Dermot Bannon peaks inside the homes of Joanne McNally, Vogue Williams, Andrew Porter…

26:16But you kind of get, not to get used to it, but it becomes, you become kind of entrenched in that lifestyle and you realise, okay, we're privileged and you kind of view life differently. It is as humans are endlessly adaptable as well. Yeah. You know, it's amazing what levels we're able to adapt and what privation we're able to adapt. And it wasn't, we weren't, we were looking at it but as an observer I just kind of then like, you know, you start by seeing poverty, you start by seeing, oh my God, and then slowly you start to see the human behind it. Sure. And then, you know, like, Like, as kids, we just played on the street with other Egyptian kids.

26:58We used to kind of climb walls, do things like normal kids that we weren't supposed to get given out to. But, you know, and we just became entrenched in a little community. Two things have come out of this part of the conversation. One is now that explains it. What? You're in buses with no windows. Yeah. Hence your fixation. With windows. Your fixation with putting windows everywhere in. It's like, it's like there's got to be a window. there's got to be a window here somewhere there's got to be glass and it's like in his mind it's just him in his bus and the next thing is it's like Daniel with the toilets it is and the next thing you need to you wanted to put a glass in his toilet did I?

27:33yeah no I didn't so that was probably what you wanted to do in one of your sketches or maybe one of my sketches do you start to are the lines blurred between slightly between the sketches and real slightly was that a sketch or did I actually do that? did that not happen? or maybe maybe it was a sketch maybe that's why Daniel O'Donnell hates me he goes like all of that none of that I don't think Daniel actually hates you at all. Well, I don't know, but he's quite frosty. Really? Is he? Yeah. He's one of the few gift-grub characters, actually, that, one, either doesn't like it, or two, doesn't bother even letting on that he likes it.

28:06I think, okay, just knowing Daniel, Daniel is actually quite quiet underneath it all. You know what? I'll say loads of things in his favour. One is, he's like a great success. Yeah. And I don't mean that success has just landed on his feet. He has been the creator and moulder of his own success. so that takes great skill two is I believe he's got a great sense of humour he does he's a really he's a very very sharp wit sharp wit exactly and I'm now and that makes that makes me even more unhappy that he doesn't like it I don't think he does not like it I've never got that impression obviously I know Daniel okay you do know him yeah I'm sure I did his house I know that yeah so I got to know him yeah did you so in other words you do get to really kind of know somebody I'm working with him for a year a year yeah so you see them through good That's a long time.

28:50You see them through good, bad and everything. Okay. So I've seen Daniel in really bad form. I've seen Daniel in really good form. I've seen him in every kind of form. That's great. And I suppose Daniel is a performer. His job is to go out on a stage and sing and entertain. And at night time then, I've never seen anything like it. Does fans travel for hundreds of miles to see him? And when they do, he understands and appreciates that. He meets every single one of them. I know. I've seen him stay up and good. And he has an encyclopedic memory for the games. And I've seen him stay up until four or five in the morning.

29:22He will not leave until everybody has met him. And I think when he's off, he's off. And, you know, if he's not performing, he's just, he switches up. He's not, he's quiet. Like, you know, when we were filming. I've always thought that he's very brand focused and the brand being Daniel. And that he's very protective of the brand. I think he's, look, it's his job. Yeah. But he's not, I don't know. That's all fine. But he's also protective over, like, he really does care about his audience. He cares about, you know, his actions. What would his audience think of his actions? And, you know, he's, as well, like, if you're out for, and I'm saying this because I don't think they'd mind me saying, but, like, when you're out for lunch with him or something, like, Magella does a lot of the talking.

30:11Like, Magella is nonstop talking. And Daniel just sits, he's happy enough just to listen. But I saw them on that programme where they went on the road together. And he was really witty. Yeah, he's really witty. A real good one for the put-down. Daniel will say nothing for 20 minutes and then he'll come out with a one-liner and you're thinking, that's the line of the day. He doesn't know this, but one of the traits we have of Gift Grub, and very few people know this, so I'm giving away kind of a trade secret, but sometimes when I'm in meetings with Ian and Charlie and stuff, right, and we're talking away and I start ranting about something.

