Currach
Encyclopedia
A Currach is a type of Irish
boat
with a wooden frame, over which animal skins or hides
were once stretched, though now canvas is more usual. It is sometimes anglicised as "Curragh". The construction and design of the currach is unique to the west coasts of Ireland
and Scotland
, with variations in size and shape by region. It is referred to as a naomhóg in counties Cork
and Kerry
and as a "canoe" in West Clare
. It is related to the Welsh coracle
, but can in fact include craft far larger than the Welsh vessel. The plank-built rowing boat found on the west coast of Connacht is also called a Currach or curach adhmaid ("wooden currach"), and is built in a style very similar to its canvas-covered relative. A larger version of this is known simply as a bád iomartha (rowing boat).
The Currach has traditionally been both a sea boat and a vessel for inland waters.
One of these is the Latin account of the voyage of St Brendan (who was born c. 484 in the south-west of Ireland): Navigatio sancti Brendani abbatis. This contains an account of the building of an ocean-going boat: using iron tools, the monks made a thin-sided and wooden-ribbed vessel sicut mos est in illis partibus (“as the custom is in those parts”), covering it with hides cured with oak bark. Tar was used to seal the places where the skins joined. A mast was then erected in the middle of the vessel and a sail supplied. Though the voyage itself is essentially a wonder-tale, it is implied that the vessel as described was built in accordance with ordinary practice at the time. An Irish martyrology of the same period says of the Isle of Aran that the boat commonly used there was made of wickerwork and covered with cowhide.
Gerald of Wales, in his Topographia Hibernica
(1187), relates that he was told by certain seamen that, having taken refuge from a storm off the coast of Connacht
, they saw two men, long-haired and scantily clad, approaching in a slender wickerwork boat covered in skins. The crew found that the two spoke Irish and took them on board, whereupon they expressed amazement, never before having seen a large wooden ship.
The consistency in accounts from the early middle ages to the early modern period makes it likely that the construction and design of the currach underwent no fundamental change in the interval.
A 17th century account in Latin by Philip O’Sullivan Beare of the Elisabethan wars in Ireland includes a description of two currachs built in haste to cross the river Shannon. The larger was constructed as follows: two rows of osiers were thrust in the ground opposite each other, the upper ends being bent in to each other (ad medium invicem reflexa) and tied with cords, whereupon the frame so made was turned upside down. Planks, seats and thwarts were then fitted inside (cui e solida tabula, statumina, transtraque interius adduntur), horse hide was fixed to the exterior and oars with rowlocks were supplied. This vessel is described as being able to carry 30 armed men at a time.
Though doubt has been cast on the accuracy of these sketches, they are detailed and represent a valid development of the ocean-going currach. The vessel is some twenty feet long: it possesses a keel and a rudder (adapted from the Irish plank-built boat), with a wickerwork hull stiffened by ribs, and with a mast amidship. Because of the keel, the craft is shown as being constructed from the bottom up. A covering (presumably of animal hides) was added when the wickerwork was complete, the sides being supported by rods in the interval.
The mast is supported by stays and by double shrouds on each side, the latter descending to an external shelf functioning as a chainwale. The forestay is shown as passing over a small fork above the yardarm, which supports a square sail: a branch is tied to the mast-top. The stern is surmounted by double half-hoops which could support a covering.
The sketches by Phillips imply that such a vessel was common in his day. The keel would improve the handling of the boat but the hull would remain flexible.
Currachs were used in the modern period for fishing, for ferrying and for the transport of goods and livestock, including sheep and cattle.
