What's Skerries like?

MaloryB

My husband and I are moving to Co. Dublin next month and we've found a house we love in Skerries.

Was just hoping for some thoughts on the area, specifically:
Does it have a good reputation?
Good schools? Will my little boy need to go on a waiting list now (He's 6 months and had been baptised if that helps)?
Are there any mother and baby groups around?
Where would the nearest swimming pool be?
Is the SuperValu well-stocked?

Any input would be much appreciated! Thanks :-)

SmartinMartin

it's a beautiful coastal town, highly sought after location. Can't help with the children questions I'm afraid.

Wishbone Ash

Skerries has a good reputation as it is probably the most sought after town in North County Dublin with many sports and leisure amenities, restaurants and pubs, and good bus and rail links.

The nearest swimming pool is probably at Dublin Airport (but I'm open to correction).

Sorry don't know anything about primary school waiting lists or mother and baby groups.

Don't know anything about Supervalu either as I don't shop, but there is a second supermarket on Strand Street (Gerry's).

If you give an indication of the area of the town where you 'found' a house some may be able to give a more detailed opinion.

vicwatson

I think the hill billy who is a mod in the food forum is from that neck of the woods, pm them and they might be able to help

The Hill Billy

Thanks, vic.

Skerries is a super place to live & bring up kids. Wishbone Ash covered the amenities nicely. There are also pools in Gormanston College & Aqua in Drogheda.

There are 5 primary schools - St Patrick's, Realt na Mara, Holmpatrick, Educate Together in the town & St Móibhí's 2 miles outside the town. All have a very good reputation. The secondary school - Skerries Community College - is also very good. As for waiting lists - contact the schools directly for the best info.

There are mother & baby groups, & the information desk in the Community Centre would have details. To be honest, Skerries is a very friendly town & I'd imagine that you'd soon meet other mums just walking around the town or in one of the great cafés.

SuperValu is well-stocked, as are C&Ts, Gerry's & EuroSpar. There's also Tesco & Lidl over in Balbriggan.

it is a super town with an amazing community.

ED E

Very much a young families town. Would recommend.

Also, you'll never be stuck for a pharmacy.

Cloudio9

I think it's a very nice town. It's an exaggeration to say it's the most sought after town in north co Dublin. It's probably suited to people who work in the north county (e.g. The airport) or on the train line and want to be out in the country or near the sea or get a bigger house for their budget.

Main disadvantage is it feels somewhat isolated for a Dublin suburb and it's a good distance out from Dublin.

Schools shouldn't be a problem if you're happy with the school(s) in your catchment area.

Don't know about the SuperValu but there's a big Tesco in Balbriggan and the pavilions shopping mall in swords with two supermarkets.

Wishbone Ash

Cloudio9 wrote: »

....Main disadvantage is it feels somewhat isolated for a Dublin suburb.....

Skerries isn't a Dublin suburb! It's a town in it's own right just like the other towns in County Dublin.

...and for many people, the distance from Dublin is an advantage, not a disadvantage. If you think Skerries is somewhat isolated, I wonder what you think of other areas which have no transport links such as Garristown!

RobFowl

I live in Balrothery and love it, wouldn't live elsewhere

Bur Skerries is a lovely town, little parochial but that's dying out.
Schools all excellent, many shops of all sorts.
Lots of GP's all excellent (Esp Dr Mulholland )
Gerrys and Supervalue good but a little expensive and limited in terms of stock.
Biggest Tesco's in Ireland in Balbriggan on 10 mins away as well as a Lidl.
Honestly if you found a house you like Go for it..

Cloudio9

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Skerries isn't a Dublin suburb! It's a town in it's own right just like the other towns in County Dublin.

...and for many people, the distance from Dublin is an advantage, not a disadvantage. If you think Skerries is somewhat isolated, I wonder what you think of other areas which have no transport links such as Garristown!

It is a dublin suburb.

I get it. You live there and are getting offended.

