PARALYMPIAN ELLEN KEANE talks to Ruth O’Connor about shopping local, her love of gadgets and how her dachshunds, Denny and Rafa, rule the roost in her rented home in Killester, Dublin.
Wherever my dachshunds, Denny and Rafa are, that is home to me. They give me lots of love and also give me routine. My dogs make my house a home and their stuff is everywhere – there’s the crate that they sleep in, their miniature stairs which helps them to climb up on anything tall as they’ve such short legs, their doggie bed and the window seat that they sit on which is covered with pillows.
I live in Killester in Dublin. I’m really lucky as my parents live 15 minutes walk from my house so I get to see them a lot and it’s great when I need them to look after the dogs. I love that my home is so close to the beach and to St. Anne’s Park, as well as to my family and to Killester Dart station. I like to get the Dart and to walk everywhere – especially when going to visit my boyfriend who lives on the other side of town – I like to be on the move and can’t stand sitting in traffic.
Because I have sausage dogs, people tend to buy me a lot of sausage dog related items – so you’ll find them all over my home – pillows, cards, prints and ornaments. When I arrived back from the Paralympics in Paris this year my neighbours, the little kids, presented me with a sausage dog flowerpot to say congratulations – it was so sweet of them.
I live with fellow Paralympian Greta Streimikyte. I lived on my own for about a year because it was important for me to find a housemate who understood what is required when you’re training for something like the Paralympics. As an athlete, Greta totally understands what’s involved.
I spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking, chatting and eating. I studied Culinary Entrepreneurship in DIT Cathal Bruagh and love to cook. I love all my fancy kitchen tools – from my slow cooker to my blender, my airfryer to my coffee machine. When I got back from the Rio Paralympics in 2016 I gifted myself a KitchenAid and when I returned from Paris this year I bought myself a Kärcher steam cleaner – life changing! I love my gadgets – my Miele vacuum cleaner is one of the best things I’ve ever bought. Does this mean I’ve officially grown up?
At the moment I’m going through a list of jobs at home that I’ve been putting off or didn’t have time to do while training for Paris 2024 – jobs like sorting out my wardrobe which is the box room in my house. I haven’t picked up a lot of clothes on my travels because I’ve always had to travel with lots of equipment over the years. People keep asking me what I’m going to do next now that I’ve retired from competitive swimming. I’m not in a rush to decide what’s next – I’m calling it a gap year and am going to take some time to travel and do some yoga teacher training.
I shop a lot for home items online but usually regret it – every time I buy storage items online they’re the wrong size or of really bad quality. I really need to get better at going to physical shops. When it comes to storing my beauty products though that’s a different matter – I’ve a full chest of drawers bursting with haircare, skincare and makeup products.
Living in a rented house there isn’t always the opportunity to use colour in the way you want because you have to work around what’s already there. However I love colour, especially pink, and relish any opportunity to add it to my home in the form of rugs, throws and cushions.
I love to keep up with renter-friendly trends and tips online – I recently redid my bathroom floor with adhesive tiles – they totally transformed the space and made a huge difference to the room. Everything I do has to be renter-friendly and because I’m still renting I don’t feel I’m ready to splurge on expensive furniture items.
My favourite spot is my sitting room. I’ll curl up on the couch with my laptop or watch TV with the dogs snuggled up beside me. I’m obsessed with true crime and reality shows – it’s either Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story or Love is Blind in my house.
I’m this year’s ambassador for the DCCI Made Local campaign and am so inspired by the stunning items made by Irish designers and craftspeople. From candlesticks to artwork, I really think people should check out local Irish businesses when looking for unique gifts this Christmas or special pieces for their own homes.
One of my favourite things in my home is my collection of accreditation lanyards from each of the competitions I’ve ever participated in around the world – there’s probably around 100 in my collection. It’s great when I have my Paralympic medal from Tokyo 2020 at home – it’s a really cool medal made from gold-plated recycled electronics. Although my mother likes to keep it safe so it’s usually under lock and key at her house!
Ellen Keane is this year’s Made Local ambassador. The Made Local campaign by Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI) is a national annual campaign that highlights the originality, quality and value of Irish designed and craft-made products. Follow @dcciireland on Instagram for more information on the Made Local campaign and on Irish Design Week which takes place this week.
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