Use of the currach was not continuous or universal along the Atlantic coast. In the modern period it did not reach Kerry (in the south-west of Ireland) until the late 19th century (c. 1880). Until then the only vessel used was the heavy wooden seine boat, which required eight men to row it. The Blasket islanders found the currach (or naomhóg) particularly useful, and a distinctive regional type developed.
currachs differ from most other currach types in that, instead of the stringers which elsewhere run outside the latticework frame, the bottom and sides are covered with thin planking. In Achill Island
the curach is built with double gunwales. (See the following drawings: http://currachs.thisbetterworld.org/CurrachDrawingsFromHornell.htm#Achill_Island_Currach, http://currachs.thisbetterworld.org/CurrachDrawingsFromHornell.htm#Iniskea_Island_Currach.)
The Aran islanders, like the Blasket islanders further south, were assiduous users of the curach. Unusually for the area a sail was used, though without shrouds or stays. Apart from the halliard, the only ropes were the tack, led to a point near the stem, and the sheet, carried aft and secured to the last thwart. (See drawing.)
Currach races remain popular. In the mid 1950s and early 1960s the Seoighe cousins (Seoighe Inis Bearachain) excelled by winning many county and All Ireland championships, including three in a row of the latter.
There has been a community-based enterprise in West Clare since 2005 called West Clare Currachs. A community group on Lough Neagh (LNBHA) has made a number of Kerry naomhógs and Dunfanaghy and Tory Island currachs. In other counties on the western seaboard there are boat builders who sometimes make currachs.
, in the north east, and also in the Hebrides
.
is said to have used a currach.
St Beccan of Rùm
may have lived on the island for four decades from 632 AD, his death being recorded in the Annals of Ulster in 677. He wrote of Columba
:
The Spey currach would thus seem to be similar to the Welsh coracle
in design, being used on a river rather than in the open sea. But twenty years earlier, we read of bigger ones, in Shaw's History of the Province of Moray
(1775):
A more detailed description can be found in Scottish court records (1780):
Spey currachs were used in the timber trade there, as described in Ainslie's Pilgrimage etc. (1822):
These may have survived into twentieth century; there is a reference to a "currick" in the Banffshire Journal (1926).
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
boat
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
with a wooden frame, over which animal skins or hides
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
were once stretched, though now canvas is more usual. It is sometimes anglicised as "Curragh". The construction and design of the currach is unique to the west coasts of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, with variations in size and shape by region. It is referred to as a naomhóg in counties Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
and Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
and as a "canoe" in West Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
. It is related to the Welsh coracle
Coracle
The coracle is a small, lightweight boat of the sort traditionally used in Wales but also in parts of Western and South Western England, Ireland , and Scotland ; the word is also used of similar boats found in India, Vietnam, Iraq and Tibet...
, but can in fact include craft far larger than the Welsh vessel. The plank-built rowing boat found on the west coast of Connacht is also called a Currach or curach adhmaid ("wooden currach"), and is built in a style very similar to its canvas-covered relative. A larger version of this is known simply as a bád iomartha (rowing boat).
The Currach has traditionally been both a sea boat and a vessel for inland waters.
History
The currach represents one of two traditions of boat and ship-building in Ireland: the skin-covered vessel and the wooden vessel. The flimsy construction of the former makes it unlikely that any remains would be available for the marine archaeologist, but its antiquity is clear from written sources.One of these is the Latin account of the voyage of St Brendan (who was born c. 484 in the south-west of Ireland): Navigatio sancti Brendani abbatis. This contains an account of the building of an ocean-going boat: using iron tools, the monks made a thin-sided and wooden-ribbed vessel sicut mos est in illis partibus (“as the custom is in those parts”), covering it with hides cured with oak bark. Tar was used to seal the places where the skins joined. A mast was then erected in the middle of the vessel and a sail supplied. Though the voyage itself is essentially a wonder-tale, it is implied that the vessel as described was built in accordance with ordinary practice at the time. An Irish martyrology of the same period says of the Isle of Aran that the boat commonly used there was made of wickerwork and covered with cowhide.
Gerald of Wales, in his Topographia Hibernica
Topographia Hibernica
Topographia Hibernica , also known as Topographia Hiberniae, is an account of the landscape and people of Ireland written by Gerald of Wales around 1188, soon after the Norman invasion of Ireland...
