Anyone living in Castledermot/Athy commuting to Dublin

rgiller

I'm moving out to Kildare from Dublin in October as my then to be wife works in Kilkenny while I work in Dublin, and it seems like a good mid point. We have more or less narrowed down our potential towns to Castledermot and Athy, due to location, cheapness of rent and medium size.

Just wondering if anyone here commutes from either of these towns to Dublin (I work in ParkWest, near Red Cow) and what it's like: traffic, time, etc.

Also, does anyone have opinions of these places that they'd like to share: good or bad?! Are there enough amenities, internet access, stuff to do? Are there any other places we should be considering?

janbaby

Athy has a really bad rep for being a rough enough area. There is not much to the place either, not even a decent pub. Rent is so cheap in Athy at the moment because no one will live there. Tonnes of new estates with fab houses went up in the past few years but the town has nothing to offer so they can't fill them. Its only 15mins from Kildare Town which has so much more to offer. Kildare is about a 40min commute to the red cow, you will prob get stuck in peak times at Newlands Cross but other than that its not a bad drive.

Rabidlamb

rgiller wrote: »

I'm moving out to Kildare from Dublin in October as my then to be wife works in Kilkenny while I work in Dublin, and it seems like a good mid point. We have more or less narrowed down our potential towns to Castledermot and Athy, due to location, cheapness of rent and medium size.

Just wondering if anyone here commutes from either of these towns to Dublin (I work in ParkWest, near Red Cow) and what it's like: traffic, time, etc.

Also, does anyone have opinions of these places that they'd like to share: good or bad?! Are there enough amenities, internet access, stuff to do? Are there any other places we should be considering?

Good news OP, the new M9 Kilcullen to Carlow motorway is due to open mid-November this year. Then you'll have motorway door to door.

The Kilkenny section is well under way & won't be far behind, no tolls either.

I'd recommend Castledermot as it's on the route.
I live their & find it quiet but with very little trouble.
You can get a 7MB line from eircom no problem, I have one & achieve 6.5MB regularly on speedtest.net.
There's a number of golf clubs nearby & 2 forest walks a few miles away.
The town should come on is a big way once the bypass is done.

Best of luck.

redalicat

Don't go to Athy; I lived there for 2 years and cannot recommend it. It is a rough place and has very little in shops or attractions, so getting to better shops is at least a 1/2 hour drive into Newbridge or Carlow. Other than pubs and clubs, there's nothing else to do.

I'm in Kilcullen now and love it. Close to motorway and just a few minutes to Newbridge shopping, a few more minutes to Naas shopping.

Good news OP, the new M9 Kilcullen to Carlow motorway is due to open mid-November this year. Then you'll have motorway door to door.

I live on the part of the N9 that's getting bypassed to the M9, and they really are flying on finishing this.

rgiller

Thanks for the replies all, very useful! It seems like Athy is not a recommended spot and maybe Castledermot or even Carlow might be a better bet.

road_high

Castledermot would be far nicer. The M9 motorway is like 2 mins away and Carlow town only in the road. That road is scheduled to be completed all the way to Kilkenny by next year. As it is it is possible to do it in 35-40 mins from Castledermot.

rameire

well i will recommend athy, i live there in a new estate, and have done for the last 3 years,
its so peaceful and quiet.
i have great neighbours.
a few people said above athy is bad and rough,
doesnt everywhere have their bad spots and bad people.
there are loads of pubs and cafe's in athy and a few restaurants, ( an italian, cantonese, chinese, thai , and a special dietary one )
athy got a bad name years ago because it was and still is a cross roads for poeple travelling around the country, including travellers.
since living in athy, not once have i been looked at strange or shouted at or felt threatened.
if you want any more info please just contact me , id be happy to help.

edit, as part of the new m9 motorway a new athy link road will be linking to the m9, this will be a better standard of road with greater chances for overtaking and a quicker journey time than the n78 to kilcullen.
current travel time from athy to kilcullen is from 15 to 25 min.
from athy to outer ring road in dublin is 30 - 45 min

Pablod

would reccomend Athy, living there just over 3 yrs now and love it, basically it is still a farmers town but all the locals are friendly and it is a quiet area to live.
I communte to parkwest area every day and after 3 years I don't notice it and doesnt bother me.
Leave Athy around 7:30 each morning and in park west for 8:10-8:15 (approx 8:20 when kids are back in school) still not bad you have to say..

As for it being suggested that it is at least 1/2 hour drive to carlow????, not sure about that - on a moped or bush bike maybe :rolleyes:

With regards to shops fair enough Athy may not have as much as Carlow or Newbridge (Carlow is only 15-20mins down the road)
But on my many times going through Castledermot - (Correct me if I'm wrong) Castledermot would have a less shops/schools/churhes etc... compared to Athy

As Rameire posted - the new Link road to Athy will completely open up access and the there is the Athy Town Shopping Centre due to be developed too

NedNew

I don't live in either town but am familiar with both from travelling through them.

In my opinion:

• Castledermot must be one of the most run-down towns I have seen in Ireland. Along the main street there are many, many boarded up buildings. Aesthetically pleasing it is not.
  
• Castledermot is going to be very close to the new M9 motorway but it's worth keeping in mind that the junctions that access the motorway are not so close.
  
