{"id":3212,"date":"2026-09-29T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/?p=3212"},"modified":"2026-09-29T15:15:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T14:15:32","slug":"a-rush-couple-have-lived-in-a-converted-martello-tower-on-the-east-coast-for-six-years-and-heat-it-for-almost-nothing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/a-rush-couple-have-lived-in-a-converted-martello-tower-on-the-east-coast-for-six-years-and-heat-it-for-almost-nothing\/","title":{"rendered":"A Rush couple have lived in a converted Martello tower on the east coast for six years and heat it for almost nothing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sea air whips the parapet<\/strong>, but the living room stays warm<\/strong>.
Six feet of stone<\/strong> hold the day\u2019s heat<\/strong> like a battery.
In Rush, a small harbour<\/strong> town north of Dublin, two people have quietly made a historic fort<\/strong> into a modern home<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted a place with character<\/strong>, not just square<\/strong> rooms,\u201d says Aoife, a designer<\/strong> who shares the tower with her partner, Mark<\/strong>.
They moved in six years<\/strong> ago, when the circular bunker was still part museum<\/strong>, part ruin<\/strong>.
Today it is bright, watertight<\/strong>, and astonishingly cheap<\/strong> to run.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Why they chose a circular fortress<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Martello towers dot the Irish coast<\/strong>, built to watch invasions<\/strong> that never came.
This one stands above a strand<\/strong>, with gulls riding the wind<\/strong> and ferries gliding past the horizon<\/strong>.
\u201cIt felt solid<\/strong>, and oddly calm<\/strong>,\u201d says Mark, who works in marine<\/strong> logistics.
\u201cThe shape invites you to think in circles<\/strong>, not in corridors<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The couple saw potential in the tower\u2019s mass<\/strong>, its deep embrasures<\/strong>, and the thick render<\/strong> that shrugs off weather<\/strong>.
They also saw challenges: no plumbing<\/strong>, no insulation<\/strong>, and a stair like a stone corkscrew<\/strong>.
\u201cBut we believed the bones<\/strong> were right,\u201d Aoife says, \u201cand the rest was just craft<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Making stone behave like a battery<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

The thermal trick<\/strong> begins with airtightness<\/strong>.
Every gap was sealed<\/strong>, every window rebated<\/strong>, and a hidden membrane<\/strong> now wraps the inner shell<\/strong>.
\u201cStop the drafts<\/strong>, and the stone starts to work<\/strong> for you,\u201d Mark notes.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Next came breathable insulation<\/strong> laid as a gentle liner<\/strong>: cork and lime on the walls<\/strong>, wood fibre beneath the floor<\/strong>.
No plastic sandwiches<\/strong>, no sealed cavities<\/strong> that might trap moisture<\/strong>.
\u201cThe tower still breathes<\/strong>, but more slowly<\/strong>,\u201d Aoife says with a smile<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

They embedded low\u2011temperature pipes<\/strong> for radiant heat<\/strong> in a thin lime\u2011crete slab<\/strong>.
Warm water moves through the loops<\/strong>, and the slab feeds the stone<\/strong>.
By evening, the whole structure<\/strong> glows with a soft hum<\/strong> you can almost feel<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Heat for almost nothing<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Power comes from a quiet heat<\/strong> pump and a modest solar<\/strong> array tucked below the parapet<\/strong>.
On bright days<\/strong>, panels fill a hot\u2011water cylinder<\/strong> and nudge the slab<\/strong>.
On dimmer days<\/strong>, the pump sips electricity<\/strong> at off\u2011peak rates<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cOur winter bill<\/strong> was about \u20ac18 a month<\/strong> last year,\u201d Mark says<\/strong>.
\u201cIn summer, it drops to nearly zero<\/strong>, because hot water is free<\/strong> most days.\u201d
A tiny stove<\/strong> burns driftwood only for comfort<\/strong>, not for need<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ventilation is handled by a quiet MVHR<\/strong> unit that recovers warmth<\/strong> from outgoing air<\/strong>.
Salt spray stays outside<\/strong>, while filtered freshness<\/strong> lives inside<\/strong>.
\u201cThe air is always dry<\/strong>, which makes 19\u00b0C feel cosy<\/strong>,\u201d Aoife adds<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Living inside a circle<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Rooms radiate like petals<\/strong>, each curved and intimate<\/strong>.
The kitchen wraps a deep embrasure<\/strong>, framing an everyday cinema<\/strong> of changing tides<\/strong>.
A compact mezzanine<\/strong> floats under the domed roof<\/strong>, giving a snug bedroom<\/strong> with moonlit views<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Furniture follows the tower\u2019s arc<\/strong>, with shallow cabinets<\/strong> and banquette seats<\/strong>.
Lighting runs in low rings<\/strong>, keeping shadows soft<\/strong> and the stone gentle<\/strong>.
\u201cRectangles argue with circles<\/strong>,\u201d Aoife laughs<\/strong>, \u201cso we picked our battles<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The old powder magazine<\/strong> is now a tiny studio<\/strong>, cool by nature<\/strong> and quiet as velvet<\/strong>.
Here, Aoife sketches patterns<\/strong> for textiles inspired by kelp<\/strong> and wave\u2011cut rock<\/strong>.
\u201cEven the acoustics are kind<\/strong>, like being inside a drum<\/strong> with felted sides<\/strong>,\u201d she says<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The quiet economy of care<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Money saved on fuel<\/strong> went into careful repairs<\/strong>.
They lime\u2011washed the exterior<\/strong>, reset fractured stone<\/strong>, and kept the crenellated profile<\/strong> untouched by gadgets<\/strong>.
Solar gear hides behind the parapet<\/strong>, while cabling runs in old channels<\/strong> once used for pulleys<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cLow\u2011energy doesn\u2019t mean high\u2011tech<\/strong> everywhere,\u201d Mark argues<\/strong>.
\u201cIt means reducing the load<\/strong>, then using simple, reliable<\/strong> parts.\u201d
He checks the system with a phone app<\/strong>, but most days he forgets it even exists<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What they learned<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n
  • Let the original fabric<\/strong> do the heavy<\/strong> lifting, then add the lightest, most reversible<\/strong> upgrades you can.<\/li>\n

    \n<\/ul>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Community, memory, and a shared horizon<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Neighbors still knock with stories<\/strong>: wartime watchmen<\/strong>, teenage dares, and smoky bonfires<\/strong> long since banned<\/strong>.
    The couple host an annual open<\/strong> day, sharing the tower\u2019s history<\/strong> and the energy numbers<\/strong>.
    \u201cPeople expect it to be freezing<\/strong>, then they step in and pause<\/strong>,\u201d Aoife says<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Outside, the wind threads the stone\u2011cut stair<\/strong>, and the sea keeps its rhythm<\/strong>.
    Inside, a small pump<\/strong> purrs, the slab gives back its warmth<\/strong>, and dinner bubbles softly<\/strong> on the hob<\/strong>.
    Six years have made the round rooms<\/strong> feel inevitable, like a tide\u2011shaped idea<\/strong> that finally found its shore<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    \u201cHome isn\u2019t a style, it\u2019s a state<\/strong>,\u201d Mark offers<\/strong>, resting a hand on the cool lintel<\/strong>.
    \u201cAnd if the walls can store the day<\/strong>, they can store our days<\/strong> too.\u201d
    The tower listens, quiet<\/strong>, and keeps their heat for almost nothing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3212"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3503,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3212\/revisions\/3503"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}