Larkfield Mills
Larkfield Mill was situated in that area of Kimmage now occupied by Sundrive Shopping Centre on Sundrive Road. In 1816 it was a skin mill, then William Danford had a corn mill here in the 1880s. Later this was Larkfield Roller Mills, run by Harron, Connolly & Co. By the 1930’s St. Kevin’s Paint Works were located here. In the run-up to the 1916 Easter Rising, Countess Plunkett, who was the wife of Count George Noble Plunkett, held the lease on this property. It had twenty acres of land, a number of cottages, Larkfield Mill, not in use as a mill at this time, and a barn.
This property was utilised as a base for the younger Plunketts, including Joseph Mary Plunkett, who was executed for his part in the Rising, as they became more involved in politics. It became known as the Kimmage Garrison and was used as a clearing station for arms imported in the 1914 Howth gun running and as a training ground for the Irish Volunteers in the run up to the 1916 Easter Rising. The garrison comprised of approximately 90 men who were members of the Irish Volunteers in Scotland and England and they were instructed on military tactics and prepared munitions for the planned insurrection. Padraig Pearse addressed the men the week before the Rising.