Cheap Irish Homes host Tadhg Casey: ‘I grew up in North Kerry and had some great characters as bosses’

It might be 116 years since the ink dried on EM Forster’s words “Only connect!” but they are as relevant as ever.

Not least in the Kerry town associated globally with literature. Tadhg Casey is showing me images of Listowel Activity Hub. The architect has designed the building in vernacular style to link the town with its surrounding landscape, greenway network and wider community.

Connection Central could be another name for the structure, which is part of Kerry County Council’s ambition to strengthen Listowel’s role as a destination for outdoor activity. “Rather than creating a standalone object, it establishes a series of interconnected spaces that encourage people to arrive, pause, meet and continue their journey,” says Tadhg.

The Tralee-based architect also hit the road again in 2026, touring the country as co-presenter of RTÉ’s Cheap Irish Homes alongside Maggie Molloy.

This is his second year on the popular TV show, and like Maggie, Tadhg has a passion for rural Ireland as well as its towns and villages. Listowel
Activity Hub was a joy to work on for that reason, he says. “I grew up in North Kerry and worked on farms around Listowel during my summers and had some great characters as bosses,” says Tadhg. 

“These experiences with old and not-so-old farm buildings, along with pavilion-type architecture, inspired the design of this building.”

Listowel Activity Hub, designed by Tadhg Casey Architects, opens this autumn.

Forging a connection with the landscape and Listowel’s heritage topped the agenda. “The main aim was to meet the practical requirements of the brief (changing and biking facilities) in a way that participated in, and paid respect to, the rich local culture of storytelling and the unique local vibe — to create a building very much of its place,” says Tadhg. “To achieve this, we used simple materials, forms and construction techniques imaginatively.”

Listowel Activity Hub.

The pitched roof references local vernacular buildings and shelters a covered overhang as well as the public convenience facilities in a regular form underneath. “The metal-clad pitched roof has at one end a regular hip, while at the other end it has an irregularly shaped hip, which delineates a public seating area designed for greenway and park users to sit and enjoy the surroundings and use the facilities,” adds Tadhg. 

The main structure is galvanised steel and serves a double function as rainwater gutters. It sits comfortably into its parkland and riverbank surroundings. “It aims to be of a quality that visitors and locals alike can be proud of,” adds Tadhg. 

I hope the people of Listowel like it, and if they gather under its roof and have a chat or a bit of craic, it will be a success in my eyes.

Tadhg Casey and Maggie Molloy on this year’s series of ‘Cheap Irish Homes’. Picture: RTÉ

The design demonstrates how a relatively modest intervention can contribute to a much wider civic ambition, he believes. “By combining architecture, landscape, active travel and public space, the activity hub strengthens the connection between Listowel and its surrounding recreational infrastructure and provides a welcoming point of arrival and departure for residents and visitors,” says Tadhg.

“The project is conceived not simply as a building, but as a piece of public infrastructure that supports movement, activity and social interaction within the town.”

Listowel Activity Hub, Listowel Park.

Tadhg Casey MRIAI walks the walk — literally. The Ballyheigue native lives in a reimagined 200-year-old house in Tralee town centre. He, his partner Niamh, and their Kerry blue terrier, Hal, can easily stroll to the Tadhg Casey Architects office on The Mall, where Niamh is the practice manager, and the family pooch is on the payroll as the resident “barchitect”.

Schools, too, are within walking distance for their children, Daire, six, and Sadhbh, four.

Tadhg arrived on our screens for the sixth series of Cheap Irish Homes last year, as Maggie Molloy’s co-presenter and is still filming the seventh series, the first episode of which airs on RTÉ One this Tuesday. Both have an easy rapport with each other and the house hunters they help. 

The house in Co Offaly shown on ‘Cheap Irish Homes’, 2026, episode one, before, below, and after, above.

From forlorn and forgotten cottages to almost-hidden town-centre treasures, the series aims to relay inspiring stories, practical advice and imaginative design ideas that celebrate the possibilities of breathing new life into old homes. “All the houses are so different,” says Tadhg. “And the buyers are all very different — everyone has their story. I get to connect with a bit of playfulness, and it reminds me of the nice things people are looking for in a home.”

Yes, but is there still such a thing as a “cheap” property? “The highlight of last year’s series was the fact that there’s still value there, especially in our villages, and that was definitely the feeling I had this year again,” he says.

