Lucan - Ballyowen Avenue Vs Esker Woods

The schools that historically perform best in terms of academic results are in St. Marys. They're much more settled.
If you're not too concerned about schools, then its not that much of a big deal but St. Mary's parish is generally a more settled area with bigger houses.

Sorry yes I was referring to secondary schools when mentioning results.
However, funnily enough Colaiste Cois Life is one of the best performing schools in the whole country and is just beside Esker Woods!
To be honest, it doesn't sound like too much of a big deal for you guys if you're not too bothered living a bit away from the village.

jos_kel wrote: »

Ballyowen/Esker are still a possibility. In terms of Colaiste Cois Life, what is the feeder national school and do you need to live in St. Mary's.
The only concern we have about educate together and it is ironic, is that Irish students are very much in the minority.

Colaiste Cois Life doesn't count as being in any parish though because it's a community school.
Naomh Padraig and Eiscear Riada are the feeder schools for Cois Life.

Haydens park is lovely but in the wrong parish. The advantages of that area:

- Houses aren't as old so less work needed
- You are sure of a place on the bus to town.
- A cool big park beside you.
- Lord Lucan is a 10 min walk cutting through finnstown. Super Valu and centra are close
by
- GAA team trains in the park beside it as does the soccer team
- No social problems around there either.
- Away from the n4 noise.


Have a look at Grange Manor, fine big houses, big living rooms etc. In the riight parish for Esker school.
Looking at myhome, Grange Manor has nothing for sale, usually when something pops up its gone sale agreed in a few weeks.

When we were looking 7-8 years ago, we looked at Larkfield, Ballyowen, Willsbrooks, hermitgage and some in the village.

Didn't like Larkfield as they are all packed on top of each other with a council estate right behind it.
We avoided Ballyowen because there was alot of social issues and the houses needed alot of work
Willsbrook house was beside n4 and the noise would mean no peace in your back garden.
Hermitage is nice, but now I be very concern about the Foxhunter there!!!
Bewley looks nice, there was nothing available when we were looking.

Village is nice but a nightmare with traffic, houses are older so facter money in for work on the house.


Suppose the big thing is to look out for renters, i know a few had or have major problems with neighbours, from areas in Griffeen right down to Esker estates. So check that out with a few visits.

Heroditas wrote: »

Were there issues with Ballyowen back in 2007-2008?
Bewley is very nice but, as you say, houses rarely come on the market and are invariably highly priced because they're bigger than a lot of other houses in the area.

Yeah, a few people got attacked in the park down there. A friend of ours lived there and said there was a few issues, not sure what it is like, friend moved to Oz!!


We waited and waited for Bewleys but no luck, nothing popped up!!!

To be fair, I haven't heard of any issues in Ballyowen or Willsbrook parks for years now.

jos_kel wrote: »

Wow. Worrying to say the least.
Was really getting serious about a house and ballyowen and drove around there a few days and spoke to locals. Got good vibes. I guess the acid test is to park up in the estate where you're buying and check it on a Saturday night.

This was five or six years ago. Just worth checking out and even drop into local garda station.

There was no problems in willsboro, sorry if I gave that impression..


Ballyowen is beside hermitgage, it's the one opposite larkfield.

Bewleys is nice but not sure if in correct parish.

jos_kel wrote: »

Ok thanks. Looking at a very big house in Esker woods. Is Bewley nicer in general?

Ha, I know the one you're referring to! Yep it's a lot bigger than typical houses in Esker.
They're both nice estates. Bewley has quite a few detached houses.

jos_kel wrote: »

Just out of curiosity and you appear to have a good knowledge of the lucan market.
What would be a fair price or what would be your 'walk-away' bid on that house.
Fine house but just want to make sure we don't overpay and that it holds its value.
Our current house was 350k in Dec 2005. Now sale agreed for 310k

I think it's a nice enough house but there's something about it that doesn't sit well with me. Maybe because it's 2000sq ft but just look like two typical three bed houses knocked together into one house. The rooms aren't exactly very big although the kitchen area looks quite nice. Personally I prefer 23 Ballyowen Avenue.
What'll make a house hold its value is market demand but also, in the case of Lucan, its proximity to the N4. As far as I'm concerned, the further north you are in "New Lucan", the better it will hold its value, so long as you are west of the Outer Ring Road (bar Ballyowen and Larkfield).

