Traditional Stone Wall Building in Rural Ireland

In this video we watch as stonemason Paul Wilmot builds a traditional rubble stone wall.

[@alannahcoleman7]

I’m very proud of my Dad Paul, they all did an amazing job it turned out amazing!!

[@adrenalinetoothless2530]

No

[@bigbird4481]

​@@adrenalinetoothless2530no what?

[@terencemerritt]

Alannah, your dad is a very talented man!

[@anne-marieolivier8318]

I appreciate the people who still invest their time in skills such as these. You are the real OGs

[@reneecaballero9624]

When you see men at work, you really appreciate how hard they work to maintain our world. I'm sure your Dad loves that you appreciate his work.. sadly, this type of construction is fading out to ugly, modern buildings.. in my opinion anyway..

[@honeycomberocks2736]

You're doing your country a great service by documenting these skills and traditions. Also realised my understanding of the Irish accent is one million times better than KZbin captions, its translations were hysterical!

[@JS-uq7iy]

Honestly, Im Irish and i struggled to understand what they were saying most of the time haha

[@rivergreen1727]

I struggled with the accents but I didn't even try the captions 😅 I have no faith in auto captioning

[@elsvaughn7959]

There were captions??

[@pikeshike]

@@elsvaughn7959 Yes, choose cc

[@TheEmeraldMenOfficial]

As a Newfoundlander, our accents and cultures are so similar I’ve had Irish mistake me for being Irish. I understand everyone here perfectly, even the mason himself (who may be the hardest to understand for people).

[@coreythomas6576]

It is always wonderful to see a trade that some consider outdated being carried on, My own father was a mason here in the states and his father and grandfather were masons before him. My great great grandfather was a stonemason in wales where we originate from. This was a great video to watch and thank you for sharing it with us,

[@odanedmcdonald]

I pray you've been learning from your father

[@lordoftheseagulls6096]

This is awesome. Stone masonry is a profession that requires so much dedication that I never noticed until now. Very interesting.

[@HollywoodCreeper]

It is fitting that your pic is a pigeon, because you surely are, but you just parrot what the video said because that is about how smart you are. I guess you could also be a monkey, but that might be pushing it.

[@lordoftheseagulls6096]

@@HollywoodCreeper my pfp is a seagull bro 👍

[@ParkingPirate]

​@@lordoftheseagulls6096True.

[@Hankful]

Probably harder done than said, but more of this kind of content from you would be great, Eoin! Keep sharing and spreading awareness of skilled Irish tradespeople!

[@JimmyCapricorn77]

I fellin love with stonemasonry about 7 years ago and I found out that my great great grandfather was a stonemason and his father before him. I guess it’s in my blood and I’m teaching my 3 young sons masonry to preserve the art of stonemasonry.

[@lukedeehan2011]

Much respect for Paul. As an apprentice myself not much older than Mikey (not in stonemasonry) I know the value of having teachers and mentors that prioritize a good relationship with their apprentice and take great interest in passing on what they know.

[@PaulWilmot-k4u]

Thank you . From paul

[@lukedeehan2011]

You're very welcome@@PaulWilmot-k4u

[@jessiec1194]

I’m from Kentucky in the USA and the stonemason’s trade is alive and well here building dry stone walls. Doesn’t hurt that field stone is there for the picking. True that nowadays they’ll run it through a rock crusher to make gravel when they used to make a wall out of it, but the old pikes outside of lexington are lined with rock wall for miles.

[@dougtheviking6503]

Interesting to know . These are your people

[@lukehill1684]

I’m from Australia and an apprentice stonemason, and am honoured to be one of those keeping this great trade alive in my country

[@bobh3704]

My great grandfather was a stone mason from Cork and settled in Syracuse NY. He help build the university and cathedral. Along with the Hughes family they help build that city. All creative hard working Irish men from Cork

[@tommurdoch9580]

I worked with a stone mason for a while, it always blew my mind how good they were at selecting stones. Take a bunch of random shaped rocks into a beautiful wall, nuts.

[@stuffbywoody5497]

It's great to see a young fella learning the trade. As a teenager several decades ago I used to spend a lot of time with the old fellas talking with them and learning about their old trades. As a result I learnt about shingle cutting, blacksmithing, dry stone walling and several other old 'lost trades' and have put them into practice throughout the course of my life. I really enjoy when I come across other folk that are keeping old trades alive and passing their knowledge onto people from the younger generations that are keen to learn and practice. I am hoping that my Grandchildren will want to learn some of what I've learnt over time, when they're old enough to start, which won't be long now. Thank you for documenting these old skills and trades.

