Calling someone a ‘jack of all trades’ could be viewed as a put-down, but to Common Knowledge Build School instructor Cian Corcoran, it’s more akin to a badge of honour.
“I think it’s a brilliant way to be. It’s good to be able to put your hands to many different things. You might not be perfect at i,t but if it works and it’s safe, then great. You’ve done your job. You can only improve on it. I think the jack of all trades should be making a comeback.”
At the Common Knowledge centre in Kilfenora, Co Clare, it certainly seems like it is. Co-founded in 2022 by Harrison Gardner, Fionn Kidney, Spider Hickman and Erin McClure, the non-profit social enterprise, which moved to its current location in March 2023, has a simple mission: to share skills for a truly sustainable home life.
Of the myriad courses on offer, the most consistently popular is Build School. Since its inception, over 600 people of all ages, genders and abilities have participated in the five-day course that’s underpinned by values of sustainability, empowerment and meitheal – the Irish tradition of community coming together to help a neighbour achieve a goal.
Corcoran came to Build School organically when he and his family were looking to swop Dublin for a slower-paced life in Co Clare. They’d bought an old stone farmhouse in need of renovation, and while Corcoran, a designer of commercial interiors, “had a lot of the skills already”, he was “daunted” by the scale of the house project, so signed up for Build School.
Participants at Build School learn how to build a 25sqm Common Cabin over five days, with mornings of theory fundamentals applied in the afternoons of hands-on construction.
With the most recent CSO figures showing a rise of 7.9% in house prices in the 12 months to May 2025, and with those prices now at eight times the average annual income, the idea of acquiring the skills to build one’s own dwelling or tackle a derelict doer-upper seems a compelling one. It opens up options.
For those who have a home, Build School teaches sustainability and self-reliance, so instead of having to call on a tradesman to fix that leak or build that wall, they leave the course equipped with the capability and confidence to give it a lash in the most sustainable manner and make a decent job of it too.
Instructors Cian Corcoran and Zack Halliday and with participants at Build School, Common Knowledge near Kilfenora recently. Picture: Eamon Ward
Corcoran and his family are now living in their Co Clare home — “it’s not done, but we’re in. It’s warm and dry and comfortable,” — and at Gardner’s behest, he joined Build School as an instructor. He thrives on sharing his knowledge and seeing the “transformative experience” Build School is for people. In essence, “They realise they can do things.”
Aileen, who is currently renting, sold her Dublin 16 home to buy an 1840s stone house in Co Wicklow that was in “a bad state”. She did Build School in June, and had no prior DIY skills or construction experience.
“I’d heard Harrison on the radio, so when I bought the house, the first thing I thought was, ‘I need to go on this course’ because I had no idea how to fix it. I got a lovely builder, but the project was still very daunting to me, so I invested [in Build School] and was completely blown away.
“The course runs from Monday to Friday, nine to five. The food is unreal, all vegetarian, fresh from their farm and vegetable garden. In the mornings, [instructors teach you] theory about shelter, heat, roofing, plumbing and electricity. Then, in the afternoon, you go to the site where you construct a cabin from start to finish.
“I’d be very confident to build that cabin again, because I understand the processes involved.
“Build School gives the power back to normal people. We used to have these skills. We used to share these skills. We used to build together.
“Not only was Build School educational, it was life-altering because the feeling in that place is like nothing else. It’s full of warm, talented artisans who have no egos and are happy, confident people living this life, and you come away with that. You have that feeling in your heart. That, for me, was one of the biggest takeaways.
Harrison Gardiner chatting to participant Sandra Bourke, Leitrim at Build School, Common Knowledge near Kilfenora recently. Picture: Eamon Ward
“I want to be involved in restoring my own house. I might not be able to do the roof, but when it comes to the walls, I’m going to ask if I can I help out, get involved. I don’t feel afraid to do things.
“I have this common knowledge now, so I’m not sleepwalking into things and I can question [builders and tradespeople]. I can tell them, ‘no, I think it should be this way’, and get their opinion. I’m not this helpless female on her own doing her renovation, and that’s really important.
“I can see solutions in my head that I could never see before. I’ve learned more sustainable ways of doing things and I’m really glad of that knowledge. I came away with hope, as well as understanding more about how we should be working with the land rather than taking from it.
“Build School was really intense. We were exhausted, but in a good way. I’m looking forward to going back.” Elaine O’Dea Elaine lives in Dublin and did Build School in April. She had no prior DIY skills “apart from building IKEA furniture” and helping construct a cob house.
“Build School had been on my radar for a long time because I’m interested in alternative ways of living.
“I also want to be empowered and know how to fix things. As a woman, people try and fix things for you all the time and you get so disempowered as a result.
“I wanted to do the course partly to meet people who are like-minded, partly to learn how to do the most basic things, and also to feel that maybe I could build a house one day. It’s in my mind that at some point I might move out west. I’m interested in the idea of trying to build something myself, but that’s a long way down the road, so it’s as much about making connections to people who are in that boat and maybe helping them and building connections and community, and who knows what might happen.
“Build School was brilliant for just realising things are really straightforward and you can do a lot of the stuff yourself. Basically you learn all of the different stages of building a house in the week.
Finlay Anderson, Scottish Borders and Niamh McCarthy, Galway at Build School, Common Knowledge near Kilfenora recently. Picture: Eamon Ward
“This one day, we were all buzzing around, sawing and measuring, working away like little ants, and by the end of that session, we’d built all these walls. It was incredible to see the speed you can put up a house. You’d have a bed, a kitchen, a sitting area — tiny, but you could live in it. I didn’t really think we could build a house, but we did; it’s all very doable.
