Old agricultural buildings can be so evocative – of the past, of folklore, of nature and our links with it. Think of farmers pouring out a drop of the first milk as a gift to the fairies, or of the shelter of stone outbuildings for our native species; due to their rural settings, 70 per cent of farm buildings are in wildlife habitats, so the shelter they provide is crucial.
They form part of our landscape and have inspired artists such as Paul Henry and Seán Keating to paint them; and by capturing their essence in oils and pencil, such artists helped to preserve a sense of rustic Ireland.
In the 21st century there is a new way to conserve these landscape portals to our past: the Heritage Council has established a programme to support the preservation of important vernacular buildings. Many contain secret links to history as well as being safe places for birds and other wildlife.
“They are such simple structures and because they’ve been in situ for generations we tend to overlook them. We have always been looking at them,” says Anna Meenan of the Heritage Council, who is programme manager for the Traditional Farm Buildings Grant Scheme.
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“Generally, pre-1950 these properties are built of traditional materials such as stone, wood, timber and mud or earth. Some small, corrugated iron sheds also qualify – but are quite rare – while rarer still are thatched roofs or indeed the lovely stone flag roofs that can be found in parts of Mayo, Clare and Donegal, all of which are eligible.”
The grant scheme is for the repair and conservation of these humble structures. In Co Galway, for example, the grant funded a maternity roost for Natterer’s bats that had been found there. In Co Laois, five years after repairs were made to a farm building it became home to nesting swallows and a roost for pipistrelle bats, where before there had been none.
“It shows the work we’re doing is good for wildlife, as all bats are protected under the wildlife act,” Meenan says. “This environmental aspect has been replicated across the country.”
In addition to preserving them and creating habitats, old outbuildings are often repositories of artefacts, Meenan explains. Co Mayo farmer Pat Chambers completely changed his view on one when he discovered a jar containing, among other items, letters from relatives and a receipt made out to Seán Lemass, who would go on to become taoiseach, for giving a talk in Newport. It was hidden in the gable end of a building he owned, concealed behind two sets of stones.
Under the grant scheme each stone had to be removed by hand. Had the structure been razed by a bulldozer, as Chambers had originally wanted, the family and community lore would have been lost. Instead, these documents have just returned from being exhibited in Columbus, Ohio, where many west Mayo natives emigrated to in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The delicate approach demanded by the grant helped to reveal the building’s concealed history.
Similar discoveries have been replicated across the country, says Meenan. Two pike heads recently discovered in a stone wall in Co Laois are currently with the National Monuments Service, waiting to be dated. In east Cork Meenan photographed a woman in front of the farm buildings that have been in her family for seven generations, she and her sons assiduously lime-washing their walls every year.
“There is such a sense of ownership of these buildings,” she observes “Why did they keep them? Did they not want them falling down on their watch?”
Thanks to the farming grapevine and our lately revived repair culture, people can see the works that have been carried out and what is possible, says Meenan.
“Applicants are not quarrying new materials. The environmental assets are already there to reuse,” she explains.
During the period 2016 to 2021, 382 successful applications have helped preserve 520 traditional buildings with the conservation of roofs, windows, doors and walls, and structural repairs.
Funding for 2024 was €1.5 million. The grants varied in size between €4,000 and €30,000 but will not cover more than 75 per cent of the cost of works. Set up by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, with the assistance of EU funding and managed by the Heritage Council, the grant scheme’s principal objective is “to ensure that these traditional farm buildings and other related structures that contribute to the character of the landscape, and are of significant heritage value, are conserved for agricultural use”.
To be eligible, applicants must have a herd number and be the owner of the structure in question. Forms are available online and Meenan advises that it is essential to include photographs with applications.
“The reason for this grant is the presence of these buildings within the landscape, and the contribution they make. So, images need to show the building sitting within the surrounding landscape and not, as is often the case, of images taken of the landscape from the building itself.”
To find out more about The Heritage Council’s Traditional Farm Buildings Grant Scheme visit heritagecouncil.ie