[@ericscottstevens]

First stone wall as a 16 year old was from round rocks discarded at the edge of a farmers field. The basement of our new family house was dug out smack in the middle of the wood line full of rocks. Round rocks were everywhere, too many to count and more.. So my plan was set, make a wall external large rocks for the face and small rocks for inner wall fill. I was not trained but it made sense to me.

[@samuelbuettner1214]

I used to build dry stack stone walls at work, such an incredible amount of work, full time masons are tough people

[@danjones9585]

I’m a young stonemason of 23 years old very interesting video nice to see my trade getting some light shed on it

[@EoinReardon]

great! wonderful to see the trade still alive and well.

[@VietCom-yo3fb]

Im jist happy to see a craftsman who loves and believes in his apprentice, none of this egotism or putting down, just a love and reverence for the preservation of an artform.

[@soladeos]

Thanks for taking your time to document such an amazing craftsman. These trades cannot be allowed to die out. Wonderful documentary.

[@PaulWilmot-k4u]

Thank u . Paul.

[@TheDAT9]

This brings back happy memories for me. I renovated an old run down farm house and out buildings in a lovely spot close to Dungarvan. I often think of that lovely peaceful place and wish I was back there.

[@eternallyspoopy2238]

I really do find it intriguing and quite enjoyable how everyone featured in this channel has such an eye, respect, and hope for traditional methods. The fact that every face you see on this channel feels a little sad when they have to use modern tools/methods, but the fact that they also respect the pros of the newer methodology. it makes me happy people like this are still around

[@Mikedeela]

I love the charm of the ancient constructions, but I have to admire the clean lines of the new structures. Thanks for sharing.

[@Dilshad-gu7je]

So many of us work with our minds, shuffling imaginary 1’s and 0’s into spreadsheets and databases and other things that don’t really matter and barely last until lunchtime. But when you build with a mind that your work will still stand 300 years in the future it clearly evokes something special deep in your soul.

[@drakozozhaeternus2840]

I've been learning welding in some off time, since I have my dad's old torch and mask. Watching this makes me really feel like the last hundred or so years have been a terrible terrible mistake.

[@mcgoombs]

Read bullshit jobs by David Graeber

[@Mikelyn_B]

I am so glad to see traditional trades are being passed on. I sew and am learning to spin and weave. It is hard to find teachers, so I am grateful for people like you on youtube. And this video was so well done and very professional I loved it!

[@brownwarrior6867]

My Da and our upstairs neighbour were the last two dry stone walkers back in the Island I grew up on. My Da (and his workmate) is a long time passed now but the walls are still standing and no doubt will be long after I’m gone. Lovely job on this wall 👍🏼 Pat and Adam would have gave you the nod of approval no doubt.

[@Baz09]

What was the island called?

[@DontknowhatImdoingbutitsfun]

Fascinating to see this done, so much care and passion in this work. This is documentary level video quality! Keep up the good work!

[@EoinReardon]

Thank you very much!

[@PaulWilmot-k4u]

Thank u from Paul

[@adelaferreira4575]

That wall is a work of art and love for the craft,thank you for posting ,we can always learn something new ,but stone work is not only beautiful it is a rare craft these days !

[@PaulWilmot-k4u]

Thank you

[@michaelcanty4940]

My people, the McGarveys from Cork built walls and stone buildings all over our farm in Woodford County in Kentucky. If you have a chance to come to central Kentucky, take a drive along Old Frankfort road Ky 1681. It's lined with stone walls and is a national scenic highway.

[@Brough1111]

Yes I'm from KY. And those walls start in Washington county and go east and north they are beautiful.

[@damienhealy6850]

Pure class. Great production. Old Ireland is still alive. Thank you.

[@sixxplays612]

Thank you for exposing me to my family’s homeland and some culture. May the winds forever be at your back my brother. And the sun on your face.

[@patrickodonnell4109]

Great to see true craftsmen at work. That young apprentice will have work the rest of his life. God bless all those keeping traditional trades and methods alive.

[@Followyourlight420]

No matter how much tech comes out, this is the true workings of a craftsman. I enjoy watching and learning from these gents! Respect!

[@PaulWilmot-k4u]

Thank you . Paul.

