I’m an eighth-generation stone mason and stone cutter from west Wicklow, just above the Blessington lakes.
Myself and my brother, Killian, are continuing the masonry work. It is a trade that traces back through eight generations on my father’s side of the family. Eight generations are as much as we can prove, so it is best to go with that, but my grandfather always believed it went further than that.
I don’t know if this is factual, but I was told a story by my grandfather years ago that we [the ?O’ Flahertys] were in Galway and we followed the work wherever it was.
I do know that some of my ancestors built Saggart church in Co Dublin and then eventually, my grandfather was back in Ballyfermot [Dublin] but my Da brought us up to Ballyknockan.
Learning the trade
A stone mason works with walls, fireplaces; mainly building projects. Whereas stone cutters work with chisels and carving stone. I am training as both: a stone mason and stone cutter.
I am currently in phase three of seven phases. I do the college phases in Kerry college, Tralee.
When I am down there, I am learning from my instructor, Tom Little. He is one of the most amazing stone cutters and stone masons in all of Ireland, if not the best, so it is a pleasure to be taught by him.
Petra at work / Marcin Onysko
My brother trained in the same college as me. When he qualified, he set up a masonry conservation company and took me on as his apprentice. So, he is my employer; we work together.
My dad has a very big part to play in my learning. He would have been the reason that I am so interested in this; I would have gone with him to do jobs from a young age and got him to help me at the weekends, so I was always dabbling in it.
It wasn’t until my dad and brother were working on a big project near to where we live that I really fell in love with it.
Found in high places
I’m from Ballyknockan and still live here. Ballyknockan is actually known as a stone mason’s village or ‘the granite village.’
The whole village exists because of the quarries. Originally, there was a quarry located nearby, in Manor Kilbride. When the stone dried up there, the operation moved up to Ballyknockan, so all of the stone cutters and stone masons moved up here too.
We have our own granite here - Ballyknockan granite. This was used to build a lot of the prominent buildings in Dublin’s city centre: the Central Bank, the GPO, Collins Barracks.
The Dublin granite is a lot browner, whereas the Ballyknockan granite is clearer. Some of the veins go quite deep so the granite appears blue in colour, in parts.
Up here, it is mainly granite I work with but I have been trying out lots of different types [of stone] in Tralee. It has been nice to try them, but granite is where my loyalties lie!
Personally, I am not the biggest fan of imported stone. You know when you tell people to shop locally? Well, I believe it is the same for stone. I also believe that stone should be worked in its region. So, say you live in Ballyknockan, where you will find granite, there is no point in you getting sandstone delivered up from the other end of the country.
Petra is an eighth generation stone mason from Ballyknockan, west Wicklow/Marcin Onysko
I also believe that some of the imported stone does not weather great in Ireland. That wouldn’t have been known years ago when the granite was originally imported. Now, you can see the difference - that ?it doesn’t age well and it doesn’t look great, so I definitely would be a believer in shopping locally and supporting your own.
Staying safe and switching off
At the moment, I am working on gutter stones. These are stones that basically work their way through a building on one end and on the other end, they have a semi-circular shape built into it so a gutter can sit into it. It goes along the top of a building. Next week, I’ll be working on window sills. These will be a feature for a nice building.
It was only when I started training in Tralee that my fingertips started to suffer. My fingertips and thumbs were constantly black and blue for a while, but soon, your eyes train to it and it becomes easier.
I have steel toe boots on every day and earmuffs, face mask and goggles when I am inside working with machines and it gets very dusty. Outside, I prefer to wear gloves, for example, when building a wall. Some choose not to wear any gloves but I’ll take them!
I definitely make time to go up to Glendalough; I like to go up in the evenings when it is quiet and you can see the animal life. It might sound weird but I love the graveyard and looking at the headstones and the ruins.
My dad came up with the idea of calling me Petra, after the city of tombs and temples carved into sandstone in Jordan. In the future, I will definitely bring my parents on holidays there!”
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I’m an eighth-generation stone mason and stone cutter from west Wicklow, just above the Blessington lakes.
