Dry Stone Walling

An item of not just function but of cultural heritage.

As we well know, the Burren is renowned for its magnificent limestone pavements and rich heritage in which the iconic dry stone walls are embedded throughout.  These walls are a constant reminder of the unique and historically important built landscape which surrounds us and gives us the Burren its unique identity.   Stone walls are highly laborious to build from scratch and hard work to maintain.   With increasing emigration of young people from rural areas in the west of Ireland, stone wall maintenance is becoming a harder job for an older farming population to manage.   Aside from helping the farmer with wall rebuilding, the conservation volunteers are also exposed to a Burren tradition that is highly skilled and has been carried out for over a thousand years, rebuilding a piece of history.

What are they?

Dry stone walls are constructed using an ancient building technique, which is unique to the geography of their origin – a skill which is still being used and practiced today in the Burren. They are built from carefully positioned interlocking stones placed on top of each other and do not use any adhesive building materials such mortar to support them, hence the name – ‘dry stone walls’. Pressure from the stones at the top and the way in which the stones are interlocked ensures the self-supporting stability of the wall.

Everywhere you look there are dry stone walls in the Burren but each one is different depending on its function, the local stone available and most importantly the craftsmanship of the person building it; leaving signatures of many generations before us strewn across the landscape. This magnificent craft has withstood the test of time for hundreds of years,  however sadly some of these walls have fallen into disrepair in recent times  – running the risk of pieces of Burren history being lost forever. There are numerous reasons for this i.e. livestock damage, feral goats, increased tourism, age of the walls, aging communities and diminishing rural population among other factors. In order to maintain this hugely significant part of the Burren’s identity – it is important to be active with our conservation efforts.

Why should they be maintained?

From the onset these walls offer field boundaries for land, shelter for livestock and have huge significance for our farming communities – both practically and as a symbol of our farming heritage.  Their presence also plays an important role in maintaining healthy ecosystems and promoting biodiversity within the Burren, providing habitats and corridors for a wide variety of species of plants, insects, birds and animals. Dry stone walling in the Burren is also an extremely sustainable practice, using locally sourced materials, very little mechanical tools and requiring limited maintenance.

What can you do?

Construction and repair of dry stone structures is a highly skilled craft which incorporates a range of technical elements – a skill which you can learn from local stone masons and skilled individuals when you become a Burrenbeo Trust Conservation Volunteer (BCV). Being taught this skill not only has an immediate impact on the wall maintenance, but is a sustainable method to ensure their survival well into the future. The sad reality is much of our historical and cultural heritage, along with our ecosystems, are being wiped from the landscape – making it easy for future generations to become unaware of their existence.

BCVs work together as a team, to rebuild fallen walls and combat disrepair – which in turn protects ecosystems, encourages biodiversity and preserves the Burren’s cultural and historical heritage. Dry stone wall building is just one of the BCVs efforts to ensure sustainable maintenance and conservation of the Burren’s built and living landscape.

The Local Voice

The stone mason: “Each stone has a specific place on the wall, you just have to find it. Working with stone is hugely therapeutic and you will leave after a hard day’s work feeling energised”!

The farmer:  “Unlike other parts of Ireland, where you can fence a field, the lack of soil depth doesn’t allow for that here, so I have to build walls for stock boundaries – like my forefathers.  But, I suppose – it is also my legacy on the land so I have to make it a good one”!

The conservation volunteer:  “There is something about building a wall together, you can work by yourself or share the load – and despite what you think, it’s great fun.  By learning this skill and special technique unique to the Burren – I have been able to give something back – restore parts of our heritage almost. It is a privilege to be part of such a great group of volunteers, making a difference and supporting the local farming communities at the same time”.  

Hear from one of our volunteers on a stone walling workshop

Extract from the stone wall workshop by Karin Funke (volunteer)

Farmer John Connolly has vast experience in building this kind of wall because, as a boy, he had to walk from the farm over to where we had our workshop, make a gap in the wall, get the horses out for a day’s work, and in the evening, after bringing the horses back, rebuild the gap in the wall. That is until he got smart and stuck a dead whitethorn in the gap. He was also fortunate enough to work with a neighbour of his, a gifted stone wall builder, who would turn every stone up to 6 times before finding the perfect spot in the wall for it.

The workshop started with a lesson from John in why certain stacking techniques are more successful than others when building drystone walls which are basically walls without mortar or any other binding agents.  We also learned that the gaps between the rocks are actually good for putting up less resistance to the wind which prolongs the walls’ lifespan considerably!

 Both stone mason Rory and John started to take down several parts of a wall, and groups of two and three of the Burrenbeo Conservation Volunteers went to work at each gap, trying to fill them up again. Then John showed us how to build a double stone wall from scratch.  We learned that a double stone wall is not two single walls stuck together, but a wider stone wall with two “faces”, i.e. where, with the exception of the ‘through’ stones, you can’t see the same stone sticking out on either side of the wall.  John talked us through the tools and safety gear needed for this kind of work, and then, not unlike a swarm of bees, we started to build up the wall.

We gathered suitable stones for the foundation (fidín in Irish), the middle bit and the top part which looked again like a single dry stone wall.   We had a great day with lots of banter and laughter, and we actually learned much about wall building without realising it. So we will be able to use our newly acquired skills when coming across derelict walls on our Burrenbeo Volunteers’ days out.

Why not join us

So, are you interested to be part of maintaining the Burren’s history, culture and precious ecosystems? If so, why not join the fun and enthusiastic team of conservation volunteers, share your passion for the Burren with others and make a huge difference to the biodiversity and maintenance of this unique landscape. Becoming a volunteer offers you an opportunity to build skills, knowledge about place and indeed, lasting friendships.

This is an active group of conservation volunteers that have been working in areas of archaeology conservation, rare species monitoring, managing scrub encroachment and much more since 2010.  We have 1-2 events a month.

• Get outdoors, enjoy some healthy exercise and give something back in the region
• Learn new skills in conservation and heritage management
• Be part of a friendly, inclusive and active conservation community

Join us today and make that difference!  To register for the events email [email protected]

What are the upcoming events for the volunteers

What other ongoing projects are the volunteers involved in:

  archaeological surveys   scrub management

species monitoring   landscape management   invasive species

What have the volunteers achieved?

View below all the activities that the Burrenbeo Conservation volunteers have achieved since 2010: