, directed primarily towards the higher education and lifelong learning sectors; the provision of a permanent, easily accessible, archive and library for material relevant to the traditional arts in general and, in particular, to the abundant material of local relevance; the provision of a performance centre and associated facilities."[15] The main target of the institute are researchers, local people and students.[15]
Willie Clancy
The memorial to Willie Clancy in Miltown Malbay, Ireland.
Clonbony GAA have won a senior camogie 'three-in-a-row' between 1983 and 1985.[17][18][19][20]
Miltown Massacre
The lowest point for the Clare Senior Football team came in the 1979 Munster Championship which is locally known as the 'Miltown Massacre'. During a game played in Hennessy Park, the Clare inter-county team lost to Kerry by a scoreline of 1–09 (12) to 9–21 (48), a difference of thirty-six points.[21]
Daniel Joseph Tobin (1875–1955), labour leader and president of the Teamsters 1907–1952
Colonel Noel Walsh (1935–2020) was Commanding Officer of the First Battalion of the Irish Army and former Chairman of the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association
^Lee, JJ (1981). "On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses". In Goldstrom, J. M.; Clarkson, L. A. (eds.). Irish Population, Economy, and Society: Essays in Honour of the Late K. H. Connell. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