Myself and my brother, Killian, are continuing the masonry work. It is a trade that traces back through eight generations on my father’s side of the family. Eight generations are as much as we can prove, so it is best to go with that, but my grandfather always believed it went further than that.
I don’t know if this is factual, but I was told a story by my grandfather years ago that we [the ?O’ Flahertys] were in Galway and we followed the work wherever it was.
I do know that some of my ancestors built Saggart church in Co Dublin and then eventually, my grandfather was back in Ballyfermot [Dublin] but my Da brought us up to Ballyknockan.
Learning the trade
A stone mason works with walls, fireplaces; mainly building projects. Whereas stone cutters work with chisels and carving stone. I am training as both: a stone mason and stone cutter.
I am currently in phase three of seven phases. I do the college phases in Kerry college, Tralee.
When I am down there, I am learning from my instructor, Tom Little. He is one of the most amazing stone cutters and stone masons in all of Ireland, if not the best, so it is a pleasure to be taught by him.
Petra at work / Marcin Onysko
My brother trained in the same college as me. When he qualified, he set up a masonry conservation company and took me on as his apprentice. So, he is my employer; we work together.
My dad has a very big part to play in my learning. He would have been the reason that I am so interested in this; I would have gone with him to do jobs from a young age and got him to help me at the weekends, so I was always dabbling in it.
It wasn’t until my dad and brother were working on a big project near to where we live that I really fell in love with it.
Found in high places
I’m from Ballyknockan and still live here. Ballyknockan is actually known as a stone mason’s village or ‘the granite village.’
The whole village exists because of the quarries. Originally, there was a quarry located nearby, in Manor Kilbride. When the stone dried up there, the operation moved up to Ballyknockan, so all of the stone cutters and stone masons moved up here too.
We have our own granite here - Ballyknockan granite. This was used to build a lot of the prominent buildings in Dublin’s city centre: the Central Bank, the GPO, Collins Barracks.
The Dublin granite is a lot browner, whereas the Ballyknockan granite is clearer. Some of the veins go quite deep so the granite appears blue in colour, in parts.
Up here, it is mainly granite I work with but I have been trying out lots of different types [of stone] in Tralee. It has been nice to try them, but granite is where my loyalties lie!
Personally, I am not the biggest fan of imported stone. You know when you tell people to shop locally? Well, I believe it is the same for stone. I also believe that stone should be worked in its region. So, say you live in Ballyknockan, where you will find granite, there is no point in you getting sandstone delivered up from the other end of the country.
Petra is an eighth generation stone mason from Ballyknockan, west Wicklow/Marcin Onysko
I also believe that some of the imported stone does not weather great in Ireland. That wouldn’t have been known years ago when the granite was originally imported. Now, you can see the difference - that ?it doesn’t age well and it doesn’t look great, so I definitely would be a believer in shopping locally and supporting your own.
Staying safe and switching off
At the moment, I am working on gutter stones. These are stones that basically work their way through a building on one end and on the other end, they have a semi-circular shape built into it so a gutter can sit into it. It goes along the top of a building. Next week, I’ll be working on window sills. These will be a feature for a nice building.
It was only when I started training in Tralee that my fingertips started to suffer. My fingertips and thumbs were constantly black and blue for a while, but soon, your eyes train to it and it becomes easier.
I have steel toe boots on every day and earmuffs, face mask and goggles when I am inside working with machines and it gets very dusty. Outside, I prefer to wear gloves, for example, when building a wall. Some choose not to wear any gloves but I’ll take them!
I definitely make time to go up to Glendalough; I like to go up in the evenings when it is quiet and you can see the animal life. It might sound weird but I love the graveyard and looking at the headstones and the ruins.
My dad came up with the idea of calling me Petra, after the city of tombs and temples carved into sandstone in Jordan. In the future, I will definitely bring my parents on holidays there!”
Read more
"One time, I dropped my pliers and a brown snake was at my feet"
Producing free-range eggs in the heart of the Garden of Ireland
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