Because both presenters live in old properties they revamped themselves, viewers and house hunters alike can instantly relate to them — making their expert advice feel all the more authentic.

The house in Co Offaly shown on ‘Cheap Irish Homes’, 2026, episode one, during renovation in 2024. Pictures: RTÉ

Tadhg and Niamh, who met in Dublin, say their residence “definitely fell into the ‘cheap Irish home’ category. “It cost €135,000, and we renovated it between 2021 and 2024,” says Tadhg.

The family moved in two years ago. “We had been renting in Tralee until then. It [renovating] was a lot of work. But it was such a great thing to be able to do,” he says.

“The kind of character you have in the house — I can’t say you can’t buy it, because we did buy it! — but I think we just got a lovely feeling when we walked into the property; there was south sun coming in, it was lovely and warm, and there was a wonderful long narrow garden. Everyone talks about vibes these days, but it had good vibes.”

For them, the property’s striking, original features, such as shutters on its old timber windows, were its selling point. “We didn’t have to do too much, design-wise; we had to rewire and replumb it. The contractors were great,” says Tadhg. “I just tried to use breathable materials, really.”

Tadhg’s favourite spot at his home in Tralee.

The living area overlooking the street is Tadhg’s favourite spot in the house. “We keep the lads’ toys out of just that one part, so it’s the only place you’re not tripping over Lego!” he says. 

“But the rest of the house is full of toys and full of life. It’s nice to have a house full of life, and it makes me feel very lucky.”

The architect’s own childhood unfolded on a dairy farm in Ballyheigue in North Kerry, and Tadhg credits his upbringing with informing a life view defined by a practical approach and an appreciation for nature and Irish culture. 

Tadhg, who first considered architecture as a future career while he was a student at Causeway Comprehensive, says: “I spent many summers farming, working on building sites and also as a steel fabricator.”

As a graduate, he worked in Cork City Council Architects Department on a range of residential and urban design projects before moving to Dublin to work for residential and master planning specialists Conroy Crowe Kelly (CCK). 

Sustainable and imaginative architecture is a speciality since establishing Tadhg Casey Architects Ltd in 2018.

Marie and Anne Kinane with Maggie Molloy and Tadhg Casey.

Safeguarding smaller towns and villages’ future is Tadhg’s lodestar: “The lessons of the vernacular buildings and towns can align with a new experience-led regeneration of Irish urban areas.”

Traditional shapes inspire everything from box-fresh residential designs to refurbs of old buildings, and school extensions.

Becoming a TV presenter “wasn’t on my radar at all”, says Tadhg, who was spotted on YouTube by a series researcher. “When we started [his architecture practice] we were in a co-working space in Tralee, Entara, and our landlord, Ken Tobin, made a video. Kevin Cremin, one of the series researchers, discovered the video on YouTube and called me,” says Tadhg.

Marie Kinane, who features on the first episode of ‘Cheap Irish Homes’. Picture: RTÉ

“It was a lovely call to get — that was around Christmas — and as requested, I sent another video of myself, made on my phone, and did a screen test in February or March, and I was filming by April.”

Accustomed by now to stepping in front of a television camera, Tadhg adds: “I often think we could have an outtake section, but there’s never enough time. We have so many good laughs when we are filming, and a lot of it gets cut because we have to tell the story in only a half-hour programme.”

Marie Kinane, right, with her mother Anne.

The 2026 Cheap Irish Homes opener features Marie Kinane, 27, who grew up on a farm in Tipperary and moved to Sligo three years ago, where she works in pharmaceuticals.

She’s decided that now is the time to move out of her rented accommodation and buy her own home in the area.

With a budget of €190,000, Marie is looking for a house with at least two bedrooms that’s close to water and under 40 minutes from her job in Sligo town — and that has plenty of space for her dog Finlay.

Marie Kinane’s border collie Finlay.

Tadhg and Maggie take Marie and her mum Anne on tour to show her three properties Maggie has found that could work for her. “I love meeting the buyers because they’re all can-do people and they’re open people and they just kind of see life as an adventure, which is the way I like to think about life — they’re just rolling with it, and I like meeting people like that,” says Tadhg. 

“They’re the opposite of complainers. They get on with life, they’re genuine, and it feels good to be around them.”

As always, the people we don’t see also boost the feel-good factor and connect to the soul of the series. “You go into a house and realise it was a family house, and that people lived there for decades and the property’s features show a history of family and kindness and care,” says Tadhg.