Killaloe/Ballina

Langer

Thinking about relocating to killaloe or Ballina just wondered could I get a bit of feedback from any residents out there on what it is like to live there. Any obvious advantages/disadvantages? Any feedback would be appreciated??
Thanks!

Lady Chatterton

Advantages

• Very scenic location.
• Lots of nice walks (Raheen Forest Walk and Lakeside walks).
• Close to lake for water based activities (UL Activity Centre & Killaloe Sailing Club) and angling.
• Two marinas - one in Killaloe and another in Ballina.
• Two equestrian centres.
• Two bathing areas - Ballycuggaran Beach in Killaloe and Castlelough outside Ballina.
• Excellent community spirit - lots of festivals - Féile Brian Boru, Féile Eile, Feile na nOg, Festival of Light, Pink Ribbon Walk, Charity BBQs and events by the lake, Lough Derg Monster Triathlon and lots more.
• Arts and music are well catered for - many pubs have live music, there is an Arts Centre, a Writing School and lots of community orchestras and drama groups.
• Good choice of creche/pre-school and primary schools in Killaloe/Ballina.
• St. Anne's Secondary School in Killaloe.
• Excellent playground facilities in both Killaloe and Ballina.
• Multi-game area and outdoor gym in Ballina.
• Outdoor heated swimming pool in Ballina (which was recently upgraded thanks to funding from the Dept. of Sport and North Tipp Co. Co.)
• Clare County Council have a library in Killaloe.
• Great choice of award winning restaurants and pubs.
• Very popular Farmer's Market every Sunday 12 - 4pm.
• Killaloe/Ballina are heritage towns with many notable buildings (St. Flannan's Cathedral). The local Roman Catholic Church houses beautiful stained glass windows by the artist, Harry Clarke.
• There is a good selection of small shops, bakeries, cafes and boutiques. Killaloe/Ballina also has two large supermarkets - Supervalu & McKeoghs.
• There are a good choice of Takeaway restaurants.
• There are two GAA clubs (one in Tipp and one in Clare), there is an underage rugby, soccer club, handball club and a tennis club.
• Supervalu, Tesco and Superquinn all deliver to Killaloe/Ballina.
• Killaloe has its own Garda Station (with the closure of Garda Stations in many rural areas some would see this as a plus).
• Property has become more affordable in Killaloe/Ballina in recent years and there are alot of rental properties available.
• There are a good choice of GPs in Killaloe/Ballina and Shannondoc has an out of hours GP service in Killaloe.
• There are plans for a new sports and recreational development at Clarisford, Killaloe.
• Killaloe/Ballina is close in proximity to Nenagh, Limerick, Shannon and Dublin via motorway.

Disadvantages

• Killaloe and Ballina is cursed to have a narrow bridge with traffic lights :mad::mad::mad: (However, the government has sanctioned a €12 million new river crossing).
• No cinema.

Langer

thank so much for your reply! could i ask you about ard coilte on the Ballina side, any info/opinions be great.

Lady Chatterton

I don't know a huge amount about Ard Coilte but I remember looking at those houses when they first came on the market and I thought they were lovely. It seems to be a nice quiet estate. The location is very good and some of the houses have a view of the lake.

Like everywhere else the price has dropped a bit in the recent times. At the height of the boom I think some of the houses in that estate were making about €465,000.

killwill

As I said before OP, those houses are lovely. fine size and IMO they are quite reasonably priced.
The only reason I would not buy a house there is due to the unreliable water in Ballina.
I think 3 times since the end of May people woke up to no water. That might not bother some people, but I cannot function without a shower first thing!!!

colm_mcm

It's great craic in ard coillte when it freezes, that hill is so steep

hollyolly

I'm resurrecting this thread as I'm thinking of renting there, not knowing the area at all. Can anyone let me know what the Cnoc Cluain estate is like? Also Shantraud Woods on the Killaloe side?

Thanks in advance, Holly

Lady Chatterton

hollyolly wrote: »

I'm resurrecting this thread as I'm thinking of renting there, not knowing the area at all. Can anyone let me know what the Cnoc Cluain estate is like? Also Shantraud Woods on the Killaloe side?

Thanks in advance, Holly

The two estates that you're referring to appear to very nice. They would only be about 5 - 6 years old (if that) and are within walking distance of all amenities.

Good Luck with your move, Killaloe/Ballina it is a lovely area with a strong community spirit. Ballina was awarded a bronze medal earlier this week in the Tidy Towns Competition.

Where to live, Clare or Tipperary ? - decisions, decisions, decisions

colm_mcm

hollyolly wrote: »

I'm resurrecting this thread as I'm thinking of renting there, not knowing the area at all. Can anyone let me know what the Cnoc Cluain estate is like? Also Shantraud Woods on the Killaloe side?

Thanks in advance, Holly

Shantraud woods is quite nice, last time I was in there there were a few empty ones. The houses themselves are lovely.

Cnoc cluanin wouldn't be as nice IMO, but still nice big houses. It's a much bigger busier estate. Given the choice I'd live in shantraud for a quiter location and more pretty houses

killwill

hollyolly wrote: »

I'm resurrecting this thread as I'm thinking of renting there, not knowing the area at all. Can anyone let me know what the Cnoc Cluain estate is like? Also Shantraud Woods on the Killaloe side?

Thanks in advance, Holly

Hi Holly, I live in Shauntraud Woods. It is a nice estate with a few families starting to have young kids.
It is a very quiet estate and recently a footpath was built from the estate into the town so it is ideal for walking.
If you have specific questions give me a PM.

AndyD2023

Hi All,

Just resurrecting this thread again. A lot of really positive comments about the area, which I love the feel of.

Thinking of buying in Ballina or Killaloe. Housing demand is high so it's fun finding something.

Any updates on Cnoc Cluain? Is the reputation still good as mentioned above and how do folk find living there? Housing density is a bit higher than some of the other estates, but a few folk that I chatted to on the estate were lovely and they liked it.

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

dennyk

A friend of mine lives there and he likes it. It is one of the largest and densest estates in town, so it's not as pretty as some, and the gardens are quite small, but the houses are decent enough as late Celtic Tiger builds go. It's definitely one of the more affordable estates in the area, and because it's so large there are more often some properties up for sale there than in the other estates.

Killaloe/Ballina itself is still a lovely place to live. Most of the stuff in Lady Chatterton's post still applies, with a few updates (McKeogh's is gone but we've an Aldi now instead, the aforementioned bridge and bypass is actually under construction now, and of course property is scarce and anything but affordable these days...). Covid unfortunately put an end to some of the festivals, and some restaurants and pubs and such have come and gone over the years, but there's still a lot going on in town.

AndyD2023

@dennyk, thanks very much for your reply. All the information that you've included is really good to know and helps me a lot 🙂.