Swords

OMV

Can anybody tell me what areas of Swords are good to live in? I have noticed a number of properties in Brackenstown which seems nice and also the Applewood area but it would be good to get some insight. Ideally, I would like an area with good schools, near the town itself and with a nice community spirit/activities etc.

moondrizzle

Applewood a really good, nice area but quite a distance from the main village, it does have primary schools nearby and the bus to and from the village is pretty regular. Brakenstown is much closer to the village and has a nice park too. Another good area is Holywell, It is close enough to the village, a school is being built there, a new shop just opened there, the houses are nice too, a really good location in swords.

Dizzyblonde

One thing you should check is the catchment areas for the primary schools. For instance, children in Rivervalley are automatically accepted into the primary school (which is excellent, by the way), but children in other estates won't necessarily be accepted.

The older ares in Swords have well established communities and activities for children - in Rivervalley we have scouts, martial arts etc, as do Brackenstown. You could pop into the local community centres to have a look at the notice boards and see what's on offer.

OMV

Thanks for those helpful posts. It is great to get some feedback. I did hear that the school in Brackenstown was very good and that here was a nice sense of community in the area. Any other titbits of info would be great! I believe that the school in Holywell is Educate Together and that they have advertised for a principal but I haven't noticed any building...?

Dizzyblonde

There isn't a school in Holywell yet, although I've read that there will be. There's an Educate Together school in Swords LINK

I would have to say that of all the areas in Swords, Holywell has the least amenities as yet.

Ginny

I'd agree with Dizzy, if I was buying in Swords Holywell would be last on my list. If you lived in Holywell you would more then likely need a car to get around. Whereas buying in Rivervalley, Brackenstown are all a short walk from the Main St.

I looked at houses in Rivervalley, Glenellen, Parkvew, Bridesglen, Abbyvale before I bought mine.

shoegirl

OMV wrote: »

Thanks for those helpful posts. It is great to get some feedback. I did hear that the school in Brackenstown was very good and that here was a nice sense of community in the area. Any other titbits of info would be great! I believe that the school in Holywell is Educate Together and that they have advertised for a principal but I haven't noticed any building...?

I'm from Swords, haven't lived there in over a decade but my parents and some other family still live there and I get home about once a month.

I'd hold off Holywell right now - this is where that poor Lithuanian lady was murdered a few years back and it got a lot of criticism for being underdeveloped - they were saying that in parts of it you were half an hours walk from the nearest shop or anything else for that matter. It is starting to pick up but definitely has the least amenities from what I hear.

Brackenstown is very good - older more mature estates I believe are fairly expensive though. Yes, the school is good - I went there myself.
Swords Manor is fairly far out also. Applewood I have to say has probably the better amenities of the newer estates. Rivervalley is fine - and agreed on the schools situation - that said also consider that in Swords secondary schools can be quite overcrowded and selection procedures can be somewhat opaque. Living next door will not necessarily get you into the secondary school, as many Rivervalley parents of daughters have been discovering for years.

Have a look at the Dublin Bus timetables too as the mix of buses may not suit you if you plan on commuting, as they are split between different parts of the town.

John Paul Mac

Does anyone know what happened to those residents who had apartment damage after the fire in Holywell in Feb 07 ?

peteb2

They got the damaged repaired and happily lived their lives.