Search
06 Sept 2025
Search
06 Sept 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
The dilapidated farm house being renovated on The Great House Revival / Photo: RTÉ
On a recent episode of RTÉ's The Great House Revival, host Hugh Wallace made his way all the way down to St Mullins on the Carlow-Kilkenny border to see a dilapidated farm house, that Carlow man Tommy McDonald and his partner Emily are looking to renovate with no experience.
The pair paid €45,000 for the site and it is in need of serious renovations, which will be a challenge for the couple as their budget is €275,000 to spend on fixing up the home, but the couple are aiming to finish the works for less.
The couple seemed taken aback when Hugh told them he believed the home would cost them half a million euro to finish on a good day.
READ NEXT: Kilkenny smugglers and 'shadow economy' targeted as seizures made
In the midst of their renovation, and while living in a mobile home on-site, Tommy and Emily welcome their first child, baby Elias, into the family.
Photo: RTÉ Player
The couple are hoping to meet a deadline for the vacant property refurbishment grant but will need extensions to the grant to make that a possibility.
Hugh hoped that the couple would be in and finished sooner, but believes the pair will have their dream home, but on their own timeline.
By the end of the episode it is clear to see there is still a good bit of work to do on the home, but with the couple's unconventional approach, they are sure to get exactly what they are looking for.
The episode featuring the St Mullins home can be found on the RTÉ Player and was broadcast last Sunday.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