30:42Now, it might be the Late Late Show and stuff. something quite something quite that really annoys me about or inefficiency about something or corruption about something and I start giving out to the lads and Ian I remember Ian turned around once years ago and he went and I was kind of going we need to get that on radio like in some way because it's actually quite funny what you're saying you just ranting on there and I went yeah but I can't go on as myself and he went why not just put it on as Daniel and so I put a lot of my own things I used to give out shite about Fair City all the time just some of the scenarios they'd have in Fair City things like you'd read something in the paper like apparently there's been a few Russian gangsters in Ireland next week in Fair City a place would be overrun with Russian accents and Russian accents and they've all settled in Bella Doyle Jesus Christ and it's like ah here we are Sergei Sergei you've just moved up the road with Vladivostok have you and it would just be like you know when did this happen right and I always thought the worst thing that ever happened to Fair City was Covid the lockdowns and the not lockdowns because they film about a month or two ahead.

31:44And so they're going around and How are you, Dara? But when we're watching it, there's no lockdown in Ireland. They're totally out of date. I do remember, I remember we filmed in lockdown and it was the masks and the social distancing, like walking into somebody's house two metres behind them. Like that. I remember. So they'd walk into the room first and then 10 minutes later, I toddled in behind them and then try and stand at the other side of the room. That's very funny. It reminds me of a scene out of Bonfire of the Banaties years ago there's a famous Hollywood thing scene Melanie Griffith and she walks in she's walking into a room and she's got big boobs sorry she's got small boobs and she's walking into a room they did the cutaway of the shot that she comes out of the room about six months later and she'd had a job done and she'd had a job done and her boobs were absolutely huge when she walked through the door there's nothing you can do that's continuity at its best continuity yes we haven't talked about one thing I had written down Okay, what's on your list?

32:42Do you want me to do the list? I'll do the list. It says Celebrity Superspaces. That's all that's on the list. I've written Celebrity. No, no. What else? I'll pick your topics. I'll tell you what's on the list and you can go. It's enormously this disorganised. No, what's on my list is Celebrity Superspaces. We've talked about Celebrity Superspaces. That's the top of the list. What's it? Celebrity Superspaces is, I suppose I've always done Room to Improve and Room to Improve is quite labour intensive. So Orti would love to have me on the television a little bit more. I say I can't. there's only so many room to improve as I can do in a year.

33:13So years ago... Have they... Sorry for completely changing subject. Have RTE come to you ever with some funny ideas? Saying basically in their mind you're laughing at me now. I don't know whether it's your big... This is a sarcastic... No, have RTE... No, have RTE gone? Because everything you do is not funny. No, because I imagine RTE executives going lads, room to improve is over. How do we get Bannon on the telly? How do we get him on? Another room to improve. We can't do that again. He's just finished. Can we get him on a dating programme? Dermot Bannon dates. He's married for God's sake. He has kids.

33:42What about Dermot Pan and cooking? Have they come to you with stuff like this? No. That's just a gift grub sketch again. That's a gift grub sketch again. That happened in your imagination. No, so basically, Room to Improve. So years ago, they said, look, what would you like to do? And I said, I'd love to go and visit houses around the world. I'd love to go and see the best. Saw that. So that was Incredible Homes. We did that. Super Spaces kind of came out of lockdown because we were kind of stuck to Ireland. Yep. So we did super spaces around Ireland. Then we did a few. So I prefer super spaces because it doesn't have to be incredible.

