We are a retired couple living in the countryside 10 km from Cork City Centre . We need help in the garden and house. Over the years we have had many volunteers and enjoyed their company. This placement would suit 2 people who need to improve their English language skills. We provide good food and conversation and a comfortable room.
When you are here you are part of the family.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We are experienced in helping people improve their English. We will introduce you to local places of cultural interest on free days.
We like to communicate and want you to contribute to conversations during meals and at other times. This makes the experience more enjoyable for all of us.
Help
Help in garden and in the house involving some cleaning and painting
We schedule the day so that you are free afternoons and evenings as well as weekends.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
This host offers a language exchange
We have a moderate level French
Accommodation
Comfortable bedroom in our house with writing table. We will cook for you most days and ask you to share some of your favourite dishes once a week.
What else ...
There is bus to Cork 1km from us. It is not regular and so your own car is an advantage.
There are pleasant walks on our neighbourhood.
Ballincollig our local village is 3km from us
The river is 1 km away.
Blarney Castle is 15 minutes drive.
Killarney is an hours drive.
This placement will not suit someone attending language school.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have good internet signal and can provide you with a table to work on.
But you must be available to work with us in the mornings
It was a delight to host Rahel. She is an amazingly capable woman with a pleasant, easy-going personality. She blended comfortably with us and our children and grandchildren. She is a person of many skills and great focus able to turn her hand to any job from clearing weeds to cutting metal with an angle grinder. From painting a shed to cleaning… read more the house or cooking dinner. And then in the afternoon she might decide to make delicious bread or cinnamon buns mmmmm. Or darn her socks or do some wood whittling. What a woman!
Rahel is a very interesting person who has chosen to truly embrace life . We really enjoyed hearing about her work in the milling business and her upbringing in the Swiss countryside and her great love of Swiss traditions. Now I know about Swiss wrestling festivals!
She drove to Ireland via the north of Germany and took time to get to know the country while she was here. Then she travelled home via Wales and England to further her adventures .We all missed her when she left and were really happy with the improvements she brought to our house a garden.
Thank you Rahel and good wishes for your further adventures in life
(Excellent
)
5 Sep 2025
Left by Workawayer (Rahel) for host
Mary and Tom are great hosts. It was wonderful to meet them and their lovely children and grandchildren. They made me feel welcome from the begin and after 4 weeks it feels like being a part of the family.
I enjoyed our varied conversations and Tom's explanations on local history and economy. They always made sure that I could follow them. My… read more English improved on its own, and their corrections were never so excessive that it put me off.
During my stay, I was able to explore the country several times with my van. The two of them provided me with lots of tips and maps.
The work varied: for example, I painted the shed, cut back bushes, nettles, and thorns, and we installed new shelves in the garage. They got always sure that I was comfortable with it.
Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better host for my first workaway experience.
Thank you very much!
This Workawayer has chosen to keep their profile private.
(Excellent
)
21 Apr 2025
Left by host for Workawayer (Luna)
Luna stayed with us for seven weeks. During that time she worked at cleaning and painting indoors. Then when the weather improved she tackled the garden, weeding and clearing.
She worked steadily and carefully at the jobs assigned to her. We chatted at mealtimes about her interests (we learned a lot about graphics) and the places she visited… read more around Cork.
She is a quiet presence and her english is excellent. We do not hesitate to recommend her.
(Very good
)
15 Apr 2025
Left by Workawayer (Luna) for host
It was great to stay at Mary and Tom's house. If you want to improve your English they are super supportive and helping ! They also encourage you to explore the area and will be happy to drive you to the bus or the town to help you do it. During my stay I was working in the morning and what left free for the afternoon. The work is never… read more exhausting, they make it a point that you are confortable with the work your doing.
You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Vianney (and his crepe maker) arrived in the little Twingo car which he had modified to be a camper. He came for a month and we got along so well that he stayed for three! He is a man of many talents. Every Saturday night he cooked crepes for everyone who showed up.....our grandchildren still talk about Vianney's crepes. We still enjoy the other… read more new dishes he introduced to us.
