Series 2 – Episode 1
Series overview
Following a hugely successful first series, RTÉ One’s The Great House Revival is returning for another series. Architect Hugh Wallace will follow the progress of six restoration projects across the country, as owners reclaim buildings on the brink of ruin, to create spaces which they hope will become their dream homes.
All over Ireland there are properties in need of serious repair and The Great House Revival champions the bravery of those willing to take them on. But restoring old buildings is never easy. The series charts the highs and lows of such complicated building projects, from limited budgets and tight timeframes to the the relentless surprising challenges which older structures generate.
Project: This week’s episode follows the restoration of a Georgian townhouse, dating back to 1826.
Dublin born Fiona Kelly has serious ambition. Having purchased a dilapidated Georgian terraced house in the heart of Phibsborough in north Dublin, she has a mammoth project on her hands. With slanted door frames, crooked floors and a tumbling roof, Fiona and her building contractor friend Philip, have taken on a building on the brink of collapse.
Once an impressive townhouse for a well-to-do tradesman, Fiona’s house has been witness to the passing fortunes and misfortunes of Dublin over the centuries, and was occupied as a tenement home right up to the 1960s.
Her timeframe for the project starts out as an ambitious 6 months, but with problem after problem, the timeline expands to deal with the challenges the building presents. Rainsoaked and rotten in parts, the building presents one of the biggest challenges we have ever seen on the Great House Revival.
Having purchased the home for €480,000, Fiona will spend the same amount again to save the property from rack and ruin. Fiona is determined to lovingly restore her new home to its former glory, and transform it into a modern, stylish inner-city home.