34:16It doesn't have to be a home. Yes. So we did super spaces last year. We did super small spaces. And then we just said, what about, would you like to go and see celebrity spaces? And I said, I don't know because it's different. Like I'm, people think because I've been on the television for a long time that I'm kind of, I'm a broadcaster. I'm not. like I'm an architect who goes in and I and you are of course a continuing practising architect who's always on the job it was always a bit kind of feels like within the television an imposter yeah that I'm going to be found out one day that he's not a real broadcaster because you know you don't do much to camera as well no no I do everything off camera yeah everything is so I talk to the so and that's something producers I was going to say we producers decided years ago that it's better that I'm a character not from proof if I delivered my lines if I looked and I can look I've learned that skill I've learned that skill Kevin MacLeod does it yes because he is narrating yeah I don't narrate Room to Improve we have Tom O'Sullivan that's right who does an amazing sarcastic voice on it yeah so I'm a character in Room to Improve yes and that's and you very much are a character yeah yeah because he calls you Dermot Dermot Dermot does this so Room to Improve is not my show I'm part of Room to Improve correct so but in Super Spaces and all that I do Down the Lens but that was really tough like I remember myself and the producer Must have felt different for you Oh we had to do the office is in Clontarf and there's a side road down beside the guard station and myself and Anna Nolan walked up that for three hours Oh yeah with a camera in my face me delivering lines it was and like this is me being in television for nearly 20 years Yeah different thing though Totally different thing And you get a bit self conscious about it You do and you're also you're looking at nothing like when I'm And it's fake And when I'm talking It's so fake On Room to Improve when I'm talking to the camera I'm not I'm talking to a director I know who's standing there and they ask me a question and I answer the question.

36:06Or I know what I'm going to say but at least I have somebody to tell them. Talking to a camera is, talking to a camera, like sometimes I see Ian Dempsey, right? I look talking on his own on the radio and it's weird. It's weird. It is. It's weird. It's actually just. That's the skill. It is the skill. So he's talking away to this black thing in front of him, right? A microphone. Yeah. And he's kind of just talking away. Now when you hear him on the radio it sounds as if he's talking to somebody. When he's talking to, that's what he does. Correct. He's talking to the world But he's actually talking Just to this thing So it's a weird artifice You have to imagine Who's at the other side And I'm doing that now That's what I mean And it's the same with the camera You can get better at it And you can eventually As long as you know That there's somebody At the other side of that lens And that's what I do I have an imaginary person I pick somebody Yes that's right I have an imaginary person It's my mum Oh wow Because it means I'll keep it clean Yeah yeah Well you pitch it In a certain way Because you know If it's okay for my mum If I'm okay to say it to my mum I'm okay to say it to the entire country She's like my filter.

37:04Didn't like the way your hair looked tonight on the time. I was talking to you. Yes. What do you mean? I didn't like what you said about that house. I was talking to you. It was for you, Ma. And so she's who I talk to. But like, yeah. So anyway, I was talking about Celebrity Superspaces. So they said, would you like to? So the reason this is different because they have to be a superspace. So all of the houses are not like because there's there is programs like Keys to Your Life and all that where you go and talk through a house with somebody and it's nostalgia. This is somebody who owns a cool house.

37:37Okay. But they have to be a celebrity. Yeah. And cool doesn't necessarily mean big, ostentatious, wealthy, cool. And it can be small. Like, Claudia McKenna lives at, like, the coolest parts of her house were out in the garden. Okay. She has this amazing, it's like something from Harry Potter. It was actually one of my favourite things that I saw. She's got this, she's made this frame like a pergola, covered it in glass and then grown wisteria all over it. Okay. So you were having dinner in a wisteria bush. Okay. In it. Like, it's amazing. The light that comes through it, the planting, the garden, the day we got filming, it was amazing.

38:10So they have to have a super space. And then it was really me going through the house. And it's not like architecturally super, there's something different about it, right? Yeah. Is there a sense of investigation about it? Yeah. So I had to go, I was in my own head, Louis Theroux. That's because he's the best. Well, after you. Well, he is. He is just brilliant. So I was there, like I had to do research. So anybody who had a book out, I was reading the books or I was doing them on fast on Spotify, you know, where you have to kind of listen to it fast. And I just said, I want I needed I said, I have to find out something from each and every one of them.

38:44Yeah. And that we don't already know through design what they did. And so I gave myself that challenge because otherwise, why am I doing it? Because, you know, with Instagram, with social media, we kind of know everything about everybody. We know their curated version of themselves. We know what they want us to know about it. Exactly. And very few people, they'll have their lives completely curated and then they won't deviate from that. So even when they go into interviews, I find nowadays, if a celebrity is on a chat show, you find out very little about them because you already know it. It's already there on their Instagram page.

