It was not a family connection to the tradition but a childhood curiosity that led Kyran O’Grady to become a thatcher.
“I had a fascination with old houses as a kid growing up and I just thought it’d be nice to know how to thatch them,” O’Grady, who had toyed with the idea of renovating old properties before selling them on, explained to Agriland.
The native of Howth in Co. Dublin was studying for a degree in commerce at University College Dublin (UCD) when he left to join a training course on thatching being run by AnCo – the precursor to FAS.
O’Grady decided not to return to university but to pursue a career in the traditional building craft, a decision his parents supported, he said.
He began his journey to becoming a master thatcher by working on the roofs of houses in Co. Donegal with his fellow AnCo apprentices.
O’Grady, who lives in a thatched house in Co. Wicklow, said that “a good few” of the projects he has worked on over the years make him particularly proud.
“There was a fad of thatched pubs in Dublin in the late 80s and 90s. The first one was The Orchard in Stillorgan; it’s probably one of the prettiest roofs, it was very well designed.
“After that, there was the Playwright in Blackrock, the Glenside near Nutgrove, the Lord Mayors in Swords, Courtney’s in Lucan and the Man of War,” he said.
O’Grady also got the call when the founder of Kepak, Noel Keating, decided to thatch the roof of the company’s corporate headquarters in Clonee, Co. Meath.
Several types of materials have been traditionally used for thatching in Ireland including straw, flax, grasses or whatever was available locally from farmers.
Reed thatching, which was less common, is O’Grady’s preferred choice of material to work with. “It’s the longest lasting, by far,” he said.
He uses a tool called a legget to smooth the thatch by driving the reeds evenly into place.
“When I started thatching first there was a problem with the supply of the material,” he said.
“So I started another business in tandem with the thatching where I was harvesting the reed. I have been harvesting reed for 30 or 35 years.”
However, demand for reed still exceeds domestic supply and must be bolstered by imports, mainly from eastern Europe.
Thatching is a craft that involves time and expertise. It can take anywhere from four to six weeks to replace the roof of a cottage.
O’Grady said that a new roof can last for up to 25 years if maintained properly, but property owners should remember that a new ridge is needed every 8-10 years.
“They are more expensive than a normal roof, obviously, because they have to be replaced, but they also have to be maintained. The people who really want them, in the main, are the people who buy them [thatched properties] at this point,” O’Grady explained.
Although he feels there could be more young people joining the profession, he warned that if there was a huge influx of new thatchers there might not be work for them all.
Working in the trade for over 40 years, he admits that the job is physically demanding on a thatcher’s body, and then there is the mileage.
“I have to travel all over the country to get work, to keep busy,” he added.
So will the master thatcher and his legget be retiring any time soon? “That’s the $64,000 question,” he said with a smile.
“I don’t know to be honest with you. I’ve kind of scaled back what I’m doing. In the main, I am looking after the customers I have rather than looking for new ones now.”