Book helps explain to children why their home is crumbling

Síofra Harkin says the response to the book has been amazing

A County Donegal woman has created a free book to help explain to children why their homes are crumbling due to defective concrete blocks in the Republic of Ireland.

Síofra Harkin, 23, who is from Drumfries near Buncrana, wrote Fiadh's House is Feeling Unwell for children aged four to 10.

She said the book helps young readers understand why they might see houses in their area developing cracks and being demolished, or why they may need to move out of their own family home because they are no longer safe.

The project was funded by her family's optician business, which sponsored the printing and distribution of the book to make it completely free of charge for those wanting a copy.

Karen Cullen had to move out of her family home because of defective concrete blocks

Karen Cullen lives with her husband and three children - Brandon and twins Ben and Emily - near Buncrana.

They were forced to move out of their family home six months ago and are currently renting a property until builders can make their home, which was built with defective blocks, safe.

"Explaining to the kids that we had to leave the house they grew up in was incredibly difficult," she said.

"Kids are incredibly perceptive, and they could see that their mum and dad were very stressed.

"They obviously could also see the cracks and knew that the house was crumbling, but we tried to be as positive as possible and make them feel like moving into somewhere new was a whole new adventure, and that when they return, the house would be completely transformed."

Mrs Cullen said Síofra's book was a fantastic way to help children, like her own, process what was happening around them in a way they could understand.

Why are some houses crumbling?

Thousands of homes across the Republic of Ireland are affected

In the Republic of Ireland, more than 6,000 homes - mostly in counties Clare, Donegal, Limerick, Mayo, and Sligo - have been affected by defective concrete blocks.

Thousands of homes have crumbled due to water-absorbing minerals causing the bricks to crack, resulting in many homes needing to be demolished.

The government's redress scheme, first announced in November 2021, is currently capped at €420,000 (£366,000) per home, with a total cost to the exchequer of €2.2bn (£1.9bn).

Síofra Harkin says the book can help parents navigate a difficult topic

The book, which was only published earlier this month, is a 10-page rhyming story about a young girl called Fiadh, who notices cracks starting to appear in her home.

Her parents explain that the house is having health issues, like a person may have when they need to go to a hospital, and that while people go to see doctors, sometimes houses need to go to builders for "medicine".

The story explores how Fiadh feels about moving out of her home into somewhere completely new.

There were 300 books published on 11 September and it has already been distributed to schools in County Donegal

Ms Harkin told BBC News NI that she wanted to write a book specifically for children.

"My family and I know so many people this affects, and I understand how difficult that conversation with kids can be," she said.

She graduated last summer from Queen's University Belfast's broadcast production programme, and her final project was a documentary about defective concrete blocks.

"Working on that inspired me to explore other creative projects around this issue," she said.

"After graduating, I worked as a special needs assistant in a primary school, where I was in contact with so many children in affected communities, which sparked the idea for the story."

She said she wanted to keep the book "melodic and light for young ears, but without downplaying such a huge issue".

"It took a number of rewrites to balance the harsh reality some children face with a positive, child-friendly outlook," she added.

The book has already been used in Scoil Naomh Pádraig, Drumfries, a school in County Donegal where Ms Harkin was once a pupil.

The school held a reading session for pupils there last week, some of whom have had to move out of their own family homes because of defective concrete blocks.

Ms Harkin said the book had also been distributed to other counties like Galway and Limerick, with some copies even being sent to England and Canada.

"It brings me immense joy to know my book might just make a small difference for children impacted by this crisis," she said.