[@Viennery]

There is an outdoor museum in New Brunswick that documents the history of the Acadians going back hundreds of years with a collection of different houses, and I always found it fascinating how the construction of these homes changed with the introduction of the Irish. The earliest homes from the 1600’s were basic log homes, often single room where every nook and crazy serves a purpose, and entire families shared a bed. Further we go, the houses got more intricate, multiple bedrooms added, and second floors built. Wells went from being outdoor, to indoor to keep them from freezing in the winters, to becoming hand pumps instead of buckets. After the Irish came, suddenly all these wooden structures started to incorporate a lot more stonework. Large stone fireplaces, stone walls and flooring, and wood being reserved more for the second floor. It always highlighted to me the benefits of working together. 🇨🇦🇮🇪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇫🇷🇬🇧

[@HollywoodCreeper]

Nothing indicates anyone worked together.

[@eternal_winter8713]

Love the accent. I grew up bombarded by east coast Canada tv (and the accent can be just as intense there) and I love hearing it again. 😊

[@jean-paul7251]

This is a grand old film lads! Loved it.

[@AngusandAndrewfunguys]

That wall will be there for a long time and its good to see who did it for future interested people.

[@Jaynee198]

It's great that this method of building allows you to reuse the same materials potentially many times over. As thick as the walls are, I'm sure it's well insulated, too

[@BobPrager]

My great-grandmother (born in 1847) grew up in a home very much like this one on the Limerick/Kerry border. It was fascinating to see how those walls were built! (Now I know how the house survived that long!)

[@AnyaKittyMeow]

In regards to the cinematography, the angling and subject placing is really superb. This was really well shot. I also really, really like the fact that the aspect ratio is more narrow. It gives it a more aged feeling similar to the videos of old.

[@scottyelder8351]

Imagine three hundred stone masons with their labourers that would be a hell of a sight ! God bless you men with mercy and peace health and happiness Amen ✨✝️💫

[@davidmcgill9248]

Fantastic video....I love to see the old trades being revived...👏👏👏

[@jamesalexander9847]

Great you have this documented. My relatives house in Achill Island is hundreds of years old and the walls are thick thick stone. The surrounding area has all these old stone buildings lying in ruin which were built by the settlers. Been very interesting watching how these homes are traditionally built. Thank you, from fans in Scotland who love your content!

[@deet1558]

Achill some spot me father in law is from there

[@PaulWilmot-k4u]

Paul here. My daughter and her husband spend 2 weeks ter every summer . Fab place ok.

[@deet1558]

The way things are going achill won’t be the same in 5 years

[@GKaiE]

I love this lad. Loving this new content that’s interesting and you learn things.

[@stephenoran2019]

Awesome use of more modern materials (although concrete was actually first used in about 6500BC, so not so modern!) to support traditional material and give it a long life! Awesome video! Thank you!

[@ferrarikingdom]

The quality of this is astonishing! Feels like a decent budget documentary. On par with vice short docs

[@valerie80yearsago90]

What a beautiful trade. Truly a marvelous art that needs to be preserved. 500 years from now - structures they built will still be standing, not many can claim such a thing. Thank you for sharing!

[@garygoggin]

Loved this episode man, fascinating to watch these craftsmen at work!

[@watchingytvids1]

Great job! An absolute art. Traditional stone masonry is wonderful, and absolutely worth the time (and money) to do it up properly.

[@PaulWilmot-k4u]

Thank you. Paul.

[@wazzazone]

Paul and Mikey it's fantastic seeing the work of a IRISH stonemason, I can just imagine my 3rd great grandmother Elizabeth Rourke with your Irish accent (here in Australia) thanks again for posting.

[@JohnClark-tt2bl]

It always amazes when I see a loose stone wall around property. No mortar, just loose stones stacked to build a short wall. From the looks, they've been standing for a very long time. They're pretty common on some of the older properties here, I love how they look.

[@momnoah5]

I love seeing the old trades being carried on. Thank you for sharing this. It's very interesting watching & hearing about it. I love that they used new methods as well as the old so that the wall will stay standing straight for many generations.

