Dunard, Blackhorse Avenue, Dublin

B

bmclough

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Hi

Does anyone have any information on the Dunard area off Blackhorse Avenue. Just viewed a house there in an area called Park View and am trying to find out a little about the area.

The usual stuff, trouble, safe to walk about at night etc. Geographically it would be behind the McDonalds at the bottom of the Navan road halfway between the McDs and McKee Barracks on Blackhorse,

Thanks
B
 
Re: Dunard, Blackhorse Avenue

Park View is a very small enclave of privately-built housing surrounded by a 1980s Council development which you would have to walk through to get to your house. Although house prices in Dunard have really rocketed in the past few years (the houses are quite nice and it's handy for town) it still has an anti-social behaviour problem. I'm not sure if the houses in Park View are targeted by kids from Dunard or if they just confine their activities to their own estate - you'd have to ask someone who lives there to give you an honest opinion. I think it's fairly safe to walk either from McDonald's or from Blackhorse Avenue but some people might find the large groups of kids who congregate outside the shop at one end and McDonald's at the other a bit intimidating.

I used to live in another estate on Blackhorse Avenue but moved due to constant low-level anti-social behaviour which really got to us in the end. Can't say if Park View would be the same, but you should check out the area in the early evening and at night and if you feel intimidated then look elsewhere.
 
Re: Dunard, Blackhorse Avenue

Some areas of Dunard have a persistant element of kids hanging around and I presume the usual issues that go along with that. It's really a case of go there in the evening and see what you think. The general area around there is good and the parts of Dunard that face onto Blackhorse Ave and the green there seem fine as do a couple of the cul de sacs there. I would be less keen on the areas nearer McDonalds cos this seems to attract the groups of teenagers. They look like good sized houses, there are good schools in the area, good bus routes, close to town, but I think you would have to be happy about the precise location.
 
Re: Dunard, Blackhorse Avenue

I live in Dublin 7 not too far from Dunard and agree with the previous comments. The area has a bad reputation even with the locals. A few years ago I lived in an estate right next to Dunard and there were problems with the kids breaking in, pulling down fences and generally causing mayhem. It probably does depend on which part of the estate you live in - close to the McDonalds is rougher - but you'd need local knowledge to advise you on this.
 
Re: Dunard, Blackhorse Avenue

My family have lived in Dunard for 15 years (i lived there for 4 years). They have never had any trouble.. They live in Dunard Avenue in one of the Cul-De-Sacs and it is very quiet there.. I have never heard of any houses been broken into.

However where the football pitch used to be is a big magnet for anti social behavour.. joy riding, music blaring at all hours of the night.. A friend of my mothers sold up and moved to Navan cos she was fed up with all the goings on.. She lived right facing the green area that used to be the football pitch.

It really all depends on what part you live in.. I would say 70% of Dunard is very quite
 
Re: Dunard, Blackhorse Avenue

I rented in McKee Park close to Dunard for 3 months last year and had to get out. The kids (which we thought we could manage) turned out to be not so innocent at all. A lot of the trouble we had was from kids from McKee Park itself but some of the Dunard 'gangs' of kids used to hang out in the area too. They made living there a nightmare. Hanging around on our doorstep drinking and smoking and throwing stufff at our windows. They also had regular bonfires beside our house. They frequently shouted abuse at us as we were 'boggers' in their estate. Ihad the guards on speed dial. I'd avoid it. There are plenty of other nice areas a little further up Blackhorse Avenue and the Navan Road
 
Dunard has got a bad reputation but that is why the houses are som much cheaper than those in other areas near by. It depends waht you want but if the house you are thinking of was even in cabra accross the other side of the navan road it would be €250k extra.
 
Thanks for the information everyone, certainly helps me make decisions about the area and re-inforces my first impressions. bmclough
 
I lived in McKee Park for a couple of years and never had any issue with it at all. The neighbours were down to earth and it was really handy for town and the park.
 
Dunard Avenue - Pleasent experience

I moved to Dunard Avenue almost ten years ago after purchasing my home and I am very pleased. I think the location is ideal as it’s situated right beside the Phoenix Park and within 30 minutes walk of the city centre. Most of the residents are decent hard working people like you would find across the country and have made me feel very welcome. There are some scallywags about but they are greatly outnumber by law abiding people and will eventually grow up.

A resident’s committee was established some years ago to facilitate interaction between various groups and has served the community well so far. The area has also seen some positive developments including a new soccer pitch with a perimeter guard rail in the large ‘green’ referred to above, and a new 24-hour Tesco providing local employment.

Given the proximity to the city, the density of housing is low. The design and build quality is also quite good when compared to the majority of housing schemes erected over the last 15 years. The estate is also well maintained.

Overall, I find that this part of Dublin is very convenient for city living, and with the added advantages of the Phoenix Park and decent sized homes/gardens, I think it offers good value to prospective buyers and tenants alike.
 
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GF used to rent there before we moved in together, the part of McKee Park that's actually on Blackhorse Avenue. She had wing mirrors kicked off the car a couple of times and the windscreen smashed once. Their drains used to always clog up from neighbours putting nappies and things down the toilet (they were at the end of the row). One of our friends was mugged walking up to the house from NCR. Tiny kids on mini-motorbikes would be tearing up the green behind the house all the time. The local shop wouldn't even even open their shutters, ever. While it does have its' positives (mentioned above), and I don't doubt that the majority of the residents are good people, it's definitely an area I would never choose to live in.
 