(1187), relates that he was told by certain seamen that, having taken refuge from a storm off the coast of Connacht
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...
, they saw two men, long-haired and scantily clad, approaching in a slender wickerwork boat covered in skins. The crew found that the two spoke Irish and took them on board, whereupon they expressed amazement, never before having seen a large wooden ship.
The consistency in accounts from the early middle ages to the early modern period makes it likely that the construction and design of the currach underwent no fundamental change in the interval.
A 17th century account in Latin by Philip O’Sullivan Beare of the Elisabethan wars in Ireland includes a description of two currachs built in haste to cross the river Shannon. The larger was constructed as follows: two rows of osiers were thrust in the ground opposite each other, the upper ends being bent in to each other (ad medium invicem reflexa) and tied with cords, whereupon the frame so made was turned upside down. Planks, seats and thwarts were then fitted inside (cui e solida tabula, statumina, transtraque interius adduntur), horse hide was fixed to the exterior and oars with rowlocks were supplied. This vessel is described as being able to carry 30 armed men at a time.
Sea-going currachs, c. 17th century
The construction and sailing of a sea-going curach of the 17th century – a hybrid of the skin-covered and plank-built boat – was depicted in some detail by the Englishman Captain Thomas Phillips: "A portable vessel of wicker ordinarily used by the Wild Irish".Though doubt has been cast on the accuracy of these sketches, they are detailed and represent a valid development of the ocean-going currach. The vessel is some twenty feet long: it possesses a keel and a rudder (adapted from the Irish plank-built boat), with a wickerwork hull stiffened by ribs, and with a mast amidship. Because of the keel, the craft is shown as being constructed from the bottom up. A covering (presumably of animal hides) was added when the wickerwork was complete, the sides being supported by rods in the interval.
The mast is supported by stays and by double shrouds on each side, the latter descending to an external shelf functioning as a chainwale. The forestay is shown as passing over a small fork above the yardarm, which supports a square sail: a branch is tied to the mast-top. The stern is surmounted by double half-hoops which could support a covering.
The sketches by Phillips imply that such a vessel was common in his day. The keel would improve the handling of the boat but the hull would remain flexible.
The modern Irish currach
Currachs in general adhere to a plan designed to produce a sturdy, light and versatile vessel. The framework consists of latticework formed of rib-frames (“hoops”) and stringers (longitudinal slats), surmounted by a gunwale. There are stem and stern posts, but no keel. Thwarts are fitted, with knees supplied as required. Cleats or thole pins are fitted for the oars, and there may be a mast and sail, though with a minimum of rigging. The outside of the hull is covered by tarred canvas or calico, a substitute for animal hide.Currachs were used in the modern period for fishing, for ferrying and for the transport of goods and livestock, including sheep and cattle.
Use of the currach was not continuous or universal along the Atlantic coast. In the modern period it did not reach Kerry (in the south-west of Ireland) until the late 19th century (c. 1880). Until then the only vessel used was the heavy wooden seine boat, which required eight men to row it. The Blasket islanders found the currach (or naomhóg) particularly useful, and a distinctive regional type developed.
Donegal
See the following: Dunfanaghy/Sheephaven, drawing, Tory Island.Mayo
South MayoMayo
- Places :Ireland* County Mayo* Mayo * Mayo * Mayo * Mayo East * Mayo North...
currachs differ from most other currach types in that, instead of the stringers which elsewhere run outside the latticework frame, the bottom and sides are covered with thin planking. In Achill Island
Achill Island
Achill Island in County Mayo is the largest island off the coast of Ireland, and is situated off the west coast. It has a population of 2,700. Its area is . Achill is attached to the mainland by Michael Davitt Bridge, between the villages of Gob an Choire and Poll Raithní . A bridge was first...
the curach is built with double gunwales. (See the following drawings: http://currachs.thisbetterworld.org/CurrachDrawingsFromHornell.htm#Achill_Island_Currach, http://currachs.thisbetterworld.org/CurrachDrawingsFromHornell.htm#Iniskea_Island_Currach.)