39:20It's already, as you said, curated. They've honed themselves. They've moulded themselves into who they want to be. So I said, But I have to set myself a challenge into finding out a little bit of something about them. So I kind of listened to podcasts that were just about a genre. So I'm going in here looking at how, so say Ruth Rogers owns the River Cafe in London and she's brilliant because her husband was Richard Rogers, one of the most famous architects in the world. So she knows everybody and doesn't really care that you're a celebrity. So they'd be saying, oh yes, when I was filming this movie with Jack Nicholson, but what did you have for your dinner?

39:58Like she kept bringing it back to what she was there for, which was to talk about food. So I said, I have to kind of see past a celebrity and who we might all perceive them as. And I'm going in to find out about them through their design. And if I can bring that to it, that's what I can do. So there was a touch of through the keyhole to it. No, no, no. That's kind of... Who would live in a house like this? Lloyd Grossman. Lloyd Grossman. Who was also into cooking. Is he? Wasn't he? He was. He had the sauces. Sauces. Sauces. You're very... Jeez, you have a great memory. good at the impressions do you ever think of doing them anyway so anyway so I I kind of I was really nervous doing this because I said if I don't go in here and find out a little something about people or an insight into them that is displayed through their homes yes I'm at nothing so that was that so alright give me a few names then Vogue Vogue Williams so I do a little I do a little thing of Vogue do you well I do because I do a little piss take of it so I do Joanne kind of like that yeah that her and they do Vogue kind of like that but she's kind of manly because there is a kind of kind of a manly thing about her she's kind of she's just got a deep voice she's kind of blokey yeah do you think yeah she's kind of the guy in the group and Joanna's kind of the girl she's kind of like did you go through my knicker drawer did you go through a knicker drawer I'm not allowed to say to watch the show did you look at my knickers Bannon now you're being Miriam and I'm not looking through Miriam is genuinely you only different to that.

41:28And I'm not looking through her knickers. So Vogue, say Vogue. So Vogue. Yeah. So Vogue, Vogue. Yeah. Personal automatic, babies, Spencer. Yeah. Not afraid to share. Yeah. Basically a very public person. Yes. Unafraid of being public. Yes. Tell me then what you discovered about her. I discovered her house was like Grand Central Station and that she kind of needed it. her sister lives in the house her aunts were in and out of the house her house is kind of like I would describe it more like a hotel lobby in that there was people in and out all the time Is that a reflection of her busyness? No it's not a reflection of her busyness it's a reflection of she needs family around her and friends and close people I put it down to the fact that she is a reality star and she's out in the world all the time she needs to have people to ground her.

42:27People that she trusts. So anybody who gets in and out of her house she really trusts them. Are you saying then juxtaposed against a world of artifice and unreality. Exactly. She wants to attract reality as much as possible into her life. And the people that she cares about. So there's no kind of oh I'm not tonight don't come over to the house tonight. Do. Do. Yeah. Or be there or live there. Or like Amber lives downstairs. And it's funny because Joanne then used to live with her as well. Everybody. Anybody who she likes and is close to and she kind of and she She wants them around her. All the time.

43:01So she's very very social. I wouldn't say social I just think she likes the comfort. I don't think it's that she likes to talk I think she just likes having people she trusts and loves always there. That's a nice quote. That's nice. But it's to do with kind of those in the same way people might have books or they might have their music Yes. Or what do you have for comfort? Comfort? Yeah. Chocolate. In what way? Chocolate. Like red wine and chocolate. No, what do you, you know the way you'd have your bits and your pieces that you, like I have since I was a very young kind of architect, I don't spend a lot of money on stuff, but what I do like, I love artwork and I like kind of, not expensive stuff, but I have, and I love having those around me.

43:49I like having them on walls. I like having, so like the first, like I'm talking, like I would have bought pieces for 200 quid when I was a young, when I just graduated and they mean the world to me along with my family, my kids. But it's, it's, you know, she, for her, it's the family and they, I think because as well, and none of this is any secret, she had, she came from quite a broken, Did she? Yeah, her mum and dad split up when she was younger. There was a lot of moving around, a lot of uncertainty, a lot of, what do you call it? insecurity. Yeah, and born out of where are we moving to now?

