Hannah Leonard Is Coming Home – The News We’ve All Been Waiting For
When Timber Frame Ireland joined DIY SOS: The Big Build Ireland in Bray earlier this year, there was one purpose behind everything happening on site: to help Hannah Leonard come home.
Today, we are absolutely delighted to hear that moment is finally almost here.
Hannah is expected to return to her family home in just over a week, almost two years after the devastating accident in Sicily that changed her life and the lives of her family.
For everyone involved in the Bray build, this is the update we have all been hoping for.
“She Gave Me a Thumbs Up”
Hannah’s dad, Kevin Leonard, told the Irish Independent about the moment he was finally able to tell his daughter she was coming home.
When he gave Hannah the news, her response was simple: she gave him a thumbs up.
After everything Hannah and her family have been through, it is difficult to imagine a more meaningful response.
For Kevin, it also brings him incredibly close to fulfilling the promise that drove the entire DIY SOS project – getting his daughter back home to her family.
From “The Finish Line Is in Sight” to Coming Home
During the DIY SOS build, Kevin spoke about the extraordinary number of people who had come together to help his family.
At that stage, he said:
“The finish line is in sight, and Hannah will be coming home.”
Those words stayed with us.
At the time, hundreds of volunteers, tradespeople and suppliers were working against the clock to transform the Leonard family home.
Now, that finish line is becoming a reality.
A Home Built Around Hannah
Our part in that enormous community effort was to design, engineer, manufacture and install the closed-panel timber frame extension that formed the structure of Hannah’s new accessible living space.
Following approval of the final drawings, our team had approximately one week to manufacture the entire closed-panel system in our Donegal factory before transporting it across the country to Bray.
Then came installation day.
With site access delayed until approximately 2pm, what had originally been a full day’s programme became less than half a working day.
The team got on with it.
By the end of Day 1, the insulated and airtight timber frame structure was erected, allowing the other trades to immediately continue with the extraordinary transformation of the Leonard family home.
At the time, it felt like an achievement.
Hearing that Hannah is now preparing to actually live in the home gives that achievement an entirely different meaning.
Why This Build Meant So Much to Us
As our Managing Director, Declan Bourke, said when reflecting on the project:
“As parents ourselves, it really struck a chord. You stop thinking about drawings and construction and start thinking about what this home will actually mean to this family.”
That remains true today.
We are proud of the engineering, manufacturing and workmanship our team brought to Bray. We’re proud that a closed-panel timber frame system could provide the speed, energy efficiency, airtightness and long-term performance such an unusual project demanded.
But this project was never really about timber panels.
It was about what those panels helped create.
A bedroom. An accessible living environment. A place for rehabilitation. A place where Hannah can be surrounded by her family.
Most importantly, a home Hannah can finally come home to.
Hundreds of People. One Goal.
No company or individual can take credit for what happened in Bray.
DIY SOS brought together hundreds of people – trades, suppliers, volunteers and local businesses – who gave their time, materials and expertise for one family.
We were simply proud to be one part of it.
We saw first-hand the long days, late evenings and extraordinary teamwork that went into the project.
Construction is ultimately about much more than materials and machinery.
It’s about people.
And now everyone who contributed can see what all of that work was ultimately for.
Welcome Home, Hannah ❤️
When we left Bray, the house was finished, but Hannah’s journey home wasn’t.
Now it almost is.
To hear that Hannah is expected home in just over a week is genuinely some of the best news we could have received.
From Declan and everyone at Timber Frame Ireland, we wish Hannah, Kevin, Vanessa and the entire Leonard family every happiness as they prepare for this incredibly special homecoming.
After everything this family has been through, we hope the house that hundreds of people came together to create becomes exactly what everyone wanted it to be:
Hannah’s home.
Welcome home, Hannah. ❤️
