House-sharing: Whose turn is it?
Brian Kennedy with housemate Katherine Lynch.
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Sharing a house is a rite of passage for just about everybody. If you were to ask a random person on the street, chances are they could provide at least one good experience of house sharing, as well as a horror story of squatting in a grotty shack with 10 others while at university or travelling.
For the majority of people who share a house -- namely those in their 20s and early 30s -- the arrangement is a matter of financial necessity and a dog-eat-dog mentality exists, with a crazy logic applying to a host of bizarre rules. Take the 24-hour rule, for example, which often applies to alcohol, cake and anything else yummy in the shared fridge space. If it's not consumed within 24 hours of purchase, it's anyone's.
Sometimes, older friends decide to move in together because they want to, rather than need to, but is it more difficult to share after years of living on your own? And are the rules more civilised?
Singer/songwriter and author Brian Kennedy and comedienne Katherine Lynch, star of RTE's Working Girls, Wonderwomen and Celebrity Bainisteoir, may seem unlikely housemates on paper, but the pair have been happily sharing a house together for the past five months. They were recently joined by their friend, former Celtic Tenor Niall Morris.
"Katherine and I have known each other for years, and I mentioned one night that I was looking for someone to rent a room," says Brian. "Katherine looked at the place the next day, chose her room and that was it."
Weekend visited the three-storey house in Kilmainham on Dublin's southside at the terribly un-showbiz hour of 10am on a drizzly Thursday morning. Brian opens the door with a warm greeting and ushers me into the large hallway. Before I can say a word, he draws my attention to the top of the white stairs in front of me, which, quite appropriately, have red carpet running the whole way down. "That would be Miss Katherine Lynch," he exclaims, as his female housemate assumes a royal pose and begins gliding regally down the steps.
"Katherine made her way down the stairs in a glittering ball gown," she dictates grandly, before laughing, "I'm just running out to the shop for some bread." For the record, she's wearing jeans and flip-flops.
Brian leads me through the giant hallway to the bright, airy kitchen and brews some fresh coffee, before we sit at the table to discuss the rules and etiquette of sharing the house he bought in 2005 and rented out to a corporate company while he toured abroad. Back in Ireland for the best part of three years now, Brian only moved back into the house five months ago, and that's when the idea of finding housemates hit him.
"I have to say, this is the best thing I ever did," Brian admits. "It's brilliant fun. There's always someone in, more or less. The fridge is there and the rule is: whatever's in there, just eat it and replace it.
"I'd been living in an apartment on the other side of town for a while. I never lived in this house after restoring it and when I moved in five months ago, I thought it would be nice to share with a couple of people, just for a bit of fun," he says.
Leitrim-born Katherine say the timing of the move couldn't have been more perfect. "For four-and-a-half years, I was living with my friend, but then she moved in with her boyfriend, the bitch," she laughs. "My brother, Ger, arrived home from Australia on the same day, so he stayed with me for three months, which was lovely. Then, when he moved out, I lived on my own for a week and just couldn't hack it. That's when I got talking to Brian about moving in."
It's a four-bedroom house so, for now, opera singer Niall Morris is the third member of the household. The fourth room has just become vacant, and Brian says they'll soon start looking for another housemate.
"We're very good with each other's space," says Brian. "There are those funny first few weeks where you pass each other in the hall wearing just a towel after taking a shower, and it's like, 'Erm, good morning'." At that, Katherine pipes in: "I just let my towel drop!"
Brian admits there was a risk factor because they hadn't lived together before. "It is a difficult balance to get right. But we're all at a certain age and we all have irregular careers with irregular hours, so we have an understanding about all that. If you work professionally as a solo artist, you're on your own most of the day. I know I start to crave company, and like-minded company at that."
So there have been no arguments about dirty pots and pans in the sink, or partners spending too much time around the house?
"If I come down to the kitchen and there are a few dirty dishes that I need to use, then I just wash them," Brian replies. "How hard is it? If you really want to pick a fight with your housemate over a pot, it means you're mad with them about something else. We don't let things get pent up. If there was something I had to say to Katherine, then I would just say it, and vice versa.
"As for partners, it's relaxed when it comes to that," he continues. "We just do our thing, respectfully. Katherine's boyfriend, Brian, is lovely, so there's no issue with it. Technically speaking, I am single myself ... " As fast as lightning, Katherine interjects: "There's no-one special in Brian's life, but there are a few special ones", before both of them collapse into giggles.
They are mindful of keeping the house tidy for each other, but there is no rota on the kitchen door. Niall admits he has a penchant for filling the house with flowers, a fragrant activity which his fellow housemates enjoy, and when it comes to food, Brian's roast chicken is a hit with all three. Musically, there are no rules because they all enjoy a wide genre, and when it comes it putting out the bins, they do it systemically, as required. After five months together, there have been no rows, they socialise out together frequently and like nights at home, sipping wine and watching the telly.
Not that the TV is on all that much at the moment. The house is buzzing with creativity right now, with projects being cultivated on every floor of the house. Niall was very involved in the production of Loughcrew Opera Company's La Boheme, while Katherine is developing a third series of her sketch show for RTE, in addition to her live gigs at Vicar Street this weekend. This year marks Brian's 20th anniversary as a recording artist and he has a greatest hits album in the works. And when the house is quiet, he gets stuck into writing his newly-commissioned autobiography.
"The book really takes precedence right now," he explains. "I've done six rough chapters that I'm happy with. My agent, Marianne Gunne O'Connor, is trying to get it out before Christmas, so I have a very serious amount of work ahead of me now. I've written two books before so I know what it takes. Plus, I just got offered a little part in a film and I have a concert in the National Concert Hall next weekend, so I'm going to be a busy boy."
But it won't be all work and no play. Brian and his roomies seem to have definitely hit upon a sure-fire way to help them all unwind after a day slogging at the creative coalface. "Gin and tonic," Brian and Katherine exclaim, practically in unison, before Brian adds: "That's the only rule and routine we have in this house."
- Declan Cashin