Every area has advantages and disadvantages.

On balance I think Skerries is a great fit for lots of people. It wouldn't be for everyone

Beasty

Cloudio9 wrote: »

It is a dublin suburb.

I get it. You live there and are getting offended.

It isn't (unless your own definition if suburb is different from the usual interpretation) and he doesn't

Just to add though it's definitely a commuter town with many using various modes of transport to get into Dublin.

Inquitus

Where are you moving from? Skerries is lovely but it could be considered somewhat isolated, depending on what you are used to, and where you are moving from.

Wishbone Ash

Beasty wrote: »

and he doesn't ....

He does now!

Are Am Eye

Cloudio9 wrote: »

It is a dublin suburb.

In the same way that Drogheda is a Dublin suburb. And C arrick Macross. Belfast too.
And Reykjavik.

triggermortis

Skerries is great. Been there almost 2 years now and like living there. It has everything you need including being on the train line.
As has been mentioned already, the shops are good and Balbriggan or Swords are close enough as well.
The R127 can drive you mad sometimes with slow moving traffic/tractors etc and it's the main road in/out but that is the only negative I have found.
Our 2 kids go to Milverton and its been a great school so far (ages 8 and 5).
Ardgillan is close by too and that has a great open playground for the kids as well as activities in the summer.
There's also a swimming pool at Sportlink in Santry

MaloryB

Wow, what a fantastic response, thanks all!

I should have said that we're moving from a very, very rural location in the north of England. As in, more sheep than people locally rural. Skerries will seem like a metropolis but it'll be lovely to be able to walk places and not have to rely on the car so heavily (though good to know Tesco is there if needed, thanks!) and my husband will be commuting to the IFSC so Skerries seems like a good balance of reasonable commute and lovely location.

The house is near the sea, at Hoar Rock, Wishbone.

Thanks for the GP recommendation, RobFowl! Anything that eases the transition to a completely unknown healthcare system is much appreciated!

Cloudio9

Are Am Eye wrote: »

In the same way that Drogheda is a Dublin suburb. And C arrick Macross. Belfast too.
And Reykjavik.

Skerries is the only one of those places in Dublin.

As usual on boards, someone asks for some advice and the thread gets derailed by pedants and semantics.

Cloudio9

MaloryB wrote: »

Wow, what a fantastic response, thanks all!

I should have said that we're moving from a very, very rural location in the north of England. As in, more sheep than people locally rural. Skerries will seem like a metropolis but it'll be lovely to be able to walk places and not have to rely on the car so heavily (though good to know Tesco is there if needed, thanks!) and my husband will be commuting to the IFSC so Skerries seems like a good balance of reasonable commute and lovely location.

The house is near the sea, at Hoar Rock, Wishbone.

Thanks for the GP recommendation, RobFowl! Anything that eases the transition to a completely unknown healthcare system is much appreciated!

Sounds like your kind of place.

tedpan

RobFowl wrote:

I live in Balrothery and love it, wouldn't live elsewhere

That's what all the people from Balrothery say! My mate is from there too. I always tell him Balrothery and Balbriggan are the same place, He loves that!

Oh and by the way, the OP has done well, skerries is very sought after. Best of luck!

RobFowl

tedpan wrote: »

That's what all the people from Balrothery say! My mate is from there too. I always tell him Balrothery and Balbriggan are the same place, He loves that!

Oh and by the way, the OP has done well, skerries is very sought after. Best of luck!

TBH if I didn't live here I'd happily live in Naul, Lusk,The Brig,Rush or Skerries

tedpan

RobFowl wrote:

TBH if I didn't live here I'd happily live in Naul, Lusk,The Brig,Rush or Skerries

Yeah, I live in Drogheda and agree with the above. Used to live in the chantries. Can you confirm whether that's Balrothery or Balbriggan?

MaloryB

Forgot to ask, is there a park in Skerries? And does anyone know if it's in the short hop zone for the train? Thanks!

