
That’s the verdict from village residents on the transformation at Number 15 Main Street.
The building, which is listed for its architectural and historic importance, was derelict for almost 20 years and deemed at risk.
The former home, café and tobacconists suffered from damp and rot, and the outbuilding had fallen into disrepair.

Murphy’s on Main Street has now been restored into a community hub as part of a scheme to tackle rural poverty and social isolation.
The original house, built in about 1840, now contains a tearoom and workspace, while an outbuilding has become a creative space and wellness studio.
Retired farmer Peter Maguire is Ederney born and bred and has “wonderful memories” of the Murphy family who lived there.
Ellen Murphy’s café provided a place for people to meet, particularly on a Fair Day, and her son Pat later opened a tobacconist shop.

“It was always a focal point for the village, a very popular place and great memories of it altogether,” recalled Mr Maguire.
“Old Mrs Murphy, she catered for all the people in the village, anybody who wanted tea or meals.
“Her son was a wonderful person too, a hard-working man and kept everything right and everything was good.”

The building now hosts mental health workshops, health and wellbeing sessions, a Wednesday Club, as well as social events to connect people who feel isolated.
Mr Maguire said the new community hub is “a miracle”, which has given people a sense of belonging.
Though it’s not all serious, he added: “We have jolly stuff too.”

Cormac McKervey, a local veterinary surgeon who retried 20 years ago, described the restoration as “one of the greatest things to happen in Ederney”.
The project has given him the chance to reconnect with former clients he didn’t have the opportunity to see for a long time.
“So many people now know each other so well and I enjoyed every minute of being here,” Mr McKervey said.

Retired carer Rosie Morris said she would be lonely without the community hub.
“I live alone, (my) children are all married and away, so I’ve been on my own for the last 18 years.
“With work, it was good because I was out every day, but when I retired it was a different thing, nowhere to go, there was nothing to get up to go out to and I really missed it.”
Last year she almost died after contracting sepsis, spending five months in hospital.
Now she is enjoying a “second chance at life” and has found the health and wellbeing workshops useful, especially the sessions about mental health.
“It still gets a bit tough to talk about it, but it was really helpful, helpful to be in the situation, to know about the counselling,” she said.

The community hub manager Neil Armstrong said there is a need for health and wellbeing services to be delivered at a very local level.
He believes there is a desperate need for connectedness, to combat rural isolation and poverty and provide essential services where they are needed most.
“It’s about giving essential information to people to let them manage their own life stresses but also giving them opportunities to have fun and laughter and reminisce,” he added.

The project was the vision of the Ederney Community Development Trust, which received support from the Village Catalyst programme.
It is a joint project between the Department for Communities, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, the Housing Executive and the Architectural Heritage Fund.
Since the Murphy’s on Main Street restoration began, new businesses have opened and housing and holiday accommodation has been developed, breathing new life into the village.
Other small villages that want to find new community uses for disused historic buildings are being encouraged to apply for funding.