Connemara and the Islands
The Connemara currach is also distinguished by a double gunwale and by a particular form of pivoting block or "bull" attached to one side of the squared region of the loom of the oar.The Aran islanders, like the Blasket islanders further south, were assiduous users of the curach. Unusually for the area a sail was used, though without shrouds or stays. Apart from the halliard, the only ropes were the tack, led to a point near the stem, and the sheet, carried aft and secured to the last thwart. (See drawing.)
Currach races remain popular. In the mid 1950s and early 1960s the Seoighe cousins (Seoighe Inis Bearachain) excelled by winning many county and All Ireland championships, including three in a row of the latter.
Clare
The Clare currach closely resembled that of the Aran Islands. In construction, a series of wooden markers were sunk into the ground at definite distances apart. These helped show the width desired for the lower gunwale frame. This was constructed first, followed by the upper frame, and the thwarts were then nailed into place. (See drawing .)Shannon
Currachs covered in cowhide were still common in the 1840s above Lough Ree, in the centre of Ireland. Thereafter they disappeared except at the seaward end of the Shannon estuary.Kerry
Kerry currachs had a reputation for elegance and speed. All were fitted for sailing, with a short mast without shrouds stepped in a socket in a short mast shoe. The halliard was rove through an iron ring near the masthead, hoisting a small lug sail, and this was controlled by a sheet and tack. When under sail lee-boards might be employed.Currach Builders
Currently there are few full-time currach builders. A notable exception are Meitheal Mara, who build currachs and train in currach building in Cork. They also organise currach-racing.There has been a community-based enterprise in West Clare since 2005 called West Clare Currachs. A community group on Lough Neagh (LNBHA) has made a number of Kerry naomhógs and Dunfanaghy and Tory Island currachs. In other counties on the western seaboard there are boat builders who sometimes make currachs.
Scottish currachs
The traditional Scottish currach is nearly extinct, but there are occasional recreations. It is known to have been in use on the River SpeyRiver Spey
The River Spey is a river in the northeast of Scotland, the second longest and the fastest-flowing river in Scotland...
, in the north east, and also in the Hebrides
Hebrides
The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...
.
St Columba
St ColumbaColumba
Saint Columba —also known as Colum Cille , Colm Cille , Calum Cille and Kolban or Kolbjørn —was a Gaelic Irish missionary monk who propagated Christianity among the Picts during the Early Medieval Period...
is said to have used a currach.
- "On a day, at the end of two years from his arrival on IonaIonaIona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland. It was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is a popular tourist destination and a place for retreats...
, Columba goes to the beach, where his craft of wicker and cowhide lies moored, waiting the use of any member of the community of HyIonaIona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland. It was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is a popular tourist destination and a place for retreats...
whose occasions may call him away from the island. He is accompanied by two friends and former fellow-students, Comgal and Cainnech, and followed by a little escort of faithful attendants. Taking his seat in his currach, he and his party are rowed across the sound to the mainland."
St Beccan of Rùm
Rùm
Rùm , a Scottish Gaelic name often anglicised to Rum) is one of the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides, in the district of Lochaber, Scotland...
may have lived on the island for four decades from 632 AD, his death being recorded in the Annals of Ulster in 677. He wrote of Columba
Columba
Saint Columba —also known as Colum Cille , Colm Cille , Calum Cille and Kolban or Kolbjørn —was a Gaelic Irish missionary monk who propagated Christianity among the Picts during the Early Medieval Period...
:
- In scores of curraghs with an army of wretches he crossed the long-haired sea.
- He crossed the wave-strewn wild region,
- Foam flecked, seal-filled, savage, bounding, seething, white-tipped, pleasing, doleful.
