Hands: Currachs

how do ye pull hard lands the carry Cara 1977 the blind correct 1937 this valuable archive film shows the construction of one of the last surviving examples of the Irish River color at Old Bridge on the River Boyne 30 miles north of Dublin its framework is of hazel rods and it has a gun of woven Sally twigs a single oxide covered the frame which may have helped to dictate its shape such a crock inches it is mentioned in early Irish literature there are similar coracles to be found on the rivers of South Wales today but the netting of salmon and fresh water which became illegal in Ireland in 1948 sounded the death knell of the Boyne keroth the shallow-draft and maneuverability of this karach enabled it to get right in under the weir and avoid the undertow this see Cara which is found only in duneagle in the northwest of Ireland is remarkably similar to the Boyne karach and is the last traditional craft in Ireland to use the paddle James McGonagall brought this karach with him from oay island and he settled at kin casler on the mainland three years ago an old saying has it that a corrupt is a man's load this shortcut is unlikely to survive much longer a larger rowing karach measuring up to 20 feet also survives in North Donegal James McGonagall need us on a pad of Heather are his coat to paddle the small color is the ideal craft for hauling lobster pots which have to be set as close as possible to the rocks in the last century it was made of hazel rods covered by oxide horsehide or even seal skin somewhat like the Boeing Kura now however the framework is a bo class with a gun also wood and a covering of tarred canvas a bottle of holy water is always carried to ward off disaster here in black sod bacon Tamayo and further south off the coast of North Galway the croc has some distinctive features this example is from Clegg in County Galway the prow and stern are not nearly so steep as in the island color it is shallower and its profile is less extreme planks set close together replace the lath used elsewhere though still canvas covered the locals claim this gives it more protection from the rocks in North Mayo the or pivots between two Thor pins from ankle all the way to carry kurup's have a double gunnel food is scarce here on the Aran Islands and any suitably shaped branch washed ashore is put to use the block on the floor of the bow supported a mast carrying a small lug sail which is now scarcely ever used a sail was also used on the of the dingle peninsula county carry the plank stern of Ireland Clare contrasts sharply with the carry design please bladeless ORS pivoting on a single Thorpe in have their only parallel outside Ireland in Portugal and Madeira the carry Cara locally called nay vogue is considered the most elegant and best finished of all with its gently curving bow and stern the men of Dineen County Kerry show how an expert handles these long oars keeping one hand slightly ahead of the other because of the overlapping grips from the course beneath the shoulder of Mount Brandon said Brandon is reputed to have sailed the Atlantic in a hide covered carafe in the 6th century the craft of Kurek making is still carried on in the village of Balan vorak nearby one of the older men from whom Eddie Hutchinson learned his craft boasted that practically every piece of wood in an Evoque is either curved or a slant strange to say the knave oak was introduced to the dingle peninsula from county clare only at the middle of the last century and never reached South Cary the four lengths of white deal for the bow gunnels are steamed and placed around a mold to give them the necessary curve they're brown color was produced by the tannin from the oak ribs also in the steamer ah the bow ribs which need to be sharply bent are tied around a number of metal molds the nave oak had its heyday during the two world wars in 1942 there were sixty navels fishing out of the coulis and a night's catch might total four thousand mackerel and there was a ready market for them young Tom Hutchinson may yet be a champion oars man like his father at least he'd be able to build himself in a vogue the lower gunnel is laid down first the thwarts called Takhti and this Irish speaking area with the knee of Iroko attached are screwed on to it this word doctor like many other boating terms was borrowed from the Vikings who settled in Ireland this particular nave oak is a small two-seater the stanchions are positioned at regular intervals and hold the upper and lower guns together for a number of years now even the longer nave Oak has a narrower beam and lower gunnel than formerly in order to make it more suitable for racing in local regattas I come this year those hot mr. young fix is amazing my cell phone I'm sorry your knee were having it that compensate self emotionally Jack Shea from next door is here to help in putting the front seat into position Tyler's mother texting schedule again Dominion be on diggin oh my you live yeah they're Palin Martin I do feel ya eshop this stuff like a yeah in the absence of a key the double Donald keeps the whole structure in shape this may explain the inverted construction which is peculiar to Irish corrupts the carry knee vogue is distinguished mainly by the way in which the last shear upwards and converge at the stand Eddie's wife Hannah makes her contribution by painting on the carry colours instead of the customary green and red LED the canvas is loosely tacked in position to get the shape right marry a helpful neighbor shows it together the second table to go participated again when in position the canvas gets two coats of boiling tar to carry out repairs one simply fires the damaged surface so that the tar softens a strip of canvas or the tail of one shot in an emergency is then stuck on a simple case of burning ones bolts Nowell Cummins himself and they have all builder from Castle Gregory pays an unexpected visit this is at my detailer Karthik owner was afforded talking of butter sin Brendon is reported to have taken a quantity along with him to dress the hides he might need for repairs to his car the Aran Islands like the whole west coast of Ireland have supported a dense population for the past 200 years though the barren Rock had little to offer these people here an initial all roads lead to the sea isolation has ensured the survival of many elements of traditional life here the one airstrip has recently been constructed on an ish man the Karaka is far from being the pleasure boat it has become and carry the life of this island community is still centered on it its capacity to withstand heavy seas and the ease with which it can be handled on the undeveloped landing places make it ideal for inshore fishing the outboard motor is no stranger to the corrupt the long rising bow and the round keyless bottom of the couric have their only parallel outside Ireland in the Scandinavian prong this may be a pure coincidence but one should always remember the many Irish seafaring terms borrowed from the Vikings including an old probability the very word board meaning boat today the slipway is the focal point on the island two men can comfortably carry a cough these cups are stored upside down resting on piles of stones in a curved pen well out of the reach of the sea here comes the postman to collect and dispatch the island's mail the fact that the Kirov does not have a key means that its bottom has practically no grip on the surface of the sea and there is therefore little friction this is a big advantage in stormy weather when the correct being naturally very buoyant and riding high can be spun easily into the path of oncoming waves if the Seas are really big the oars men stop pulling just before reaching the crest of a wave last night's catch of salmon is on its way to the market most of the are made in the island of inisheer and have a life of about eight years or more if well maintained the knee Vienna is the islands lifeline to Galway on the mainland ferrying as it does both passengers and merchandise the lobsters in this box have to be kept immersed in salt water to ensure that they are still alive when they get a hot reception in Paris or London the novena has to anchor some distance offshore as the sea is too shallow for her to stand in closer this is where the current really comes into its own today it is can but it can be a tricky and difficult task getting passengers and cargo off the boat in a heavy swell there is always the danger of catching the gunnel or Thole pin of the karak under the rubbing Strait which surrounds the novena and so capsizing except for smaller items which the plane can now carry everything else has to come by ship the carrying capacity of the car is enormous and a load of two tonnes is not exceptional on some of the islands after Donegal Coast it was normal practice to place a beast on its back with its legs tied in a car the karach was then carried into the water he ran in Ishmael and initia the stock has to swim for it bottled gas has made a big difference to the comforts of island life only a small amount of turf is now shipped from the mainland though coal is still burnt whatever the exact history of the Kura it seems that cut off navigation as practiced in the days of the original Navy Ana who established his monastery in Ireland in the 6th century suffered in eclipses possibly during the turmoil of the Viking invasions there are indications that the Kura continued in use in the medieval period O'Sullivan bear had hide covered crops measuring 26 feet constructed to cross the Shannon during his famous retreat in 1602 the increasing dependence on the see of the congested population of the west coast is likely to have provided the impetus for the development undergone by the Kirov in the last century in 1853 the Arrancar F was described as being only eight feet long at the very time it was being introduced into carry from Claire in the aftermath of the Great Famine it is served its purpose well