“I’ve three people I’m so close with since; two of them are building their house and I’m going to be helping them with that. People put questions in the group [forum] like, ‘anyone any suggestions for this?’ and ‘how do you do this?’, so you have a constant connection with a large group of people that offer help.
“The community side of it was important to me. We all got on great. I camped for six nights. It was brilliant. We had a campfire night. There were two chefs on the course, so we had these incredible dinners and went out for dinner another night.
“As a group, we really gelled. Everyone was really like-minded and it was a lovely experience.
“I don’t have a project, and still, I’m glad I did the course and I want to do it again. It’s ideal for somebody who is planning to build soon. If you’ve got a build coming up in the next couple of years, I’d hold off doing Build School until not long before [to get the most out of it].”
Zack Halliday and Eimear Delahunty, Co Tipperary at Build School, Common Knowledge near Kilfenora recently. Picture : Eamon Ward
Aaron and his wife Samantha bought a “dilapidated” cottage in Co Wicklow and lived on site while renovating, having got planning permission in March 2023, a month before they both did Build School. Aaron took a year’s sabbatical to get involved in all aspects of the build. He had DIY skills prior; Samantha had none.
“Samantha and myself did Build School together. [The idea was] I would be taking a lot from Build School to apply to our project, and Samantha would gain trust in me doing certain things, because although she knew I was ‘handy’, building a house is a different beast. We were learning together, and it was fantastic. We’d just got planning permission, so we were the most bright-eyed, bushy-tailed people on the course that week, because we thought that as soon as we got back to Wicklow, we’d be breaking out the tools and getting stuck in, and we did.
“We had a local company supply the timber-frame kit, [which is] the bare bones of the property. Thereafter, I had to do all the services, run all the first fix, electrical, plumbing, insulation, roof, external cladding.
“I had a hand in everything, even the electrics. I had a certified electrician who did all the skilled and certified work and I was his ‘number two’.
“Having a hand on every element not only saved a huge amount of money, it helped push things on. I was the second body for the trades that were in. It kept them more efficient, plus I was learning by helping them.
Cian Corcoran and Zack Halliday and with participants at Build School, Common Knowledge near Kilfenora recently. Picture: Eamon Ward
“I went back 18 months later to do the polished concrete worktop course with Harrison. I was quoted between €6,000 and €10,000 for a concrete worktop. From the two days’ course, I got the knowledge and confidence to do my own kitchen worktops, which cost me less than 10pc of what I was quoted.
“We’ve been living in the house since November last year, and elements of it are still a work in progress, but I’m satisfied to call it a completed home that’s watertight, comfortable, and fit for a family to live in.
“Build School gave me the confidence to try. You’re not necessarily going to be laying all the blocks yourself, but you know what questions to ask a block layer.
“If I’d used a professional from day one to do everything and I didn’t get hands-on, we simply wouldn’t have been able to afford to get ourselves to the point of completion and to get ourselves to be able to live in the house from last November.
“It allowed us to get to where we are now quicker and more affordably.
“It’s a gratifying experience to have your own home to sit in and be able to say that we’ve done it, in the main, by ourselves.”
Participants at Build School, Common Knowledge near Kilfenora recently. Picture: Eamon Ward
The cost of building an extension to the family home in Co Galway was prohibitive so Shaun did Build School in September to enable him to attempt the project himself.
He’s planning on doing their block-laying course soon and his wife Cathy recently did their tiling course. Neither had any prior “hands on” building experience.
“Build School was an absolutely fantastic week. We built a small house. I wasn’t expecting that. I was thinking it was going to be more in the classroom but it was really good in terms of actually picking up tools, using them and building something.
“If you made a mistake, they’d tell you to rectify it and do it again. You were taught to appreciate the work that goes into getting the quality right.
“We haven’t done the extension yet, but during Storm Éowyn our turf shed got blown away, so I built a new one. It’s bigger than the original and a bit more useful.
“Then, during Storm Darragh, the roof came off the back of our existing extension, so I built a new roof. Before Build School, I would’ve paid somebody to come and build that roof, no question.
“Build School gave me the confidence to try it and to do it. It taught me if you a mistake, this is how you can fix it. And rather than wasting materials, I learned how to reuse them, which was valuable.
Taking it all in at Build School, Common Knowledge near Kilfenora recently. Picture: Eamon Ward
“I saw people who were afraid of picking up a drill on the first day, and after the second day, they were picking it up like they’d been using it for 10 years. So that experience of doing it and being allowed to make a mistake and rectifying it, I think really gives people incredible confidence.
“Sustainability was a key message from the outset; trying to utilise what you already have, using local, natural products within your region.
“They were very much championing the reuse, recycle message, and we learned lots of really good, interesting ways to be sustainable, which was important to me.
“I’m very confident that other than the electrical side of things and maybe plumbing, [I can do the extension myself].
“I’m definitely going to do the timber frame extension, and the insulation and finishing. We’re going to do the tiling in the kitchen and the bathroom ourselves as well. We now realise how much we’re going to save in labour costs. Also, we’re really looking forward to that sense of achievement and pride from doing a lot of it ourselves and putting hard work into it. We’ll definitely feel more like it’s ours.
“The app (Common Knowledge has a forum on Discord) is really good with the meitheal. When we’re in a position to get started [on the extension], I’m going to reach out to see if there are any people that would like to come for a day here and there to help us out and gain some experience themselves. Maybe go away with a bottle of wine at the end of it as well!”
