About this photograph
The white sails of Blennerville stand over Tralee Bay on a still morning, mirrored in the water. Emigrant ships once left from this shore for the New World.
Blennerville Windmill was built in 1800 for Sir Rowland Blennerhassett, to grind grain at the head of Tralee Bay. Steam-powered mills took its trade during the 1800s and it fell into ruin. Restored in the 1980s and reopened in 1990, it stands 21 metres high and grinds wheat again, its sails turning against the Slieve Mish mountains.
The quay below the mill has a harder history. During the Great Famine, Blennerville was Kerry's main port of emigration. The barque Jeanie Johnston, whose home port it was, sailed for Quebec in April 1848 with 193 emigrants on board. Over sixteen voyages to Quebec, Baltimore and New York, not one of her passengers was lost. Many other ships were not so fortunate.
For families in America and Canada whose people left from Tralee Bay, this calm water may have been the last of Ireland their ancestors saw. That contrast, between the peace of the place and what it meant to so many, makes this one of the most meaningful prints in the collection to give.
