Water mills were once a fundamental part of rural Irish life, harnessing the energy of rivers and streams to grind grain, and their remains are scattered across the Irish landscape in various states of survival, from near-complete stone structures to little more than a scatter of dressed masonry beside a silted mill race. The one at Carrowmore is a recognised monument, which places it among sites considered significant enough to warrant protection, yet the details of its form, its age, and its history remain largely undocumented in the public record for now.

Carrowmore, a place name derived from the Irish An Ceathrú Mhór meaning the big quarter, referring to a division of land, appears in several counties across Ireland, and Mayo's version sits within a county whose rural economy historically depended heavily on small-scale milling to process oats and barley. Mills in the west of Ireland ranged from large estate-owned operations to modest horizontal mills, sometimes called Norse mills or click mills, in which a simple wheel lay flat in a watercourse rather than turning vertically. Without further detail available at present, it is not possible to say which type once operated at this particular site, nor when it was built or fell out of use.