[@LegionUK]

When I was learning in college, my lecturer told me stone work was a sub skill of brickwork, but after seeing them work and dabbling myself you can tell its a trade that requires nothing less than dedication to the craft

[@Menuki]

That makes no sense.your lecturer is ignorant. The whole purpose of bricks was to have a uniform building material to remove the need to have skilled labor to know how to strategically place rough cut stone. If it were so easy, why have bricks replaced masonry…because it requires less skill

[@LegionUK]

@@Menuki That right just jump on the first half dont read the whole comment for context

[@LegionUK]

@@Menuki Less skill maybe it a degree but brickwork in itself takes its own skill, its not about one being better than the others its them both being two sides of one trade in an essence. the mason

[@PaulWilmot-k4u]

Paul here . Very true. I was lucky enough to serve my time at both . But to b honest I . Brickwork is a job . Like most others . To b good at stone u have to love it and in turn u love going to work every day.

[@faithwalker5196]

This video makes me want to visit Ireland so very much!

[@johnmulvey5121]

That is great to see. I also love the lime wash and lime plastered walls.

[@leeannelynagh3643]

This was a brilliant watch

[@colinrobbins6713]

Brilliant workmanship loved watching this video

[@Grubnar]

Watching a master of his craft (and his apprentice) is always fun, and the end result looks beautiful! Imagine building something like this, and 10 - 15 generations later, people are still using it!

[@PaulWilmot-k4u]

Thank u so much . Paul.

[@DonalLeader]

Inspirational work that honours traditional building methods. Great to see these stone working traditions being passed on.

[@patrickharris5903]

pretty darn wonderful, thanks for sharing.

[@jewelcitizen2567]

Brilliant video, top fellas. You can just tell that Paul would be a decent boss to apprentice under. Knowledgeable but laid back, that young lad has truly struck gold, learning a trade from a guy like that. Good luck to em both.

[@jamesward5721]

Everything here at our place is built the same - with a smattering of old brick included here & there in the rubble-fill walls. Great to see the old skills being kept alive.

[@nadinevandervoorn]

Thank you for all the great video’s my two sons and me love them! Keep up teaching the trade 👍🏻

[@caoimhenimhuireadhaigh1303]

I was just looking at OPW stonemason apprenticeships the other day, what a beautiful craft, I've always adored it

[@TheHeydzo]

Great narration, Eoin. Great story. In the age of AI it is fantastic to see that stone masonry skills are needed and essential as ever. Fair play to you for covering this subject.

[@jamesbarbour8400]

Great to see a skill such as this being kept alive. The skill, patience and knowledge required are very evident on the finished section.

[@puddinggeek4623]

A very interesting and entertaining video. It is great to see these skills in action and excellent to see a young lad starting his apprenticeship. Keep up the great work.

[@alexjamed1141]

banger of a video! thanks man!

[@ElSings]

I love when families preserve traditions or old ways of going about things. In my family, we were very musical. My great grandma Polly was one of the first ever female talk show hosts on american television. My great grandpa Perry (Or also known as his stage name, Martin, which is now our family name.) was a statewide known musician, and he had been invited with his band to come and play on Polly's show. Well, he played, and Polly and him hit it off talking about his band and whatnot. They ended up falling in love and getting married- the talk show host and the musician. I still have one of my great grandma Polly's old records of some bits of her show, its so fascinating to hear their voices when ive never actually met them before. I also have records of Perry singing, which is wild to me. And here I am, the great grandchild of those two, who birthed a talented piano player who was my grandpa, and my dad, who is a total audiofile and love the guitar and everything music, and I am now an accomplished singer and love casually playing the piano, ukelele, and drums. Im proud of us foro keeping music in the family. Did i mention my twin brother is a self taught violinist and also a guitarist? My family is awesome. P.S., fun fact, my great grandpa Perry also made the state song for.. I believe it was Mississippi? Im not sure completely which state, and yes, apparently there is such a thing as state songs. But I know for a fact he DID make a "State song." Which i think is pretty cool. Also, my aunt (on my dads side, so perry and polly's granddaughter) is an amazing singer also, and was an international magazine model for years in her twenties and has since climbed up the fashion ladder, but on the business side of things, and basically runs a good portion of Hadaad Brands. (They manage brands like under armour, Nike, P!NK, etc.) so yeah, my family is definitely the musical and stage-obsessed one lol. Did I mention Im also a theater kid? :)

[@44birdie44]

That’s class, more of this content please, Eoin. If you have an opportunity to carry out recording the lads’ progress, please do!

[@MusicAccount0102]

I love seeing crafts like this kept alive. May the island bring forth many more stonemasons! Great video, Eoin.

[@zunettaherbert627]

This is so great! Thank you for making it - Paul and Mickey make it look easy...and have done a fantastic job so far - lopok forward to parts 2 - 10 to see the completed refurb!

