Carraroe.

Carraroe, carrying seaweed in currachs.

View of strand.

View of strand.

Near Carraroe.

Carraroe.

Men, women, children at Carraroe.

Carraroe.

Carraroe.

Woman and child, Carraroe. Note scraw turf drying on field fence.

View of landscape with stone walls.

View of landscape with long grass.

Carraroe, ridges visible.

View at Carraroe.

Roof construction: twisting and bending lúbán. The same length of hazel stick is used for both scollop and lúbán: both are taken from the same bundle of prepared sticks. Point of lúbán cut bias to avoid having soft centre of stick coincide with sharp end. Scollop and lúbán in position for holding down thatch - lúbán is pushed in with hand and driven home with mallet till the long leg oes into the scraw, deep down. Scollops are stuck into roof along the edge of straca just finished to keep the straw in position and to mark the position of the lúbán hidden under the thatching. they are taken out one by one as the thatcher moves up towards the apex and used as the scollops for the fresh stráca as in x.

House foundations at Carraroe.

Roof construction: (9) thatching - first stráca, boibíní, (10) second stráca, bundle of scollops, lúbán, thatcher’s mallet for driving home lúbán, scollop: hazel rod approx. 3 ft long; 1/2” to 3/4” thick.

Roof construction: (1) mortise (2) collar tie, cloch chúinne, cloch phréacháin.

Houses at Carraroe.

Roof construction: (5) branches, (6) scraws (long sods of earth with grass attached and rolled up. The grass side is turned outwards) (7) straw rope stitching, (8) heather.

House in Carraroe.

Roof construction: (11) finishing last straca: thatcher must work to his left; though he works always to his right oterwise. When starting or finishing thatching scollops are bent over and driven down between gable and side of straca, thus giving protection against thatch being lifted by the weather (note: this drawing shows the scollops exposed but only for the purpose of illustration; normally they would be concealed under the thatch). Three rows of exposed scollops are used for holding boibíns. Row of boibíní on side of roof facing point of prevailing wind is set above row on the other side to prevent rain entering at the apex of the roof. The one row of lubans holds both line of scollops that old the boibíní. There are fifteen boibins to each scollop as below. Boibíns are threaded onto the scollop before being-put into position leaving about 5” of scollop protruding for insertion into lubán holding previous set of boibíns.

hip-roof house - Carraroe (March 1959); ropes with pegs holding down thatch.

Roof construction: (12) raking or combing down finished thatching with the ráca. Besides the three exposed scollops used over the boibins (the comb) often ornamentation is applied such as above. (13) Straightening the eaves with a sheep-shears. Final note: the thatcher always works with helper, who cuts scollops ready for use and carries themp up the ladder (the thatcher himself twists and shapes lubán). He draws the straw (see (9)), makes boibins, and does all preparatory work, so that the thatcher is able to stay on the ladder till the completion of each stráca.