Jill’s dream home at Coralstown is top of the class

Síofra Grant

“I really enjoyed it, but there was definitely a tinge of sadness that Hugh didn’t see it,” said Jill Leavy of her time on The Great House Revival. The show was presented by the beloved Hugh Wallace who sadly passed away in December of 2025.

The Westmeath woman began her journey on the show when she purchased an old abandoned schoolhouse in Coralstown.

Then, she happened to be sitting beside an architect at a wedding, who helped her throughout the process of renovating the school into a home. As it happened, his wife was from the area, and thus they worked together.

The school had been built in 1932 had been left empty following the construction of a more modern school to cater for the growing population.

The Great House Revival team would periodically visit Jill during the construction process, filming as she put it, “the big ticket items”, such as the windows going in etcetera.

Jill had started the filming with Hugh Wallace as host of the show, and following his passing, Brendan Courtney took on the presenting duty.

“I was definitely sad he didn’t get to see the final product and kind of ooh and aah over various things, Jill told the Westmeath Examiner.

“And also for me to show him some of the things I had done that he maybe wasn’t sure about – show him how they played out.

“Then Brendan came down and that was seamless. He stepped right in, he’d done his homework, he understood the process.

“He was doing his own renovations at the time and has done other renovations. It was lovely to speak to him on a more anecdotal level and share experiences.

“Hugh was an architect and had his style and that kind of thing, and had seen and worked on so many projects over the years.

“He was able to pull and pick inspiration from so many of those, so it was a different vibe, but both really positive and I really enjoyed filming all throughout the process.”

Jill was dedicated to the project, and successfully secured the derelict building grant, and the grant from the FDAI.

As well as the show, the grants, Hugh and Brendan, Jill’s family members supported her throughout the renovation.

“My dad in particular was kind of the site manager, he was always on site and always helping out.

“You see it throughout the show how instrumental he was to it all.

“Then my mam was there for interior decisions and you know bringing up scones, and Prosecco, and mimosas,” laughed Jill. “If you name it, she probably brought it up to the site throughout the build.

“My brothers as well, my younger brother is an engineer, so he was a great sounding board. And my older brother helped with loads of design choices, he was instrumental in the decision I made to do a red roof on the extension.”

Jill preserved many of the school’s historical aspects during the build. “The original plaque was built in to the building, its concrete and how it was poured, the original plaque was embedded in the wall.”We tried to get it out because I was externally insulating the wall. But it just wasn’t possible. So I ended up externally insulating and reinstating the plaque.

“So I got a new plaque made which is fab.”

Jill also kept the old hooks used to hold coats as well as the old doors, which she sanded down and added windows too.

• Jill’s episode of Great House Revival was broadcast on Sunday and is available on RTÉ player.