house

Detached four-bay single-storey vernacular house, built c. 1860, having windbreak porch to the front elevation (south). Pitched/domed thatched roof (recently re-thatched with reed) having ropes over secured on stone pegs below eaves level, and with two rendered chimneystack. Smooth rendered walls over rubble stone construction. Square-headed window openings (enlarged) with replacement windows. Square-headed door opening to windbreak porch having replacement timber sheeted door. Set back from road in elevated sloping site to the north-east of Gleann Cholm Cille/Glencolumbkille. Long approach avenue to house from the main road to the south. Detached five-bay single-storey outbuilding adjacent to the east having pitched thatched with ropes over secured with pegs at eaves level, rubble stone walls, and having square-headed openings. Some openings now blocked with modern blockwork.

This vernacular house retains some of its early character despite some alterations. Modest in scale, it exhibits the simple and functional form of vernacular building in Ireland. Of particular interest in the survival of the thatched roof, which is now sadly becoming increasingly rare in Donegal. The rounded or shallow pitched roof is a typical feature of thatched houses located close to the sea in exposed areas in the north-west of Ireland, while the pegs to the eaves were used to tie ropes (and sometimes nets) over the roof to secure it against the prevailing winds, as is the case here at Faugher. The windbreak porch to the front is another characteristic feature of vernacular houses in the north-west of Ireland. This house represents a fine surviving example of a once ubiquitous building type in the rural Irish countryside, and is a valuable addition to the vernacular heritage of County Donegal. The thatched outbuilding to the east, possibly originally a house but now in use as an outbuilding, adds considerably to the setting and is a significant structure in its own right.