Visitors to the Skerries Mills museum can experience how things were done in a bygone era.
The seaside town of Skerries in north County Dublin is home to a unique heritage museum.
There have been windmills and a watermill on this site for centuries, and thanks to a restoration programme run by the state training body FÁS (Foras Áiseanna Saothair) and Fingal County Council, Skerries Mills opened to the public in 1999.
Engineer Eric Montgomery ensures that the mill keeps turning, even on the most blustery of days. When the wind is strong the windmill can be turn slightly out of its force.
The watermill at Skerries also continues to turn, demonstrating how hydroelectricity powered machinery for the bakery which operated here from the 1840s to the 1980s.
This is also a place where traditional crafts continue. The sociable Skerries Mills Quilters meet regularly in the Watermill Café to practice a mix of traditional and contemporary skills to create different styles of quilts. The members of the group describe their hobby as addictive.
We do it all the time, every chance we get.
This report for 'Nationwide’ was broadcast on 17 July 2005. The reporter is Rowan Hand.
