To bring the past back to life we need to look back and understand where our family came from. The story begins with my grandfather Mattie Glynn who was originally from Cahernahoon, Lackagh.
Mattie was from a family of eight who grew up on a farm. A grandfather that I never met as he died before I was born. To understand his life, I looked back at the census of 1901 and 1911. In 1901 Census, Mattie was five years old living with his four brothers and two sisters and parents Martin and Bridget Glynn. Martin was a farmer and Bridget was a housewife living in Cahernahoon, Lackagh. In the 1911 Census, Mattie was 15 years old and the family increased to four brothers and four sisters. This is the last Census I can view on record.
Mattie then moved to Corbally South which is the next village to Cahernahoon, around the later 1930s (Not sure of the exact date ) with a holding of 30 acres to start his family life with his wife Helen Coffey, originally from Athenry. They had eight children together that grew up on the farm. Around this time, they built their home which was a traditional two-storey house with the gable end facing the road.
The barn was built by Mattie next to the house in the early 1940s as a shorted shed and later extended to a long two bay farmhouse. The material used was poured concrete which was typical of the time. In total there are five different rooms in the barn. Room one was used for seed and potato. Rooms two and three acted as the cow, chicken and pig sheds. Room four was where the cart house was stored. Room five was where the horse stayed. The barn was used daily in the family life of the farm. Remember the Ireland of the 1940s with wartime and all it brought, was a very different place than it is today.
In 1940, rural Ireland was defined by its agricultural self-sufficiency, with most families living on small farms that provided food and a small income. It was a time before electricity was widespread, and amenities like running water and modern conveniences were uncommon, particularly in rural areas. The decade was also shaped by the “Emergency” which had a significant impact on daily life despite Ireland’s neutrality.
When my grandfather Mattie died, the farm was left to my father Paddy Joe Glynn. My father continued with the farming of the land as his father (Mattie ) and grandfather (Martin ) had done before him. After the passing of my father Paddy Joe in 1999, the farm was passed on to me, Eileen. The third generation.
By the time the barn was passed on to me, the roof was badly damaged due to age and decades of poor weather conditions. As the roof had started to become unsafe, the roof was removed. It saddened me greatly to see the barn without a roof. My wish was to restore the barn back to its former glory and bring it back to life.
When I was talking to my Teagasc adviser, she informed me of the Traditional Farm Building Grant Scheme from the Heritage Council. I then applied through the website with my pictures and the history of the barn. When I got the email to say I was selected to be considered for the grant, I was overjoyed.
To maintain the character and integrity of the building, I worked with a Conservationist advisor. She gave great guidance and ensured that everything was maintained to the highest standards using the old traditional building techniques and materials that my grandfather Mattie Glynn used in the 1940s when the barn was first constructed.
A local contractor Cyril Duggan worked to restore the roof. He sourced local limestone for the walls keeping with the stone that was used in the 1940.
To construct the roof, the profiles of the existing gable ends were used as a guide to set the roof to follow the original profile. The roof material used is galvanised corrugated sheet that will match the original roof. The doors and frames used solid timber and a oil based paint in keeping with traditional methods. Ironmongery was made by a traditional blacksmith to make the hinges and handles.
Slowly I saw the old barn returning to what it once was and to breathe again.
My deepest thanks and appreciation are for the Heritage Council and the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine who awarded me the grant to make my wish come true to see the barn being brought back to life.
When driving through the countryside, I often look at old buildings and wonder at the history behind them and hope that one day they too would be brought back to life. I hope their owners will some day avail of the grant aid and do up the old buildings. I would encourage farmers to protect and conserve their traditional farm buildings.
