Padraic Kenny of Falleighter, Aghamore, Ballyhaunis, is one of two Mayo farmers who have become the first to complete their repair projects under the latest tranche of the Traditional Farm Buildings Grant Scheme.
The main objective of the scheme is to ensure that traditional farm buildings and other related structures that contribute to the character of the countryside and are of significant heritage value, are conserved for active agricultural use.
Padraic repaired a traditional old granary and adjoining smaller building that are part of a group of buildings in his farmyard.
The granary was constructed in the early 1900s and was built under a grant scheme. There is also a loft which was used for the storage of hay or oats.
A small single story building with a chimney may have originally been a house built in the late 1800s and was converted to a piggery in later years. The granary downstairs was used for housing cows, with the original flagstones in place for separating the animals.
These buildings will now be used for storing feedstuffs and farm implements by the next generations.
The original buildings belonged to his grandmother so he did not want to lose them as they were part of the original family homestead.
The main obstacle in the repair of the buildings was the stone stairway between the buildings that had steps missing.
The steps up to the granary had to be rebuilt; in order to protect any biodiversity, Padraig waited until the results of a bat and bird survey before starting repairs.
Padraic expressed thanks to the Department of Agriculture and the Heritage Council for their support in the repair of the buildings and in particular, Anna Meenan of the Heritage Council,
Aine Doyle, the conservation architect on the project, Barbara McInerney for completing the bird/bat survey and Jimmy Murphy who carried out the work on the buildings.
“It took a lot of work over the summer but I am glad it is done,” said Padraic.
Eligibility criteria can be found on www.heritagecouncil.ie