44:29And I think for her, people and having the same set of kind of familiar people that she can trust and get to, and people that she can sit in silence with and not just talk around her and she can just be part of it. That for her is kind of... So from your perspective, there was something of a psychological aspect to the show. Yes. And this show then has a psychological aspect to it that you're wondering about the person and you're trying to find out a little bit more about the person which we might not know already. Exactly. Otherwise, what's the point? Oh, fine. Well, people love being nosy. They do, but you'll get that.

45:01So that's something I'm saying. But also, look, it is good crack and we, like, we had, like, because they're... Now, where are they when you're doing this? They're in the house with me. Oh, they're going around with you. Don't look in my nigger drawer. Yes. Opening it at the same time. Don't, Hermit, don't. Yeah. Don't go in there. Don't go in there. I'll go on. I'll go on, yeah, yeah. Yeah, look, as soon as somebody says don't go in there, I do. Okay. Yeah, so like I was told not to go into folks' walk and ward up and I did. Now, be honest with me. Yeah. Did they all do a massive clean-up job on their house before they came in and had or was there any sense of reality to it?

45:33I, because of what I do, I tend to get a massive clean-up job done on their house, on anybody's house before I go. So I never... Before you go. Yeah, before anywhere. Anybody, like everybody cleans up their house when I'm going to their house. That's just it. I think the whole world is really, really clean and I'm really messy. because my house is like a tip our house is completely upside down and so I think I go into other people's house God I wish I could live like other people I know and they're just doing it for you they're just doing it for me because somebody else tells me we're a week getting the place ready for you Bannon because you're an amazing talker so I have to shut up actually did Joanne as well yeah?

46:08yes and so what was she like? Joanne is what struck me was solitude where Vogue was all about Vogue was all about having people as her security blanket and having Joanne was solitude was the word that came to me because she's an observer like honestly if there's like I know Joanne is doing really really well at the moment but God she deserves it because she has given up so many aspects of her life for her craft yeah like she she works so hard like that night we were she's unapologetically ambitious which I really like oh yeah but she's but that's an un-Irish thing and like as she said like you know God you've done really well no I haven't she said I've worked really hard for a long time and I think I'm at where I should be that's what she and you're there yes you are you've put it in yes you are but so when we were talking like the house is kind of is a little bit crazy and it's like there's lots of ornaments and things like that that you would only maybe see in the Simpsons I've seen her on Instagram and stuff and she goes just found this and la la la la and she'll just bring it in and lob it in her house yes Yes.

47:18And part of that is to do with the job because she does do social media posts from the house. So the house has kind of got to reflect that personality. So I think she's just hugely she's she she washes herself entirely in her work, you know, and the house, everything reflects it. But there was one little piece when we saw it and she she has these two windows that look out over the common in London. Right. And she sits out on the window and she was high enough to observe everybody, but low enough to be able to hear them and hear the chat and so she immerses herself in what other people are doing and sits there and I think living in London like because she's a Dublin girl like she really is and loves Dublin and all that but she's in London because she's slightly anonymous and she can observe people and she can kind of sit in parks or sit out on the window and see what people are doing because that's what she brings into her comedy.

48:08I've never seen anybody who like people work hard and they do it in a way that's quite visible they might go into the office constantly or anything But she's always on. She's always writing. Everything is comedy. Everything is... Yeah, she's great. She's great. And I remember I had her on the radio show years ago. And I remember I had her on because I loved her stuff about not wanting children. Yeah. At the beginning. It was very funny, you know. And I loved that honesty. Yeah. about she was going a place that people wouldn't go yeah oh we all love kids we all want kids and she's like I don't want kids at all fuck them yeah yeah she is and it's that honesty and that's what she brings to her comedy though isn't it like because it's yes you know she that's a really good comedian is the person who can kind of really tap in and say oh my god they're singing to my soul yeah but she works really hard she does yeah she's great I had brilliant crack with her like and So solitude was something he took from her Yeah just that solitude that life of solitude to be able to look to be able to allow space for the comedy to come in if you know what I mean What's next on your list?

