Heart to Hearth

Episode Summary

In our seventh episode, we chat with Tom Pollard.

Tom is a stonemason, an expert in earth mortars, and resides on the family farm in Co. Tipperary.

In today's chat, we discuss Tom's journey in conservation and traditional trades, his passion for casework and saving our exisitng built heritage, and the new initiative which he is involved with - Traditional Trades Ireland. We also find out what his favourite vernacular building is.

Hosted by Tríona Byrne and Róisín Beirne.

Edited by Deirdre Keeley.

Artwork by Róisín Beirne.

Theme music by Cillian Byrne.

Generously supported by the Heritage Council as part of their Heritage Sector Support Fund 2021.

The podcast was recorded on Zoom in July 2021.

If you have a question or feedback on the series, we’d love to hear from you so please get in touch by emailing us at [email protected]. For more information on SPAB Ireland visit www.spab.org.uk/about-us/spab-ireland.

You can follow our social media @SPABIreland on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/spabireland, Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/spabireland and Twitter - https://twitter.com/SPABIreland and you can also check our website https://www.spab.org.uk/members/regional-groups/spab-ireland.

Subscribe, enjoy and please leave a review!

https://www.instagram.com/irelandtraditionaltrades/

In our sixth episode, we chat with Melanie McQuade and Bronagh Lanigan.

Melanie McQuade is the Heritage Officer in Westmeath. She has worked in the heritage sector for over twenty years. Melanie  was appointed Westmeath’s Heritage Officer in 2017. Before that she was an archaeologist and her most exciting work involved the discovery of 6,000 year old wooden fishing traps from a part of the capital city that was then Dublin Bay.

Bronagh Lanigan is a History of Art graduate of University College Dublin and has completed two post-graduate diplomas in Architectural Inventory and Recording (DIT, Bolton Street) and Applied Building Repair and Conservation (Trinity College Dublin). Bronagh has long had an interest in historic buildings and having worked on inventories of thatched buildings in County Laois and South Tipperary County, has developed a keen interest and understanding of vernacular thatched structures. Established by Bronagh Lanigan and Sinead Hughes in 2001, Architectural Recording and Research (AR&R) specialises in large and small-scale inventories and architectural heritage reports.  It is an architectural heritage consultancy which provides conservation and research services to a variety of clients.  

In today's chat, we discuss Melanie and Bronagh's individual journeys into their respective careers. They discuss their views on the history and conservation of Thatch buildings in Ireland, the Thatch survey currently underway in Co. Westmeath,  their top tips to approach the conservation of a Thatch building, and we find out what their favourite vernacular building is.

Hosted by Tríona Byrne and Róisín Beirne.

Edited by Deirdre Keeley.

Artwork by Róisín Beirne.

Theme music by Cillian Byrne.

Generously supported by the Heritage Council as part of their Heritage Sector Support Fund 2021.

The podcast was recorded on Zoom in July 2021.

If you have a question or feedback on the series, we’d love to hear from you so please get in touch by emailing us at [email protected]. For more information on SPAB Ireland visit www.spab.org.uk/about-us/spab-ireland.

You can follow our social media @SPABIreland on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/spabireland, Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/spabireland and Twitter - https://twitter.com/SPABIreland and you can also check our website https://www.spab.org.uk/members/regional-groups/spab-ireland.

Subscribe, enjoy and please leave a review!

https://www.advertiser.ie/athlone/article/123475/survey-of-thatched-buildings-within-county-westmeath

NIAH thatch surveys : https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/search-vernacular-thatch-building-surveys/

Available grants for thatch (and some traditional-building) owners

(https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/a61a2-built-heritage-investment-scheme-2021/)

Thatching grant  - https://www.gov.ie/en/service/32e72-thatching-grant/

BHIS - Built Heritage Assessment Scheme

https://assets.gov.ie/119389/a240ea6c-d9b8-476c-88c7-1966ade42d10.pdf

Historic Structures Fund -

https://assets.gov.ie/119392/160bc40f-c4e3-450c-b0dd-6d553c34cdcf.pdf

For thatch owners in County Donegal

Stitch in Time Thatch maintenance grant :

https://www.donegalcoco.ie/media/donegalcountyc/heritage/pdfs/Thatch%20Repair%20Grant%20Scheme%202021%20-%20Information.pdf

