GLAS Traditional Farm Buildings Grant Scheme Farmer Focus - Kevin Wood
Kevin Wood, Co. Cork is a GLAS participant who availed of the Traditional Farm Buildings Grant Scheme for repairs mainly to a lofted grain store dating back to 1888. Eimear Connery, Teagasc Advisor has more details. For two more days Teagasc Daily will focus on Co Cork participants of this scheme
Kevin Wood is farming just outside of the suburb of Ballincollig, West of Cork city. The family farm is situated along the banks of the River Lee close to the popular local amenity of Ballincollig Park where the historic gun powder mills are located. These date back to the 1790s and are a popular local historical attraction. The farm itself once formed part of Templehill House Estate which dates back to the 1800s. There’s a lot of history attached to this area and it highlights the importance of retaining as much of these traditional farm buildings as we can to hold onto our heritage where possible.
Building Repairs
The main farm building on Kevin’s farm that required repairs is a fantastic lofted building which was used as a grain store. This building is present on the historic maps dating back to 1888. The main work required in this building was repairing the loft along with some repointing of stonework. A small adjoining stone building also required repairs to the corrugated roof. As much as possible original building materials were reused by local builder Pat Shanahan.
Lofted grain store before and after work had been completed autumn 2020.
Above: - Section of loft that required work.
Small outbuilding before and after roof and repointing were complete.
Role of Heritage Council & DAFM
Kevin and his family are very grateful to the Heritage Council (Anna Meenan) and the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine (DAFM) for the funding they received to complete these repair works. Without this scheme & funding, these buildings would have deteriorated over time and the associated history and heritage lost. It is so important that we hold onto as many of these old stone buildings as we possibly can. They are a vital link between our past & present lives and keep us connected to our ancestors.
Role of Teagasc
In addition, Teagasc Advisors Eimear Connery Middleton and Enda Maloney Kanturk played key roles with the initial information of the Grants Scheme and for the encouragement to submit an application.
The Scheme closes on Monday 5th April and application must be made online to the Heriatge Council. More on the GLAS Traditional Farm Buildings Grant Scheme can be found here. See Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine Press Release here
Two additional articles will follow on Cork farmers on Saturday and Sunday. There are four articles in this Series in total as follows:
- Siobhán Madden on Thursday 11th March
- Kevin Wood on Friday 12th March
- Tom O'Neill on Saturday 13th March and
- John & Margaret Murphy on Sunday 14th March 2021 here on Teagasc Daily.