49:24Well I'm not going to I'll leave that just name a few other names without going into them then Andrew Porter Andrew Porter? Yeah the rugby player? The front row? Yeah And where does he live? He lives out in Carrick Mines Oh yeah okay because he went to Andrews I think Yes he did go to Andrews Yeah. And actually, he was very good last year talking about his mental health and health struggles. And that's kind of what we talked about. But we saw through the house what he does, the rooms that he has that help him with his mental health. And because he had a tough childhood, like it's not he didn't just struggle with him.

49:59Like he had a really tough childhood with his mum passing away and all of that. And so he like he's a young guy. He's I'm assuming because he's one of the best paid on the Irish rugby team. he's a wealthy guy but what grounds him is his workshop he has a workshop in the house and he builds benches and he works and we went out so we kind of scourged it through the house but went out to the workshop So he uses his hands all the time and builds stuff and builds a bench and builds things and he That's classic Yeah It was just completely unexpected So what I was expecting was a tour around the house actually we ended up spending a lot of time in the workshop and he didn't train in it there's no I can say this there wasn't a huge amount of skill but it was Therapeutic for him It was for him Loves doing it He loves, loves, loves doing it and that's what so everybody Is Don Meskel in this series?

50:49Don Meskel is in this series and he do you know him? Don Meskel I don't know Don but Don's a singer-songwriter Yeah, yeah and he had a really really interesting house He lives in a church Okay and is converted so and what Don had like because there's things that Don had that he didn't even know he had like I stood because I counted up the couches in the house it's only one room right because it's a church okay 14 couches in one room okay and what he did is so he did all these things without knowing I could I was able to place it for him because he said like well in the morning I like to sit here and in the afternoon I don't know why it's nicer here and then in the afternoon and I said because Don you're following the sun the sun rises here so and he said look I love it was like a revelation and also Don is a hoarder and a collector.

51:38Yeah. And what Don does then is Don has loads of memorabilia which you look to the ordinary person like it's, it's, it's, it's, these are just bits and pieces. But I picked up one thing and I said, what's that? He says, that's the umbilical cord clamp that my siblings had because my siblings were born at home. Wow. And so what he uses, the artifacts, we'll call them, is to, when he's got writer's block and he wants to go to an emotion, he goes down and he looks through the things and say something like that Method songwriter Yes so when he when he picks up the umbilical cord clamp and it was a metal thing like it was a proper Stimulates Yeah he says Goes down a whole road Well no it's just he says that's my mum It's the sacrifice that my mum because it reminds him of the sacrifice that his mother went through for them Wow It reminds him of his siblings and when they were small because you know they're vulnerable because you can sometimes have siblings and you can be you can be fighting with them you can not oh I'm not talking to them again and then you realise when they were babies when you were all babies and you all came out of the same place and you all so he said that those kind of things can trigger so many different things that you wouldn't believe and then he'll go back up and he'll finish off the song and so there was loads of little things like that in the series but do you know something that's really so it really strikes me you were engaged by this you've loved this project I really wanted but I was offered it and I said when I'm doing this I'm doing it because I can do the walking around a house and spot what are the she's giving me the five but anyway Tell me this Was there anybody Because you don't have to name names Yeah Were there anybody there Like they said no Or they said Or they nearly happened And Because Mickey TV is all about that Yes And can you name them No No But you'd know them quite well Well obviously yeah Yeah Because they're well known Yeah No no But you might know them a bit Oh Oh right Yes Ian No Gerard wouldn't let you in He's not getting a look at my knicker drawer No no So it's Yeah, so it was a lovely, lovely thing to do because I, and when I did it, I was offered, I knew it was going to be different.

53:42Yeah. And I knew that my research, like normally when I do a show walking around a house, I can read it and I know exactly what to say. I know what the cool parts of it. With this, I had to do my research. I had to, so I was all in. Right. You're a very interesting interviewee. I think there's lots to, I think we got down to point number two. I think there's lots to talk to you about actually, which is, which I could leave to another time. So maybe another time you'll come on and talk to me about completely different stuff. We'll be in next week. That would be, yeah. But I was going to ask you just briefly about modular homes.

