{"id":3245,"date":"2026-09-19T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/?p=3245"},"modified":"2026-09-14T09:34:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T08:34:15","slug":"two-nurses-who-shared-shifts-in-beaumont-for-a-decade-bought-a-house-together-in-bundoran-and-commute-up-in-turns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/two-nurses-who-shared-shifts-in-beaumont-for-a-decade-bought-a-house-together-in-bundoran-and-commute-up-in-turns\/","title":{"rendered":"Two nurses who shared shifts in Beaumont for a decade bought a house together in Bundoran and commute up in turns"},"content":{"rendered":"

At dawn on the northwest<\/strong> coast, two long-time colleagues<\/strong> lock the front door, throw bags in the boot, and roll onto the open road. After ten years of overlapping<\/strong> shifts on a busy surgical ward, they pooled<\/strong> savings, bought a small place by the sea, and now take turns doing the long<\/strong> drive to Dublin. \u201cWe thought, if we can share<\/strong> nights and breaks, we can share the mortgage<\/strong>,\u201d one of them jokes, fastening a hi-vis jacket before the motorway<\/strong> unfurls.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

They call themselves a \u201crota of two<\/strong>.\u201d One week Aisling<\/strong> heads up on Monday at four in the morning<\/strong>; the next week it\u2019s Niamh<\/strong> behind the wheel with a flask of coffee<\/strong> and a playlist of gentler songs<\/strong>. \u201cWe split the miles<\/strong>, we split the worry<\/strong>, and we keep the friendship<\/strong> safe,\u201d says Aisling, \u201cbecause the plan has rules<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Why they chose to co-buy<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

The decision began as a spreadsheet<\/strong> and a sigh<\/strong>. Between rent in the capital<\/strong> and rising bills<\/strong>, saving felt like stitching water into a wound<\/strong>. \u201cWe were paying for four walls<\/strong> we barely saw,\u201d says Niamh, who often finished shifts<\/strong> with sunlight already high. A place by the Atlantic<\/strong> cost less than a studio<\/strong> in town, and came with birdsong, space for wet scrubs<\/strong>, and an extra room<\/strong> for crash nights.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

They didn\u2019t want to flatshare<\/strong> forever, nor did they want to drift apart<\/strong>. \u201cNursing is a team<\/strong> sport,\u201d Aisling says, \u201cand we built our lives<\/strong> like a team.\u201d A solicitor drew up the agreement<\/strong>, a broker found a rate<\/strong>, and a coastal agent handed them keys<\/strong> under a sky full of gulls<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A rota that respects rest<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

The driving plan is written in ink<\/strong> and guarded like a care<\/strong> plan. They alternate weeks on the road<\/strong>, arrange handovers like clinicians<\/strong>, and keep strict lights-out times<\/strong>. \u201cIf a stretch runs over, the other steps<\/strong> in,\u201d says Niamh. \u201cIf we\u2019re too tired<\/strong>, we stop. No heroics<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Shifts can be twelve<\/strong> hours, with the familiar flood<\/strong> of admissions and the quiet terror<\/strong> of alarms. \u201cWe pace our energy<\/strong> like meds: right dose, right time<\/strong>,\u201d Aisling says, thumbing a stress ball<\/strong> at service stations<\/strong>. They know the best bays<\/strong> for coffee, the kindest toilets<\/strong>, the lay-bys where fog<\/strong> drifts and the world goes still<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Safety is their core metric<\/strong>. Tyres get checked like obs<\/strong>, texts ping out like alerts<\/strong>, and the week\u2019s driving logs<\/strong> sit next to a bowl of shells<\/strong> from the beach.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Home by the Atlantic<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

