As older homes throughout the Irish countryside are being given a new lease of life with prospective homeowners reimagining their potential, the same is now happening for communal buildings as a new TG4 series, Buildings Beo demonstrates this week.
The six-part series, launching on TG4 on Wednesday 19 November at 8.30pm, showcases the work being done around restoring and repurposing derelict community buildings in counties Cork, Dublin, Leitrim, Monaghan and Waterford.
Fronted by acclaimed Irish actress, Carrie Crowley, and produced by New Departures Media, it shares the highs and lows of what are ambitious but ultimately successful community initiatives, with Buildings Beo going beyond the conventional property renovation remit to share the stories about the people and the communities who bring these buildings to life.
With her recent appearance as Mammy Walsh in the RTÉ One series The Walsh Sisters receiving rave reviews, Carrie is delighted to be taking a different approach to her TV and work with Buildings Beo.
Speaking to Irish Country Living, Carrie says the idea of the people behind the property was what appealed to her in signing up for the show.
“I have done plenty of things as Gaeilge down through the years [her most recent film Aontas has had huge success on the international film festival circuit, while she starred in the Oscar nominated An Cailín Ciúin, but nothing like this,” she says.
“I didn’t want to be the front of camera presenter, all smiles and hellos, I’d rather stick pins in my eyes. But this didn’t feel like a presenting job. It felt like I was on a journey with these people and it was a gorgeous job to work on.
“I actually think the show has huge heart, between the people featured alongside the buildings and the sense of community in each episode. It’s a gorgeous idea.”
Kicking off in Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, the first episode of Buildings Beo sees Carrie meet with local people who have come together to restore the gate lodge of the historic Hope Castle, previously known as Blayney Castle, from where the town derived its name.
Carrie Crowley is the presenter of new TG4 series Buildings Beo.
The forgotten lodge, just off the market square and adjacent to a public park surrounded by Loch Muckno, is transformed into a state-of-art library in the heart of the town.
Carrie and the production team spent three years filming Buildings Beo, so it started out when the pandemic was still restricting people’s movements.
“We were still wearing masks when we started out so it’s been a long road that has taken us all over the country over the past three years,” she adds.
“I didn’t know what we had created until I sat down to watch the first episode with my husband, who loved it so much we watched all six episodes in one go. To hear his reaction which was so positive and to see him so invested in the stories, made me realise how special this series is.
“From a construction point of view, so many of the skills and building methods that were lost down through the years, have been brought back. To hear architects talking of the need to let the building breathe, and the hunt to find traditional tradesmen with the original skills of lime mortar, it was a wonder. But it made so much sense when you see the pride that is taken in the detail of the way things were done, and that has been brought back for these buildings.
“We ended up going to places in the middle of nowhere to find these specialist tradesmen and women who are more artists than anything else. And they all know each other so it’s like a community within a community, almost a family.”
A team effort countrywide
A native of Waterford but now living in Monkstown, Co Dublin, Carrie and the team return to the Déise for the third episode of Buildings Beo, while also filming quite close to home.
“It was lovely to get to know everyone involved in the projects, from the contractors to the architects and the community teams, there was such a strong sense of solidarity and local pride,” she explains.
“I spent a lot of time living in Leitrim and I now live in Monkstown, while I’m originally from Waterford. So, these three episodes had personal significance, but to be honest the other three projects were equally as stunning.”
The picturesque Mount Congreve estate in Waterford is the subject of the third episode where Carrie explores the history surrounding Ambrose Congreve, who bequeathed his estate to the Irish people when he passed away in 2011.
The restoration of the estate, which aims to revitalise the property and gardens, while honouring its impressive past, sees Carrie follow the project as a new café is created on site, featuring produce grown in the gardens.
“It was lovely to meet some of the older gardeners in Waterford who would have known my father and to hear their memories of him,” says Carrie.
Lovely Leitrim features the revival of a railway building into a digital hub and youth centre in Ballinamore during episode two, where Ballinamore Community Council share their plans to transform the stunning red-brick junction house into a dynamic multi-purpose hub.
Carrie Crowley.
Breathing new life
From conception to completion, Carrie meets a colourful cast of characters who are all united in their mission to breathe new life into the junction house. Episode four takes Carrie south to Kinsale where she discovers a disused old mill building that doesn’t appear to show much sign of potential. That is until the local community take on the monumental task of transforming it into a vibrant community space and library.
Carrie discovers the significant challenges such a project poses, from the building’s protected status along with its location within an architectural protection zone.
This doesn’t thwart those involved in their pursuit of preserving a building of such historical significance, while delivering a much-needed community space.
Carrie visits the charming seaside village of Monkstown in south County Dublin, in the penultimate episode where an old schoolhouse is being remodelled as a vibrant community hub to serve as a gathering place for the local art group and Tidy District.
Macroom’s community transformation features in the final episode of Buildings Beo where Briery Gap, a theatre and cultural hub destroyed in a fire, takes centre stage. Carrie finds out about the vacuum left in the town since the theatre was forced to close and keeps a close eye on the project as the venue is transformed into a vibrant cultural centre in the heart of the town.
“I was blown away at the transformation in the buildings by the time the finished product was revealed,” adds Carrie.
“I found myself saying ‘wow’ a lot, but to think we were sitting on burnt seats in the Briery Gap when the work first started and then when we went back, we were attending a concert in the same venue. It was so rewarding.”
Asked if she would consider signing on for a second series of Buildings Beo, Carrie says we should ‘watch this space’.
“I loved working with Evan Chamberlain, managing director of New Departures Media which produced Buildings Beo. We had such good craic, the whole team, so I’d definitely consider working with him again. Watch this space,” concludes Carrie.
