House hunters go into the west seeking their dream home

As estate agents report a booming demand for rural properties, a new Irish-language TV series shows just what’s on offer

Mon, 27 Jun, 2022 - 19:15

Eve Kelliher

Like many people during the past couple of years, Don Ó Donnacháin and Will Leal Gonçalves realised they could do their work just about anywhere.

Don, who teaches at Queen’s University Belfast, and Will, a trainee chef, moved to Dublin when more employees began to log in to their offices remotely during the pandemic.

This tallies with estate agents’ reports of a boom in demand for properties in rural areas. “I realised that we could be based anywhere so we decided to just get out, leave Dublin and the city behind and move to the countryside,” says Don.

Will is originally from Brazil and Don left Ireland when he was 21 and returned in his late 30s.

He lived in Paris, relocated to New York to study journalism, and then moved to Lebanon and became a Middle East correspondent, before spending a year in film school in Belgium.

Now Don and Will are among many people exchanging the traffic jams and restricted space for Ireland’s rural idyll.

What attracts them?

The mountains, the coast, the mountains and the scenery — and of course the idea of a new way of life.

And working from home has created a revolution for employers and workers, making the once seemingly impossible dream a reality.

Bog Amach, a new RTÉ One TV series, also taps into the increasing number of people wanting to enrich their lives by moving to the country.

Bog Amach isn’t just about houses though, says executive producer Kelda McCann. “It focuses on each buyer’s particular situation, and sees if they can find a home that will work for them,” she says.

“The series gives the buyers a chance to explore the surroundings, take advice from locals and professionals, and decide if the reality lives up to the dream.”

Don and Will check out various properties in the west of Ireland.

Presenter Tessa Fleming meets Don and Will in the first episode, to be aired on Monday evening. “The couple love the west of Ireland so we brought them to west and north Connemrara for its spectacular mountain and lake views,” she says.

They begin the search in the Gaeltacht area of Carna, about 50km west of Galway city. The cameras follow the couple as they explore doer-uppers and properties with room if not for a pony then perhaps for a few goats and hens.

Don and Will also seek advice from the owner of Glasson Glamping Farm in Westmeath. Adrian reveals he was holidaying in other glamping parks when he had the idea to strike out on his own: “I said, this is nice, maybe we could do this, and it transpired from there.”

The series will roam from Connemara to north Donegal to and to South Kerry.

Every week, Tessa meets a different family in some stunning locations and explores with them what their new life could be like in three potential properties at their chosen address.