The house is small but sturdy<\/strong>, with salt on the sills<\/strong> and surfboards stacked like sentinels<\/strong>. On off-weeks they watch clouds<\/strong> march over the sea, walk the clifftop path<\/strong>, and rinse the ward from their lungs<\/strong> in cold water<\/strong>. \u201cThe ocean is our reset<\/strong> button,\u201d says Niamh. \u201cIt gives me back<\/strong> breath I didn\u2019t know I\u2019d lost<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Neighbors wave from low stone walls<\/strong>, ask about rotas and rain<\/strong>, and swap chowder for chutney<\/strong> in winter dark<\/strong>. The kitchen hums with kettles<\/strong>, the spare room with clean linen<\/strong>, and the garden with wind-bent grass<\/strong> that whispers when nights feel too<\/strong> loud.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Money, maths, and mileage<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

The finances are part strategy<\/strong>, part stubbornness<\/strong>. Two single rents in the city<\/strong> became one coastal repayment<\/strong>, plus fuel and scheduled servicing<\/strong>. \u201cIt isn\u2019t cheap,\u201d Aisling admits<\/strong>, \u201cbut it\u2019s ours<\/strong>.\u201d They track costs like vitals<\/strong>, note every service fee<\/strong>, and ring-fence a \u201cno-questions\u201d fund<\/strong> for sleepover nights<\/strong> near the hospital.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What they\u2019ve saved isn\u2019t only euro<\/strong>. It\u2019s the quiet<\/strong> morning before a shift, a sunrise over dunes<\/strong>, a fridge that\u2019s stocked<\/strong> when you stagger in from a delayed handover<\/strong>. \u201cHousing is a system<\/strong>, like health,\u201d says Niamh. \u201cYou make trade-offs, you design workarounds<\/strong>, you fight for dignity<\/strong> in the details<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Their shared rules<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n
  • Communicate early, like a bleep<\/strong> you never ignore<\/strong>, and tell the truth about tiredness<\/strong>.<\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  • Protect sleep with ferocity<\/strong>: blackout blinds, phone on airplane<\/strong>, boundaries you keep.<\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  • Maintain the car like a colleague<\/strong>: regular checks, no shortcuts<\/strong>, budget for parts and time<\/strong>.<\/li>\n

    \n<\/ul>\n

    <\/p>\n

    The ward that keeps them anchored<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Colleagues became a second family<\/strong>, covering swaps and building trust<\/strong> across years of winter<\/strong> surges and summer lulls<\/strong>. \u201cThey know our pattern<\/strong>,\u201d Aisling says, \u201cand we know their tells<\/strong> when the day goes sideways<\/strong>.\u201d The partnership works because the team<\/strong> works, because someone always answers<\/strong>, because a tea is made<\/strong> before anyone must ask<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Patients, too, leave their quiet marks<\/strong>. A thank-you note in crooked print<\/strong>, a returned step with less pain<\/strong>, a night when the monitors stay calm<\/strong> and everyone sleeps<\/strong>. \u201cThat\u2019s the fuel you can\u2019t buy<\/strong>,\u201d Niamh says, \u201cand it gets you over the last hill<\/strong> home.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Looking ahead<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    They talk about training<\/strong>, about postgraduate modules<\/strong>, about mentoring juniors through their first brittle nights<\/strong>. They dream silly dreams<\/strong>, too: a shed-turned-studio<\/strong>, a herb patch<\/strong>, maybe a dog that loves the wind<\/strong> as much as they do<\/strong>. \u201cWe don\u2019t need perfect,\u201d Aisling shrugs<\/strong>. \u201cWe need possible<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    On Sunday evenings the car points west<\/strong>, shadows grow long<\/strong>, and the boot holds wet towels<\/strong> and dry resolve<\/strong>. A page turns in the shared planner<\/strong>, and the week decides who will take the keys<\/strong>. \u201cWe built a life with a line<\/strong> on a map,\u201d Niamh says, smiling into the fading light<\/strong>. \u201cSomewhere between ward and waves<\/strong>, we found home<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3299,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3245","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\/3245","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=3245"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3283,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3245\/revisions\/3283"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}