For thatch owners in Fingal

Stitch in Time maintenance grant :

https://www.fingal.ie/council/service/architectural-heritage-fund-stitch-time-grant

Reed thatching

Oaten thatching

Heritage Council

Heritage Officers

Thatcher contacts from NIAH (2019)

(https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/app/uploads/2019/11/Thatchers-in-Ireland-2019.pdf)

John Conlin :  Mucknagh, Glassan, Athlone, County Westmeath 090 285 784  

Christian Corlett - Wicklows Traditional Farmhouses (2014)

https://www.christiaancorlett.com/services

Wicklow - Traditional house of rural county meath : An inventory of vernacular architecture (2008)

https://www.wicklow.ie/Portals/0/Documents/Planning/Conservation%20Built%20Heritage/Traditional%20Buildings/Traditional_Houses_of_Rural_County_Wicklow_Report_2008.pdf

Westmeath fieldnames survey

http://aengusfinnegan.ie/field-names/

Hattons Forge: Blacksmith of Moydrum video :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlwAIigg25E

In our fifth episode, we chat with Eoin Madigan and Dom Keogh.

Eoin Madigan is a sixth-generation stonemason and lime practitioner from the Burren region of Co. Clare, Ireland. He is passionate about the conservative repair of vernacular structures and specialises in the use of historic lime mortars. In 2005 he won a placement with The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB). He is now a committee member and trainer for The Building Lime Forum Ireland and a founding member of SPAB Ireland where again he is a trainer in masonry and lime mortars.

Dominic Keogh is a Stonemason from Kilmovee in East Mayo, an area rich in culture and heritage. The stone strewn local landscape, criss-crossed with meandering sandstone walls, and vernacular farmhouses originally led Dominic to begin experimenting with local dry stone building techniques, gaining knowledge from older farmers in the Kilmovee area.

In today's chat, we discuss Eoin and Dom's individual journeys into careers as stonemasons specialising in vernacular conservation, tradititional techniques, which has led to the development of Vernacon. They discuss their views on barriers to apprenticeships in traditional crafts, their top tips to approach the conservation of a vernacular building, and we find out what their favourite vernacular building is.

Hosted by Tríona Byrne and Róisín Beirne.

Edited by Deirdre Keeley.

Artwork by Róisín Beirne.

Theme music by Cillian Byrne.

Generously supported by the Heritage Council as part of their Heritage Sector Support Fund 2021.

The podcast was recorded on Zoom in July 2021.

If you have a question or feedback on the series, we’d love to hear from you so please get in touch by emailing us at [email protected]. For more information on SPAB Ireland visit www.spab.org.uk/about-us/spab-ireland.

You can follow our social media @SPABIreland on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/spabireland, Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/spabireland and Twitter - https://twitter.com/SPABIreland and you can also check our website https://www.spab.org.uk/members/regional-groups/spab-ireland.

Subscribe, enjoy and please leave a review!

https://www.vernacon.ie/

https://www.instagram.com/vernacon.ltd/

https://airt.ie/tutors-cuas-classes/49-airt-courses-dominic-keogh.html

In our fourth episode, we chat with John Beattie. John resides in Dublin, and is an Assistant Architectural Conservation Officer at Dublin City Council.

In today's chat, we cover everything from how John's career path led to his interest in built heritage, his diverse work experience -  as an NIAH recorder, a thatch apprenticeship, a committee member of the BLFI (Building Limes Forum Ireland) and his work as an Assistant Architectural Conservation Officer at Dublin City Council. We also discover the background to John's favourite Irish vernacular building.

Hosted by Tríona Byrne and Róisín Beirne.

Edited by Deirdre Keeley.

Artwork by Róisín Beirne.