Are Am Eye

Cloudio9 wrote: »

Skerries is the only one of those places in Dublin.

As usual on boards, someone asks for some advice and the thread gets derailed by pedants and semantics.

A town being in the same county as another town does not make either a suburb of the other. On the subject of derailing you keep posting about suburbs. I bet you'll even post again about it.

ED E

MaloryB wrote: »

my husband will be commuting to the IFSC so Skerries seems like a good balance of reasonable commute and lovely location.

Just be aware of the "quirks" of relying on Irish Rail. And the cost of an annual ticket.

Wishbone Ash

MaloryB wrote: »

... good to know Tesco is there if needed.....

There's also a Tesco in Rush (about 6km south of Skerries) and an Aldi (or Lidl?) is also due for construction in Rush.

MaloryB wrote:

The house is near the sea, at Hoar Rock, Wishbone.

Very close to me!

Cloudio9

Are Am Eye wrote: »

A town being in the same county as another town does not make either a suburb of the other. On the subject of derailing you keep posting about suburbs. I bet you'll even post again about it.

We're talking about Dublin here. The largest city in the country by a large multiple and the second smallest county by area. Many parts of counties Kildare, Wicklow and Meath are effectively Dublin suburbs. I don't know what fantasy land you live in but if you want to get hung up on calling skerries a suburb of Dublin then fine, I don't care, but you're doing the OP no favours.

Cloudio9

MaloryB wrote: »

Forgot to ask, is there a park in Skerries? And does anyone know if it's in the short hop zone for the train? Thanks!

There's Ardgillan which is beautiful and has a great playground with a stunning view

Yes it's in the short hop zone for the train but don't dare call it a suburb. 😉

MaloryB

Excellent, thanks all!!

Cloudio9

MaloryB wrote: »

Excellent, thanks all!!

Just to add if your husbands employer operates the taxsaver.ie benefit for commuter tickets, his monthly train ticket will effectively be half price. It doesn't cost employers anything so most should offer it.

MaloryB

Thanks Claudio! Just had a look at Ardgillan too and it looks beautiful so thanks for that too!

Are Am Eye

Many parts of counties Kildare, Wicklow and Meath are effectively Dublin suburbs.

No. You continue to be wrong.
Those are not suburbs. And they're not "effectively" suburbs either.
Raheny is a Dublin suburb. Celbridge is a town in kildare.

The Hill Billy

Enough of the 'suburb' debate.

tHB

MaloryB

Sorry to keep thinking of more questions but I'm thinking I probably can't face cooking Christmas lunch this year, with small baby in tow and a house full of visiting relatives. Anyone know of anywhere reasonably near Skerries we could have lunch out on Christmas Day, or would we have to trek into Dublin? I know it will cost us!

Cloudio9

MaloryB wrote: »

Sorry to keep thinking of more questions but I'm thinking I probably can't face cooking Christmas lunch this year, with small baby in tow and a house full of visiting relatives. Anyone know of anywhere reasonably near Skerries we could have lunch out on Christmas Day, or would we have to trek into Dublin? I know it will cost us!

Well if you move to Ireland one small thing you'll have to get used to is virtually nothing opens on xmas day apart from maybe the odd service station.

Some hotels will do xmas dinner but they tend to involve accommodation packages.

M&S have a food ordering service. Avoca would be a high quality Irish option if you wanted to order all the food in.

RobFowl

MaloryB wrote: »

Sorry to keep thinking of more questions but I'm thinking I probably can't face cooking Christmas lunch this year, with small baby in tow and a house full of visiting relatives. Anyone know of anywhere reasonably near Skerries we could have lunch out on Christmas Day, or would we have to trek into Dublin? I know it will cost us!

The Bracken Court in Balbriggan do Christmas lunches IIRC

MaloryB

Thanks!

Wishbone Ash

I suppose I should mention the major negative aspect of Skerries (for me anyway) - the bloody seagulls.

