Tommy Lysaght: Masonry, Horticulture,
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He mentions the ‘lads’ in Dingle, The west of Ireland have a special relationship with stone, Irish building with stone for thousands of years, the resurgence of stone, building proper stonework and not just cladding.
Tommy learnt as he went along reading books about stonework, lime-mortars. His first job, repairing an old wall by the road, a road accident that brought a lot of work.
Pure stonework- replicating old work, famine walls, working in Castletownroche- massive caps on the wall, Annesley Gardens- the story of how Lt-Gen Arthur Annesley got men to make a bend in the river Awbeg- these gardens were decimated by a storm a few years ago, lovely limestone down there.
Tommy talks about Stone carving festivals, bringing granite back from Britanny, working as a teacher, designing gardens, meditation garden for people with brain injuries, Quimper in Britanny- finding a quarry there to get stone for carving, people with brain injuries learning to carve- using a Dremel drill- seeing the progression of these people is fantastic.
The Cosgrave's of Blackpool- stone cutters, horticulturalists, getting people to grow food and making things, projects for stone carving, garden café in Blackpool- developing skills, people with disabilities, fundraising for the meditation garden, features of meditation gardens.
Cross agency work, the medium of creativity, cutting slabs, cutting of stone, preparation work for the garden.
Horticulture college in Dromcoller Limerick, connection with plants, herbs- comfrey- poultice, marry knowledge of stone gardens and wood, charity work with people with disabilities, getting funding for dream work.
Course in stone carving in Aran Islands, stone lettering, story of Amazing Grace- writer shipwrecked off Donegal, not liking the carving and then trying it again, staying on the Island for a week on my own learning to sculpt- a pagan style carving of Jesus.
Tommy finishes by talking about teaching carving to people with brain injuries, a carving of an owl- comes together piece by piece.
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CFP_SR00565_osullivan_2015; CFP_SR00566_fahy_2015; CFP_SR00569_fahy_2016; CFP_SR00570_steele_2016; CFP_SR00574_jones_2016; CFP_SR00577_fahy_2016; CFP_SR00581_osullivan_2016; CFP_SR00583_johnson_2016; CFP_SR00590_varian_2016; CFP_SR00595_Jones_2016; CFP_SR00609_Cooney_2017; CFP_SR00610_McCarthy_2017; CFP_SR00611_Buckley_2017:
Moore, Michael (2016) ‘A Tale of Two Masons’, The Archive Journal, Vol 20: 8-10.
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0.00.00 - 0.04.33 Start of Interview How Tommy got into stonemasonry, Blackwater Valley, restoring boundary walls, Training in Dingle in stonework he has a different hat, he is working in the garden in Farrenferris as an organic horticulturalists he started working as a stonemason in the early (19)nineties It was down in a field that was a part of the dingle races, it was a FAS scheme and he was down there for about 9 months restoring a drystone wall he’s originally from North Cork along the Blackwater Valley After a period of doing that work, he enjoyed it, and he moved back up by Fermoy. he got asked to restore the old estate walls from back in the day, these big old houses down along the Blackwater Valley by Castlehyde where there would have been a lot of English influence- he started restoring boundary walls on his own, his kids were young a way to make a living really he stuck at that for a good few years and became more and more interested in the stone he drifted in and out of it over the years to general construction but he always went back to the stone he wasn’t aware of it but he found out then that stonemasonry was in the family which is good to know Tis in the blood there somewhere he was 22 when he started he enjoyed it from the start It was an introduction into the people of Dingle They used to have a portable hut on site which could be rolled on, it had a top like a gypsy wagon with a gas fire in it because the weather was so bad down there at the time During the winter he spent quite a bit of time in there Being cramped in this wagon with a load of lads from Kerry, he was the only blow-in. it was fantastic listening to their stories about Dingle back in the day A few of them had been in the merchant navy so there were stories from all around the world but with a Kerry sense of humour he suppose A few of them had businesses so this was a way of keeping the social welfare of their backs in the winter he had a young family he just wanted to find something to sink his teeth into after so many years, he never thought it would lead to this- it's developed over the years 0.04.34 - 0.07.59 The lads in Dingle, The west of Ireland has a special relationship with stone, Irish building with stone for thousands of years, the resurgence of stone, building proper stonework and not just cladding Thinking back about his first day- there were men of different backgrounds- he was by far the youngest The foreman was a Dingle man from out by Ballyferriter, he was employed full time by the council He took him under his wings for sure in showing him how to lay the stone Where they worked was very visible as there were only two roads in and out