The ‘teaSHED' a Coffee Shop / Tea House at Glencar Waterfall. The teaSHED caters for locals, hill walkers, tourists and tour buses who visit the area. Freshly baked scones, bread, desserts as well as locally produced products are on sale, with areas for local arts, crafts and speciality foods. A footbridge provides access from the waterfall carpark to the teaSHED and new public playground. From th
e late 1800’s to early 1900’s Helen’s great-aunts ran a Tea House in Glencar. Photographs of the original tea house, the original visitors books and artifacts from this Tea House are on display in the teaSHED. Some of these photos were also used in a Lyons tea advert / packaging. SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability is at the forefront of the design of the teaSHED with the internationally recognised ‘Passivhaus’ principals adopted. This approach places greater emphasis on the fabric of the building to reduce heat losses, including super insulation, airtightness and triple glazing. Heat is generated from the equipment and an energy efficient wood burning stove. This is distributed by a mechanical ventilation heat recovery system (MVHR). Glue laminate timber beams and timber posts create the main structure while the timber larch cladding and local stone continue the sustainable approach. Yeats used to visit the waterfall and the old Siberry Tea House, staying occasionally in the Siberry house. Not surprisingly he found Glencar inspirational. He wrote about the fairies and changelings of Irish folklore in his poem, “The Stolen Child”, inspired by his passion for Irish mythology and the beauty of Glencar Waterfall.
“……….Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand, For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand. Where the wandering water gushes From the hills above Glen-Car, In pools among the rushes That scarce could bathe a star,…..”