• Athy is a much busier and pretty town but the traffic is terrible. Getting through the town can take ages (the new link road to the M9 wont't solve this).
  
• Athy has better facilites; good shops, a new swimming pool/gym, etc.

rgiller

Thanks again! Went to see Castledermot last night and, to be honest, I wasn't too taken with the place. Nothing there by way of shops/entertainment/restaurants. Rent is not as cheap as it should be in a small commuter village like that. It was a good one hour drive from Dublin. Athy does seem to be busier. Back to trawling through daft again...

Clueless09

Hi Rgillier- i tried to send you pm but its not in my sent items so no clue if you got it or not. I have a house for rent in athy, 3 floors, 4 bed house (3 doubles one single) master en-suite, house alarm,dishwasher, all the good stuff!
Its on daft but the agent has the pictures from show house, not actually mine. Its €680 p/month. it is literally immaculate. Anyway let me know if your interested.
And Ngai on the corner of the square is the best place you can eat (chinese-it is gorgeous) and DiNardis is the best chipper. Clonard hotel is also nice for food.

rameire

Clueless09 wrote: »

Hi Rgillier- i tried to send you pm but its not in my sent items so no clue if you got it or not. I have a house for rent in athy, 3 floors, 4 bed house (3 doubles one single) master en-suite, house alarm,dishwasher, all the good stuff!
Its on daft but the agent has the pictures from show house, not actually mine. Its €680 p/month. it is literally immaculate. Anyway let me know if your interested.
And Ngai on the corner of the square is the best place you can eat (chinese-it is gorgeous) and DiNardis is the best chipper. Clonard hotel is also nice for food.

id just like to say that mamma mia is the best chipper, just ahead of dinardis,

Clueless09

ok mama mias is lovely but their pizza sucks thats why i said dinardis but their battered sausages are lovely. god im starvin now

testicle

NedNew wrote: »

[*]Castledermot is going to be very close to the new M9 motorway but it's worth keeping in mind that the junctions that access the motorway are not so close.

A whole 2km!

Rothmans

Tbh OP, Athy is probably your best bet. I got up to UCD in 50 minutes (using the new road to the Motorway) last time I went up, having timed it ( although this was on a Sunday, not a weekday). You'd get down to Kilkenny city within the hour tbh.

In all seriousness, Athy is nowhere near as bad as what some of these neysayers tell you. Granted, there are not that many shops around, but you must bear in mind that Athy is only 15mins away from Carlow and 20 mins away from Kildare and Newbridge, all of which offer great shopping outlets/centres.

Secondly, there are a tonne of sporting facilities in the town - G.A.A club, soccer clubs, rugby club, 2 very nice golf clubs (Athy and Kilkea), a par 3, tennis club, there's an all weather pitch in the rugby club. The schools in Athy and surrounding areas are very good too. The town is not as rough as some people indicate - it is just a perception.

Finally, ( and I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned it already), Killkenny and Dublin bound trains serve Athy quite frequently. So if you or you're OH's cars' break down, or if you just don't feel like driving, or whatever ye can get the train and be in Dublin in 45-55 mins or in Kilkenny in 45 mins.
Here is a copy of the timetable from iarnrodeireann.ie
http://www.irishrail.ie/your_journey/printed_timetable_pdfs/2010/Dublin%20Waterford%2010.pdf

I hope this helped.

Clueless09 wrote: »

DiNardis is the best chipper

rameire wrote: »

id just like to say that mamma mia is the best chipper, just ahead of dinardis,

ahem, cough *Mario's* cough cough

@50

LOL so many poor auld Dubs came to the sticks because of so called cheap rent and mortgages. To be honest it's not that cheap any more. If you were to move anywhere this far down then Carlow town is a nice town with nice places to go out. Teach Dolmen do great food, Din Ri, The Barracks, Nice Tapas across from the Cathedral. The Fairgreen shopping centre is not a great place to shop, they seriously could have done much better with that! You will probably spend a lot of time in Dublin shopping anyway LOL

I hate to say it but the only good thing near Castledermot is the M9 motorway. It's a disgrace the way it's run down so bad, not even a single full time cop! It's not rough by any means, but still it would be nice to have a few cops around!

It will take you about 1 hour 20 mins to get to city centre at just over legal speeds at around 6.30 am in the morning from Castledermot, The time goes up a lot the later you leave it, coming home can take a little longer. It's better than it was since the Nass dual carriageway was upgraded.

Seriously though, do you and maybe your missus want to spend so many horrible hours commuting, thinking every day will you get stuck at Newlands cross or somewhere else. Seriously I would rent for a few weeks to see if commuting 120+ miles a day is for you! Think of the Fuel bills alone, doesn't make rent so cheap any more, + the miles on the car!

If I was to drive my car 5 days a week @50 MPG would cost me 280 euros in Diesel a month! Then you might not have parking at your work place and have to take the luas, and pay for parking there, tolls etc. I think the bus is the cheapest option, commuting wise unless you want to buy a Nissan Leaf electric car in February €1.80 per 100 miles on night saver electricity LOL Just get your boss to install a charging point at your parking space and you are sorted! Serious though, cheap motoring on the way! :-)

Anyway think about it seriously.

LOL yeah I know I'm late to this discussion, I didn't get the name mad lad for nothing hehe. but maybe it's good info for others anyway!

Let us know what you decide!