Picture byline - Cathal McGuigan

A FAMILY have contacted NI Secretary of State James Brokenshire in an attempt to finally resolve issues over a thatched cottage in Magilligan.

Seacoast Cottage, on the Seacoast Road, has been home to siblings Edward and Eileen Quigley for more than 70 years. The thatched roof of the 300-year-old cottage collapsed into the house’s bedrooms during a winter storm in late 2014. The pair have lived there all their lives without electricity, heating, running water or a toilet and continue to live there as the cottage’s condition deteriorates.

Their nephew, Mark Canning, has been lobbying government since 2014 to secure much needed funds to undertake urgent repair works to the building, whether that means repairing the thatched roof, or granting permission for a new roof.

He said that although he met with former Communities Minister Paul Givan about the problem last year and has sent more than 50 emails and made around 100 phone calls to the Department for Communities, the family are no closer to a solution.

“Many politicians have come and gone, all said they would help and yet nothing has been done to help these OAPs, who still reside in this partially ruined listed thatched cottage,” Mark wrote in a letter to James Brokenshire.

“We are totally frustrated and fed up with our Northern Ireland politicians and reach out to you in desperation in the hope that you may be able to bypass the incompetent Civil Servants in the Department of the Communities Historical building branch and get us the funds required to free these OAPs from the squalor they have been forced to live in.”

“It makes my stomach sick and I am ashamed to say I am from Northern Ireland when I see the suffering inflicted on my elderly uncle and aunt due to the incompetence of civil servants who listed the property and then ignored our correspondence and abandoned two vulnerable OAPs.”

“As it stands today the listed thatched roof is covered in tarpaulins and has been completely condemned along with the back wall of the cottage, in my opinion all brought on by Department of Communities civil service neglect.”

The cottage is believed to be the last one in Ireland that is thatched with marram grass, an inefficient thatching material that must be replaced every three years. Mark has called on the government to create a special fund to maintain the marram grass roof, or to allow the family to make changes to the roof.

As the cottage is a listed building the family could face fines, or even prosecution, if they make alterations to the roof without the proper approval.

Mark told the Co Derry Post in May that he felt the Department’s approach was “very unreasonable and very unfair” and said that his aunt and uncle just wanted a roof that was safe, water-tight and dry, whether it was a tin roof (at an estimated cost of £5,000), one thatched with marram grass, or one thatched with water reed which has a much longer lifespan.

“The cottage has been in our family for four generations, we love it and we’d like to see the thatch maintained but there’s no way that we could afford to maintain that.”

“For my aunt and uncle it’s purely down to having a roof that’s economical, affordable and is comfortable. There’s no doubt that if the roof is not addressed, it will fall in a year and a half or so.”

He explained to Mr Brokenshire that Seacoast Cottage became listed “against his uncle’s wishes” and that the restrictions on the roof mean that Edward and Eileen are being “forced to live in a museum.”

“It is also the only property on the Built Heritage at Risk register which is fully occupied and in critical state,” he said.

“Unlike other thatched cottages with water reed or straw thatch that can last up to 15-30 years, this cottage needs to be re-thatched every three years exposing the elderly pair to a considerable ongoing financial liability and squalor.”

Mr Canning appealed for Mr Brokenshire to help the family and invited him to visit the cottage to see the damage for himself. The Co Derry Post contacted James Brokenshire for comment about Seacoast Cottage, but had received no reply before going to print.

When contacted about Seacoast Cottage in May the Department of Communities said that the matter of making alterations to the roof must first be considered by Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.

“A proposal to change the roof material on this building is likely to be an alteration that would affect is architectural and historic character and require Listed Building Consent,” a spokesperson said.

“This is a matter for the Local District Council to decide upon. Its decision would be based upon consideration of advice from the Historic Environment Division, the views of other consultees, including the public, and its assessment of relevant policy.”

Mark is now attempting to raise around £130,000 to repair the roof and to rebuild a wall that was damaged in the storm. To donate to Seacoast Cottage visit https://www.gofundme.com/save-seacoast-cottage-fund

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