- 6/10/2025
The Great House Revival episode 1 2025
Category
🦄
CreativityTranscript
00:01Our past is alive in our old buildings.
00:05They speak of our history and offer solid solutions for today's housing needs.
00:12I'm following restorers as they battle through the good, the bad,
00:19and the awful challenges of rebuilding ruins to create homes fit for the future.
00:30I'm on my way to the West Cork village of Butlerstown.
00:38With a view towards the Seven Heads coastline,
00:41this picture-perfect strip of buildings is all sunshine and flowers on this July day in 2023.
00:51But there's one less than pristine blot on the landscape.
00:55The village's 19th century post office and shop, which has been unlived in for 12 years.
01:02I'm meeting with local man, carpenter, Timmy O'Brien, and his partner,
01:07make-up artist, Siobhan O'Mahony from Bally to Hob.
01:12They are planning to move out of their rental home and bring the building back to its former glory
01:17as a home for themselves and their sons, Jimmy and Maya.
01:22Jimmy and Siobhan.
01:23That's right.
01:24Great. Let's keep around.
01:30Mind the creaky.
01:32Just a lovely little village, isn't it?
01:34It is. You picked a beautiful morning as well. The sun's shining.
01:37Only the best for me.
01:38One of you came from here.
01:41That's my mother's house across the road, yeah.
01:42Oh, the Mammy's across the road.
01:43Yeah, yeah.
01:44That's how we ended up coming back here, I suppose.
01:46This came for sale and Siobhan and Mammy started chatting.
01:50All of a sudden, we're bidding on the place.
01:52So, yeah.
01:53So, it's kind of a homecoming for me.
01:54Timmy grew up in the house across the road and has known the shop all his life.
01:59And it's a bit of a daunting task for Siobhan coming down into the thick of my crew down here.
02:05So, this was the shop?
02:07The shop and the post office.
02:08And the post office.
02:09It's a big premises, isn't it?
02:10Yeah.
02:11So, the shop counter would have been here and this was where we'd come for our ice creams.
02:14So, that was the slab of ice cream cut with the wafers.
02:18No, it wasn't that old.
02:20Some people would have even said it was probably livable until we started pulling it apart.
02:25But, certainly, we're very glad we pulled it apart because what Timmy found,
02:29between the damp and the roof and the floor and things like that,
02:32you know, it really showed us that it's better to gut it.
02:35Yeah.
02:36And do as much as we can to make it family friendly.
02:39They bought the post house for €195,000 four years ago and started work.
02:46Knocking out damp walls with their friends and family helping at every stage.
02:51But hit a complete standstill eight months ago when their finances dried up.
02:57Just a perfect storm that time with the, what do they call it, supply chain problems
03:02and the COVID and everything.
03:03So, the price of the materials just went a bit loopy there for a couple of years
03:06and we got stung.
03:07We had to pull the handbrake at Christmas.
03:08We just had all our savings kind of put into it really.
03:10We were stretched so thin that we just said we'll just stop now
03:14until we can get finance started again.
03:16At this stage now, we just want to get in.
03:18They had €60,000 in savings, but last month they were thrown a lifeline.
03:24They have been approved for €120,000 credit union loan.
03:30Come on, let's see the rest of those.
03:33In the old part of the building, the walls have been stripped out.
03:38So now tell me, this is great, you've been working away on this now for how long?
03:45Uh, is it four years?
03:47Three years?
03:48Yeah, we've been chipping away.
03:50Not by choice.
03:51We were kind of rotten with woodworm and like all this section of roof here was gone.
03:54So you've had to replace your joists, your timbers and your roof as well.
03:59The roof structure, yeah.
04:00There was principal rafters were in the old roof structure and they were rotten as well.
04:03It was beyond saving really.
04:04OK, so you actually ended up with four walls.
04:07The great thing now about what you've done is you've put the roof on.
04:11Yeah.
04:12You've done your floor.
04:13Yeah.
04:14You've put your services in your floor.
04:15Yeah.
04:16Which is great.
04:17The way you've approached it is absolutely correct.
04:19Despite the hard slog, Siobhan has held on to big dreams for the building.
04:25I have champagne taste and a lemonade budget.
04:28I am very aware of that.
04:29So, yeah, I have notions.
04:31But, you know, that's my thing.
04:36Well, the problem with the fire there is there's no chimney above it.
04:39Yeah, but what are you doing now with that?
04:41Well, that is actually going to land above in the middle of the two bedrooms.
04:45And we're hoping that that will be a laundry chute coming down through the old chimney.
04:52Sorry?
04:53We're hoping that there will be a laundry basket on the bottom here.
04:56Jesus, you had a great life from Vallée de Havre.
04:59Siobhan's champagne taste notions of a laundry chute fireplace are matched with more big ideas upstairs.
05:07So, I have another bedroom.
05:09Yeah.
05:10Yeah.
05:11But I have a corridor all the way down there.
05:12Corridor all the way down.
05:13And then we have another corridor just teeing off into that southern window.
05:16You have a T-shaped corridor.
05:17Yeah.
05:18And where's that going?
05:19To a window.
05:20I can't say it because he's actually going to sag me.
05:23No, I'd never sag you.
05:24Go on, no, say it to you.
05:25No, the reading nook.
05:27But we're not going to be reading in it.
05:28It's just a long picture window.
05:29A window seat.
05:30With a window seat.
05:31Ah, lad.
05:32You.
05:34So, it's just a waste of space.
05:36I want to see less laundry chutes and reading nooks and more practical use of space for this family of four.
05:45Siobhan and Timmy's surprisingly large new home is made up of a series of buildings from different eras.
05:53The original 19th century house fronts onto the street with a barn, outbuildings and a 70s block built extension and toilet to the back.
06:03And a 1960s single storey shop alongside.
