The Great House Revival: See Cork post office transformed into family home
After: The kitchen in The Posthouse, Butlerstown. Pictures: Miki Barlok
West Cork couple Siobhan O’Mahony and Timmie O’Brien are quite the dream team. Siobhan, from Ballydehob, is a makeup artist and her eye for colour and design complement carpenter Timmie’s construction know-how, onsite experience and craftsmanship.
Both have a clear idea of how they want to get the one-time post office and shop in his home village of Butlerstown signed, sealed and delivered as a forever home for themselves and their two young sons, Jimmy and Miah, they tell host Hugh Wallace in .
But midway through the first episode of the new series, I’m wondering if Timmie might be absorbing more ideas than he bargained for from makeup artist Siobhan. The windows have just arrived and he muses: “It’s just one step closer to the finish. It’s a big step for us — it’s like the lipstick is on the pig.”
Rewind to July 2023 as the camera crew and architect Hugh arrive to discover that when Siobhan and Timmie bought the 19th-century building it had been unlived in for 12 years.
For now, they are based in their rental home, in nearby Clonakilty, says Timmie, who grew up in the house across the road from the property they purchased for €195,000.
But work came to a complete standstill eight months before when their finances dried up due to what Timmie describes as “a perfect storm — supply chain and covid”.
They have gutted the building, ending up pretty much with the walls. “You put the roof up, you’ve done your floor — the way you’ve approached it is absolutely correct,” Hugh tells them as they show him around.
The property comprises an assortment of buildings from different eras, dating from the 19th century to the 1970s.
They have a budget of €180,000 to spend on renovations — €60,000 in savings and a €120,000 credit union loan.
Siobhan has held on to her vision of her dream home. “I have champagne tastes and a lemonade budget,” she says.
This includes transforming the fireplace into a laundry chute — which doesn’t wash well with Hugh. “It’s just a waste of space I want to see less laundry chutes and reading nooks and more practical spaces,” he says.
Nor is he impressed with any suggestions for an additional WC: “You’ve enough toilets. How many toilets do you need?” Timmie is only able to step away from his work as a carpenter at the weekends.
Enter the old tradition of meitheal — with family and friends joining the project.
By the end of August 2023, work continues apace, with such digouts helping the budget stretch as pals from the construction industry, as well as buddies from across the community, join them on site.
The community spirit extends to all creatures within it. The meitheal makes sure to work around a swallow’s nest that’s been discovered in the roof. It has three chicks within it and, as is noted “a long journey ahead before they fly back to Africa. Another two or three weeks and they’ll be gone. We’ll just give them their chance to get their wings and head off”.
And it feels as though a one-good-turn-deserves-another vibe descends on the crew from big blue yonder. “I think every time we’re down here the sun seems to be shining so I think there’s someone looking down on us,” says Timmie.
The family show an impressed Hugh around their bright new living space, complete with upper-floor bathroom rejoicing in a corner window — the space that offers a spectacular view (important to Timmie) and privacy (top of Siobhan’s wish list).
Timmie's craftsmanship as well as Siobhan's design flair and ability to source and curate — along with their "doggedness” — are “totally inspirational”, says Hugh: “What the two of you have done in transforming this home is amazing."
The couple have had to borrow “€20,000 or €25,000” from family to complete the works so far, says Timmie. A €50,000 vacant housing grant will offset their €120,000 credit union loan. “We’d be renting forever if it wasn’t for family and friends coming in [to help],” says Timmie.
“It’s just the times we’re in and the prices — it’s just out of reach. You’d just have to have two massive salaries coming in. But every pothole on the road we hit there were people there to help us through.”
Siobhan adds: "I think at one stage there were 27 people here, just pushing us over the finish line.”
- 'The Great House Revival' runs for eight weeks at 9.30pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
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