What a difference a day makes: Artist Cora Murphy on buying and renovating her house

Cork city-based artist Cora Murphy tells Helen O’Callaghan about pivotal 24-hour moments in her journey to buying her home, and how the whole process felt guided

Cora Murphy: "You have to believe things can work out, you don’t need to know how. And when you’re not sure how something’s going to work out, keep an eye out for the beauty, the bit of magic." Picture David Creedon

I happily rented in Cork city for years. A lot of people have rental anxiety, but I’d be happy to rent forever if our rental system was reasonable, if you weren’t in danger of being evicted.

I was renting my home and my studio separately. I had a lovely studio on Henry Street. I was there for eight years and then it was put up for sale. I suddenly felt very vulnerable. What would happen if I had to move out of home too?