Theme music by Cillian Byrne.

Generously supported by the Heritage Council as part of their Heritage Sector Support Fund 2021.

The podcast was recorded on Zoom in July 2021.

If you have a question or feedback on the series, we’d love to hear from you so please get in touch by emailing us at [email protected]. For more information on SPAB Ireland visit www.spab.org.uk/about-us/spab-ireland.

You can follow our social media @SPABIreland on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/spabireland, Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/spabireland and Twitter - https://twitter.com/SPABIreland and you can also check our website https://www.spab.org.uk/members/regional-groups/spab-ireland.

Subscribe, enjoy and please leave a review! 

In our third episode, we chat with Dr. Claudia Kinmonth. Claudia has published numerous books including Irish Country Furniture 1700-2000 (winner of the Michael J. Durkan Prize for Books on Language and Culture by American Conference for Irish Studies), and Irish Rural Interiors in Art. She has worked at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Sir John Soane’s Museum. She is also Conservation Consultant to Cork Butter Museum and Cork Public Museum. She lives in West Cork with her family, lectures widely and broadcasts for television, film and radio.

In today's chat, we cover everything from Claudia's advice on how to approach life in a vernacular Irish cottage , learn about traditional Irish dressers with sledge feet, settle beds, súgan chairs, fascinating furniture and repair techniques, discover more about the wonderful living museum that is Carrigeen Farmhouse in Co. Offaly (winner of the 2020 Heritage Hero award in National Heritage Week), and after travelling the length and breadth of Ireland for her studies on Irish Vernacular and interiors, we discover what her favourite vernacular building is.

Hosted by Tríona Byrne and Róisín Beirne.

Edited by Deirdre Keeley.

Artwork by Róisín Beirne.

Theme music by Cillian Byrne.

Generously supported by the Heritage Council as part of their Heritage Sector Support Fund 2021.

The podcast was recorded on Zoom in July 2021.

If you have a question or feedback on the series, we’d love to hear from you so please get in touch by emailing us at [email protected]. For more information on SPAB Ireland visit www.spab.org.uk/about-us/spab-ireland.

You can follow our social media @SPABIreland on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/spabireland, Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/spabireland and Twitter - https://twitter.com/SPABIreland and you can also check our website https://www.spab.org.uk/members/regional-groups/spab-ireland.

Subscribe, enjoy and please leave a review! 

https://www.corkuniversitypress.com/Irish-Country-Furniture-and-Furnishings-1700-2000-p/9781782054054.htm

Carrigeen Farmhouse, Co. Offaly

https://offalylibrariesblog.wordpress.com/2018/08/30/carrigeen-farmhouse-offalys-hidden-heritage/

In our second episode, we chat with Dr. Barry O’Reilly. Dr Barry O’Reilly’s background is in archaeology, folk tradition and architectural heritage. His main area of research is vernacular (traditional) architecture, in which he has an MA from University College Dublin and a PhD from Oxford Brookes University. Most recently he has studied traditional settlements (mainly farming hamlets) in Ireland and internationally. He has managed National Inventory of Architectural Heritage surveys throughout Ireland. Barry also has an MUBC degree from UCD that included a study of corrugated iron. Barry has lectured widely on vernacular architecture and on architectural heritage in general.

In today's chat,  we cover everything from how Barry’s initial interest in Irish Vernacular heritage developed, his definition of what vernacular means to him, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, the upcoming strategy document soon to be published by DoHLGH entitled "A Living Tradition - a strategy to better understand, mind and hand on our vernacular heritage", and “Broom” who pops in for a guest appearance!

Hosted by Tríona Byrne and Róisín Beirne.

Edited by Deirdre Keeley.

Artwork by Róisín Beirne.

Theme music by Cillian Byrne.

Generously supported by the Heritage Council as part of their Heritage Sector Support Fund 2021.

The podcast was recorded on Zoom in July 2021.

If you have a question or feedback on the series, we’d love to hear from you so please get in touch by emailing us at [email protected]. For more information on SPAB Ireland visit www.spab.org.uk/about-us/spab-ireland.