I'm thinking of moving within the next year and have been doing quite a bit of analysis on houses and estate agents in Lucan.
There are four main agents who do the bulk of transactions here: Jim Payne, DNG, REA McDonalds & Smith Curley.
I always check Myhome.ie to look at how prices have changed, not necessarily the asking prices for properties. The property register is also critical because it'll tell you what homes are actually going for. Sometimes these are completely at odds with how some agents are valuing properties.
DNG seem to pitch homes realistically to get people through the door. Jim Payne tend to overpitch (in my opinion) and a lot of their homes have had their price reduced, same with McDonalds and very much so in the case of Smith Curley.
Lucan is interesting insofar as some 3-beds are fetching above 300k (based on their condition and proximity to the N4) while the ones further south are fetching low 200s. It's a real first-time-buyer catchment area and demand is very high. Apparently very few first-time-buyers in Lucan look to upgrade to larger homes in the area, mainly just Lucanites! As a result, the larger homes tend to sell much slower because demand isn't as high but, most importantly, the new banking rules are making it harder for people to stump up the deposit.

Regarding Esker - you'll probably get it for €417,000.

Heroditas wrote: »

What'll make a house hold its value is market demand but also, in the case of Lucan, its proximity to the N4.

I'm interested to know why you see proximity to the N4 as a big selling point? The N4 is reachable from most parts of Lucan within 5 minutes, but I may be missing something.

My purely subjective opinions:
- Most parts of new Lucan have FTBs with fairly young families. That's inevitably going to cause some social problems over the next few years. I'm not sure much can be done about that. Many of the estates seem to have good active neigbourhood associations & there's some good sports clubs.
- I wasn't aware of social problems in centre-South Lucan. I see gangs of kids hanging around the old Superquinn alright who do what teenagers do.
- I've never liked the park beside Hayden. Too dark, too quiet, too easy for a skanger to run and hide. I much prefer the main Griffeen park.
- Griffeen is due to get a LUAS (in the year 3020) and a swimming pool.
- There's lots of schools built or nearly built in South Lucan. It's also closer to the few shops and restaurants. Avoca was rumoured to be opening at the Foxhunter, but that seems to be on hold.
- Never liked the Penny Hill pub. You have to walk down to the village to get another pub or cafe.
- Call me a snob but if I'm paying for a house I want to be surrounded by other people who have also paid for their house.
- It can be occasionally difficult to get on a bus at rush hour if you're living towards the North end of new Lucan.
- There's a lot of culchies (myself included) in Lucan as it is easy to get onto the N4 or N7 to go visit the mammy. None of us dream of living in Lucan for the rest of our lives, and if we get the money together we'll buy elsewhere or down home, not upgrade. It's not a reflection on Lucan as such.

Heroditas wrote: »

Castle Riada, Moy Glass - not so great.

Griffeen - isolated

Moy Glas has always looked fine to me, never heard of any trouble. Same with Castle Riada (with the exception of houses facing that lane which I believe is being addressed). I'm not sure what you mean by isolated - from what?

Foxborough I agree, but they have a very active residents association that seems to be trying hard, and I agree that the closer you get to Clondalkin unfortunately it can make a house harder to market.

jos_kel wrote: »

On a different note. Also looked at Weston a number of months ago.
Deceptively close to Lucan village too.
Impressed with vibe and houses.
Downside was that the estate and driveways are a bit tight in spots.
Seemed very settled. Any opinions?
By the way, I know about the planes on a Saturday but I wouldn't be too bothered with that really.

Weston is indeed nice but in my opinion it's a bit out in the middle of nowhere. It's not served well by public transport and Lucan village is quite a walk away.

Heroditas wrote: »

Penny Hill is an awful dump, as is Lord Lucan.
I guess my point about the N4 is not so much travel time to reach it but the quality of the estates. Typically the further south you go, the worse they get, along with heading east.
Willsbrook, Bewley, Elmbrook, Esker, Ballyowen fine.

Castle Riada, Moy Glass - not so great.

Griffeen - isolated

Balgaddy, Foxborough, Rosse Court, Earlsfort - avoid

Come on your talking alot of rubbish now.

Lord Lucan is not a dump, its the same standard as all the pubs in Lucan.

Griffeen isolated, thats bull crap. Lets look at the facts here:

Griffeen has the 25b on a regular basis where your sure of your seat.
Griffeen has its own medical centre.
Griffeen has its own restaurant.
Griffeen has its own youth clubs.
Girffeen has the lucan sarsfields, soccer clubs, community centre and running track in it.
Griffeen is close to Supervalu,.


