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Extra.ie
13 hours ago
- General
- Extra.ie
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.
BBC News
18-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Donegal helps Ireland's bid to save thatched cottages
The race is on to save the remaining thatched cottages in Ireland and train the next generation to restore them to their former County Council has said there are more than 300 known thatched buildings in the county, but the "rate of loss of our historic thatch is a cause of concern".There are also a dwindling number of full-time thatchers left in Ireland.A community hall in Portnoo, County Donegal, is the focus of a new custom built training centre, which aims to sustain the craft. In Northern Ireland, there were about 40,000 thatched buildings in the 1950s but a a Department for Communities survey in 2023 estimated there are now fewer than 180. The school in County Donegal uses different types of raw materials to thatch the roofs including water reed, wheat reed, flax and different straws. The thatching school opened in October 2024 and runs free weekend courses which are funded by the Irish government. 'Keep tradition going' Among the new batch of thatchers is Fidelma Toland, a farmer and part-time bar worker."I have a big interest in it, because my grandfather and my two uncles used to keep the thatch on the house maintained and I saw that as a wee girl," she said it is vitally important to pass the thatching skills from one generation to the next. "It's all dying away sadly, but this school here is a great opportunity for anybody that wants to learn it and keep the tradition going." So far, about 20 people have signed up to take part in the courses, according to Conal Shovlin, one of the course in a thatched house in 1950, Mr Shovlin said his father used to "thatch the houses, the cow byres and the stables". "It's very essential because it's a national training centre for thatched roofs," he added."And we cater for all the different styles. "There's the rope thatching in Donegal or the reed thatching in Wexford and Cork or the straw thatching or the flax thatching in Ulster and east Donegal, so it is important now that we train some young people very quickly that can pass it on. "We're pleasantly surprised about the amount of interest." John Masters, a technical adviser at the thatching school said there is a healthy interest in the new venture. "We've tried to make the practice roofs with as many features as possible so that a student can come here and learn to thatch in many styles," he added. 'Disappearing at a fast rate' John Lafferty is a master thatcher and he said his expertise was passed down from his father. "I think that anyone who comes in here comes in with enthusiasm and they want to learn," he added."You need to have a hunger to learn. "The course is very popular and we just can't take everyone that is applying for it." He said tourists expect to see more thatched cottages when they come to Ireland. "Unfortunately the thatched cottages are disappearing at a very fast rate. "I'm hoping this course will reverse that trend."Mary Rose Kern runs a coffee shop in her thatched cottage in Kilmacrennan, County Donegal. "There's something very evocative about sitting in a thatched cottage with a big turf fire, eating traditional flat potato bread, wheaten bread and scones and eggs and they are all homemade," she said. "There's something really special about that."She added: "The cottage has no internet or phone signal so you can just disconnect as well."