of Dingle- the scenic route over the Connor Pass or you have the road that comes from Annascaul Being like the west of Ireland, they have such a relationship with stone- everything is stones, the Arran Islands is the same They look at stone way differently to different parts of the world Even to clear a bit of land, which others may take for granted- they had to lift tens of tonnes of stones just to clear a bit of land just so they could grow a few crops and that So he suppose they have a healthy respect for the power of it with the mountains and the cliffs of stone, with the headstones in the graveyard and all this, and the Ogham stones all from down there- there’s a great relationship with stones From what he can see the skills that were around for hundreds if not thousands of years were ignored for a few generations when concrete became the new product of choice- because it was so quick to use and harden- so stone was basically thrown out the window So around that time there seemed to be a little bit of a resurgence of stone especially around house fronts and entrance walls and stuff like that which he suppose isn’t a true stone wall but at least it was back visibly in some form even if it wasn’t it’s truest form So when he went back up towards Ballyhooly and Mallow and Fermoy and the Blackwater Valley, they were back to building true, proper stonewalls, stone at both sides- then he learnt about the different makeup of stone, the hearthing of a stone, the face stones and the capping an all that 0.08.00 - 0.12.49 Tommy learnt as he went along reading books about stonework, lime-mortars, his first job, repairing an old wall by the road, a road accident that brought a lot of work When he was down in Dingle there were some people he could learn from but when he went back up to North Cork, there was no one to help him in bettering his stonemasonry skills so he ended up making it up as he went along Devouring books and learnt about using lime mortars as well he started in about 1995 he was conscious that he did not have a 4-year apprenticeship done but there was nowhere to go to do that, thankfully these days there is. The old main road between Rosslare and Killarney, the N71, it goes with the river so it’s really bendy- super busy- there’s a lot of high wallsI got a start of Monty Eagle? Of Brandon, he owned a house down there- on the day he started with nothing, he had to hire a wheelbarrow and borrow a mixer and off he went There were gaps of maybe 25ft in the wall and he was slowly and painstakingly repairing them all the way along It was hard work on his own- digging out trenches and moving stuff in wheelbarrows There was a harsh winter at the time- a lot of cattle down- gov decided that they would move hay from the east to the west side of the country- the farmers had to pay for the hay but the government would pay for the transportation of it One of bales from a truck hit a wall close by and knocked a massive amount- so he got 6 months more work he was able to bring in lads to work He questions his own ability- he says he was making it up as he went along Thank god 20 years later, they're all still standing 0.12.50 - 0.17.52 Pure stonework- replicating old work, famine walls, working in Castletownroche- massive caps on the wall, Annesley Gardens- the story of how Lt-Gen Arthur Annesley got men to make a bend in the river Awbeg- these gardens were decimated by a storm a few years ago, lovely limestone down there The boom came along then- he started doing general construction- he had a background in a bit of carpentry as well By word of mouth, he would get a call and do some restoration as well It was all restoration he did, he didn’t like doing stone on a house- it was a façade- he love the makeup of stone- the whole thing What he love doing is trying to replicate a 150-year-old wall It’s not about purism, it’s about respecting what was done before- and working with the same stones Most of the walls were famine walls- it’s ironic Irish people were used to build walls to keep us out from the food- “You know the irony isn’t lost on him” That would be his benchmark matching up their work from long ago he worked up by Castletownroche as well and there was a very unique wall- the capping of the wall is usually a single stone to keep out the elements- the caps on this wall were massive he liked working there as well, the Annesley Gardens it’s called, it's by the river Awbeg, a tributary of the Blackwater, it goes through Doneraile and Buttevant and it goes into the Blackwater by an abbey by Killavullen. The ancestors may be of the people he worked for, they rerouted the river- Annesley [Lt-Gen Hon Arthur Grove Annesley] was in the army, he got thousands of men to come from Fermoy to make the river meander and then he built his gardens [Now called Annes Grove] These gardens were decimated about 4/5 years ago in the bad storms, lots of the forestry around here was decimated They closed it down- he think the OPW have bought them- so interesting to see what happens Down there they have limestone- a lovely durable stone as well 0.17.53 - 0.24.04 The high caps in Castletownroche, lime-mortar, always work with local stone, quarry stone versus guillotined tonne bags, searching for good building stone, finding old quarries, Glanworth