A SOUTHSIDE
family has teamed up with a professional building team for a reality television
show to be aired on RTE.
Marcus and
Margaret McDonnell are about to extend a two-bed cottage in Farrenboley,
Dundrum and share it with Marcus’s beloved Aunt May (80).
The cottage has
been in the McDonnell family for generations and was originally owned by
Marcus’s grandfather who reared May after her parents died when she was very
young.
In his will, the
grandfather left provision for May to remain in the house for the rest of her
life. The house would then pass to Marcus.
Now Marcus,
Margaret and May have agreed to extend the house and live there together with
the couple’s five-month-old baby, Ahna, and two-year-old son, Sean.
Marcus explained
that the house has been in the family for generations and that he has a
particularly strong emotional attachment to it.
“This was my
great grandmother’s house and then my grandmother’s house, so there is a lot of
family history attached to it,
? he said.
“The idea of being able to continue
living there was very appealing to us.
“May, who has
lived in the house since she was two, is still there. We moved in with her for
eight months to save a bit of money. My dad was sick at the time as well as he
had cancer.
“When my father
passed away we told May we would really like to stay and that if she was open
to it we would renovate the house. She was delighted. It’s great and there is a
lot of activity in the house again.
?
The family’s
efforts are being filmed for an episode of the RTE TV show, Room to Improve,
whose chief architect Dermot Bannon knows only too well that there’s a lot of
work to be done.
The couple want
to add another three bedrooms to the cottage. May is to have her own bedroom,
bathroom and living area and the house will need another bathroom, and a
communal kitchen/living/dining area.
It’s a tricky
design, made more complex by Marcus and Margaret’s aspirations that May’s
bedroom remains the same size and in exactly the same location as it is.
Not only does
Dermot have a challenging design on his hands, he also has to do justice to a
home of huge emotional importance to his new clients and their extended family.
“It was a very
enjoyable experience,
? Marcus revealed.
“Even though we were 100 per cent sure
we would get planning we were rejected the first time.
“But it was all
done within budget. My Aunt May has been calling her sitting room, living room
and bathroom the penthouse. She is very happy. She likes the heat. There was an
inch and a half of dry line insulation put around the walls, so it is very
warm.
?
Room to Improve
will be broadcast on RTE 1 on Wednesday, October 5 at 8pm.