Grand Designs

Republic of Ireland, 2012 (13x1)

Air date: Sep 12, 2012

The story of one man's heroic attempt to fulfill his childhood dream and bring back from the ruins an incredible castle set in one of the most beautiful landscapes in Ireland. Kevin McCloud meets more people trying to build dream homes, beginning with Sean Simons, who bought the ruins of Cloontykilla Castle in the Irish county of Roscommon with a view to using them to create a spectacular mock-16th-century home. However, the outlandish plans - including jacuzzis in the battlements and water-spouting gargoyles - have Kevin worried the project could become a garish nightmare, and his scepticism increases when he realises Sean has not consulted an architect. Disaster seems to be looming as the contractors get frustrated and planning regulations are ignored, but somehow things begin to slowly take shape - until a national economic crisis plunges everything into chaos.