06:08They plan to build a temporary kitchen in the 1970s extension until they can afford to build a better version in the old shop alongside a family room and a dining area.
06:22The extension will become a den or playroom for the kids and a studio for Siobhan.
06:29They've decided that the former entrance hall will house a butler's pantry and a utility room with a generous laundry and cloakroom where the main reception room once was.
06:42The end room will become a snug and music room for Timmy.
06:45Upstairs there will be four bedrooms with an en suite for the master bedroom, a family bathroom and a T-shaped corridor.
06:54It all sounds very complicated to me.
06:58I would like to see them simplify their plans.
07:01In the future, this kitchen comes out.
07:03This comes out.
07:04Oh, it comes out?
07:05Yeah.
07:06And this becomes a den.
07:07A den?
07:08I thought that was the den.
07:09That's the snug.
07:10Oh, that's the snug.
07:11We've a lot of house.
07:12So, it's a big house?
07:14It is, yeah.
07:15OK, so how much is your budget?
07:18So, we've spent 60 already and now we have 120 and not, like, not a penny more.
07:24We literally cannot afford to not be in within eight, nine months.
07:28Like, we can't sustain it for any longer.
07:30The quicker they can get in, the quicker they can stop shelling out on rent.
07:35But, you know, it's the pressure that's needed and I actually work better under pressure.
07:39Your challenge is, with 120, you have to spread your butter very thinly.
07:46Yeah.
07:47My first impression here is that the elephant's a bit big in the room.
07:52The budget you have and your ambition at the moment.
07:56Yeah, you think they're not matching up?
07:58No.
07:59I believe that before you now take your next step, you need to just re-evaluate the layout.
08:08Because this is a smashing room.
08:10Yeah.
08:11Do you think it's smashing enough to leave it as a kitchen forever, like?
08:15Absolutely.
08:16OK.
08:17And I think that you don't need what was the shop.
08:22OK.
08:23Yeah.
08:24I believe if they don't convert the shop now, the project will be more achievable.
08:28You're never doing this again.
08:30Yeah.
08:31What you have to end up is a house.
08:33You open the door and go, whoopee, I'm home.
08:36We really have to make a saving on every screw and nail.
08:39You know what I mean?
08:40It has to be for us to get done.
08:42And it's exciting and terrifying at the same time.
08:46But I believe you can do this.
08:48Yeah.
08:49OK.
08:50But you have to sort of…
08:51We really need all our ducks in a row and…
08:53Correct.
08:54Yeah.
08:55And you need to gut your cloth.
08:56Yeah.
08:57For me, the most important area is actually out here.
09:02By opening up this wall and getting a big window.
09:06OK.
09:07Here.
09:08This space allows for a perfect bright kitchen, opening out onto a sunny terrace.
09:13That should be called in this wall or…?
09:15In that wall.
09:16Oh, yeah.
09:17There's a toilet up there.
09:18That's the only thing.
09:19Yeah, we'll just get rid of that.
09:20You have enough toilets.
09:21You have a toilet over there.
09:22How many toilets do you need?
09:23This is the room you're going to use…
09:24Yeah, we live here.
09:25…and you'll regret it…
09:26Yeah.
09:27…if you don't do it.
09:28I don't think you've listened to the house.
09:30That's fair enough, yeah.
09:32We've got to work cut out.
09:34I'm sorry.
09:35Right.
09:36Don't ruin your makeup.
09:39Well, I've reduced Siobhan to tears already.
09:42Hugh came in today.
09:43He was a bit like a whirlwind, wasn't he?
09:45We've literally cut the shop off since he's been here.
09:48And that's only in the space of, I don't know, a couple of hours.
09:51In a way, I feel it's taken a weight off my shoulders because I'm not looking at that for long term anymore.
09:56I'm actually just looking at the house for long term.
09:58I've built the house in my head already, so I know where every wall is going or whatever.
10:03Most of it's kind of figured out and then that's all been turned upside down.
10:06But I think we had to have it turned upside down a little bit because we have to really cut our cloth.
10:11We really do.
10:12So, I've given you a little bit of thought there now.
10:15It's not that.
10:16Unexpected.
10:17I'm not going to…
10:18Might need a half an hour to digest some of that.
10:20Yeah.
10:21Motivation is starting to creep back into us.
10:22We're getting excited about it again.
10:24Hell or high water now, we're getting in.
10:25Come here.
10:26It's lovely, lovely to meet you.
10:28Thank you very much.
10:29Great.
10:30I look forward now to following you.
10:32They've long spent their €60,000 savings, but after my visit, there's good news at last.
10:39They've been approved for a €50,000 vacant property grant which will offset their €120,000 credit union loan.
10:49Still, to make their budget work, they need to get in fast to stop paying rent.
10:56Timmy is only able to step away from his work as a carpenter at the weekends.
11:02So, at the end of a sunny August, Siobhan arranges babysitting and gathers the troops again.
11:11All hands on deck now today.
11:12So, helping Tim on site today are a lot of his friends.
11:15They're actually working in construction.
11:17They have given up their Saturdays to come down and help us here today and we're just, we're overwhelmed with the support that we're getting.
11:24They're just unbelievable.
11:25They're ferocious, the people.
11:26Their community is brilliant.
11:28We're really proud of people coming, helping and, you know, knowing that hopefully we'll be able to give it back someday as well.
11:34We're hoping to knock the outside toilet.
11:37Mr Hugh Wallace recommended that we get rid of it.
11:40In order to make it through with their slim budget, Siobhan's notions are being replaced with some practical cutbacks.
11:48So, the laundry chute's been covered over today.
11:50We're not going to do it at all.
11:51We're actually going to keep the old fireplace as is and use it in a decorative way and then put a counter into it, hopefully, by the time we're finished.
