Wexford Council hire contractor to repair 300-year-old thatched property despite government’s ‘significant conservation project’

The Heritage Council of Ireland (HCI) has asked Wexford County Council (WCC) to hire contractors to repair a thatched house which had previously been subject to “one of the most significant conservation projects” in recent history. Restored in 2001, the house in Mayglass is believed to be over 300 years old and considered one of “the most important vernacular farmsteads in the country”.

However, despite its previous investment in returning the property to its former glory, the Heritage Council, which is a national organisation, has looked to WCC to address the recent damage the house has suffered.

“We got a request with regards to helping out the heritage council,” said engineer Michael Brazzill at the January meeting of the Rosslare Municipal District, “they (the HCI) were finding it difficult to acquire a contractor to put tarpaulins over the farmstead, so we stepped in and provided the assistance needed to cover that homestead.

“It was really important to get that safeguarded for future generations, as we know there was a lot of money spent on that some years ago, but we need to continue with this maintenance going forward, we don’t want to lose an important structure like that.”

While cognisant of the importance of the building, Councillor Ger Carthy was aghast that the HCI had tasked the local council with fixing the building.

“Is this the same organisation which piecemeals a few bob here every now and again?” he asked. “Do we not have enough work of our own? I do recall there was massive money spent on that building, and now there’s a tarpaulin going over it? It’s down to lack of governance, the same crowd which gave the money to re-thatch it have now come to WCC to supply tarpaulins to cover heritage buildings.

“We have a lot of work to be getting through. It isn’t the job of the RMD’s road department to be sub-contracting the HCI. We’re spending our time facilitating a government department that’s awash with money. How much did we spend on behalf of the department, have we claimed it back?”

Reluctant to bandy any figures across the chamber, Mr Brazzill insisted the work was minimal and the cost likewise.

“The tarpaulins were supplied by the HCI, they just said they couldn’t get the contractor, they were going to ask the property owner to do the work but he’s in his late 70s and not in a position to get up on a roof that could cave in at any stage. Rather than leave the tarpaulin sit on the ground, we said we’d step in and supply the contractor which they did within half-a-day. The cost won’t come out of our roads budget. It is small money, but it is important to stop that building from collapsing.”

Cathaoirleach of the RMD, Councillor Jim Moore, described this development as “very, very disappointing” and said a strategy needed to be put in place to safeguard the buildings in Mayglass and other thatched houses in the county.

“The heritage value of our thatched houses is a hugely important part of what’s on offer in the area. A neighbour of mine, his thatched roof went on fire last week, another house is having trouble getting insurance for extension works, we need to look at how we maintain our stock of thatched houses,” he said.

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