It will be power-tools at dawn tomorrow night as the grand finale of RTÉ’s ‘The Big DIY Challenge’ takes place.

Given that we’re a nation obsessed with home renovation and DIY projects, it’s little wonder that TV viewers have been glued to the show in recent weeks.

Hosted by comedian PJ Gallagher, a total of 52 DIY enthusiasts entered the quirky competition, which chronicled an eclectic range of amateur projects over five different episodes.

From home-made chicken coops to Western-themed cat hotels and a jazzy travel pod, this year’s contest featured a huge variety of new builds as participants competed to win the overall prize of €10,000.

They were given just ten days to complete their projects as the entrants battled with a range of obstacles which included a trip to hospital for Co Clare contestant Michael Judd.

He even got cement in his eye while building his crescent moon-themed seating area and firepit but his determined efforts earnt him a place in the final.

Showing everyone how it’s done was mum-of-three Shauna O’Connor from Killorglin in Kerry, who believes she saved herself €20,000 by renovating her four-bedroomed home herself during lockdown.

She learnt how to do DIY during lockdown after finding lots of unfinished jobs that needed to be tackled – so decided to take them on herself.

She was featured in episode two of the show and her stunning living room make-over impressed the judges enough to make it into the grand finale.

“As a complete DIY beginner, I never in a million years thought I would make the final of The Big DIY Challenge,” she said. “It has given me the confidence to pursue my newfound passion for DIY and I’m very grateful for the experience."

Also hoping to take home the big prize tomorrow night is Fergal Magennety from Letterkenny Co, Donegal, who entered with his Russian-inspired beehive project.

He said he would be “over the moon” to win the cash prize and would spend it going to see his two daughters living abroad.

“I have a daughter, Emma, living in Australia and would go over to see her. Also our daughter Julia is going to New Zealand in September for a year so we would love to visit her during her time there,” he said.

“She is a young doctor working in Glasgow and we haven't been able to see her for 18 months because of the travel restrictions.”
Another entrant with her eye on the prize is Leitrim artist Caitríona Bergin who was included for her impressive 40-foot-long container unit conversion to a restful office and art gallery space.

“When I left Dublin, flat-pack was kind of the way it was. I was never afraid to do anything, put up a few shelves and things like that. But when I came up here [DIY] was just a necessity; you have to know how to do stuff,” she said.

Host PJ Gallagher said the show has been “great craic, so much fun.” “The journey these DIY-ers have been on has been truly incredible to see all their creations come to life, I have certainly learned a thing or two from them. I hope all the DIYers enjoyed the experience as much as I did,” he said.

The two show judges have the tricky job of choosing the overall winner, namely Jennifer Byrne a TU Dublin Lecturer in Construction alongside Jimmy Englezos of Ronseal.

Ms Byrne said she really wants to encourage more women across Ireland to take an interest in DIY and accept apprentices in typically male-dominated areas.

“As we all know, women are the ones that drive DIY in the home, and more and more women are taking on and completing DIY projects than ever before,” she said.

The Big DIY Challenge series finale airs tomorrow night at 20.30pm on RTÉ One.