Phe’s House

Welcome to Phil Barron’s House — known personally by the current owner and her family as “Phe’s House” — a coal miner’s thatched cottage situated in the picturesque village of Clogh, just outside of the coal mining town of Castlecomer, Kilkenny, Ireland. Just 19km away is Kilkenny’s historical city which hosts annual tourists from all over the world flocking to see its medieval streets and the famous Kilkenny Castle.

The owner of Phe’s House, Helen Kealy-Dunne, and her family can trace their ancestral connection to the house back nearly 200 years and are proud to still be in possession of this vernacular dwelling today. Phe’s is more than just a property to them, it’s a direct link to their ancestors and Irish heritage.

However, owning a vernacular dwelling in Ireland is expensive and property owners of this kind rely on government funding to keep their buildings standing. In 2005, Helen re-thatched the house, whitewashed the walls, and painted parts of the house, such as its iconic red half-door. But since 2004, due to harsh Irish weather, increasing financial demands, and Helen’s ill health, the house fell into disrepair.

To help restore this piece of Irish history back to its former beauty, Helena and her family launched a GoFundMe page to help cover the costs of renovating the house. Additionally, they applied for a grant from the Built Heritage Investment Scheme 2021 from the Department of Housing and Local Government and Heritage, and the Kilkenny County Council — which they were awarded. However, the grant only covered half the cost to repair the roof so the rest of the restorations were paid using the funds raised by generous and much-appreciated donators. All in all, the house received new beams to secure the roof, new thatched roofing, whitewashed walls inside and outside, and new paintwork, with the help of master thatchers, a conservation consultant, local government representatives, family members, friends, and admirers of the house near and far. The beauty of this house is the family’s commitment to maintaining its originality. This means only using straw thatch for the roof as straw is indicative of the house’s connection to the coal mining industry, as opposed to reeds that are often seen on fisherman’s thatched houses. Whitewashing the walls is another way the house keeps its originality intact instead of simply painting the walls with regular paint.

Although Phil Barron’s House is a protected building under Ireland’s National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (Reg No: 12400203), it remains the owner’s responsibility to upkeep the maintenance of the house.

The House From 2004-2021

This little old lady was last thatched and repaired with great effort by the owner, Helen Kealy-Dunne, and her husband, Ambrose Dunne in 2004, in which the condition of the cottage was perhaps the best it has ever been. However, due to the expenses to upkeep the house and Helen’s ill health, the cottage fell into disrepair since thatched cottages are one of the most demanding architectural buildings to maintain in comparison to a tiled roof. Thatched cottages deteriorate fast if not regularly kept, especially in Ireland’s damp climate.

From the 2010s onward, several areas of the roof caved in and the wood started to rot as a result of harsh weather conditions. The interior was also spoiled by leaks and staining from the roof. The thatch on the roof deteriorated badly to the point where only tarpaulins were keeping the weather out — highlighting the roof’s urgent need for replacement. Internally, the roof timbers were cracking and the roof was in danger of collapse

This house is a time machine into Ireland’s coal mining heritage, and its upkeep is of cultural, historical, and sentimental importance not only to the family but to the Clogh community, Irish natives, and visitors from abroad. This cottage preserves the evidence of a way of life that has disappeared from modern Irish society. It is a simple, vernacular dwelling that could once be found the length and breadth of Ireland. Therefore, its renovation was of the utmost importance.

The Big Renovation in 2021

In addition to securing funding from the Built Heritage Investment Scheme 2021 from the Department of Housing and Local Government and Heritage, and the Kilkenny County Council, Phe’s House also relied on the generosity of others and their donations to fund the restoration of this iconic thatched house — one of Europe’s oldest coal mining cottages still standing today — since the maintenance of a thatched roof is generally the most costly of roofing jobs.

In order to revive this old lady, the family launched a GoFundMe page with a goal of €25,000 and raised over €8,800. This was a huge help that went toward the remaining cost of the thatch which included paying the master thatcher and conservation consultant and acquiring materials to make this renovation possible.

During the restoration project, the master thatcher stripped the weathered layer of thatch and re-thatched the roof with Irish oaten straw — thatching material made from the stems and leaves of the oat straw which are harvested early while the grass is still green. Repairs were also carried out to the underlying timber structure as necessary. Traditional craft skills were utilised when carrying out the appropriate handiwork for this house in order to not modernise the building in any way.

The overall goal was to carry out faithful repairs or replacements of what exists or did exist while maintaining good conservation practices. The cottage was repaired with materials that reflect the original materials of the house where at all possible.

The house was whitewashed on the interior and exterior walls which is the process of covering a wall with a very thin coat of plaster made with water, lime, and other ingredients which are used to bind the mix together. These original materials as well as the process in which it’s done complemented the original qualities and aesthetics of the house. Thatched cottages with whitewashed walls are an iconic symbol of traditional Ireland that date back to old crannóg (young tree), one-roomed cottages that housed labourers and their families.

Finally, the iconic red half-door which has been a key feature of the house for anyone driving past was repainted with a fresh, new coat.

Ultimately, the owner, Helen, and her family were successful in returning this old lady to her former beauty, adding more character to the already charismatic village of Clogh in which the house is located.