A local Mooncoin family will take centre stage on the latest episode of RTÉ’s DIY SOS: The Big Build Ireland, as their story is shared with the nation.

Nine-year-old Aoibhínn O’Hanlon, who lives in Mooncoin with her parents Sharon and John and her two younger siblings, was born with a severe form of spina bifida — a condition where a baby’s spine and spinal cord don’t fully develop in the womb, leaving a gap in the spine.

Aoibhínn also lives with hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid deep within the brain. She is paralysed from the waist down and had a shunt fitted to help drain the fluid from her brain.

The new episode sees Baz Ashmawy and his dedicated team of builders and volunteers from across Ireland come together to give the O’Hanlon family a helping hand — and a home that meets Aoibhínn’s needs.

Sharon told the programme she realised there was “something wrong” during her 21-week scan while pregnant with Aoibhínn. Her daughter arrived four weeks early, weighing just 2.5kg.

“The aftermath then, going down to the basement of Holles Street and seeing her little body,” recalled John.
“That was hard. I remember just sitting on the floor in there. I was literally floored and I just said, how do we fix her?”

Over the years, the family faced huge challenges trying to raise the funds needed to build a suitable home for Aoibhínn. To save money, they moved in with John’s parents, Tom and Helen O’Hanlon, in Mooncoin. But the house quickly became overcrowded, filled with wheelchairs, commodes, a stander and other essential equipment.

What was meant to be a short stay of a few months stretched into 18 months before the DIY SOS team stepped in.

After securing a small mortgage, the O’Hanlons bought a site locally, and Aoibhínn’s grandfather Mick — a construction worker since the age of 17 — took on the huge task of starting the self-build.

“My dad has been in construction since he was about 17,” Sharon said.
“I don’t think he quite expected to be down there 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

“What choice do you have? Like, we’re going to have to get the house done. It would have been moving in with just the bare bones of a house, and not remotely accessible for Aoibhínn, which was exactly the whole point of why we wanted the house in the first place, for Aoibhínn.”

The heartwarming episode featuring the O’Hanlon family from Mooncoin airs this Sunday at 6.30pm on RTÉ One and on the RTÉ Player.

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