Due to COVID-19, construction on this project could not begin for a while due to local restrictions. But in early March 2021, work began. One of the first steps was to remove the slates from the roof, trying to salvage what could be saved. I would love to reuse them but because I’m adding an extension to the original house, there will not be enough. But they can be sold to help pay for the new roof. The old slates are hand cut and in demand for restoration projects.
Immediately following the slates being removed, the old roof was demolished and removed as well. I, watching this all from New York via pictures and video from my cousin, realized that I now own 3 walls in Ireland. It was a little bit intimidating to look at what was left of the original house at this point.
So it was at this point that I got the very sad news from the contractors who were doing the work that there was a large vertical crack in the chimney of the huge fireplace, and that it had to be taken down because it was not going to be stable enough to be saved or used in the condition that it was in…. So, understanding that I did not want to have to deal with that after a new roof was put on, it seemed the only thing to do was to let them take it down, even though that was heartbreaking for me because that fireplace was literally my favorite part of the whole house. My cousin Ger who is a Stone Mason by trade, assured me that he would put it back just as it was. You can see in some of the pictures above that it has been removed.
My Irish Farmhouse 