2020 has been a year to forget for many of us due to the challenges posed by Covid19. For most of us these will be temporary difficulties and before we know it our lives will get back to the way they were before Covid and we will move on. Some families in our beautiful country however aren’t so lucky, with life changing events dictating the direction of their lives in the future.
Three of these families though will remember 2020 as the year that their challenging lives changed for the better due to the goodwill and generosity of hundreds of Irish communities, individuals and businesses, including Kinsale company, KMC Lawn Turf, who participated in DIY SOS: The Big Build Ireland.
Presented by Baz Ashmawy, DIY SOS: The Big Build Ireland set out to renovate the homes of deserving families with only 9 days to transform each home, and the added component of being completely dependent on the generosity of volunteer trades and supplier donations.
Kieran McCarthy of KMC Lawn Turf was contacted late last year to see if his company would participate in the first episode which was taking place in Limerick in February. Not sure what to expect, Kieran agreed to help out by supplying and laying their quality lush instant lawns for the project, which aimed to renovate the home and garden of thirteen year old Amy Mulcahy. Amy was left with a life altering brain injury after a rowing accident in Limerick in February 2019. At the beginning of the episode her mum Sharon recalls the moment when she was told that her daughter’s injuries were “incompatible with life” but Amy has proven everyone wrong and is an amazing teenager full of fun and feistiness. However the family home was not suitable for her needs but thanks to DIY SOS that has all changed and is now completely transformed and has given Amy a space befitting her age and needs.
Some time later Kieran was invited to get involved in a third project in Leixlip, Co. Kildare. He didn’t think twice, saying he was delighted to be a small part of a build where some of the volunteers gave nine and ten days of their time to bring the transformation to fruition.
Eight-year-old identical twin boys, Shay and Finn Guihen, were born with Pfeiffer Syndrome Type III: a rare genetic disorder causing a number of very challenging and life limiting disabilities. This heart-warming episode tracked the rebuild of their home to make it a more comfortable and better flowing space for both the twins, their little brother, and their exhausted mum and dad. KMC Lawn Turf’s work was the perfect surround for the amazing playhouse, in the shape of a rocket ship, which landed in the garden for the boys’ little brother Riley.
Kieran and his team were thrilled to play a part in each of these emotional, heartfelt and worthwhile projects, saying ‘it was easy to do” when you see what these families are dealing with daily. They had good fun with Baz Ashmawy, who knows Kinsale well, and is a genuinely sound guy.
KMC Lawn Turf were overwhelmed by the generosity, kindness, and dedication shown by everyone who took part in these amazing projects to improve the lives of others, saying it really brought out the best in people.
KMC Lawn Turf is celebrating twenty years in business in Dunderrow, Kinsale, this year. What a way to mark your 20th anniversary in business. Well done to Kieran and all his crew; Baz, and everyone who played even the smallest part in transforming houses into homes for these lovely families.