He did tough physical work in house renovations and landscaping our garden
He wired the garage and shed for electricity and helped with the planning of these activities. I think of him when I reach for the bread knife from the ingenious magnetic holder he designed.
He is a good organiser, getting lots of work done every day and also setting aside learning time to improve his grammer and knowledge of Ireland.
We had interesting conversations, lots of laughs and thoroughly enjoyed Vianney's stay and look forward to meeting him again.
Count yourself lucky if this Frenchman chooses you!
My experience was incredible, Tom and Mary are fantastic hosts. I was only supposed to stay for 1 month. In the end we got on really well together and I stayed for 3 months (from August to November).😊 I mainly worked outside doing gardening or redoing the drainage in their other house. We also reorganised the garage and did the electricity in it.… read more Where they live is really nice in the countryside around Cork. The advantages of the countryside with the advantages of town👍🏻. I've been to Cork several times, and it's a nice city, by the way. The house is big, the bedroom very comfortable. I tried to share my recipes and dishes that I knew how to cook, but most of the time it was Mary who cooked (which was very good, by the way). I enjoyed these evenings where we could discuss a variety of subjects, which were always very interesting. They corrected my English at my request, which really helped me to improve.
I really enjoyed this stay, I now consider them friends and I can't wait to see them again in the near future, maybe in Brittany, you never know.😊
Warmly Vianney
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
2 Apr 2026
Left by host for Workawayer (Rahel)
It was a delight to host Rahel. She is an amazingly capable woman with a pleasant, easy-going personality. She blended comfortably with us and our children and grandchildren. She is a person of many skills and great focus able to turn her hand to any job from clearing weeds to cutting metal with an angle grinder. From painting a shed to cleaning… read more the house or cooking dinner. And then in the afternoon she might decide to make delicious bread or cinnamon buns mmmmm. Or darn her socks or do some wood whittling. What a woman!
Rahel is a very interesting person who has chosen to truly embrace life . We really enjoyed hearing about her work in the milling business and her upbringing in the Swiss countryside and her great love of Swiss traditions. Now I know about Swiss wrestling festivals!
She drove to Ireland via the north of Germany and took time to get to know the country while she was here. Then she travelled home via Wales and England to further her adventures .We all missed her when she left and were really happy with the improvements she brought to our house a garden.
Thank you Rahel and good wishes for your further adventures in life
(Excellent)
5 Sep 2025
Left by Workawayer (Rahel) for host
Mary and Tom are great hosts. It was wonderful to meet them and their lovely children and grandchildren. They made me feel welcome from the begin and after 4 weeks it feels like being a part of the family.
I enjoyed our varied conversations and Tom's explanations on local history and economy. They always made sure that I could follow them. My… read more English improved on its own, and their corrections were never so excessive that it put me off.
During my stay, I was able to explore the country several times with my van. The two of them provided me with lots of tips and maps.
The work varied: for example, I painted the shed, cut back bushes, nettles, and thorns, and we installed new shelves in the garage. They got always sure that I was comfortable with it.
Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better host for my first workaway experience.
Thank you very much!
This Workawayer has chosen to keep their profile private.
(Excellent)
21 Apr 2025
Left by host for Workawayer (Luna)
Luna stayed with us for seven weeks. During that time she worked at cleaning and painting indoors. Then when the weather improved she tackled the garden, weeding and clearing.
She worked steadily and carefully at the jobs assigned to her. We chatted at mealtimes about her interests (we learned a lot about graphics) and the places she visited… read more around Cork.
She is a quiet presence and her english is excellent. We do not hesitate to recommend her.