12:01So, the chute is now gone.
12:02We're going to have to carry the clothes up and down the stairs.
12:04And we are going to, well, I am going to attempt paint stripping the doors that were in the house, the existing house already, because they need to be brought back, hopefully, to some sort of natural wood.
12:16So, that's the aim today.
12:17Is that good?
12:18Am I doing the right way?
12:19Perfect.
12:20Okay.
12:21Natural.
12:22She'll be out in her own.
12:23I'll be in business now next week.
12:25West Cork paint strippers.
12:26Make sure you put the paint on.
12:28Don't call it West Cork strippers.
12:29Any area could be in trouble.
12:30Oh, sure.
12:31Look, that's my other business.
12:32Yeah.
12:33Tim's actually quite a good boss, I found out today, when it's his area of expertise.
12:37And this is certainly his area of expertise.
12:39He's been working on a renovation at his day job at the moment.
12:42And I think, you know, he's applying a lot of that to our house now, which I'm delighted about.
12:47It's hard to get it wrong.
12:48Just don't get it on the glass.
12:49Oh.
12:50Just come to here for now.
12:51Leave off this piece till the very end.
12:53Okay.
12:54He could have absolutely told me about the glass at the start.
12:56I was gung ho going straight for the glass as well.
12:59They're under pressure to get the house finished as soon as possible and stop wasting money on rent.
13:05But suddenly their priorities come into second place.
13:09Timmy's friend Archie has discovered they've got tenants of their own.
13:14As we just found there a while ago, there's a swallow's nest with three chicks in it that are just about to leave the nest.
13:20But at the moment, they're not quite able to fly.
13:22So they have a big journey ahead of them now before they head back to Africa.
13:24How many are in there?
13:25Three.
13:26So what we'll do is, if you're happy with it, what we'll do is we'll actually just support that.
13:31You can pop that section, leave the nest and just get rid of the concrete.
13:33Okay.
13:34Brilliant.
13:35I'm sorry.
13:36It's more work.
13:37You're alright.
13:38I'm happy with that.
13:39Okay.
13:40Too much.
13:41Another two or three weeks to be gone.
13:42So we'll just work away at the rest of the concrete structure and just give them a chance to get their wings and head off from us.
13:49I want the place clear today.
13:51It's not going to be clear today.
13:52But at the end of the day, it's not the end of the world.
13:54It's only another couple of weeks.
13:56The swallows stay safely in the nest.
13:59But Siobhan, Timmy and their kids' nest is a rental, 20 minutes' drive away.
14:05Siobhan has to prioritise the full-time care of their kids, Jimmy and Jeremiah, so she can't be on site to help Timmy as much as she'd like.
14:15Three weeks later, the chicks have flown the nest and Timmy and his friends are making hay while the sun shines.
14:23They're working through another weekend to let the sun shine in by cutting new windows.
14:30The weekend dig-outs from friends allows the remains of their 180,000 euro budget to stretch.
14:38The only big stress we're watching is the pinnies.
14:41Like, we have to keep an eye on the budget.
14:43These shows usually come along and they say, oh, we have X amount of budget and they always find 50 grand at the end.
14:47It's like, we don't have that. We have no safety net.
14:49Like, what we have, no, we have to see it through.
14:51We're just boxing clever. We do what we have to do to get in and we can come back to it, you know, as the budget loads.
14:57But we're watching every cent now at the minute.
14:59But as I say, with guys like this now coming in and helping us out, you can't beat a bit of free labour there on a Saturday morning.
15:04So if that keeps coming the way it is, we should be OK.
15:07And I think, yeah, I think every time we're down here, the sun seems to be shining.
15:12I think it's just there's someone looking down on us.
15:15I'm expecting to be in at Easter, but he keeps asking me when Easter is because we don't know what month it is this year.
15:21And I just keep going, look, it's around April.
15:23I don't know when it is.
15:24But that's kind of the aim in my head that we'll be in, I suppose.
15:27And I wouldn't tell him I'd give until the summer, but I'm saying Easter.
15:31It feels like it's moving so fast that I'm nervous that there's going to just be a major stop.
15:36But as the summer holidays come to an end, so does progress.
15:41Timmy's busy on a paid building project, Siobhan's time is taken up with the boys and the house is boarded up and quiet.
15:52Progress grinds to a halt.
15:55Despite their obligations, Timmy and Siobhan somehow find the energy to run an annual charity drag night.
16:03And this busy year is not going to stop them.
16:07Tonight it's for charity and it's for direct provision kids in Klan of Kilty and also the kids that come from Ukraine that are housed in Klan of Kilty.
16:14So we're going to have a drag act first and then we are going to have Timmy and his amazing band called The Bunks.
16:20So we've everybody catered for, hopefully it'll be a great night in Corkmackshirey Hotel.
16:24My name is Siobhan Amani and I want to say a massive welcome and thank you so much for coming out for our fundraiser tonight.
16:30I thrive on this. This gives me something. So I don't think of this as, oh, I'm doing something or I'm, you know, this is something for me.
16:38Putting his high viz aside for now, the multi-talented Timmy takes to the stage.
16:45The community down here in West Cork is, it's what makes West Cork.
16:55We wouldn't be taking this on if this house was in a city somewhere and it was just the two of us in our two kids.
17:00There's no way we'd get it done. We wouldn't be motivated. It's just phenomenal.
17:04People just keep showing up, you know, but, um, no, without the help and without community, we'd have nothing really to prepare.
17:16Finally in December, Siobhan's hopeful that the light will come back into the project and the post house itself.
17:24Their order of new and replacement windows arrives today.
17:28So this morning the windows have arrived to the house.
17:30So Timmy's just been taking out all the plywood and everything that we've had, blocking up the light for the last, I don't know how many months.
