Welcome !

Kyran O'Grady is proud to carry on the great tradition of Irish Thatching with all the skill of a modern craftsman. Over the past 24 years, he has undertaken some of the most prestigious thatching contracts in the country.
Reed Thatching is his speciality. He even harvests his own reed to ensure that the quality is never in doubt and to ensure continuity of supply all year round.

Thatch is one of the oldest roofing materials and has been used by traditional builders on every continent except Antarctica. It offers excellent insulation value (generally R40) and is relatively easy to repair.

A roof thatched with water reed (a more durable and water-resistant material than straw) will last  35 - 40  years in Ireland, with very little maintenance. When a thatch roof is in need of repair a new layer is often placed over the old. On old buildings up to four feet of thatch can accumulate.

So why thatch? 
First of all, the building practices of bygone days ran to lightweight, irregular materials, such as wattle and daub walls, and cruck beams. These walls were simply not made to take much weight, and thatch was by far the lightest weight material available.