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Ireland’s Beloved Thatched Cottages

Irene Hislop
Irish Thatched Cottage Inishowen Peninsula, County Donegal
Irish Thatched Cottage Inishowen Peninsula, County Donegal

Thatched roof cottages with white walls and little square windows are a popular image on Irish gifts. Not only are they lovely to look at, they evoke a sense of bucolic rural Ireland before the famine, when about half of the population lived in a thatched cottage. They speak to our connection with the past and a sense of self-sufficiency when people had the skills to produce their own food, clothing and even furniture – not to mention building their own houses and thatching the roof. Of course, as a colony, the Irish people didn’t often own their own land or have the freedom to benefit from the work they did growing food, which went to the landowners. But they did have the skills, and life was slower and simpler than it is today.

Irish Thatched Cottage Adare, County Limerick

Irish thatched cottages were wonderfully sustainable homes. They were energy-efficient and made with local materials. The details were easily modified to suit the area. The roof could be thatched with straw or reeds, depending on what was available, and it would last decades. Repairs could be done as needed, and many people had the skills to do them. A thatched roof is thick, providing excellent insulation, and waterproof. Rodents aren’t attracted to them because there is nothing there that provides food for them.

Rural Irish Thatched Cottage with horse outside

Windows were small to keep heat in and because windows and glass were taxed heavily at different times in Irish history. But the ceiling inside was usually high and the walls were whitewashed, so that helped offset the small windows. The fireplace was huge. Not only did it heat the entire building, it was where everything was cooked. A typical cottage would have two rooms – a large main room that served as a kitchen, dining room and living room and a smaller bedroom. (Open plan living isn’t so new after all!)

Irish Thatched Cottage with traditional door and bicycle
Irish Thatched Cottages Today

You are more likely to see a thatched cottage on Irish gifts than in a village today. Once, the Irish countryside was dotted with tens of thousands of them, but today we have a bit more than a thousand left on the island. Many of these are available as vacation rentals, so it is possible to try out living in one – although today they would have modern kitchens and bathrooms.

Irish Thatched Cottage by the sea with boats
Belleek Pottery Thatched Cottage Ornaments
Shop Belleek Pottery

You can also visit replica traditional Irish cottages. The Museum of Country Life in Mayo, Dun Na Sí in Westmeath and the Kerry Bog Village are a few places to spend the day learning about how our ancestors lived, including what their homes were like.

Irish Thatched Cottage in a state of disrepair

As we start to think more deeply about how to build affordable, sustainable, environmentally responsible homes, it’s possible thatched roof cottages could make a comeback in Ireland. We might see more and more of them, and not just on Irish gifts. The difficulty of insuring such a home is one of the largest obstacles, and the Irish Heritage Council is currently assembling a group of Irish thatched home owners to try to tackle this.

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