17:36And I think it's probably the most excited I've been about this house since we got it.
17:41To be honest with you, it's huge for us.
17:43Okay, that's good.
17:47I'm really happy with that.
17:49This time next year, I'll be sitting here nice and toasty.
17:52It's just one step closer to finish, you know, and it's a big step.
17:54It's like the lipstick is on the pig kind of thing, you know, it's, it's absolutely going to lift the mood.
18:00I can't describe how excited I am about these windows going in.
18:04I got text messages this morning from people going, are the windows going in?
18:07Like, I obviously have been going on about it an awful lot.
18:10But Timmy broke it to me the other day that he's going to be working more or less all over Christmas on the house, which, you know, great for us long term.
18:19It's a pretty, he can't get a break because the man needs a break. He's absolutely exhausted.
18:24Every step forward for the house comes at a cost for the family unit.
18:31What's your favourite part of the new house?
18:34The playroom.
18:36What's going to be in it?
18:38Surprises.
18:39I'm wrecked.
18:40We've probably been burning the candles at both ends.
18:42Timmy is, he's exhausted.
18:45Like, we did have a lovely Christmas as best we could, but like, you can see by him, he's, he's hit a bit of a wall.
18:53I've been trying to say, like, will you take a day off when the kids have gone back to school so you can just actually stay in bed and not hear anything or, you know, because there's no rest.
19:01When they're in the house, come over here.
19:04What's your brother doing?
19:05What's your brother doing?
19:06What's your brother doing?
19:08What's your brother doing?
19:09I think he feels like it's all on his shoulders. And to be honest, that part is, like, I can only do so much. I have to be here. I have to be with the kids. And it's like the weight of the world is on his shoulders now. So I'd be lying if I didn't say it causes issues in the home when you're doing something like this. That's so heavy. You know, people are snappier. I'm snappier. He's snappier. We're more afraid. We're, we're trying to juggle everything. We're trying to keep the kids entertained as well as juggling things.
19:25Like, you're, you're doing all of that. Like, you're, you're doing all of that. We need to just get through this now. We need six months now. Get through it. Go hard. You know, keep the heads down. Get in and then breathe. But six months is a long time.
19:4520 minutes away from their rented home, Santa's on display in the old phone box. But it's been a tough Christmas for the family. Each day and evening while he's not at work, Timmy's here in the cold, slabbing and laying concrete.
20:08We're dancing on the line of burnout and progress. Poor Jimmy got upset. I was working all night during the week and I didn't see him at all. He doesn't miss you until he sees you and realizes he'd missed you. So I came in the door and he was bawling, crying. That breaks your heart then. It's just exhaustion really at this point. There's no other word for it. Like, we have to cut a little slack to each other because we know we're, we're burning the candle boat in. I won't be high-fiving myself until we're in.
20:38It's January 2024 and I'm visiting the post house to ring in the new year and to do my best to celebrate their hard slog. They're worn down and dispirited after working throughout Christmas. But as a result, the chilly building is sealed in at last. There are plenty of new starts to see here.
21:05Do you want to head in and see them? Love to. Okay, let's go.
21:10You've got lots done since I was last here. The floor's in. It's great.
21:15Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. And like, we've had friends help in and dig us out.
21:19Funny enough, the way you're restoring this into your home reminds me of the 19th century.
21:25Oh, the mehel.
21:25Yeah, it very much is like that where, if you like, the community and your friends are coming around to assist you to build your home.
21:33It's like, my biggest fear is like, I'll finish this house and I'll owe so many favours that I'll never again get a weekend off.
21:39They owe their friends, but it's well worth it. I'm struck by the brand new, like-grabbing corner window in their future upstairs bathroom.
21:50Wow.
21:51We've done this window now, which I adore.
21:53Well, to be honest, I think that's just extraordinary. Like, look at it. Look at the sunshine. Isn't it wonderful?
22:01Seeing the utter beauty of this has got my architect spidey senses tingling and I've got a brand new vision up my sleeve.
22:12So do you want the really good bit of news?
22:14Go on, Jack. Go on.
22:16We're going to move the bathroom. It should be at the far end of this room because looking at this view, this is a spectacular kids' room.
22:25I think when you suggested we were going to swap the playroom and the bathroom, I was like, oh God, here we go.
22:31I think he's gas. Like, he is gas. He comes in and you can see tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.
22:36And the mind going and these ideas coming at you. And the thing is, he might give you five ideas.
22:40But of every five, we've taken two or three. And that's two or three that we never would have had. So look, I see the value in that.
22:48Do you know what? I'm totally happy to do that if you fork out for the changes that we're just about to make.
22:54Get out of it, you. It's only a bit of timber and a couple of wires. But once that bathroom goes in there, that's that.
23:03Oh, yeah. It is in. It's in, yeah. It's there. It's there. Like, the whole thing.
23:07All the AJs, all the stores are outside. Everything is there. Wires, windows.
23:11There's no way this is happening to you. There's no way.
23:15Let's go back into the bathroom. Okay.
23:17What's the bathroom now, is it?
23:21My flash of inspiration is going down like a lead balloon. But I'm not done yet.
23:27Because you're a master carpenter, you know, I believe you could do a beautiful shutter, not a blind here, so that you get your privacy from your neighbours.
23:40I've been to blind shops. I have been online. And everything I looked at didn't seem to fit that nice corner window.
23:45And all of a sudden, he's come in with this amazing idea of putting a shutter in behind the wall that we'll just pull out.
23:51And it's going to be really different, I think. I haven't seen it done before.
23:54Look.
23:54Thanks for calling on.
23:56Congratulations. Love to see you.
23:58Come here. Love to see you.
24:00Be good.
24:01Be good.
24:02Bye.
24:03Bye.
