Cherished Irish tradition of thatching roofs is dying out. A new school aims to fix that

A new school in Ireland is training up a fresh generation of thatchers in a bid to save the country’s disappearing thatched roofs, an iconic feature of the Irish landscape.

In a hall in Portnoo, students at the Donegal Thatching School clamber over practice roofs under the watchful eye of Brian Lafferty, one of Ireland’s last master thatchers.

“That’s it, start at the eaves and work from there,” says the still sprightly 72-year-old, peering upwards as a student lays and fixes batches of flax straw on top of a purpose-built model house.

“The tradition has almost died out,” he adds. “It is crucial to pass it on to the younger ones.”

Lafferty, whose expertise was learned from his father, grew up in County Donegal, the part of Ireland with the highest number of surviving thatched cottages.