Teachín Ryan

Detached four-bay single-storey vernacular house, built c. 1860. Pitched/domed rope-and-stone peg thatch, recently renewed, having three smooth rendered chimneystacks (one to either gable end and one offset to the south side of centre). Stone pegs below eaves level for securing ropes/nets over thatch to main elevations (east and west) and to gable ends. Smooth rendered walls. Square-headed window openings having replacement two-over-two pane timber sliding sash windows. Square-headed door opening having replacement timber door. Set back from road in elevated sloping site to the east of An Charraig/Carrick and the north of Cill Chartha/Kilcar overlooking Ballaghdoo River to the east. Laneway to house from road to the south-east. Garden to front of site. Detached single-bay single-storey outbuilding to the south having pitched corrugated metal roof, rubble stone walls and square-headed door opening with battened timber door.

This appealing and well-maintained thatched vernacular house retains its early form and character, and is an appealing feature in the rural landscape to the east of An Charraig/Carrick. Modest in scale, it exhibits the simple and functional form of vernacular building in Ireland. Of particular interest in the survival of the thatch roof, although recently renewed, which is now sadly becoming increasingly rare in Donegal. The rounded roof is a typical feature of thatched houses located close to the sea in exposed areas in the north-west of Ireland, while the stone pegs to the eaves were used to tie ropes (and sometimes nets) over the roof to secure it against the prevailing winds. The largely blank rear elevation is a typical feature of many small-scale vernacular dwellings in rural Ireland. The location of the chimneystacks to the gable ends suggests that this building is of the ‘direct entry’ type that is characteristic of the vernacular tradition in north-west Ireland, and that it was extended to the south by a bay at some stage. 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 simple altered rubble stone outbuilding to site completes the context and setting of this charming building.