24:04Although they both work and cover their own childcare, Siobhan and Timmy can't afford to pay for anything but the skill trades on this project.
24:13What amazes me is that in this day and age, young families have to use that old tradition of mehel,
24:21which is really where your family and friends come together and build and restore and do up houses.
24:29And it's amazing to think that we've got to that.
24:34The favours can only stretch so far.
24:36So I would be concerned that the budget will run out before they can move their family, let alone before Siobhan gets the finishes she's looking for.
24:49For now, the corner window goes in, along with First Fix Electrics.
24:54But the majority of the work is still on Timmy's shoulders at evenings and weekends.
25:00Yeah, so my next month, as I say, it's kind of all on me, really.
25:04In fairness, any of the subbies that come in, the sparks came in in two days and the whole thing wired, done, out the gap.
25:09Plumbers are the same. I'm not waiting.
25:10Anybody who's coming in to do their job gets in and out fast and I'm the reason for most of the delays.
25:16We've loads to do.
25:17Of course, there's good days and bad days, but some days you just have to dust yourself off and just get stuck in.
25:22When I'm not here, I tend to get anxiety about it.
25:25When I'm here and I have the tools in hand, it's like, okay, at least we're just, you know, if it's just me on my own even, just getting something done, at least we're going forward, you know.
25:34While Timmy toughs it out and Siobhan covers all the childcare, I hope they can both keep a handle on their love for the old post house.
25:44Butler's town newbie, Siobhan, has taken the afternoon off to go to Mary's pub down the village to talk to Timmy's dad, Mike, and Uncle Patty, as well as their friend, former postboy, John the Post, about their memories of the place.
26:01There's a man here in the middle of it as well.
26:03That's my father.
26:03Oh, is it?
26:04Yeah.
26:05And the dog?
26:06And the dog, Toller, yeah.
26:07Toller, the dog. I love this.
26:09They've brought along family photos and pictures to show how lively the village was before emigration and lack of local employment led young people away.
26:20The first thing that we're really interested in is, like, the original building. How much of that is remaining now or was there a lot of add-ons to it?
26:29To show how the post house looked before its extensions, Uncle Patty has created a beautiful illustration from memory.
26:38Yeah, I have a painting here, actually, I've done, that I can remember from the 50s of the post office as it was.
26:48That is it.
26:49There, yeah.
26:49So was it always a post office?
26:51It was.
26:52It was always a post office.
26:53Oh, was it?
26:54Yeah.
26:55And were all your family post people?
26:57They actually were.
26:58Were they?
26:59Well, my father was going back to the time of the troubles from Butler, Stony, and I delivered it for 41 years.
27:06And when he'd come here, it was in the front door, and there was a small little office on the left side, inside the door.
27:14That's where they sorted the post, the tube and sorted it.
27:16That's going to be the downstairs toilet now, John.
27:18Yeah.
27:20That shed-in was known to us as the call store.
27:25Yeah.
27:25But that's where we learned to smoke when we were kids.
27:29That's right.
27:30Inside their necklace.
27:31Great place to be smoking, has he?
27:33Oh, yeah.
27:34In its original form, the post house looked like a traditional farmhouse with a barn alongside.
27:40Do you know what year was built the post office?
27:43What year was it?
27:44I think around the 1840s.
27:46In the 1840s, yeah, yeah.
27:48Okay.
27:49At a time when travel was a challenge, the post office was central to village life.
27:55From the 1950s, it provided access to a phone.
28:00This was a game-changer for those with family forced abroad for a better life, like Timmy's mother's grandmother.
28:07Marion's grandmother had two daughters in New York.
28:11And when the voice circuits came in the mid-1950s, and those two girls arranged to have their mother at the post office about three o'clock in the evening,
28:21and she spoke to them over the phone, and it was regarded as marvelous.
28:24I remember when, in the 50s, when I was growing up, when we were growing up here, there was always people around the village.
28:31Yeah.
28:32People coming and going to the village.
28:34No, I can walk down my village any time during the day, and I will not meet or speak to a living soul.
28:41Really?
28:41Yeah.
28:42And that is sad, really.
28:43And that's how...
28:44I don't know, we might be changing that now, Patsy.
28:45Hopefully.
28:46When I met Timmy first, I remember him saying that a lot of his friends were gone out of the village.
28:51That's right.
28:52But in the last couple of years, all of his friends have come back now, they're all after it.
28:56Do you notice that yourselves?
28:57Oh, yes, absolutely.
28:58Yeah?
28:59There's a rejuvenation.
29:00Do you really?
29:01Yeah?
29:01Do you feel it?
29:02Oh, yeah.
29:03Oh, definitely.
29:03I feel it very much.
29:04Do you?
29:05Oh, definitely.
29:06Yeah.
29:06There isn't a house empty on the street now, is there?
29:08No, no, no.
29:09Five hours, and that'll be hopefully full soon.
29:11That's right.
29:12Yeah.
29:13After years out of the village, Timmy's hoping to be part of a reversal of Butler's Town's history of emigration,
29:21which dates back for generations.
29:24The village is going through a renaissance here, and over the last couple of years,
29:27there was a lot of vacant properties, and no, they're not anymore.
29:29A lot of people decided to move back to rural Ireland and set up shop here.
29:32So, again, so, there's a great community here now, and we're really looking forward to coming down here.
29:36Between their restoration work and childcare obligations, Siobhan and Timmy seldom get away by themselves.
29:47I want to give them space to let those notions Siobhan jokes about become less foggy.
29:53So I've brought them on a day trip to Dingle.
29:56It's a stormy March morning, and we're visiting the Hare's Corner, an early 20th century farmhouse very similar in shape and simplicity to the post house's original building.
30:08Oh, this is just magical.
30:11Oh, sonny.
30:12They can't afford all new furniture, but I believe they can make great use of the pieces they have, just as the owners of this home have done.
