'I really began to crave nature and the countryside, space, peace' -from Dublin to Leitrim

Earlier this summer, Leitrim woman Martha Gilheaney posted a TikTok video about snapping up an old house in rural Leitrim that she is renovating and people just can't get enough of her 'city to countryside life' story following the viral post.

Ballinamore native Martha is a business lecturer at CCT College Dublin, a private college in the city centre and speaking to the Leitrim Observer, she told us she has lived in the capital on and off for around twenty years (she left to live in Italy for a number of years and completed a Masters in the North) and has spent eight years in the city centre renting a beautifully renovated former bank. 

Speaking of her new Leitrim home she told us: “It's an old farmhouse, over 100 years old and has lots of land with it. My brother actually went to the house and made a video and when I saw the grounds around it; I just adored it and never looked at any other house. I started the process of finding out how to get a mortgage and what are the steps etc. I literally knew nothing about this process beforehand. I always thought I would buy eventually but I never actually got around to realistically looking at it. So it was the house that changed everything for me. It was a real gut feeling."

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It's a big change for Martha who previously lived on O'Connell Street, AKA Dublin 1.

“I had windows that looked out onto O'Connell Street and Abbey Street and two Luas went either side of my building. I did love the city and I wanted to live in the centre and I had found that I was gradually, accidentally moving further out over they years and then when I got that apartment, I felt like it was really 'city-living'. It used to be a bank and is a listed building with high ceilings and huge windows and beautiful coving; a really bright apartment.”

However, Martha made the decision to leave the city and return to her Leitrim roots after spotting a house on her family's Whatsapp group. "I actually wasn't looking for a house at all and wasn't thinking about buying property; I did have savings and in the back of mind I was thinking, I might go on a big trip but from covid onwards, something began to change; I really began to crave nature and the countryside, space, peace. I love nature, I love flowers, I'd love to grow my own vegetables, I'm crazy about animals. I suppose that feeling just began to grow and grow and I started to get more restless in the city. Especially if the weather wasn't nice, I felt that I didn't have anywhere to go; the parks were all packed or go to a coffee shop and you're spending loads of money."

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She said that she it was love at first sight when she saw the house. "Nobody, including myself, thought that I was thinking about buying but the moment I saw this house, I fell in love with it. It was really strange. I actually straight away thought 'I love this so much that I could potentially buy this house!'"

Martha, who is a former stylist and fashion blogger, then joined TikTok to share her exciting new journey with anyone thinking of doing the same. “I used to use my Instagram as a fashion page. I actually only started TikTok because of the house renovation and I posted one video that went viral and had nearly half a million views. It's only in the last few days that I've started to think I should post the content to Instagram because there are a lot of people not on TikTok.”

She added: “This is really resonating with people; the whole idea of leaving the city for the countryside and a total life change.”

She said there is currently a builder onsite doing works relating to the installation of new plumbing and electrics as well as replacing the dry lining and replacing floors upstairs. 

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She laughed: "Every time works starts on something, it reveals that something else needs to be done that we didn't expect" however the builder has assured her that it is a sturdy house that will be in place for many years to come. 

She said that the house is deceptively small and the bedrooms upstairs are "tiny" but it does have "two sitting rooms". 

She stressed that she wants to stay true to the house's roots and has no plans to break through walls or change the layout. "I don't know if it's from living in small apartments all my life where everything is in the one room but I'm actually looking forward to having different rooms with a different vibe and decor. That you can kind of get away from the kitchen and close it off and go into the sitting room and that's your relaxing room."

Speaking of the house's aesthetic she said: "I just prefer the old look; I've always preferred old houses. It's also very important for me to have an open fire and I believe that you can't have that in a new build.”

However, Martha won't be turning her back on city life completely as she will venture back three times a week for lectures and with six months of holidays, she isn't fazed by the six hour round trip and said she she will have plenty of work to keep her busy on the train.

She added: “My commute used to take three minutes walking from my apartment door to my work door and now it's going to take me three hours up and three hours back. It's not every day and because I'm a lecturer I'm off for six months of the year. This semester is due to start in the middle of September and I'm in three days a week. I'm glad because I wouldn't like to completely lose my connection with the city so I feel I have the best of both worlds. I can work on the train and use my commute.”

She added: “I feel like I need to write to Iarnród Éireann because they don't have a 6pm train home; they have one at 5.05pm which is no good for those who work until 5pm and the next one is at 7.30m.”

You can follow Martha's Leitrim country house journey on Instagram here and on TikTok here.