[@silvertopaz509]

What an amazing skill and the art of working with stone. Really enjoyed this video. Take care and rock on my friend. Sorry.

[@S24ARJ]

Absolutely stunning... I wish I could learn to be a stone mason and build such beautiful buildings.

[@MyrtheDV]

My grandfather made his own house like that, very beautiful house.

[@ExoticOnTheBeat]

This was very interesting to watch.

[@weedyganzalays]

Absolutely love this, thank you for sharing Eoin. Traditional stone walling is truly fascinating and so beautiful. I was doing a bit of dry stone walling at our home n Co. Galway here today, by god they make it look so easy! There is something so sacred and ancient about stone that I love and I wish more people appreciated it.

[@EoinReardon]

Brilliant! Doing a dry stone workshop over summer. Looking forward to it!

[@kevinmcelhinney]

This was so awesome thank you for sharing with us. I love seeing traditional skills demonstrated by masters.

[@geargrinder7714]

Brilliant. Thank you so much for showcasing this

[@onethousandwords]

Fantastic video, fantastic wall. I took an intro to laying brick (just for a bit of learning for fun) and was excited to see the similar lessons of plumbing the lines and checking the courses. Doing this with stone of all shapes and sizes is a level above - seeing in your mind how to fit the puzzle pieces together. A beautiful thing to watch it come together. Thank you!

[@florinpopa6746]

You have such a good production quality so early on. Keep up the good work!!

[@mowgo9879]

Wonderful episode, thank you!

[@EoinReardon]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@mbp1646]

The line which got to me was when he confidently said "The wall will stand for another four to five hundred years." How many of us have ever made something that will last that long?

[@EoinReardon]

talk about building a legacy

[@Codegreen642]

You're onto something with videos like this. Showing Traditional Trades. Fair play hopefully you get to do more.

[@carolinefinley5632]

These old walls always look so nice.👍Miles better than the horrible bricks we use now.

[@therickpound]

Nothing better than good stone walling

[@erichelms6126]

omg i loved this, amazing to see the trade being passed on

[@gaius_enceladus]

Wonderful video! Being a stonemason would be such a *satisfying* job, seeing walls take shape like this and having pride in what you build, knowing that it'll likely be there for several hundred years. Wonderful stuff - great to see!

[@samrustan]

Right. Well done. “…the future… is rock solid…” wah haha! Excellent work. Good work imbues an aesthetic that, if nothing else, reminds us to do good work.

[@deranocasper]

Very tidy stone work wall looks class deserved a beer after that 👌👍

[@tehroller]

Lovely video Eoin, Love the shorts but so great to see some long form content, keep up the awesome work!

[@samortega4416]

This was truely amazing to watch. Absolutely loved this!

[@Glaaki13]

Glad that the people wanted the stone wall rebuild

[@jacobtracy7847]

Thank you Eoin!

[@deborahdufel1664]

Eroin thank you sharing these amazing stone masons' work.

[@martintaylor5943]

Just found your site, this video was amazing, truly fascinating

[@TheFaeFae]

absolutely fascinating thank you for making this documentary and sharing this fascinating profession.

[@nlo114]

Have a 'like'😄 This is a bit like 'Trigger's broom', with 5 new heads and 3 new handles, that was 27 years old. 'Eoin's barn' - one new wall and one new roof, but 300 years old. It's good to see old skills continued - I hope there is an apprentice to learn them!

[@bencarney9833]

Your a pretty cool dude, found your channel yesterday and I have now watched everyone single one of your videos and am thinking of getting into the craft as a hobby 😂

[@EoinReardon]

Welcome aboard!

[@raccoonruby86]

Amazing work keeping up the old ways and traditions! We need more young people like Mike to learn this trade and keep it going.

[@itWyrm]

My great uncle was a master mason here in the states, both rock and block. I was very lucky to have watched and learned what little I do know about masonry from him before he passed a few years ago. Thanks for showcasing this absolutely amazing trade/skill!

[@awiggan1]

We need some of this in old Australia. Our modern homes are hot/cold boxes that need artificial heating and cooling.

[@jeffkeogh5616]

Lad, I'd be hoping this is the direction your channel stays in, documenting this stuff is priceless, its like looking at an episode of Hands

[@EoinReardon]

Ive been delighted with the feedback on this video, will definitely continue this style of video.