30:22Now, look at this.
30:24Wow.
30:26Yeah.
30:26So the reason I brought you here today is that this is a farmhouse very similar to your original home.
30:33Yeah, the heart is the same.
30:35I think what's great about this home is it respects the past, but has the new in it.
30:40I love the fact that you can bring in your granny's pieces or your aunts and stuff like that.
30:47Well, we have some original pieces from the shop as well.
30:49Like, we have an old grandfather clock, so we've everything kept.
30:52And I just love that dresser unit in the corner, which is sort of fierce, posh.
30:57A little bit like you.
30:59Notions.
31:01Yeah, well, I'm not that posh, but I do love the dresser.
31:03It's gorgeous.
31:05It is.
31:05And I love the way they blended it with the new kitchen.
31:07It's fabulous.
31:09Gorgeous.
31:10I think I'll go a little lighter, but I love it here.
31:12I love the pastel mixed with kind of heavier colour.
31:14I think it's really pretty.
31:15And you can put in a little bit of pink, you know, a little, look, look at that now.
31:21That's beautiful.
31:22Isn't that fabulous?
31:23It is.
31:23Seeing as I'm the only girl in the house, even the dog is male, I think I'll be allowed pinks in certain places.
31:28Will we go into another room and have a look around?
31:30Yeah, stunning.
31:32In the serene sitting room, it's time to get practical.
31:36And how are you with your budget?
31:39We've put 60 in and we have a loan now of 120.
31:42We'll probably be about 10 grand light.
31:44And hopefully when the grant will come in, it'll just soften that a little bit.
31:47Between you?
31:47That grant's going to do a lot.
31:49Fair play for the grant.
31:50We'd be lost without it.
31:51We'd be terrified.
31:51The vacant property grant will be paid to them when they finish the project, covering their overspend.
31:58Oh, you're looking up stuff constantly.
32:00They're trying to get bang for buck with tiles, with lighting, with sanitary wear, with everything.
32:05So we are shopping around.
32:08Every euro counts, so in fairness, you're banging that down.
32:11The problem is the notions.
32:12Notions, yeah.
32:13The notions is the problem.
32:15Unfortunately, nine months since I first met them, they are nowhere near the interior notions stage.
32:21Probably have to take some time off of work myself to get this across the line in time.
32:26I might have to take a week or two off and just be there myself working on it.
32:28We're about a month behind where we hoped we'd be.
32:31Okay, and so you'd be hoping to be in when?
32:33We have to be in before the kids go back to school, really.
32:36Yeah.
32:36It has to.
32:36July, August.
32:37Summertime.
32:38So four months.
32:39Yeah.
32:40It'll pass quickly, won't it?
32:41It will, it will, yeah.
32:42It's flying now.
32:43It's kind of getting scary now because you actually feel like you're making choices that are, you know.
32:47That you have to stick with.
32:48That you have to stick with, yeah.
32:50Back on site.
32:52May is here.
32:53Scary decisions have been made as to the insulation and plastering choices.
32:59And Timmy is still soldering on in the dark indoors.
33:03I'm just doing the first coat just to save on the costing.
33:07But I'm letting the second coat to the plasterer so we can put a proper finish on it, you know.
33:13And that's where the skill is, really.
33:14It's the finish coat.
33:15It's a bit, it's taking longer than I thought.
33:17But with the budget at the minute, we're kind of worryingly okay.
33:22I'm secretly panicking that there's something big that I've forgotten, do you know what I mean?
33:25So everything is kind of, we're watching every cent at the minute.
33:28Because we really are limping in like so it's like, it's the finishing of make or break it.
33:33Like I suppose it's what we spend on tiles, flooring, architry, that kind of stuff.
33:38But we're on target to not be in trouble.
33:43But I'm always terrified that I'm after overlooking something.
33:48To help keep them out of trouble and stick to their budget targets,
33:52I'm back in Butler's town helping Siobhan and Tux the dog
33:56to sort through the many upcyclable items that Siobhan has stashed in the old shop over the years.
34:04An Aladdin's cave.
34:06A dumping ground.
34:07Oh, goodness.
34:09Well, it's longer than five years of collecting bits and pieces.
34:12Look, the bell.
34:16That's for warning us for when you're coming.
34:17No, I love it.
34:20Yeah, that was originally here.
34:21It was the shop bell for when people used to come in.
34:23Oh, it would ring.
34:24Yeah, it would ring.
34:25So it would be on the door.
34:26So I'm hoping to put it outside the back door.
34:28So if the lads were having, you know, playing outside
34:30and I want to call them for the dinner instead of roaring.
34:32You'd use this.
34:33So you're going to be a real lady of the house.
34:35Oh, lady of the house.
34:37Have your dinners poured out.
34:40Well, you've all sorts of everything here.
34:44Santa clauses.
34:45And you have a lovely sign there, the old post office.
34:48Yeah, I love that sign.
34:49Timmy's uncle painted that sign and we took it down.
34:51And I just think it'd be lovely to put it up in the house somewhere.
34:54Notions aside, Siobhan has opted to upcycle rather than splash out.
35:00So friends of our family very kindly donated like a storage container full of stuff and we didn't know what was coming.
35:07But beautiful bits of furniture, beautiful chairs and stuff like that came out of that container purely from the goodness of their heart.
35:12All of this is really kind of keeping the budget down, I suppose, by recycling things, trying to think outside the box a little bit with stuff.
35:19It's great you're upcycling so much.
35:21Yeah, it's only taken us about five years to get here, but I am delighted.
35:25No, in equal measure is delighted and nervous because it's coming to crunch time with decisions, with paint colours and with tiles and bathrooms and stuff and that, which I thought I had it all sewn up in my head.
35:36It changes every week, so I'm a bit nervous about that.