Channel: snadhghus

Views: 46,585

Rating: 4.9080458 out of 5

Keywords: Hands, RTÉ, documentary, Ireland, Irish, Éire, Curragh, Curach, Naomhóg, Kerry, Aran Islands, boat, Irish boats, coracle, boat building, sailing, rowing, Galway, Donegal, Brendan the Navigator, west coast, Atlantic, Bád, irischen Dokumentarfilm, curachs

Id: E1uTlZH2HJ8

Length: 23min 56sec (1436 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 24 2016

Reddit Comments

[u/madladhadsaddad]

The series is called 'Hands' and can be found on youtube. Fell down a rabbit hole earlier and watched 5 different episodes.

but it seems there could be a lot more in the RTE archive somewhere that I'd love to see if anyone knows if they are available?

It really highlights how much Ireland has changed in the last 40 years. Highlighting many traditional crafts have been forgotten also. Along with the wonderful 70-80s hair every member of my family had in old photographs (and some still do).

Another notable example that's more of a biopic:

Hands: Fermanagh County - 1980

Showing the making of whetstone's for sharpening scythes etc. And the living conditions of places in Ireland in the 1980s

[u/askmac]

I've seen them all. Absolutely class. There are still a lot of traditional crafts practiced in Ireland, it would be great to see another series/something similar.

[u/Stegasaurus_Wrecks]

The Shannon Boat builder, Jimmy Furey lived near me. He passed away in the last year. I was up at his house with my dad a couple of times. You literally had to drive through a couple of fields to get to his house, there was no road for the last few hundred metres.

[u/patjacksmack]

The DVD box set is available to buy. It's not cheap but it's a lovely thing to own.

[u/chatticus-finch]

The narrator had such a lovely soothing voice.

[u/CaisLaochach]

It's funny, many of the skills would be quite valuable nowadays, but in the 1980s they were dying out and being forgotten. There's something rather melancholic about watching an older Ireland fade from memory.

[u/GGs26]

I actually found these and watched a few when I was rattled after a stag. Nice and relaxing watching an aul fella in fermanagh cut stones

[u/whitewidow58]

Used to love watching hands loved. The episode about making a Thatch roof