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.

The DIY Academy’s founder, Galway-based carpenter Martin Glynn, and his associate, Paddy Lynch, introduced 18 of us to how to tackle a series of practical jobs you just can’t find anyone to do.  “We all have those simple tasks like hanging pictures and putting up shelves,” says Martin. “So much time is wasted waiting on someone to come and do them or trying to figure out how to do it yourself.”

Although the academy runs courses for everyone, in-person and online, the women’s workshops came about after Martin saw it was mainly women signing up. “We ran a course in Galway with nine women and two men. One of the men didn’t come back the next week. 

“There are women in their 20s hoping to buy a house and not having enough money to be able to do stuff, so they want to do it themselves, to widows with their husbands’ tools in the shed. The idea is that by the end of the day, you have the know-how to hang a picture or a shelf regardless of the structure of the wall.”

Enthusiasm in my workshop was high, with students having travelled from as far away as Kildare, Cork City and county, Tipperary and Kerry.

Within minutes we went from enjoying a pleasant cup of tea and scone on arrival to drilling a screw into concrete, and by the time we had moved on to drilling timber, the endorphins were making their presence felt, helped by the gentle and kind encouragement of Martin and Paddy. 

Writer Carol O'Callaghan taking part in the women's DIY course in Kanturk.

“DIY is more confidence than skill,” says Martin. “The tool does all the work.”

It was full-on and not a second goes by where you’re not focused on a task with a drill or a jigsaw in your hand, but the time flew, and when the lunch break was announced, we were ready for it. DIY is hungry, thirsty work.

Paddy Lynch (left) and Martin Glynn of The DIY Academy. 

The buzz of chatter over lunch told of the excitement of getting projects underway, and the relief of no longer having to contend with a fruitless search for help and the often-prohibitive price of having a few pictures hung, although there was a particularly ambitious project in the offing from one student.

West Cork native, now Kildare resident, Bróna O’Sullivan purchased a 1930s house and wanted to be able to put up shelves, insulate and floor her attic.

“The simple thing of drilling into the joist is less daunting now,” she says, “and I’m more confident about asking for things in a shop.”

It prompted nodding heads all round as hardware shops can be daunting for the uninitiated, something Martin resolved by collaborating with Burke’s Homevalue to host the workshop, giving the students an all-round immersive experience as Martin had us walking the aisles to show us how to shop for tools and materials.

The afternoon also brought the thrill of using a jigsaw in the retailer’s timber yard, starting with cutting straight lines through wooden pallets, before graduating onto curves.

Martin Glynn of The DIY academy with course participants at Burke's Homevalue, Kanturk. 

Although, next day I was dreaming of honouring the ancestors and repairing plasterboard walls, I’ve managed to implement something unexpected thanks to Paddy’s demonstration on tackling niggly problems with everything from front doors to kitchen cabinet doors.

In a moment of triumph, I’ve resolved a small problem with my backdoor. It has never sealed shut, so if a strong wind was blowing, it made a ghostly “woo” sound. Depending on the wind’s exact direction, it sometimes added what I would best describe as a low-grade rattle in the door between the utility room and kitchen, too. It never occurred to me that anything could be done about it, but all it took was a screwdriver and a couple of minutes’ work, which is easy when you know how.

• The full-day women’s DIY workshop costs €149, including lunch, see thediyacademy.ie
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