35:41After all Siobhan and Timmy's Trojan work, I want to help out in any way I can.
35:47So I'm keen to speed up their process about colour choices.
35:52Are you good at painting people?
35:53No.
35:54OK.
35:58He's like Picasso.
36:01Funny, I like this.
36:03Yeah.
36:06I like the bathroom, yeah, it's very, very nice.
36:34Can I wipe you chin as well?
36:35Come on, wake me down.
36:36Aw.
36:37That's better.
36:38We didn't settle on the right white, but the right white chose Timmy.
36:47Months pass as they battle through slabbing, insulating and upcycling.
36:52By July 2024, they are piecing together the second-hand kitchen they bought and stashed years ago.
36:59We are just after starting fitting the second-hand kitchen that we purchased.
37:06This is where the problem arose then in that we ran out of quartz because we've made the kitchen slightly bigger than what we purchased.
37:12Not enough worktop isn't the only problem.
37:15They've stretched their budget, upcycled their hearts out and used every second to make this project work.
37:23But summer's almost over, there's no money left, and the hopes of the old post house being a functioning home by the start of the new school year are becoming ever more distant.
37:37Four months since my last visit, this once murky and dusty street-side building is now pretty in pink.
37:52How are you?
37:59Good morning.
38:00How are you?
38:01Lovely to see you.
38:02You look smashing.
38:04And how are you?
38:05Very good.
38:06Come on in.
38:07Come in, come in.
38:08I'm being allowed in the front door instead of via the old shop for the first time.
38:14It's brand new and so is the roomy entrance hall.
38:18There's a sophisticated sitting room to one side of the hall and a loo with notions on the other, as well as a butler's pantry housing, the old post office sign and shop scales where the laundry chute was once planned to be.
38:38But I want to get into the kitchen as soon as I can.
38:42What?
38:43They had planned that this space would only temporarily hold the kitchen.
38:49But it's so bright and spacious, it's perfect as the heart of the home.
38:54It's like a new house.
38:56To be honest, I'm a bit speechless.
39:00That's the first.
39:01It is.
39:02It is.
39:03So the original layout of the kitchen was different, wasn't it?
39:07The original plan was to have the kitchen down in the shop.
39:09But are you not lucky you didn't have enough money?
39:11It shaped what we did.
39:13Yeah.
39:14Yeah.
39:15What we have now is probably more efficient use of the space.
39:18It's closer.
39:19It's more like a home.
39:20I just remember this room being dark, even though it did face south.
39:24Do you remember when you walked in here?
39:26Yeah.
39:27I'm sure we have the double doors added on this side as per you Wallace's instruction.
39:30Yeah, but doesn't that work?
39:32It just floods the place with light.
39:33We've actually called the terrace something, haven't we?
39:35That's the Hugh Wallace Terrace now.
39:36It's Wallace Terrace.
39:37Hugh Wallace Terrace.
39:38Yes.
39:39I love it.
39:40What an honour.
39:41They upcycled a second-hand kitchen.
39:44And I'm intrigued to know how they dealt with the fact that it didn't come with enough quartz worktop.
39:51It was like a big jigsaw puzzle.
39:52And we just put the boxes down where the oven were.
39:55You know, you had to put in the sink and the oven and the dishwasher and fill in between them.
39:58And then when we set the worktops down, we were like, we're going to be short.
40:01So we just had to come up with a quick solution for that then.
40:04Get some nice oak.
40:05And then that works as like a permanent chopping board.
40:07So we have the bins underneath it.
40:09I love it.
40:10So it's like, yeah.
40:11And you just scrape off.
40:12Just scrape off into the bin.
40:13Job done.
40:14Yeah.
40:15Ingenious.
40:16However, it was one of the last minute problems which held them back from moving in before their planned date of the start of the school year.
40:25I really wanted to be in a week or two before school started.
40:28So the push was on, I think, for the last month massively to get us in for that.
40:32We went over a little.
40:33Yeah.
40:34But the level of the finish you've got, you know, in here is just magic.
40:38Like the home is just yummy.
40:41I want to discover if the yum extends to upstairs.
40:47It's a yes.
40:48The newly finished bathroom, which I tried to persuade them to swap for a sitting room with its corner window, gives a dreamy view to the Seven Heads Peninsula.
40:59You see, I'm fascinated by the pair of you.
41:05Because if I come into this bathroom, this is like you're in five-star luxury.
41:11You know the way you talk about location and view?
41:14You can't buy that.
41:16No, you can't, no.
41:17What do you do now when the sheep are out looking at you?
41:20We're exhibitionists.
41:21Yeah.
41:22That's it.
41:23No, we did.
41:24We got our little grand design in.
41:25We have the little, um, the shutter.
41:28Oh.
41:29That pulls from the walls.
41:31The James Bond style.
41:32It's not quite finished yet.
41:34We have to kind of fix the corners here and things with a few magnets.
41:37I love this.
41:38This is one of my favourite things.
41:40I know it's so weird, but it's just like, you still have the view over the top of it.
41:44Do you?
41:45You have your privacy, which was important to me, not to Timmy.
41:47Um, but, and also I just love that it's a little secret.
41:51Come on, let's keep going there.
41:53I'm loving it.
41:54The stunning views don't stop at the bathroom.
41:59Super room.
42:00Their kids, Jimmy and Maya, get a spectacular playroom connecting their bedrooms.
42:05Jimmy and Maya have ended up with the best.
42:08The best room in the house.
42:09Because all of a sudden they have their bedrooms here and they come out and they have a playroom.
42:14So what we've set up here is, this is going to have a projector and a screen, which we already had.
42:19Put on a movie.
42:20Stairgate there to keep everybody safe.
42:22And Jimmy is in and out to our room.
42:25Can't go downstairs.