As older homes throughout the Irish countryside are being given a new lease of life with prospective homeowners reimagining their potential, the same is now happening for communal buildings as a new TG4 series, Buildings Beo demonstrates this week.
The six-part series, launching on TG4 on Wednesday 19 November at 8.30pm, showcases the work being done around restoring and repurposing derelict community buildings in counties Cork, Dublin, Leitrim, Monaghan and Waterford.
Fronted by acclaimed Irish actress, Carrie Crowley, and produced by New Departures Media, it shares the highs and lows of what are ambitious but ultimately successful community initiatives, with Buildings Beo going beyond the conventional property renovation remit to share the stories about the people and the communities who bring these buildings to life.
With her recent appearance as Mammy Walsh in the RTÉ One series The Walsh Sisters receiving rave reviews, Carrie is delighted to be taking a different approach to her TV and work with Buildings Beo.
Speaking to Irish Country Living, Carrie says the idea of the people behind the property was what appealed to her in signing up for the show.
“I have done plenty of things as Gaeilge down through the years [her most recent film Aontas has had huge success on the international film festival circuit, while she starred in the Oscar nominated An Cailín Ciúin, but nothing like this,” she says.
“I didn’t want to be the front of camera presenter, all smiles and hellos, I’d rather stick pins in my eyes. But this didn’t feel like a presenting job. It felt like I was on a journey with these people and it was a gorgeous job to work on.
“I actually think the show has huge heart, between the people featured alongside the buildings and the sense of community in each episode. It’s a gorgeous idea.”
Kicking off in Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, the first episode of Buildings Beo sees Carrie meet with local people who have come together to restore the gate lodge of the historic Hope Castle, previously known as Blayney Castle, from where the town derived its name.
Carrie Crowley is the presenter of new TG4 series Buildings Beo.
The forgotten lodge, just off the market square and adjacent to a public park surrounded by Loch Muckno, is transformed into a state-of-art library in the heart of the town.
Carrie and the production team spent three years filming Buildings Beo, so it started out when the pandemic was still restricting people’s movements.
“We were still wearing masks when we started out so it’s been a long road that has taken us all over the country over the past three years,” she adds.
“I didn’t know what we had created until I sat down to watch the first episode with my husband, who loved it so much we watched all six episodes in one go. To hear his reaction which was so positive and to see him so invested in the stories, made me realise how special this series is.
“From a construction point of view, so many of the skills and building methods that were lost down through the years, have been brought back. To hear architects talking of the need to let the building breathe, and the hunt to find traditional tradesmen with the original skills of lime mortar, it was a wonder. But it made so much sense when you see the pride that is taken in the detail of the way things were done, and that has been brought back for these buildings.
“We ended up going to places in the middle of nowhere to find these specialist tradesmen and women who are more artists than anything else. And they all know each other so it’s like a community within a community, almost a family.”
A team effort countrywide
A native of Waterford but now living in Monkstown, Co Dublin, Carrie and the team return to the Déise for the third episode of Buildings Beo, while also filming quite close to home.
“It was lovely to get to know everyone involved in the projects, from the contractors to the architects and the community teams, there was such a strong sense of solidarity and local pride,” she explains.
“I spent a lot of time living in Leitrim and I now live in Monkstown, while I’m originally from Waterford. So, these three episodes had personal significance, but to be honest the other three projects were equally as stunning.”
The picturesque Mount Congreve estate in Waterford is the subject of the third episode where Carrie explores the history surrounding Ambrose Congreve, who bequeathed his estate to the Irish people when he passed away in 2011.
The restoration of the estate, which aims to revitalise the property and gardens, while honouring its impressive past, sees Carrie follow the project as a new café is created on site, featuring produce grown in the gardens.
“It was lovely to meet some of the older gardeners in Waterford who would have known my father and to hear their memories of him,” says Carrie.
Lovely Leitrim features the revival of a railway building into a digital hub and youth centre in Ballinamore during episode two, where Ballinamore Community Council share their plans to transform the stunning red-brick junction house into a dynamic multi-purpose hub.
Carrie Crowley.
Breathing new life
From conception to completion, Carrie meets a colourful cast of characters who are all united in their mission to breathe new life into the junction house. Episode four takes Carrie south to Kinsale where she discovers a disused old mill building that doesn’t appear to show much sign of potential. That is until the local community take on the monumental task of transforming it into a vibrant community space and library.
Carrie discovers the significant challenges such a project poses, from the building’s protected status along with its location within an architectural protection zone.
This doesn’t thwart those involved in their pursuit of preserving a building of such historical significance, while delivering a much-needed community space.
Carrie visits the charming seaside village of Monkstown in south County Dublin, in the penultimate episode where an old schoolhouse is being remodelled as a vibrant community hub to serve as a gathering place for the local art group and Tidy District.
Macroom’s community transformation features in the final episode of Buildings Beo where Briery Gap, a theatre and cultural hub destroyed in a fire, takes centre stage. Carrie finds out about the vacuum left in the town since the theatre was forced to close and keeps a close eye on the project as the venue is transformed into a vibrant cultural centre in the heart of the town.
“I was blown away at the transformation in the buildings by the time the finished product was revealed,” adds Carrie.
“I found myself saying ‘wow’ a lot, but to think we were sitting on burnt seats in the Briery Gap when the work first started and then when we went back, we were attending a concert in the same venue. It was so rewarding.”
Asked if she would consider signing on for a second series of Buildings Beo, Carrie says we should ‘watch this space’.
“I loved working with Evan Chamberlain, managing director of New Departures Media which produced Buildings Beo. We had such good craic, the whole team, so I’d definitely consider working with him again. Watch this space,” concludes Carrie.
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