Cluain Na Sibhe in Killashee

Hello
We are thinking of buying a new house in Killashee in Co Longford.
We like the idea of a small village setting but would need to commute to Dublin till a more local job could be found.Would anyone have any thoughts on the schools crime etc?We have 2 kids so they are important issues.And really is it a realistic thing to commute to Dublin?My husband is already commuting from where we live now approx 1 hr.
Thanks guys

Re: Advice on Cluain Na Sibhe in Killashee

Hi tylerdylan

I live close to Killashee. It is a lovely village ... very small though. There is a strong GAA team there.

There is a school just outside the village, but it is tiny ... last year they only had 2 students starting. I'm sure that will change with the new housing and more families moving in. There are no plans for a new school or an extention to the existing school.

As regards location, it is pretty good for access to Longford (all be it on bad roads) but also for Athlone (cross country).

I would suggest before you make the move that you try to find work locally, it may be harder than you expect. Could you see yourselves commuting to Dublin every day?

If you are looking for other areas to consider I would suggest looking at Ardagh and Kilashee. They are slightly bigger villages with more facilities.

Re: Advice on Cluain Na Sibhe in Killashee

henny penny, did you mean to say "Ardagh and Kenagh"? Lots of houses for sale in kenagh at both ends of the village. lots of good plans for future in the pipeline for kenagh. Cloughry Well is a good looking development next to the C of I church but think they are all sold but someone has bought the rest of the 10 sites or so for development so will prob continue with the same look.
Ardagh's quite nice too but i think kenagh is better location for getting to athlone, mullingar, tullamore for work. wouldn't consider commuting to dublin but obviously some people are ok with it, don't forget the 2.50 toll each way for Kinnegad bypass! it adds up!
also there are houses for sale in Moydow - look like seaside chalets on the outside with 4 beds but have massive gardens and the showhouse looks swell - looks better inside that outside but downside the village is dead!

Re: Advice on Cluain Na Sibhe in Killashee

Hi guys
Tks for replies....
We drove to Killashee yesterday and yes its a beautiful little village.
The houses are super and the estate is well done.
One of the builder guys said the new by-pass makes the travel to dublin quicker.I done a route plan on aa.ie and it gives directions going thru towns and the n4,but what about the new n6? The area seems so fabulous its hard to pass up...
And my 2 boys are gaa mad!

Re: Advice on Cluain Na Sibhe in Killashee

Its 70 odd miles from Dublin, thats hardly in the commuter belt is it ?? Athlone and Longford are commutable. 2 Gallons of rapidly rising petrol each way each day not counting traffic jams and tolls in Enfield .

Probably no Broadband for working from home either.

High risk of value dropping in a downturn as the Dublin commuter belt shrinks.

Yes they are all things to consider....We are going to do the drive from Dublin today leaving from the n4 at lucan.
Can anyone advise the best route?head to Mullingar?then into Longford town? We have only gone across from Athy before.
Cheers

Hi tylerdylan, the route you've listed is correct i.e. head into Mullingar and then on to Longford town. From the toll plaza, you should make Longford Town in about an hour. Be careful when you come to the end of the motorway just past Kinnegad. You're going from a 120KM zone to a 100KM zone and this is a favourite haunt for the guards.

Once you're in Longford town, you've a couple of options

1. Head into the town from the Dublin road, head down Ballymahon Street and turn left just after Durkin's sports shop (Killashee Street). You will be in Killashee in about 10 minutes. Depending on the time of day, it could take 2 minutes or it could take 22 minutes to get through the town.

2. To avoid the town you should come in the Dublin Road and at the traffic lights at the Gala shop/ petrol station take a left. This will bring you through Teffia Park. Head straight up the road and you'll come to a "T" junction (the Dog track will be in front of you). Turn left here and follow the road for about 3 miles (you'll pass the Backstage Theatre and Longford Slashers GAA grounds on your right hand side). You'll come to a cross-roads (turning left will bring you to Kenagh which was mentioned in a previous post) and head straight through this. You'll cross a bridge and then you'll join with the N63 which will bring you into Killashee.

Wireless Broadband is available but it's not cheap. Its about €40 per month for 512Kb download speed. There's a resource community centre in Lanesboro where you can find out more about this.

If you find Killashee too small, you could try Lanesboro (which would be considered one of the bigger towns in Longford outside of Longford town itself). Lanesboro is about 4 miles outside of Killashee. There's some new housing estates there (all of which have S.23 relief for owner occupiers).

Best of luck.

Hi Biggerry
Tks so much for that.I will try going around the town.
Wow that BB price sure is a lot I will check out Lanesboro today also!
We are heading of now!
Cheers

Hi lorna

I should have been more specific about my comments regarding locations. IMO kenagh is a lovely village that has undergone a huge amount of development lately. It has good access to Athlone. On the downside, anyone I know living there sends their children to Stonepark NS in Longford rather than the local school. There is no guarantee that children from outside Longford town will be accepted to Stonepark school and there is a waiting list.

Ardagh is a very quiet village, but it is very pretty. Planning in the village is much more restrictive and because of this it has maintained it's charm. The national school in Ardagh has an excellent reputation. As regards location, if you are comuting to Dublin you can avoid Longford and Edgeworthstown completely when travelling from Ardagh.