54:11Yes, what about? I presume you have a whole riff on that, do you? I mean, for example, so I'll just, modular homes, we know what we know. And then I was in a taxi there. Now, don't give out to me about taxis. But I was in a taxi there last week and he went, modular homes? Well, Jesus. And I went, what? And he'd tell us. And he went, it hasn't got a chance. And I went, they're planning. And I went, but they don't give the planning. And he went, yeah, But modular homes, he says, they need to be connected. The electricity, the plumbing, it needs to be connected to the house. And then the whole thing will blow up.

54:43The whole fuse is in. The fuse board will go. You can't. It won't work. But what to you is a modular home? What is a modular home to you? So a modular home is some sort of Shomra business that is going to be transformed into a living operation. What do you think it's going to do? So the modular home is going to be put in people's back gardens and they're going to rent it out. And what does that do? It's going to give people a place to live. So it solves the housing crisis? Well, probably not solves, but not ameliorates even? Oh, it's... I mean, for example, let's say you're a student in Dublin.

55:14Yes. Or a student in Galway. Yeah. And I've always felt sorry for the students not being able to live anywhere. Yes. Maybe modular homes would be a good idea. At least you could get into some place for six or seven hundred quid a month. Yeah, but realistically, how many modular homes can we build in back gardens? Right. You're sceptical? I'm not sceptical. I just think it's... We should be aiming a bit bigger and I think we consume like the fact that a taxi driver was talking to you about it right My conversations are so crap I haven't even scraped the surface No no no My best information came from my taxi driver And now I'm talking to Dermot and he's like Look Just do a bit of research will you before you come on and talk to me the next time Mario I really don't have time for this taxi driver modular homes nonsense Will you do a bit of preparation Mario will you I'm pretty disgusted to be honest with you I'm an architect and now you're scraping around on modular homes and taxi drivers told me.

56:05No, the reason I'm saying that is because everybody's talking about them. It is in the media. There's not a day goes by when their modular homes aren't mentioned in newspapers. What I want to know is why aren't we talking about redesigning our city? Why aren't we talking about... Build up? Build up. What's wrong with building up? No, no, not build up. Up to five storeys. We don't need anything taller than five storeys. To get it done. Yeah. What's wrong with building five storeys? Nothing. Why is everybody... Because we're talking about bloody modular homes. That's why. We keep going back to the low-hanging fruit, putting a shed in somebody's back garden and they can live in it.

56:38It does sound crap. We have one of the lowest density populations of Europe, right? Yeah. We've got the second highest GDP in Ireland. That's right. We should not. In Europe. Sorry, in Europe, yeah. In Europe. We should not have a housing crisis on paper. Yeah. We have a huge country compared to the amount of people who live in it. Yeah, we do. What's the problem? There's more planners working in the private sector than there is in the public sector. our planning system is just reacting constantly we just need to plan this country properly Are you saying it's the planning system? Yes 100 % and it's not their fault they're understaffed What if I said to you what if I said to you it's not necessarily the government's fault?

57:16Well whose fault is it? Well is it the government's fault? It's a lot of fault I mean government isn't planners This is a whole 40 minutes The government aren't planners are they? But they're the department you know the government run planning like it is it's run through the government but this is a huge conversation but if I was to do things first of all we need to throw planners at the problem like if you go to Copenhagen they come up with a plan they build a massive model people go in and look at the model they get it explained to them and say well why have I got a block of apartments at the end of my road because if we put them there that means that opens up a creche, a supermarket we're going to have all this There's a public consultative process A long time before it becomes a solid plan then when it becomes a solid plan you can't object because you've had your chance to go through everything and to talk through everything So there's a proper consultation.

58:01But you have people planning stuff, properly planning stuff for years beforehand. But do we not have that? We don't because they're all tied up. Every single planner is tied up with objections, high court, judicial reviews. But are objections not just a function of our democracy? They are. And isn't there objections in Copenhagen and everywhere else as well? But we don't have enough planners to handle what's going through the system. So we need to double the amount of planners and have a proper vision for the city. And it might mean compulsory land purchases but have a really cool vision for Dublin Secondly if I can just say one thing actually because that's all government stuff and people listening to this they're probably not hugely interested but we have to fall in love with our city again like when is the last time people really love Dublin City Dublin City does not feel loved at the moment we like there's a couple of streets that are really vibrant and we're actually South William Street Drury Street are pedestrianised they've got multifunctions they've got offices they've got shops O 'Connell Street is the Champs -Élysées potential of Champs -Élysées Look at that beautiful, long street heading up.

