Timeless furniture uncovered by N5 road project now finding new homes
Some of the vernacular furniture discovered before it was restored by Strokestown Men's Shed.
Archaeological work on the N5 Ballaghaderreen-Scramogue road project has led to a fascinating first of its kind project involving the restoration of old furniture discovered in derelict houses along the route.
The extensive investigation work by archaeologists has uncovered vernacular furniture in old farmhouses located on lands compulsorily purchased for the €450m road project.
Everything from old tables, chairs, dressers and fireplaces have been found, with many of the items dating back to the foundation of the state.
“It’s like taking a step back into time and this vernacular furniture was made to last,” explained Roscommon County Council archaeologist Deirdre McCarthy.
As part of the varied archaeological work on the road project, built heritage surveys are carried out to record valuable information on these old buildings before they are demolished.
“The surveys provide evidence of the rich tapestry of rural Roscommon life. Within some of these surveyed dwellings, a lot of interesting things turned up. There were some locally made pieces of vernacular furniture that were suitable to be restored and reused."
These timeless pieces were carefully stored and then handed over to members of Strokestown Men’s Shed who were delighted to volunteer their time to restore them.
“The men approached the project with real enthusiasm and were determined to give these vernacular furniture pieces a new lease of life.
“It felt like the furniture had come full circle, with the original furniture locally made by Roscommon men up to 100 years ago now being restored locally by Strokestown Men’s Shed and ultimately finding a new home locally,” said Deirdre.
To date, the Men’s Shed have lovingly restored old tables and chairs which have been just donated to their first new home, the Brothers of Charity Midway Centre in Bridge Street, Strokestown.
The Men’s Shed now intend to carry out restoration work on other vernacular pieces over the next few years.
“This is the first time it has been done on a TII project and certainly, we’re hoping it will be rolled out on other projects as well,” she said.
Archaeological Management Solutions (AMS), the archaeological consultants on the road project, who helped to salvage the furniture, have also donated €1,000 to the Strokestown Men’s Shed. The Shed intends to use this donation to help fund a defibrillator for its premises. A further €500 was also donated by AMS to the Brothers of Charity who will use donation to create a relaxation room in the centre.
The N5 road project, the county’s largest ever road contract, is funded by Transport Infrastructure (TII) through Roscommon County Council.
