Now I understand the issue.
if the lime plaster keeps the inside of the wall from getting wet, why are overhangs so encouraged?
Wetness and moisture are two different things
Simply put, water has a few forms;
- wetness may flow out of a pipe
- moisture may be floating in the atmosphere as a gas.
- you can feel and see wetness as a liquid
- moisture being in the form of a gas cannot be felt or even seen, except as fog, but it is everywhere.
All liquids are fluids, but not all fluids are liquid
A liquid will take the shape of its container but keeps a fixed, definite volume.
Glass while solid, is also a fluid in that it will slowly move downwards and thicken !!
So overhangs prevent erosion by the water running down the wall, it also gives some protection from driving rain.
AS A FOOT NOTE
Nordic communities and I think early Irish, who may have has nordic influence, built stone homes with each stone sloping to the outside,
this preventing driving rain entering the building.