A new course on thatching is in full swing at Gáirdín an Ghorta, Newmarket, Co Kilkenny. Run by the Heritage Council in partnership with Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board (KCETB), this full-time course, which began in January 2025, is an introduction to thatching and is designed to address the decreasing number of professional thatchers in Ireland.
There are approximately 2,700 thatched properties across the country, and fewer than 30 full-time professional thatchers. Many regional thatching styles are in danger of disappearing.
Thatching consultant and course instructor, Brian Simpson says he was “delighted” to get a call from the Heritage Council about teaching on the new course. Brian, who is from Skerries, Co Dublin, has been thatching since 1999 and he was also involved the last time a programme like this was run in 2009. The previous course, run by FÁS at the time, stopped after three intakes of students.
“After the third course, it was felt that the demand was met, but it wasn’t because people who came onto the course did not continue on. It was a time when tradesmen weren’t busy after the crash in 2008 and many of them didn’t keep the thatching going,” explains Brian.
The new thatching course is a full-time commitment for participants, who come from all over the country including Mayo, Wexford and Tipperary. It is a 42-week course and includes a work placement of six weeks. There are 14 learners partaking, and half of them do not have experience working in construction – “the closest thing there is to thatching”, according to Brian.
Students learn about manual handling, health and safety at work, fire safety and working from heights. They also learn to prepare roof structures for thatching, working on what are known as ‘mock roofs’.
“We have an outside working area and seven independent roofs where all the trainees can learn and make mistakes. They have a real house here to thatch with me and it is a great experience for them, as they have a live roof to work on,” explains Brian.
Over his 26 years working in the sector, Brian says change has not come “quick enough”. Along with the declining number of thatchers, two other immediate issues that the sector is facing include the lack of insurance cover for thatched property owners and the almost non-existence of Irish-grown thatching straw and reed.
“Insurance companies see thatched houses as too much of a risk,” explains Brian. “There have been problems in the past, some thatched houses have gone up in flames due to bad electrical wiring or faulty chimneys. They don’t really want to insure thatched homes.” It was estimated in 2023 that 50% of thatched properties were not insured in Ireland.
On Irish-grown materials, Brian says: “We need them desperately. We need properly grown varieties of wheat and reeds. Water reed grows on river banks, but we got a couple of samples of the reeds from around the Shannon, and it just doesn’t stand up to the quality. It’s too brittle, it soaks up the pollutants in the river and it breaks.
“We import our reed from Turkey and the reed beds are regularly inspected by the National Society of Master of Thatchers in the UK.
“The imported reed is more supple, it’s stronger, there’s a big variety in heights and sizes.
“We’d love to use Irish stuff. Even though we have a lot of reed beds in Ireland, they aren’t properly managed and we need to encourage better management through farming grants.
“We want to start up some sort of guild or association to encourage farmers to get into Irish-grown materials. It’ll give us more voice. It’s an issue that the Government should look into.”
Irish Country Living spoke to two students on the thatching course about how their interest in thatched properties emerged, and their pathway into the programme.
Donál Brady from Co Cavan left his full-time job as a painter and decorator to pursue a career in thatching. \ Philip Doyle
Grá for a trade
Dónal Brady says that he has always had a grá for a trade. Dónal is from Drumard Townland, Ballintemple, Co Cavan, a county less known for its thatched properties.
“I grew up in Cavan, spent 15 years in Australia, and when I came home, I did some family research and found out that my granddad was a slice thatcher [a style of thatching] which I knew nothing about.
“On the farm where we grew up, there are two old dwellings with remnants of his thatching under the galvanised roof, which is really cool,” says Dónal.
“When my grandfather was thatching, he used what was available in our townland. He grew his own oats for the thatch and the straw that was used as a bedding on the roof was taken from the bog below the house.
“It was a sustainable practice deeply rooted in a circular economy.”
Dónal left his full-time job as a painter and decorator to pursue the course in thatching, a gamble that paid off. “I absolutely love the course. I’m learning every day,” he says. “I definitely want to have a future in this, I have a passion for it.
“It occupies a special place in my heart and it ties me to my family heritage now and our connection to the land.”
Alice Bowler from Co Wexford is the only female student in the thatching course. \ Philip Doyle
At the opposite end of the country, Alice Bowler says she had always admired thatched buildings in her home county of Wexford, near the farm in Enniscorthy where she grew up. Alice is the only female student in the current cohort.
Possessing a keen interest in built heritage, she studied architecture in University College Dublin (UCD) and worked in an architectural practice in Cork for almost two years. It was Alice’s appreciation for natural materials and vernacular architecture [style of building that uses local materials and traditional methods of construction] that led her to pursue thatching.
“A few years ago, I went to watch Sara Leach (see page 6) thatch some roofs in Co Louth.
“I was mesmerised. I kept an eye out for courses, this one popped up and I just went for it. I was definitely taking a chance going for it, and it is challenging but I’m loving it. It’s a unique opportunity to learn hands-on and on-site,” explains Alice. She will complete her six-week internship with Sara later in the year as part of the course.
Thatch Training Course supported by the Heritage Council and Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board at Gáirdín an Ghorta, Sheepstown, Dunamagin, Kilkenny. \ Abaigh Tyrrell
“I’ve always wanted to work with my hands and the more I’m doing this course, the more I’m realising that I’m suited to something practical rather than being at a desk all day.
“We’ve been outside nearly all day the past week. I really wanted a break from a screen. I am enjoying it, and I think I’m getting the hang of it,” Alice says.
