Is this the last straw for thatched cottages? Skills not being passed down
The Irish craft of thatching is at risk of dying out unless greater investment is made into training a new generation of craftspeople, stakeholders have warned.
However, there is hope for the old art form yet after Donegal Thatching School opened in Portnoo in October 2024, running free government-funded weekend courses with 'lots of demand', according to an organiser.
Conal Shovlin was born in a Donegal thatched cottage, which he owns to this day. The 74-year-old was inspired to take up the trade by his father and is now one of the thatching school's three coordinators. Conal Shovlin was born in a Donegal thatched cottage, which he owns to this day. The 74-year-old was inspired to take up the trade by his father and is now one of the thatching school's three coordinators.
'We did some exploratory research to try to gauge interest on a national level, and we were surprised by how many were interested,' Mr Shovlin said, adding that ten new thatchers are now in training.
He continued: 'Some are as young as their twenties. People my age think young people aren't capable, or don't want to work with their hands any more. That's a foolish mindset. Not everyone wants to be a computer whizz-kid.'
The trainees will have their work cut out for them, as these roofs need to be re-thatched every ten to 15 years, and there are upwards of 300 that urgently need repair work carried out. A stock image of a new thatched roof. Pic: Shutterstock
Senator Manus Boyle yesterday said courses must be provided through Educational Training Boards (ETBs) to ensure a pipeline of accredited craftspeople, including thatchers, can exist.
It's estimated that fewer than 25 trained thatchers still practise the craft in Ireland, a figure Senator Boyle warned was 'an alarming statistic' when compared to the 2,000 thatched buildings across the country that need constant upkeep.
The senator's native county of Donegal has over 300 thatched buildings, which the county council has warned are being lost 'at a concerning rate'.
Donegal Thatching School isn't alone, though. The Heritage Council established a course in thatching in conjunction with the Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board (ETB) this year, the first of its kind in over 15 years. Brian Lafferty, Conor Farren, Sean McDevitt and Conal Shovlin of Donegal Thatching School.
The 42-week course is led by expert trainer and thatcher, Brian Simpson and includes a six-week work placement with an experienced thatcher. Mr Shovlin said he's hopeful the Donegal Thatching School will also become full-time and that other parts of the country will develop their own courses or schools.
He said: 'Different areas have their own traditions and techniques of thatching based on the local material available to them. This is about preserving heritage. Having thatched cottages in museums is fine but we want to see them lived in and kept alive all across the landscape.'
Mr Shovlin noted that it's a tough task but he's hopeful, and said: 'We are in our 70s running this school, but we are training up ten thatchers, who could each train ten more and so on. This is just the beginning of a long career for them. We have the heavy lifting done now, the modules for the school have been developed, and we have the workshop built.'
The Donegal man said it is also essential that local materials are used, as is the tradition. He added: 'People are now getting straw and reeds from the other side of Europe. We used to, and we still can, grow that all here. A stock image of a new thatch roof. Pic: Shutterstock
'It'll be a lost art if we don't train people up to do it. I was at Muckross Folk Park in Killarney and they have a lovely thatched cottage but had to get thatchers from Poland to work on it.'
As a boy, Mr Shovlin would pass by over two dozen thatched cottages on his trip to school. Now, along the same road, there are just three thatched buildings. He used the ancestral home of actress Grace Kelly as an example.
'That was a thatched cottage in Co. Mayo. She visited a few times starting in 1961,' Mr Shovlin explained, saying the trips to her ancestors' homeland gave a huge profile to the quaint and traditional thatched cottage.
'If you look at the place now, it's a ruin because it wasn't maintained,' he said.
The thatcher praised the Government's Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS), which offers dedicated funding for historic thatched buildings, providing grants of up to €20,000 for thatching or conservation work on buildings built before 1970.
Additionally, a Thatching Grant provides support for necessary works to renew or repair thatched roofs of owner-occupied houses, offering a grant of up to €3,810.
Senator Boyle added: 'The thatched house has become symbolic of rural Ireland, but the traditional skill is at a critical point, with a huge shortage of thatchers to look after these buildings.'
He said the demand for the course proved the need for the provision of a thatching course in the Donegal ETB.
'More broadly speaking, plans must be put in place to ensure other traditional craftworkers, such as stone masons and blacksmiths, also prevail,' he added.
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