Variations

Irish house, based on a traditional vernacular style

Many Irish houses are based on a traditional vernacular style

Copyright Irish Times

Irish house, based on a traditional vernacular style
Copyright Irish Times

Irish house, based on a traditional vernacular style

Many Irish houses are based on a traditional vernacular style

Copyright Irish Times

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Within this common structure, there are two main variations. The south and east of Ireland, consisting of Leinster and most of Munster is level, open, fertile, and accessible. The north and west of the island, along with the south-west corner of Munster, is less fertile, less accessible, and more rugged. As a result, the north and west were less accessible and had less contact with the outside world, while the south and east were contacted by Vikings, Normans, English and other invaders or cultural influences.

Cultural contacts with England in the early 17^th century led to the establishment of a particular house-style in the south and east – the “lobby-entry” house, where a jamb wall is positioned between the hearth and the fireplace.

In the west and north of Ireland, a “direct entry” house sees the front door open directly into the room with the fireplace. Many of these were originally byre-dwellings, housing both livestock and people under the same roof, and this was particularly likely to be found in Ulster.

An interesting example of a vernacular dwelling is the round tower house, four to five storeys high, favoured by minor gentry and prosperous farmers in the 15^th century, with one room built above the next, and particularly numerous in Munster, while extremely rare in Ulster.

Vernacular architectural styles are not unique to Ireland. Examples include the longhouse of Borneo, where entire communities live under the same roof and share a communal area, the yurt, a tent-like structure common amongst the nomadic people of Mongolia or, formerly, the Danish vernacular house, which was a timber framed house with a brick infill and thatched roof.