Dunard Avenue

I am pleased to say that the shop described in the previous post may have been the case a number of years back. The shop has a new owner for the past three years or so and it’s reasonably well presented, and can be seen in the picture below taken the other day. All shutters are opened as usual, apart from the large heavy shutter to the side which is opened when male staffs are on duty.

Shop: topshopdunard.shutterfly.com/


In regards to the other estate, McKee Park, anti-social behaviour appears to be an issue in certain parts, but I think this is generally reflected in lower rent. More importantly, McKee Park is a separate housing scheme with no access to Dunard, other than the main road, i.e Blackhorse Avenue. Therefore, personal experiences will differ and a distinction should be made. On the plus side for McKee Park, a new senior housing scheme was recently commissioned on the site of the disused green.

When I set out buying my home, my search criteria included a well built house, walking distance to city centre, and a short hop to the Phoenix Park. I found that areas which experience anti-social behaviour were always in the picture and a compromise was necessary. After all, Dublin is a small city and affordable low density housing within walking distance of the city centre are limited. Fortunately, I don’t know anybody who was mugged during my time here, but I don’t think any parts of the city are immune from incidents like this.
 
Been renting on McKee since July now, haven't had any issues. During the summer holidays lots of kids playing football outside my house all day which was annoying, but I haven't had any problems from them.

The Gardai are up and down the road on a regular basis, so the area is fine. I had 2nd thoughts in July when I came across these posts for the first time but it's been fine. Maybe the new developments on the green have helped.
 
As a resident homeowner and mother of two living over thirty years dunard estate is a quiet area with good neighbours who look out for one another. Years ago I went on holidays and left the car doors unlocked and it wasn't touched. It is no worse than any other residential area . Mc Kee park is a separate estate with one entrance on Blackhorse Avenue has no road through Dunard Estate and the only problem residents have is the litter from Mcdonalds and Tesco . During the years i have lived here and the first generation were growing up they was a very small element of anti social behaviour with Joy riders from OUTSIDE the area . The kids on this estate TODAY are normal kids out playing Football and on their bikes.
 
I think the person who was looking for this information in 2006 probably has made their mind up by now!
 
I decided to come back and post here after moving into Dunard in D7, as this post came up when I was looking at houses and assessing neighbourhoods and I wanted to give some current feedback for anyone who is looking now! I could not be happier with my decision to buy here. The neighbours are absolutely lovely, it is so close to town (30 mins walk to top of Capel Street) and it is so convenient having the Tesco just minutes walk away, Lidl just a bit further down the road and one of the Phoenix Park side gates is barely 5 minutes' walk away - fantastic for anyone into walking, cycling etc.

Local kids do hang around the green but I don't feel uncomfortable walking through it, it's easily avoided anyway as it's all fenced off. There have been issues with kids and teens messing around in the Tesco, yelling and showing off to each other, and there's a fair bit of trash left around the road up to it. That is certainly not enough of a problem to cause any concern about living nearby though. Probably the odd household here and there that's a bit noisier but I don't think there's anywhere in central Dublin suburbs where that doesn't occur.
 
Last Saturday myself and son was collecting the mrs on the navan road.the young lad was on his bike.we stopped off at euro giant in the maple center.the young lad left his bike outside and a young fella (no more than 12) grabbed his bike and cycled off.
He headed in the direction of the green and we couldn’t catch him.
I returned within 30mins and walked around the area and long and behold I caught the guy on his bike who happened too cycle just pass me.
Needless too say he got the fright of his life when I removed him off my sons bike and his response was he thought the bike was dumped.
(They we’re watching us as we walked into the maple centre from mc Donald’s).
 
Skelethal said:
I decided to come back and post here after moving into Dunard in D7, as this post came up when I was looking at houses and assessing neighbourhoods and I wanted to give some current feedback for anyone who is looking now! I could not be happier with my decision to buy here. The neighbours are absolutely lovely, it is so close to town (30 mins walk to top of Capel Street) and it is so convenient having the Tesco just minutes walk away, Lidl just a bit further down the road and one of the Phoenix Park side gates is barely 5 minutes' walk away - fantastic for anyone into walking, cycling etc.

Local kids do hang around the green but I don't feel uncomfortable walking through it, it's easily avoided anyway as it's all fenced off. There have been issues with kids and teens messing around in the Tesco, yelling and showing off to each other, and there's a fair bit of trash left around the road up to it. That is certainly not enough of a problem to cause any concern about living nearby though. Probably the odd household here and there that's a bit noisier but I don't think there's anywhere in central Dublin suburbs where that doesn't occur.
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I too moved into the area at the start of the year, the location is great but my experience within the community is somewhat at variance with yours. For example, fireworks over the New Year were akin to a war zone, they never let up and people were even letting them off in front of their houses, no repercussions.
I saw a replacement street/kerb ramp installed nearby recently and some of the kids went to town on it - just writing names in it wasn't enough for them, they seemed to be driven to turn it upside down. I think the Gardai are avoiding any of the anti-social behaviour, unless they are prompted to do something about it.

I would say it's an area where if you keep your head down and don't engage, you'll escape the worst of it.
 
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