A new course on thatching is in full swing at Gáirdín an Ghorta, Newmarket, Co Kilkenny. Run by the Heritage Council in partnership with Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board (KCETB), this full-time course, which began in January 2025, is an introduction to thatching and is designed to address the decreasing number of professional thatchers in Ireland.
There are approximately 2,700 thatched properties across the country, and fewer than 30 full-time professional thatchers. Many regional thatching styles are in danger of disappearing.
Thatching consultant and course instructor, Brian Simpson says he was “delighted” to get a call from the Heritage Council about teaching on the new course. Brian, who is from Skerries, Co Dublin, has been thatching since 1999 and he was also involved the last time a programme like this was run in 2009. The previous course, run by FÁS at the time, stopped after three intakes of students.
“After the third course, it was felt that the demand was met, but it wasn’t because people who came onto the course did not continue on. It was a time when tradesmen weren’t busy after the crash in 2008 and many of them didn’t keep the thatching going,” explains Brian.
The new thatching course is a full-time commitment for participants, who come from all over the country including Mayo, Wexford and Tipperary. It is a 42-week course and includes a work placement of six weeks. There are 14 learners partaking, and half of them do not have experience working in construction – “the closest thing there is to thatching”, according to Brian.
Students learn about manual handling, health and safety at work, fire safety and working from heights. They also learn to prepare roof structures for thatching, working on what are known as ‘mock roofs’.
“We have an outside working area and seven independent roofs where all the trainees can learn and make mistakes. They have a real house here to thatch with me and it is a great experience for them, as they have a live roof to work on,” explains Brian.
Over his 26 years working in the sector, Brian says change has not come “quick enough”. Along with the declining number of thatchers, two other immediate issues that the sector is facing include the lack of insurance cover for thatched property owners and the almost non-existence of Irish-grown thatching straw and reed.
“Insurance companies see thatched houses as too much of a risk,” explains Brian. “There have been problems in the past, some thatched houses have gone up in flames due to bad electrical wiring or faulty chimneys. They don’t really want to insure thatched homes.” It was estimated in 2023 that 50% of thatched properties were not insured in Ireland.
On Irish-grown materials, Brian says: “We need them desperately. We need properly grown varieties of wheat and reeds. Water reed grows on river banks, but we got a couple of samples of the reeds from around the Shannon, and it just doesn’t stand up to the quality. It’s too brittle, it soaks up the pollutants in the river and it breaks.
“We import our reed from Turkey and the reed beds are regularly inspected by the National Society of Master of Thatchers in the UK.
“The imported reed is more supple, it’s stronger, there’s a big variety in heights and sizes.
“We’d love to use Irish stuff. Even though we have a lot of reed beds in Ireland, they aren’t properly managed and we need to encourage better management through farming grants.
“We want to start up some sort of guild or association to encourage farmers to get into Irish-grown materials. It’ll give us more voice. It’s an issue that the Government should look into.”
Irish Country Living spoke to two students on the thatching course about how their interest in thatched properties emerged, and their pathway into the programme.
Donál Brady from Co Cavan left his full-time job as a painter and decorator to pursue a career in thatching. \ Philip Doyle
Grá for a trade
Dónal Brady says that he has always had a grá for a trade. Dónal is from Drumard Townland, Ballintemple, Co Cavan, a county less known for its thatched properties.
“I grew up in Cavan, spent 15 years in Australia, and when I came home, I did some family research and found out that my granddad was a slice thatcher [a style of thatching] which I knew nothing about.
“On the farm where we grew up, there are two old dwellings with remnants of his thatching under the galvanised roof, which is really cool,” says Dónal.
“When my grandfather was thatching, he used what was available in our townland. He grew his own oats for the thatch and the straw that was used as a bedding on the roof was taken from the bog below the house.
“It was a sustainable practice deeply rooted in a circular economy.”
Dónal left his full-time job as a painter and decorator to pursue the course in thatching, a gamble that paid off. “I absolutely love the course. I’m learning every day,” he says. “I definitely want to have a future in this, I have a passion for it.
“It occupies a special place in my heart and it ties me to my family heritage now and our connection to the land.”
Alice Bowler from Co Wexford is the only female student in the thatching course. \ Philip Doyle
At the opposite end of the country, Alice Bowler says she had always admired thatched buildings in her home county of Wexford, near the farm in Enniscorthy where she grew up. Alice is the only female student in the current cohort.
Possessing a keen interest in built heritage, she studied architecture in University College Dublin (UCD) and worked in an architectural practice in Cork for almost two years. It was Alice’s appreciation for natural materials and vernacular architecture [style of building that uses local materials and traditional methods of construction] that led her to pursue thatching.
“A few years ago, I went to watch Sara Leach (see page 6) thatch some roofs in Co Louth.
“I was mesmerised. I kept an eye out for courses, this one popped up and I just went for it. I was definitely taking a chance going for it, and it is challenging but I’m loving it. It’s a unique opportunity to learn hands-on and on-site,” explains Alice. She will complete her six-week internship with Sara later in the year as part of the course.
Thatch Training Course supported by the Heritage Council and Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board at Gáirdín an Ghorta, Sheepstown, Dunamagin, Kilkenny. \ Abaigh Tyrrell
“I’ve always wanted to work with my hands and the more I’m doing this course, the more I’m realising that I’m suited to something practical rather than being at a desk all day.
“We’ve been outside nearly all day the past week. I really wanted a break from a screen. I am enjoying it, and I think I’m getting the hang of it,” Alice says.
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