42:26And we have all this area and everybody's happy, hopefully.
42:29Yeah, but the great thing about this is as the kids grow up, this will become where they do their school and everything else.
42:36Then as you go on.
42:37When their friends come, because it's really hard for Jimmy also to go to other people's houses.
42:42Fine.
42:43So it means that everybody can now come here.
42:45And you have a day bed.
42:46We have a day bed for when you come.
42:47There we go.
42:49It's just really versatile.
42:50It's a versatile space, yeah.
42:52And the bedrooms are just super sized.
42:55I love the colour difference between this bedroom and that goldy mustard.
43:02Siobhan's talent for design and Timmy's exquisite workmanship were able to shine through because they cut back on the scale of their planned work.
43:12You've made huge strides to create your home, but you do have a couple of other steps to be doing.
43:18Totally. We have no laundry room currently.
43:21We have a room under this bedroom here that's just full of power tools and sawdust and tiles.
43:26And it is like Aladdin's cave of dangerous things.
43:29We have got the two storey shed on the western elevation.
43:32And of course you've got your big tin shed out there.
43:34We've got the, yeah, the shed.
43:36I love it.
43:37Yeah, it's stunning.
43:38We'll see what the future will bring.
43:40We'll have to, again, we're just in a financial situation now where we're just wiped and we just have to pick ourselves back up.
43:47And, yeah, the shop will come first, I think, because we're hoping that that becomes a letting, that that will become an asset and an income.
43:54Right. Well, now, let's keep going.
43:56Do it.
43:59So, on to the main bedroom with its hotel-chic bathroom and second-hand racing car-shaped bed.
44:06I just think the bed is hilarious.
44:08No.
44:09Because it's like, I'd expect Rod Stewart in the bed.
44:13Yeah.
44:14But we have, but we have you.
44:16Do you know what I mean?
44:17Yeah, like a poor relation to Rod Stewart.
44:18Ah, yeah, but the bed is just something else.
44:22Yeah, now, I think what's very interesting about this room is you can see the skill sets of both of you and you complement one another.
44:30I didn't know that he was such a good craftsman.
44:34I know that he has put all the thought into everything that's under the pretty stuff.
44:38She knocked it out of the park there with all the colours and with all the fittings, the lights, the, you know, just dressing the place, the art, the vases, the flowers.
44:47And, like, she made it a home, really, like.
44:49So, coming into this house, you've respected the home, the details, the original finishes.
44:57And then, just to add to that your ability with colours and sourcing.
45:03I love a bit of sourcing.
45:05But I'm fascinated, you know, it's even the tiles in that bathroom.
45:09I love it.
45:10You love it.
45:11I love it.
45:12But you're good at it.
45:14You're good at it, do you know?
45:16What the two of you have done in transforming this home is really amazing.
45:21So, in doing a home like this, when people are going to look at this, they'll go, they have lots of money.
45:27I mean, no, no, no, but I'm just, I have to be...
45:30Fucking off, that's the truth of it, if you were looking in, yeah.
45:32If you're looking in, yeah.
45:33If you're looking in, but that isn't the case.
45:35Not, not at all, no.
45:36They bought the building for €195,000 and started out with a budget of €180,000.
45:44We're going $20,000 or $25,000 over.
45:47We were able to borrow that $20,000 or $25,000 off a family.
45:50The vacant property grant will allow them to pay their family back and cover their overspend.
45:56So, it's cost you, what, €170,000?
45:58Yeah.
45:59Yeah.
46:00Well, I can only tell you've done things like, my God.
46:04But that's because your friends were here.
46:06And as you say, it's like going back to the old system.
46:08Yeah.
46:09Of Meho.
46:10Yeah, absolutely.
46:11We'd be, we'd be renting forever.
46:13Yeah.
46:14Only for our family and friends coming in together.
46:15The help and hard work continued right up to the moment they moved in.
46:20I think there was like 27 people my mother counted on Saturday here.
46:25Yeah.
46:26Just pushing us over the finish line.
46:28Just pushing and pushing and pushing.
46:30The help was humbling, really.
46:31The village are very lucky to have the pair of you here.
46:35And that's why you got so much support.
46:38Sorry.
46:40It's okay.
46:41I can't get it all over your shirts.
46:43Okay.
46:44And I've no makeup to touch on.
46:46To get a project finished.
46:48It's amazing how you have to rely on other people.
46:54Yeah.
46:55In this day and age.
46:56Yeah, I suppose it is.
46:57It's kind of, it's just the times we're in now where the price of stuff is just,
47:01it's just out of reach.
47:02Like to go it alone now, you'd have to have two massive salaries come in for any couple to be able to tackle that thing.
47:08And you know, it's definitely about the help from your family and friends.
47:12Every pothole on the road we hit, but there was people there to keep us going and to help us through.
47:16And again, humbling and we'll never be able to pay them all back.
47:20No.
47:21There's just so much help.
47:22And now the faithful helpers are back on site to wholeheartedly celebrate this much loved family moving in to their first owned home at long last.
47:35This is the first night in my life staying in a house where my name is on the deeds of the property.
47:40Good things come to those who wait.
47:43And Siobhan and Timmy have waited.
47:46The combination of Timmy's ability and eye for detail matched against Siobhan, who knows how to source and curate,
47:56has allowed them to build something truly exceptional that works perfectly for them.
48:02Because of their tenacity and doggedness, they've created the most wonderful family home.
48:12They deserve it and they're totally inspirational.
48:15Cheers!
48:16Cheers!
48:45Cheers!
48:46Cheers!
Recommended
51:48
|
Up next
48:39
48:39
49:04
48:29
48:48
49:07
1:00:30
28:00
42:49
45:25
42:13
42:49
46:03
45:36
41:59
42:13
29:38
29:41