59:01We need to look at the magic of the streets that are really popular, where people want to hang out, and we need to roll that. And if it means pedestrianising, and if it means we go through a lot of pain while people give up. Imagine a College Street pedestrianised. Yes. Imagine College Green pedestrianised. Imagine with kiosks in the middle and coffee shops. And look at the places that are pedestrianised, like Temple Bar. It's almost a victim of its own success. But that was a planned area, all pedestrianised. Coffee shops, mixed use, cinemas. And it works. And it works really well. And we need to do that across the whole Dublin.

59:32We need to fall back in love and then people will want to move back into the city. Oh, that would be great. And we get rid of dereliction. Imagine having desirable places to live in O 'Connell Street. Yes, Mount Joy Square. Mount Joy Square is stunning. And at the top of the hill you look right down to the customs house. One of the best views in Dublin. And, you know, get rid of all the vacant and derelict buildings. Dublin has such a great opportunity. and we're so lucky here. I love this city. I live in this city. And like you can have a vibrant city life and in 10 minutes you're at the sea and in 15 minutes you're in the mountains.

1:00:09And it's a university city. It's a university city. There's lots of young people. There's energy. We are a really, really social culture and we love being out. We love coffee. We love brunches. We love drinking. We love all that. Dublin could be and will be, I believe, and I'd love to see Dublin being an amazing place to live and we have all the chances now. And what are we talking about? Modular homes. Sorry for bringing it up. I got my... No, but it's good. I got rightly put in my box there. Get back into the shed, Mario. No, but I'm just saying... I'm such a lowlife. It's just like, I really didn't aim high there with that conversation.

1:00:45No, but it's... I want to talk to you about... Does he always do this? Does he over-talk everybody? I want to talk about property to you, Adama. Now, what about modular homes? I really brought it to the lowest common denominator look who are you talking about this modular home business we need we need to glamorise O 'Connell Street we need we need the Gresham Hotel back we need Elizabeth Taylor Richard Burton we need like lots and lots of good things happening people smoking jetan in the middle of the streets we need people speaking French I've switched off now listen back to modular home Sunday so Sunday night he clicked out of it when it went into selling mode into selling mode tick tick tick Sunday the programme is called celebrity super spaces and it is a different take on what you do Dermot and it is and it's really I think it's really entertaining because what's great about celebrities is they're good crack and so it's a good crack walk around walking around amazing kind of super spaces and they all have they all have one and it's brilliant and have they given you the 9.30 slot again?

1:01:45of course yeah my god I mean they're never going to put he'll never be in the equivalent of the modular home I will I will you'll never be out in the shed trust me I will I will we'll be determined in the modular home will we what's the modular home what's the modular home slot the modular home slot would probably be something like Newacht at Newacht on Monday Monday morning Monday morning on TV half 6 Monday morning half 6 TV Monday morning so if I'm in here Euro news if I'm in here we go out actually Mario I'm delighted we got a great slot we're at half 6 Monday morning 6.30am Monday morning well we'll all be watching and competing with Ian.

1:02:23Oh yeah, exactly. So listen, great to talk to you. You too. And thanks a million. Nice talk. And my thanks to Dermot Bannon for coming in and talking to me about his new show. You can catch that on Sunday nights at half nine, the usual prime time for Dermot as usual. And thank you to Hum Finance for making this podcast possible. Hum Finance has been in Ireland for 30 years. Easy to repay. Get anything you want. Bite-sized payments. Pay them back. Quite easy installments. And you can get anything from jewellery to furniture, kitchen items, everything that your hearts could desire. So thank you for listening.

1:03:01Thank you to you in particular. Get in touch if you want. mariorosenstock at gmail.com and I'll see you same time, same place as usual next week. The Mario Rosenstock Podcast. Thanks to HUM. Finance made easy when you shop tech, electrical, appliances, kitchens and much more. Flexify Europe Limited. trading as home is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.