Art of thatching still thrives

THE art of thatching, like many traditions in rural Ireland, may be becoming rarer - but one thatcher is determined to keep the practice alive in Galway and the West of Ireland, for another generation at least.Currently hard at work on a 250 year old cottage outside Loughrea, Paul Johnson of Slagmount, County Clare is passionate about thatching and believes everything should be done to preserve thatched cottages and the craft of thatching which is identified abroad as a symbol of the Ireland.“The Irish cottage is a symbol of Ireland as much as the pint of Guinness, shamrock, harp and the leprechaun are and it should be encouraged. But it’s not a cheap trade anymore and, like vintage cars, people need to be passionate about thatch,” he says.Paul started training 17 years ago as an apprentice to master thatcher in Oxfordshire in England and three years later moved to Ireland where he eventually established his own business.Paul currently employs four thatchers who are pictured here thatching Frank Martyn’s 250- years-old cottage in Holly Hill, Gurtymadden near Loughrea which is one of an estimated 250 to 300 thatches remaining in County Galway.Dismissing some of the ...