(Very good)
15 Apr 2025
Left by Workawayer (Luna) for host
It was great to stay at Mary and Tom's house. If you want to improve your English they are super supportive and helping ! They also encourage you to explore the area and will be happy to drive you to the bus or the town to help you do it. During my stay I was working in the morning and what left free for the afternoon. The work is never… read more exhausting, they make it a point that you are confortable with the work your doing.
You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Vianney (and his crepe maker) arrived in the little Twingo car which he had modified to be a camper. He came for a month and we got along so well that he stayed for three! He is a man of many talents. Every Saturday night he cooked crepes for everyone who showed up.....our grandchildren still talk about Vianney's crepes. We still enjoy the other… read more new dishes he introduced to us.
He did tough physical work in house renovations and landscaping our garden
He wired the garage and shed for electricity and helped with the planning of these activities. I think of him when I reach for the bread knife from the ingenious magnetic holder he designed.
He is a good organiser, getting lots of work done every day and also setting aside learning time to improve his grammer and knowledge of Ireland.
We had interesting conversations, lots of laughs and thoroughly enjoyed Vianney's stay and look forward to meeting him again.
Count yourself lucky if this Frenchman chooses you!
My experience was incredible, Tom and Mary are fantastic hosts. I was only supposed to stay for 1 month. In the end we got on really well together and I stayed for 3 months (from August to November).😊 I mainly worked outside doing gardening or redoing the drainage in their other house. We also reorganised the garage and did the electricity in it.… read more Where they live is really nice in the countryside around Cork. The advantages of the countryside with the advantages of town👍🏻. I've been to Cork several times, and it's a nice city, by the way. The house is big, the bedroom very comfortable. I tried to share my recipes and dishes that I knew how to cook, but most of the time it was Mary who cooked (which was very good, by the way). I enjoyed these evenings where we could discuss a variety of subjects, which were always very interesting. They corrected my English at my request, which really helped me to improve.
I really enjoyed this stay, I now consider them friends and I can't wait to see them again in the near future, maybe in Brittany, you never know.😊
Warmly Vianney
(Excellent)
3 Mar 2024
Left by Workawayer (Lena Marie) for host
Mary and Tom we're amazing hosts! They are extremely kind and made me feel welcome and at home right from the start. I have spent four great weeks with them.
They've always made sure that I was well and had everything I might need. We worked down at a house which they wanted to sell and we did a lot of gardening and also some indoor renovations.… read more The working hours we're perfect and very fair and if you are willing to contribute to your part of the deal, you will have a great time. The room was nice and clean as well and the food provided was really good. Also, we often had great conversations because Mary and Tom are very generous, open minded and just great to be around. They really care about their Workawayers. I could not have asked for a better host and experience here on Workaway. Thank you so much!
You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
(Excellent)
26 Feb 2024
Left by Workawayer (Workaway member) for host
We've got only good things to tell about Tom and Mary ! First of all their generosity and curiosity about a wide range of subjects made our conversations very satisfying, they put us at ease from the very beginning of our stay. Our work days and our freetime were perfectly scheduled and organized. Mary and Tom are really easy to get along with,… read more thank you for the good meals you had provided.
When it comes to work, the explanations and the given tasks were always very clear and we knew what we had to do even without the best English.
We can only recommend them if you want to spend a good time in Cork county, work on your English and enjoy the company !
Thank you again
You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
(Excellent)
21 Aug 2023
Left by Workawayer (Frank) for host
Mary and Tom were very nice hosts. Both of them welcomed me immediately as soon as I arrived and made me feel at home really quick. We did a few projects outside in the garden but never too much for one day. They helped me with some grammar and pronunciation mistakes as well as teaching me a lotabout the irish culture and some history of Ireland… read more and Cork. The food was always very good, with a lot of irish meals which were very nice. Mary and Tom themselves are lovely people that will help you with your english development and give you some advice for what to do in Ireland. The house itself was always tidy and cleaned as well.
In short, I really enjoyed my stay at their house.
You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
(Excellent)
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Gardening
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