You can follow our social media @SPABIreland on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/spabireland, Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/spabireland and Twitter - https://twitter.com/SPABIreland and you can also check our website https://www.spab.org.uk/members/regional-groups/spab-ireland.

Subscribe, enjoy and please leave a review!

• Irish Folk Ways, Evans, E. Estyn (1957)
• The Year in Ireland, Danaher, K (1972)
• Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, Dineen, Rev Patrick S (1927)
• The Way : An Ecological World-View, Goldsmith, E (1992)
• Cider with Rosey, Lee, L (1959)
• Towards a New Architecture, Le Corbusier, 1923
• Upcoming publication due from Department of Housing Local Government and Heritage has the working title “A Living Tradition - a strategy to better understand, mind and hand on our vernacular heritage”
• McCarthy, Mary. “The Provision of Rural Local-Authority Housing and Domestic Space: a Comparative North-South Study, 1942-60.” Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. Section C: Archaeology, Celtic Studies, History, Linguistics, Literature, vol. 111C, 2011, pp. 287–309. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41472823.
• Sugan chair - http://irisharchaeology.ie/2014/07/the-throne-of-the-quiet-man-the-sugan-chair/
• Sweathouse - http://irisharchaeology.ie/2012/03/the-sweat-house-at-creevaghbaun-co-galway/
• Seamus Kirwan House Wexford - https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/projects/mayglass-farmstead
• Menlo, Co. Galway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menlo,_County_Galway

This is it! Episode 01 of the first ever SPAB Ireland podcast. On our first episode you can hear our podcast hosts Tríona Byrne (Chairperson of SPAB Ireland) and Róisín Beine (Committee member at SPAB Ireland) discuss how they became involved in SPAB Ireland,  the importance of vernacular architecture, what exactly does vernacular mean, and an introduction to another of our SPAB Ireland committee members Gissella Renolfi who hails from Argentina on her perspective on vernacular heritage in Ireland.

Hosted by Tríona Byrne and Róisín Beirne.

Edited by Deirdre Keeley.

Artwork by Róisín Beirne.

Theme music by Cillian Byrne.

Generously supported by the Heritage Council as part of their Heritage Sector Support Fund 2021.

The podcast was recorded on Zoom in July 2021.

If you have a question or feedback on the series, we’d love to hear from you so please get in touch by emailing us at [email protected]. For more information on SPAB Ireland visit www.spab.org.uk/about-us/spab-ireland.

You can follow our social media @SPABIreland on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/spabireland, Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/spabireland and Twitter - https://twitter.com/SPABIreland and you can also check our website https://www.spab.org.uk/members/regional-groups/spab-ireland.

Subscribe, enjoy and please leave a review! 