Areas by the N4 aren't amazing and lets get that straight. Ballyowen lane is a very unsocialable spot, drove up it last night.
The council estate down there is a disgrace,
The shopping centre down there is getting rough.
The road between ballyowen and larkfield is traffic disaster.
Foxhunter is a disgrace.
Elmsbrook and esker are in the middle of nowhere with no bus service down the road towards bewley.
People can't get on the bus down by Willsbrook.
Liffey valley traffic diverts down the road by larkfield.
Larkfield itself had a issue on the standard of building of the apartments with abestos.

hmmm wrote: »

I'm interested to know why you see proximity to the N4 as a big selling point? The N4 is reachable from most parts of Lucan within 5 minutes, but I may be missing something.

My purely subjective opinions:
- Most parts of new Lucan have FTBs with fairly young families. That's inevitably going to cause some social problems over the next few years. I'm not sure much can be done about that. Many of the estates seem to have good active neigbourhood associations & there's some good sports clubs.
- I wasn't aware of social problems in centre-South Lucan. I see gangs of kids hanging around the old Superquinn alright who do what teenagers do.
- I've never liked the park beside Hayden. Too dark, too quiet, too easy for a skanger to run and hide. I much prefer the main Griffeen park.
- Griffeen is due to get a LUAS (in the year 3020) and a swimming pool.
- There's lots of schools built or nearly built in South Lucan. It's also closer to the few shops and restaurants. Avoca was rumoured to be opening at the Foxhunter, but that seems to be on hold.
- Never liked the Penny Hill pub. You have to walk down to the village to get another pub or cafe.
- Call me a snob but if I'm paying for a house I want to be surrounded by other people who have also paid for their house.
- It can be occasionally difficult to get on a bus at rush hour if you're living towards the North end of new Lucan.
- There's a lot of culchies (myself included) in Lucan as it is easy to get onto the N4 or N7 to go visit the mammy. None of us dream of living in Lucan for the rest of our lives, and if we get the money together we'll buy elsewhere or down home, not upgrade. It's not a reflection on Lucan as such.

Griffeen park beside haydens park has more lights that the main griffeen park. It is a part of the main cycling route thats the reason for it. Also has security cameras on it and a new playground on the way.

Main Griffeen park is lovely in the summer but wouldn't fancy walking around the bit by the river in the dark with Arthur Griffith beside it. NO lighting in the main park

Heroditas wrote: »

The Lord Lucan is a dump. It's as bad as the Penny Hill.
If places like Griffeen are fine, then why are they considerably cheaper than identical houses up near Elmbrook, Esker etc if they're nicer?

Grange manor is matching most places for prices, also houses in that estate don't stay on the market for more than a month.

Willbrook and ballyown houses are going for less than Grange Manor 3 beds!!!
Hermitage 4 bed are matching Grange Manor these days but are longer on the market
Elmbrook is going for less than 3 beds in Grange Manor also

Heroditas wrote: »

Granted regarding Grange Manor but I'm referring to the likes of Griffeen.

Regarding buses etc. You referred to Griffeen having the 25b on a regular basis. IPersonally I wouldn't consider a bus every 25-30mins to be regular. Closer to the N4 in the likes of Esker and Willsbrook & Elmbrook, people have a choice of the 25a and 25b and if they walk across to Woodies, they have the choice of the 25, 66, 67 etc as well.

I'm merely looking at this in the cold light of having lived in the area for 9 years.
I also think the village has a lot going for it - some nice small cafes, 2 nice wine shops, fish shop, excellent fruit and veg shop, couple of ethnic stores.
Kennys and Courtneys are fine pubs.
Ball Alley - less so!
PJ Carrolls - too noisy
Major Garda station nearby which can give a lot of people comfort.

Except that the 25a comes five mins before the 25b does, so still 20 min wait in lucan for a bus.

But for rush hour its every ten mins.

Griffeen would have a shorter walk to 25a than ballyowen to Woodies!!

And with the bus app you can work around the times of the bus easily.

Walking over to woodies on a wet sat wouldnt be too nice.

Kenny's is not bad, but Courtneys is a dump. Only one decent cafe in the village for me anyhow. But rather head off somewhere else as village is a nightmare for traffic and not a child friendly village the way people drive around it

As for the gardai, you always see them out and about, constantly patrolling around Lucan, i say i come across 3/4 cars when running.

average_runner wrote: »

And with the bus app you can work around the times of the bus easily.

Dublin bus app works great. It's available on Apple / Android and Windows Phone which makes a nice difference too compared to most Irish companies' complete ignorance of the Windows Phone platform

For me it means I have a good idea when to leave home to catch a 25B (2-3 minutes walk) and should I miss it, I've only another 3-4 minutes walk to catch a 25A