quarry Just to clarify, the overall height of the walls by Castletownroche is 7ft, the height of the wall is 5ft and 3ft of cap- the limestone is very irregular and they wedged the stones in Anne's grove is the name of the gardens actually, planted with beech trees nearby They used lime mortar which is more natural and attracts mosses and ivy. More plant life than on concrete he suppose limestone is the stone that he’m used to and he like working with it Whatever is local if he can work with local stone Pricing a job at the minute in Gyleen, East Cork just past Trobalgan, he think it translates as Little Harbour. There’s an old thatched cottage- he took a few samples of the stone for better or worse As you know a lot of stone today comes in tonne bags and it's chopped and guillotined into very ordinary sizes- easy to work with but for him it makes the wall look bland he needed to find stone to match this wall- a man told him there was a local quarry and he needed to find this quarry Quarry’s today are only open for stone for roads really he got out of the van with a stick and a hammer and he found a quarry of excellent building stone- he rang the owner and now he’m able to handpick that stone- so right now that’s his favourite stone because he can pick that stone- if he got a tonne bag he wouldn’t find any stone 3ft thick to use as through stones but now he can get them and they can choose, every stone will be the stone that they need The stone in the quarry is 90% probable that it’s the same stone used in the wall- it’s the same region definitely he love finding quarries like this There is one in Glanworth up by his neck of the woods- there is marble its pink and white- so he’ll be using stone from there 0.24.05 - 0.30.04 Stone carving festivals, bringing granite back from Britanny, working as a teacher, designing gardens, meditation garden for people with brain injuries, Quimper in Britanny- finding a quarry there to get stone for carving, people with brain injuries learning to carve- using a Dremel drill- seeing the progression of these people is fantastic he love going to stone carving festivals he do a bit of stone carving- he drive a pickup so where ever he go he’ll bring the stone back from say Donegal- stone from Donegal is perfect for carving he brought granite back from Brittany when on a holiday with his two daughters- 9ft lengths of granite for a current project he have changed tact with work, he work now as a teacher he work for different charities and different probation projects in around the city he design gardens and implement the building of them with people with injuries or a background of addiction and everything in between he got funding to build a meditation garden for people with acquired brain injuries- that’s his main work these days he only do the stonework if he’m asked to These stones from Britanny will be the centre piece for the meditation garden because there’s a history to these stones- it gets people engaged, it gives the stone a story instead of just saying you got them up the road he went to a museum in Britanny in a town called Quimper They’re very aware of their history with stone and stone carving he saw a stone in the museum and got the name of a quarry where it came from he headed for the hills looking for the quarry he finally found it and there were three men making Celtic crosses he took a tonne of stone back with him mainly for the meditation garden This stone will be used for carving Will has a brain injury and he started carving 6 months ago using a Dremel drill (electric drill) he said there was no way he would be able to carve Some people only have the use of one side of their body but they find a way to work through it they stuck with it and by the end of the week they had this beautiful carving To see the progression with Will is fantastic- he was able to tip away with a 9ft stone and finish a carving all with the medium of stone 0.30.05 - 0.35.57 The Cosgrave's of Blackpool- stone cutters, horticulturalists, getting people to grow food and making things, projects for stone carving, garden café in Blackpool- developing skills, people with disabilities, fund raising for the meditation garden, features of meditation gardens he work with people from Blackpool and their grandfathers are stone cutters and even today there is a little arch and if you look in you’ll see a stone cutters yard and their still making headstones for people three generations on the same family (Cosgrave's) he’m here today as a grower a horticulturalists growing food for the CUH If they take away two generations of any family in these communities, they were involved in growing something- everyone grew their food- loads of people had their trade, stone cutting, cobblers, harness makers which are gone from Blackpool- he feel lucky he can get involved in getting that going again The next project he was been funded for was to teach 12 weeks of stone carving and stone wall building he will be finding people who will do this with him they have a café in Blackpool which is open to the public, they grow our own food there- hoping to build something there- something functional maybe stone seating they will be developing skills there- stuff take they can take home themselves Meditation is not something he do myself, it’s