Since I trained in 1981 I have never been stuck for work as a thatcher. Work, however, does not equal money! It is one of the vagaries of life that people who do the hardest physical work usually have to struggle for their money, whereas those who get others to do it for them often become wealthy.
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I got my start through a training course run by AnCo in 1981. Based around Ardara, County Donegal, we were shown the ropes by Jack Meaney, a traditional thatcher from County Cork. We worked on various net-thatched houses around the area, learning to thatch, harvest reeds, and split scollops.
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After training, Ciaran MacCana and I decided to team up. We rethatched a number of cottages, and then did our first new house down near Galway.
 
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Ciaran and I went our separate ways after a few years. He is now a wine negotiant in France.
I carried on under my own name. It doesn't seem so long ago, but when you look at the calender it is over 20 years. Time flies.
Click the 'read more' buttons to browse images of different jobs during that time. I hope you enjoy looking through them.
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Living near the Camargue reed producing area of France, Ciaran is ideally placed to supervise the quality of the French water reed that we import. We have built up a good relationship with the reed suppliers, and can supply water reed of the best quality. Over the years I have thatched with most varieties of reed from many countries, but the French has proven to be the best consistent quality, ideal for working with. You may save a few cents by buying the popular Turkish stuff, but if you use the French you will easily make that back, and much more, as the ease of laying the French reed means that you can lay a lot more for less effort. And as all thatchers know, the money is made by completing the square footage.
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