Currachs in the River Spey
In the Statistical Account of Scotland of 1795 we read of- "[a] man, sitting in what was called a Currach, made of hide, in the shape, and about the size of a small brewing-kettleKettleA kettle, sometimes called a tea kettle or teakettle, is a small kitchen appliance used for boiling water. Kettles can be heated either by placing on a stove, or by their own electric heating element.- Stovetop kettles :...
, broader above than below, with ribs or hoops of wood in the inside, and a cross-stick for the man to sit on. . . . These currachs were so light, that the men carried them on their backs home from SpeymouthSpey BaySpey Bay is a small settlement in Moray, Scotland. It is situated at the eastern side of the mouth of the River Spey on the coast of the Moray Firth between the village of Kingston on the western side of the Spey, and the fishing port of Buckie to the east....
."
The Spey currach would thus seem to be similar to the Welsh coracle
Coracle
The coracle is a small, lightweight boat of the sort traditionally used in Wales but also in parts of Western and South Western England, Ireland , and Scotland ; the word is also used of similar boats found in India, Vietnam, Iraq and Tibet...
in design, being used on a river rather than in the open sea. But twenty years earlier, we read of bigger ones, in Shaw's History of the Province of Moray
Moray
Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.- History :...
(1775):
- "Let me add, as now become a Rarity, the Courach. . . . It is in shape oval, near three feet broad, and four long."
A more detailed description can be found in Scottish court records (1780):
- "The currach contained only one man in working it, whereas the floats require two men and oars; and the man in the currach paddled with a shovel, one end of the rope being fixed to the raft, and the other tied to the man’s knee in the currach, which he let loose when there was any danger, the currach going before the raft."
Spey currachs were used in the timber trade there, as described in Ainslie's Pilgrimage etc. (1822):
- "The river taking a sudden bend, broadened and deepened into a wheel, on the breast of which a salmon cobble, or currach swam.
- "Hence curracher, a man who sat in a currach and guided floating timbers down the Spey."
These may have survived into twentieth century; there is a reference to a "currick" in the Banffshire Journal (1926).
See also
- CoracleCoracleThe coracle is a small, lightweight boat of the sort traditionally used in Wales but also in parts of Western and South Western England, Ireland , and Scotland ; the word is also used of similar boats found in India, Vietnam, Iraq and Tibet...
- BirlinnBirlinnThe birlinn was a type of boat used especially in the Hebrides and West Highlands of Scotland in the Middle Ages. The Birlinn is a Norse-Gaelic variant on the Norse longship. Variants of the name in English and Lowland Scots include "berlin" and "birling". It probably derives ultimately from the...
- St Brendan
- Bull boatBull BoatA Bull Boat is a small boat, usually made by American Indians and frontiersmen, made by covering a skeletal wooden frame with a buffalo hide.When traders of Hudson's Bay Company first visited the Mandan Indians in 1790 they found that tribe possessed of tublike boats with framework of willow poles,...
- Seoighe Inish BearachainSeoighe Inish BearachainSeoighe Inish Bearachain was a name used for three Joyce cousins, John Bhabín Seoighe, Martín Coilín Seoighe and John William Seoighe who came from the island of Inis Bearachain, Lettermore, in Connemara in County Galway, Ireland. Both John Martín and Martín Cóilín were born on the island of...
External links
- Monty O'Leary Traditional Currach builder in the Maharees County Kerry
- An Meitheal Mara - voluntary organisation of currach builders and racers
- Naomhoga Chorcai - Traditional Currach Rowing club in Cork City
- Keeping Tradition Afloat: Currach Racing in Philadelphia
- Philadelphia Regatta - Women's Racing
- Philadelphia Regatta - Men's Racing
- Baton Rouge, LA - Connemara, Ireland Currach Project
- Irish International Currach Association
- General currach info ( Irish-based only) and building information
- Curragh racing team in Pittsburgh, PA