'It was a great project to be involved in': Cork man at helm of project on Room to Improve

As part of RTÉ’s Room to Improve programme, Cork builder Brandon Duarte helped to transform an old Dublin house in to four self-contained pods, for families of people with cystic fibrosis (CF).

In the Room to Improve special, host Dermot Bannon teamed up with Julian Benson, a former judge on Dancing with the Stars, with the determined and hardworking Mr Duarte very much at the helm of the project.

Mr Duarte oversaw and coordinated the teams of builders, restorers, electricians, plumbers, cabinet makers, fire specialists, painters and other construction experts from around the country.

Many volunteers gave their time to the build.

Ireland has the highest rate of CF per capita in the world, with around 1,400 adults and children living with the condition.

Mr Benson is one of them.

In 2022, the Julian Benson Foundation (JBF) purchased an abandoned, Victorian red-brick property in the south Dublin suburb of Rathgar.

As founder of JBF, it was Mr Benson’s dream to build a space that could cater for people with cystic fibrosis and their families, when they travelled to Dublin for treatment.

“The biggest thing is what it is for: Cystic-fibrosis [sufferers] and for families.

“For my own perspective, it was a great project to be involved in,” said Macroom native Mr Duarte, speaking to The Echo.

“We got the backing of people and with good hearts, really. From my point of view, it was very enjoyable, because of the finished product. You have people going into these places that really badly need them.”

It is not the first time that Mr Duarte has appeared on RTÉ television.

As part of the hit RTÉ show DIY SOS: The Big Build, he, along with the broadcaster Baz Ashmawy, headed up a group of volunteers who transformed the home of Adam Drummond and his family on the northside of Cork city.

Mr Duarte helped to make the home wheelchair accessible across three floors and out to the back of the garden.

Prior to the transformation, former Irish international basketball player Mr Drummond could not access his home, having become a wheelchair user following an accident in May 2021.

Mr Duarte also acted as project manager on another edition of DIY SOS, which saw Baz and the team focus on the rehousing of Ukrainian families at a site in Mitchelstown.