More power to the drill seekers: Why women love DIY

Carol O’Callaghan discovers why DIY is surging in popularity among women as she joins its ranks of enthusiasts

Maura Crowley, Liz Hourigan, Geraldine Walsh and Bróna O'Sullivan at The DIY Academy's women's DIY course at Burke's Homevalue, Kanturk, Co Cork. Pictures: Eddie O'Hare

It's power tools at the ready as women are filling DIY courses around the country, and some of us are not without ambition, as I discovered.

Spending last Saturday in Kanturk, Co Cork, at a workshop with The DIY Academy, I held a cordless drill and jigsaw for the first time, and learned the seemingly impossible — how to repair a damaged plasterboard wall. It turned out to be my favourite part of the day and an unexpected moment of serendipity as I’m the great-great-great granddaughter of a plasterer from Kanturk of 200 years ago.