A beef and tillage farmer in Banna, north Kerry is availing of the Traditional Farm Buildings Grant Scheme to tackle the roof of a farm building that is over 200 years old, with much of the old slate being salvaged.
“The building has a loft that was used to store barley that was grown on the farm. There was also a three-horse stable and another storage area.
“The building was always well maintained in modern times and used for storage,” said Richard O’Flaherty who works with his father on the family farm.
His parents live next door and the original dwelling house, a thatched house, was onto the farm building that is being worked on, central in the farmyard.
“At this stage the roof needed to be replaced. We heard about the grant scheme and decided to apply. If it wasn’t for the grant we would have replaced it with modern slate but this wouldn’t be in keeping with the style of the building,” he added.
The Traditional Farm Buildings scheme is co-funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and the European Union, and delivered in collaboration with the Heritage Council.
So far, the scheme has conserved over 1,000 traditional farm buildings by supporting the use of traditional building techniques and materials, promoting sustainability and conserving traditional skills and craftsmanship.
The work on the building has commenced and much of the old slate is being salvaged. according to O’Flaherty.
“The main obstacle we had to overcome was to find a roofer to take on this project as everybody in construction is so busy at the moment. The work has to be completed by November as part of the grant conditions.
“This also suits us as we weren’t confident the original roof would survive another winter.
“We were very lucky that Sean Finucane Roofing and Construction took on the project. He has vast experience and knowledge of roofing. His work is excellent,” he outlined.
The main focus of the work at present is to secure the roof. The project will take four weeks and the building will continue to be used for general storage for the farm.
“We had to complete a bird/bat survey as part of the grant application. There aren’t any bats in the building, but there are old swallows’ nests so old access points in doors etc will be maintained for them,” O’Flaherty said.
“A list of people who do these was supplied by the Heritage Council. Also we had to complete a conservation specification. Again, the Heritage Council had a list of suitable consultants.
“The architect I got to do the specification is also overseeing the work to ensure it is done in accordance with the guidelines.
“The Heritage Council also sent a person to assess the site before work commenced as well as the specification report and will send someone to look at completed work,” O’Flaherty added.