Artists and Craft Workers In East Galway

Building Log Houses, Offices, Furniture…

Steven Burke was born in 1966 to Angela and Francis Burke, who still live on the home farm in Cahertobber East, Athenry. Steven is the youngest of four children. After the leaving certificate Steven joined the army for 6 years. During that time he spent six month on peacekeeping duties in the Lebanon.

The following two years he worked in America, mainly on the West cost, doing building and handy man jobs. He returned to Ireland and settled in Galway for a number of years, again doing handy man jobs and later on working in the shelter for homeless men.

In 1998 he studied Forestry in GMIT and qualified with a Diploma 3 years later. During that time he moved back to Athenry and built a log house on the family farm for his own family. Steven is married to Tina and they have two children, Leon and Stella.

Steven’s Log House that he built for his family

While he worked on forestry contracts, mainly with Sylviron for the native woodland scheme, he always brought home unusual pieces of wood that he turned into unique furniture or even buildings. At home he built his own workshop and sheds and added a band saw to the collection of tools. Now he is able to cut logs into the required shapes and sizes and build with them, mainly using post and the beam construction technique.

As the grants for the native woodland scheme are put on hold in these recessionary times, Steven’s hobby of working with wood is turning more and more into his work. He has built timber offices or treatment rooms for other people and creates his own rustic furniture. Steven can build fantastic wooden bridges, playgrounds, boxes, sheds….or just logs sawn into planks and passed on to the kiln in Esker.

For more information you can contact Steven: 087-7984209