When I moved here in May, I just couldn't get over how noisy and disturbing they are. I've gotten a bit used to it after many sleep disturbed nights. They usually start squaking from 3 or 4am and pecking on the Velux windows of my bedroom. I'm in the Balbriggan Street area so I'd imagine it's going to be even worse for the OP around The Hoar Rock.

It's infuriating that they are 'protected' - a bit like saying rats are protected IMO. Funny thing is that I lived in Rush for 17 years and in Portrane for 9 years before that and seagulls were never an issue in either location.

Stephen15

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

There's also a Tesco in Rush (about 6km south of Skerries) and an Aldi (or Lidl?) is also due for construction in Rush.

There is also a Lidl and a Tesco in Balbriggan which is an equal distance as Rush.

The Hill Billy

You're right about the seagulls. Noisy buggers! TBH - I think the problem is worst in the older estates which sometimes have larger roofs & chimney breasts which make for better nesting sites.

positron

Ardgillan Castle is a superb facility right next to Skerries - great play area in a fantastic setting, forest walks complete with fairy doors, rose gardens and tea rooms etx.

PaulD77

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I suppose I should mention the major negative aspect of Skerries (for me anyway) - the bloody seagulls.

When I moved here in May, I just couldn't get over how noisy and disturbing they are. I've gotten a bit used to it after many sleep disturbed nights. They usually start squaking from 3 or 4am and pecking on the Velux windows of my bedroom. I'm in the Balbriggan Street area so I'd imagine it's going to be even worse for the OP around The Hoar Rock.

It's infuriating that they are 'protected' - a bit like saying rats are protected IMO. Funny thing is that I lived in Rush for 17 years and in Portrane for 9 years before that and seagulls were never an issue in either location.

I am also in Balbriggan street, moved here 3 years ago and am only getting used to them now.  As soon as I open the lid of the BBQ they are over to see what is going on.  I see they are no longer protected, or rather their eggs are no longer protected in Balbriggan because they were getting too aggressive.  Well these lads are aggressive too, swooping at the dog and even the adults sometimes.  Hopefully it will be OK to get rid of them here too soon.  Problem is, you see people feeding these rats, I mean birds, what do some people be thinking??
Hoar rock is lovely, great place to bring kids up, well at least for our 10 nice days a year

RobFowl

positron wrote: »

Ardgillan Castle is a superb facility right next to Skerries - great play area in a fantastic setting, forest walks complete with fairy doors, rose gardens and tea rooms etx.

Ardgillan Demense and castle in Balbriggan is a great resource

Theatre in Rush great too and Heritage centre in Balrothery and Seamus Ennis in Naul great for gigs now too.

cbreeze

MaloryB wrote: »

Wow, what a fantastic response, thanks all!

I should have said that we're moving from a very, very rural location in the north of England. As in, more sheep than people locally rural. Skerries will seem like a metropolis but it'll be lovely to be able to walk places and not have to rely on the car so heavily (though good to know Tesco is there if needed, thanks!) and my husband will be commuting to the IFSC so Skerries seems like a good balance of reasonable commute and lovely location

The house is near the sea, at Hoar Rock, Wishbone.

Thanks for the GP recommendation, RobFowl! Anything that eases the transition to a completely unknown healthcare system is much appreciated!

He will be able to go practically door to door to the IFSC with the 33X in addition to the train

Wishbone Ash

cbreeze wrote: »

He will be able to go practically door to door to the IFSC with the 33X in addition to the train

....or cycle in so it's always door to door and always guaranteed a seat. The 'Skerries Express' usually leaves each morning around 7am.

RIALTO1

Hi all, apologies if not correct in bumping an old thread. Looking at a property in Hoar Rock with an expectant wife! What's the area like? What Skerries like now on the whole? Seems to be a huge amount of new builds on the Ballbriggan side.

mada82

It’s full of goats

ILikeBoats

Hoar Rock would have my vote as best location in Skerries