If you’ve ever been to Ireland, you won’t have missed the superb houses built in the traditional Irish style… Some have brightly colored facades, ranging from deep blue to yellow, or even eccentric pink… Others have been whitewashed and thatched using traditional techniques. Here’s a short introduction to these typically Irish houses.
A house in Adare, Ireland – © Lyd Photography
Irish houses have had whitewashed walls and thatched roofs for centuries. Recognized for its ecological virtues, thatch is a natural material made from rye, reed and earth for the roof ridges, which makes the house perfectly healthy, protected from cold and damp.
There is one drawback, however: the thatch rots in places and needs to be partially cleaned every 3 to 5 years. The rain, coupled with the sun and the cold, eventually lead to the creation of moss and lichen on the thatch, which must be removed regularly…
Despite this disadvantage, thatch is a long-lasting material, requiring only complete renewal every 50 years.
As for the fact that the walls are whitewashed, that’s simply because this material has been used by man for over 6,000 years! Lime has anti-sceptic properties that make homes healthier, protect them from damp and keep them in lasting condition.
Originally, only peasants and fishermen’s families lived in these traditional houses, made of thatch, stone and lime. These were inexpensive, and provided residents with a healthy living environment, sheltered from the cold, incessant rain and damp.
However, this local heritage is now under threat: it now represents just 0.1% of the Irish housing stock. The reason for this is the gradual disappearance of craftsmen specializing in thatched roofs, and building workers using traditional Irish construction techniques.
Today’s house-building methods in Ireland are more modern, more reliable and even more durable, thanks to the use of tiles and slates imported directly from other countries… It would seem, then, that the days of early Irish houses are now on the verge of extinction…
Portmagee and its colorful houses – © Michael
In Ireland, the gloom of the rain has almost no effect on Irish morale! And with good reason! The latter don’t hesitate to brighten up their towns and villages every day, painting their houses in a wide range of colors, from blue and firecracker orange to more sober purple…
The brightness of these colors may be surprising, but it allows the Irish to give each house its own identity, without lapsing into the dull style of certain identical working-class houses that can be found in certain Irish working-class neighborhoods.
Because as soon as the Irish can, they don’t hesitate to swap the depressing red bricks for a satin coating, covered with a thick layer of bright paint.
Unlike houses with thatched roofs and whitewashed walls, houses with colorful facades are legion in Ireland. You’ll come across them everywhere, from small coastal fishing villages to big cities like Galway, Cork and Killarney. In fact, even pubs and other shop signs are decked out in intense colors, so as not to give in to the monotony of houses without soul or identity.
Georgian doors in Dublin – © Delphotostock
If you take a stroll around Dublin, you’ll notice that the city also boasts some truly original houses: their Georgian-style doors are brightly colored. Indeed, the city’s facades are often less colorful than its counterparts, but their doors make up for it in red, yellow, green, blue and other bright colors.
Rumor has it that the choice of these colorful doors will make it easier for tipsy Irishmen to find their way home after a night in the pub, without mistaking their home for someone else’s…