• Advice Series : Thatch : A guide to the repair of thatched roofs Nolan, D., O’Reilly, B. & MacCárthaigh, C., (2015), Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht  available at <https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/app/uploads/2019/10/Thatch-A-Guide-to-the-Repair-of-Thatched-Roofs-2015.pdf>
• Ó Floinn, Bairbre. “A Future for Irish Vernacular Architecture?” Archaeology Ireland, vol. 3, no. 4, 1989, pp. 147–151. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20558319
• A Sense of Loss : The Survival of Rural Traditional Buildings in Northern Ireland : Report of Findings of Townland Survey 1996 – 1997, Environment and Heritage Service (1998) available at https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/communities/a-sense-of-loss-survival-of-rural-traditional-buildings-ni.pdf
• Built and Natural Heritage Series Two : Traditional Buildings on Irish Farms  Murrey, C. & O’Reilly, B., (2007) The Heritage Council & Teagasc, available at <https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/files/traditional_buildings_irish_farms_series_02_2mb.pdf
• Contesting Conservation Planning : Insights from Ireland since Independence Parkinson, A., Scott, M. & Redmond, D., (2015) available at: https://journals.open.tudelft.nl/iphs/article/view/1309
• Croiceann cruaidh fearmhar an talaimh : a material culture of the skin of the earth – the example of roofing with sod parings in Ireland Mullane, F. (2019),  available at https://doi.org/10.1080/04308778.2019.1592936
• Hearth and home: the vernacular house in Ireland from c. 1800 O'Reilly, B., (2011) available at <https://www.jstor.org/stable/41472820
• Interpreting vernacular space in Ireland : a new sensibility McMenamin, D. & Sheridan, D. (2019)  available at https://doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2018.1493442
• Living Under the Thatch : Vernacular Architecture in County Offaly Barry O’Reilly (2004)
• Mayglass Farmstead An Chomhairle Oidhreachta/ The Heritage Council (2019) available at https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/projects/mayglass-farmstead_\_
• Reusing Farm Buildings : A Kildare Perspective Bowen, L. & Matthews, N. (2007) Kildare County Council
• Thatch : a metaphor for Ireland Mullane, F. (2006) available at https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/files/heritage\_outlook\_summer\_2006\_2mb.pdf
• The Home Place : An Inventory of Traditional Rural Architecture in North and East Kerry Fleming, E., (2016) Kerry County Council available at http://kerryheritage.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/The-Home-Place.pdf
• The Housing of the Rural Labourer : 1883 – 1916 McKay, E., (1992) available at https://www.jstor.org/stable/23197339
• The Irish Cottage : History, Culture and Design, McGarry, M, (2017)
• The rehousing of rural labourers in Ireland under the Labourers (Ireland) Acts, 1883 – 1919 Aalen, F. H. A., (1986) available at https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-7488(86)80150-5
• The South Kilkenny Farm Villages Burtchaell, J. (1988)  available at https://kilkennyheritage.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/south-KK-farm-villages.pdf
• The SPAB Approach to the conservation and care of old buildings Slowcombe, M. (2017)  available at https://www.spab.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/MainSociety/Campaigning/SPAB%20Approach.pdf
• The Vernacular Settlements of Ireland : Their Context, Morphology and Continuing Evolution O’Reilly, B., (2012) available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316989516\_The\_vernacular\_settlements\_of\_Ireland\_their\_context\_morphology\_and\_continuing\_evolution
• Traditional Buildings in Ireland: Home Owners Handbook : Featuring the Mourne Homesteads Experience, Oram, R. & Stelfox, S., (2004), Mourne Heritage Trust, available at http://www.mournelive.com/\_literature\_116873/Traditional\_Buildings\_in\_Ireland\_-\_Home\_Owners\_Guide&ved=2ahUKEwi7iNWagP\_nAhX0oVwKHdGMCi44ChAWMAF6BAgIEAE&usg=AOvVaw1AVuh4hRuvKRNPYaU-dJq8
• Traditional Houses of Rural Co. Wicklow : An Inventory of Vernacular Architecture Lotts Architecture and Urbanism (2008), Wicklow County Council & The Heritage Council available at https://www.wicklow.ie/Portals/0/Documents/Planning/Conservation%2520Built%2520Heritage/Traditional%2520Buildings/Traditional\_Houses\_of\_Rural\_County\_Wicklow\_Report\_2008.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiuvrSogP\_nAhVQhlwKHXs\_D6U4FBAWMAd6BAgEEAE&usg=AOvVaw0u\_PwDWoMXwBDzXpBOakSk
• Using old farm buildings for transmitting vernacular traditions in Ireland Meenan, A. & Murray, C. (2014) available _at <_https://www.academia.edu/7503000/Using\_old\_farm\_buildings\_for\_transmitting\_vernacular\_traditions\_in\_Ireland>
• ‘Vernacular Architecture’ in Heritage of Ireland Mullane, F., (2000)
• Vernacular Architecture in Doonbeg, County Clare UaCróinín, R. (2000), Clare County Council available at https://www.clarecoco.ie/services/planning/publications/doonbeg-vernacular-survey-2000-27604.pdf
• Wicklow’s Traditional Farmhouses Corlett, C. (2014) Wicklow County Council