Cork couple’s quest to transform old house

Secondary school teacher Grace Cotter and her landscape gardener husband John are restoring their country house in County Cork, and we follow their progress in The Great House Revival on RTÉ1 tomorrow (Sunday) at 9.30pm.

The Georgian farmhouse, called Rockhouse, lies in the hills of Kilmacsimon where the couple and their three children live.

When they purchased it, it was hard to see past the dire condition of the neglected house, which had become a shelter for nearby farming cows, as well as the odd rodent.

Is it beyond saving, or can Grace and John’s grit and determination transform this shell?

Sitting high in the hills of West Cork, Rockhouse has been left neglected and unloved.

John does most of the renovation work himself, and when he’s not working for his own business, he spends every spare moment at the house, missing out on weekends and family holidays, to make a home for his growing family.

The couple has to tackle delays in securing their mortgage as well as facing grief in the midst of their renovation, so the revival is far from straightforward.