Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
A thatcher goes about his work repairing the roof of a Wexford home.
Paddy Casey learned thatching from his father, who hailed from Kerry. Most of the houses in the barony of Bargy have been thatched by Paddy Casey who is the acknowledged master craftsman of South Wexford.
Today he is at work on the house of Brian and Josephine Matthews. Once the ladder is well-footed, the work can begin. Removing loose and old straw, he starts at the lowest point and works one strake at a time.
Inch by inch, fletch by fletch.
Oaten straw, harvested locally, is the preferred material of Wexford thatchers. Scallops (flexible wooden pins) are used to keep the thatch in place. Paddy Casy sources his from Johnny McGrath.
This part of Wexford was once known for the beauty and quality of its thatched houses, but a lack of thatchers in Ireland means derelict thatched houses are a common sight.
In his poem 'Thatcher’, Seamus Heaney describes the reaction of onlookers as a thatcher works on a house. Amazed by his skill, they are left
Gaping at his Midas touch.
This episode of ‘Hands’ was broadcast on 26 June 1981.
The narrator is Diarmaid Ó Muirithe.
'Hands' was a series exploring some of the crafts and customs handed down from generation to generation in various locations throughout Ireland. The first episode of 'Hands' was broadcast on 17 April, 1978. The series, which included 37 films, ran until 1991. 'Hands' was produced and directed by David Shaw-Smith.
A thatcher goes about his work repairing the roof of a Wexford home.
Paddy Casey learned thatching from his father, who hailed from Kerry. Most of the houses in the barony of Bargy have been thatched by Paddy Casey who is the acknowledged master craftsman of South Wexford.
Today he is at work on the house of Brian and Josephine Matthews. Once the ladder is well-footed, the work can begin. Removing loose and old straw, he starts at the lowest point and works one strake at a time.
Inch by inch, fletch by fletch.
Oaten straw, harvested locally, is the preferred material of Wexford thatchers. Scallops (flexible wooden pins) are used to keep the thatch in place. Paddy Casy sources his from Johnny McGrath.
This part of Wexford was once known for the beauty and quality of its thatched houses, but a lack of thatchers in Ireland means derelict thatched houses are a common sight.
In his poem 'Thatcher’, Seamus Heaney describes the reaction of onlookers as a thatcher works on a house. Amazed by his skill, they are left
Gaping at his Midas touch.
This episode of ‘Hands’ was broadcast on 26 June 1981.
The narrator is Diarmaid Ó Muirithe.
'Hands' was a series exploring some of the crafts and customs handed down from generation to generation in various locations throughout Ireland. The first episode of 'Hands' was broadcast on 17 April, 1978. The series, which included 37 films, ran until 1991. 'Hands' was produced and directed by David Shaw-Smith.