for the crowd he’m working for A lot of the lads and lass’s out there are in wheelchairs are in rehabilitation for the brain injuries he work out there 2 days a week They did a 1km walk and raised 1,500 euro That money is put back up into headquarters and only some of it is filtered through but a fantastic girl is working there who managed to get 1500 put back in for a meditation garden There was only concrete out there when they started but they set up a sensory garden already- something that’s for all the senses- smell is easy with the flowers, the taste is easy with the herbs, plant bamboos then for the sounds they’re starting this meditation garden now with the stones, a shrine, a water feature- a very important feature of a meditation garden, gravel paths he’m like a teacher so he’ll start in September and it’ll go on until May 0.35.58 - 0.37.40 Cross agency work, the medium of creativity, cutting slabs, cutting of stone, preparation work for the garden he work with probation services as well he love cross agencies coming together with places with completely contrasting clients, that’s fantastic, everyone gets to know everyone in this medium of creativity It’s a bit daunting as well, it’s a big project but there is a lot of people he can call on as well they want to put in circular paths and take up concrete slabs Cutting of slabs, cutting of stones- hopefully, they can get all the ground work done and hand it back over to the lads than 0.37.42 - 0.41.50 Horticulture college in Dromcoller Limerick, connection with plants, herbs- comfrey- poultice, marry knowledge of stone gardens and wood, charity work with people with disabilities, getting funding for dream work Ten years ago he was living in Limerick and there’s an organic horticulture college in Dromcoller 0.41.51 - 0.50.47 Course in stone carving in Aran Islands, stone lettering, story of Amazing Grace- writer shipwrecked off Donegal, not liking the carving and then trying it again, staying on the Island for a week on his own learning to sculpt- a pagan style carving of Jesus About 12 years ago he did a weekend course on sculpting but he didn’t enjoy it Last year he cycled up to the Aran Islands with his son, he saw a sign for stone carving and stone lettering he gave it another go So, he went up there for a weekend- he tried stone lettering the stuff you’d see on headstones The first day was in a room and they were writing out what they wanted to put into the stone he had no idea what to write but he was listening to Amazing Grace the night before, a different version than the American one- this is a version to do with drug abuse and it’s by a band called Low When he looked into it the fella who wrote Amazing Grace back in the 1700s who ironically was shipwrecked off Donegal- he was a scoundrel and a sailor and really fond of his drink- whenever he’d get into trouble he’d pray upstairs- get him out of this pickle So he spent the day trying to put the words on the paper and he couldn’t do it, he hated it- he wasn’t happy with it When doing stone on the Aran Island it’s a lovely dynamic, everyone stays on the island in the evening and chats he really enjoyed meeting people he was going to scrap his piece of paper and the teacher a lovely man called Tom Little, he said stick with him and you’ll get it on he stayed at it for the day and by six o clock that evening he had it on the stone- and he couldn’t believe it- he was completely hooked he was supposed to do the Camino with his daughter two weeks later but she got a job he rang this man Paddy Crow, the manager of the island- he said can he come up for a week and do stone carving- he said no problem- he went up and borrowed chisels and he spent a whole week on his own with two stones and he loved it It was around the equinox and he had the best time ever just dancing around these stones he had worked with the stone but only for 5 minutes when you’re carving you spend a week with the same stone so you really get to know your stone his first stone there was a Failte sign for his friends So he pushed the boat out the last 2 and a half days and he sketched this type of Jesus on the Cross but it was a real pagan version- it was back when Christianity was still trying to push itself on top so it was real pagan but it was still Jesus- he sketched it and it was from a round stone- so he took for the beach to get a stone he just wanted to try it he didn’t care if it was great or not It was brilliant he loved it That was just over a year ago, he buy a chisel every couple of months 0.50.48 - 0.52.34 Teaching carving to people with brain injuries, a carving of an owl- comes together piece by piece. End of interview he started teaching it then straight away When he had done the course 12 years ago he had been attempting an owl but he left it in his house for 12 years he gave it to a guy with a brain injury- he spent the next 6 months working on it during the class- he had never done carving before- he spent a month on the talons, a month on the face- they’d get pictures of the owl off the internet and keep loads of pictures next to you while you worked- breaking the owl down into loads of little pieces- slowly but surely it will all come together That’s the type of work they do with people with brain injuries End of Interview |