As regards Mowdow ... it is in the middle of nowhere. We looked at the development there ... but there is nothing else there. There is a phase 2 development planned which will mean even more houses and still no services.

Tylerdan I think you should take the builders comment about the Longford bypass with a pinch of salt ... the cpos haven't even begun yet ... the route hasn't been finalised ... I wouldn't hold my breath that the N5 Longford bypass will be started during this decade!

As regards broadband, lastmile.ie supply wireless broadband locally ... but service is shoddy at best. In Longford town Crossan cable provide 9MB broadband. I don't think they will roll it out to the villages as the demand is pracitcally non-existant.

Lanesboro is another thriving town but because of the ESB power station in the town, smog is a problem ... just thought I'd mention it.

I forgot to mention that there is no stamp duty on most new homes in Longford under 500K regardless of your ftb status ... in case you were factoring it in to the cost of your house.

How does the tax relief section 23 work? We are not FTB but I know we wont pay stamp duty and the house is 1335 sq feet so under the guige.

Well we done the Dublin drive we got delayed at home but we counted time from the n4 lucan roundabout.we left there at 3.45pm and pulled into Killashee approx 1 hr 20 mins.traffic was very light all the n4 and Longford town took 2 mins!as previsiouly mentioned but will try going around next time.I also looked at some other houses in Keenagh and they are more expensive.Making a move to Killashee will nearly 1/2 our mrtge.My husband is very keen and is willing to do the commute.I will be home with the boys and walking my springer along the canal and going home to a lovely big new house! The husband loves driving and just got a new diesel car but even with the toll we are still saving a nice amount of money.
So The booking deposit is in the mail!
Thanks so much for all your advice much appreciated

tylerdylan said:

How does the tax relief section 23 work? We are not FTB but I know we wont pay stamp duty and the house is 1335 sq feet so under the guige.

Well we done the Dublin drive we got delayed at home but we counted time from the n4 lucan roundabout.we left there at 3.45pm and pulled into Killashee approx 1 hr 20 mins.traffic was very light all the n4 and Longford town took 2 mins!as previsiouly mentioned but will try going around next time.

Click to expand...

why did you deliberately cod yeerselves by NOT doing the commute in the rush hour around 5pm ?? It would be more than 1hr 20mins for sure and you can add 50% extra to that when it rains.

2Pack is right ... Mr. HP goes to Dublin every couple of weeks ... and it never really takes him less than 2 hrs. Timing is everything.

Congrats tylerdylan. As far as I know you don't have to be a FTB for the S.23 relief to apply. As long as you live in the house you should be eligible. Some of the tax experts should be able to confirm this though.

I agree with Henny Penny and 2Pack. You should try leaving at 5ish on a Friday evening and this will give you a feel for "real" traffic . The stretch between the Foxhunter pub and the set of traffic lights before the Spa hotel is a real nightmare! Once you go passed these you should be OK though.

If you husband has flexible working hours I'd suggest he leaves work and be at the Lucan round-about no later than 4 any day. Any later than that and he should leave it until 7.

You guys are all right I really know that!
He actualy works for Dublin bus and the shifts are mad,some days he could start at 630am finish at 2pm another week could be starting at 3pm ending at last bus but its never a 9-5 shift.days are varied also including weekends.
Whats looking great is the cost of the house, the lovely estate, the country side etc.Are we just crazy?

You are not crazy as long as you agree that in a 5 day week he will spend the best part of one day commuting . From Mullingar he could nearly halve that. He will never see his house in daylight for half the year.

5 x 4 =20 hours and with shifts maybe only 15 hours because he dodges heavy rush hour , thats over 2 full days a month in the car, every month for 35 years.

I saw a house in Mullingar for €190k here . Get him a life and remember you can get away with one car in Mullingar if you must but not out on the Connacht Border you can't.

Cost of running that second car for 35 years ....about €100,000 I'd say.

Thanks for that info on the house in Mullinger
But we want a new house.We are not ftb's and there is that little issue of stamp duty.....

We have 2 cars where we live now and its hard to be without 2 cars.
When other half is in work and the kids need lifts to training and matches and all the places they need to go would be a struggle without the 2nd car But the commuting is an issue so thats whats holding us back.

Hi Tylerdylan, there's a few bus companies in Longford - Donnelly's; Farrelly's; Keanes. It might be worth your husband's while to give them a call to see if they have any jobs going.

If you husband is an experienced driver, maybe he'd consider buying a mini-bus himself and do school runs / bingo runs / trips to matches etc.

TylerDylan, my wife and I (and our baby) are moving to Cluain Na Sidhe for exactly the same reasons. I'll be commuting to Dublin by train but I think it'll be worth it for the huge reduction in mortgage (that will allow my wife to stay home with our son) and to have somewhere nice for our boy to grow up. That's assuming they ever actually finish the houses, of course.

Hi Spiff
Great to hear you guys are buying too!
I was up there last thursday and the boiler was being installed!
We are selling to buy so honestly am not in too much hurry!

What No are you buying ? We are going for 34 its got a gynormus garden,
my 2 boys are hoping for goalies each!
My husband is still planning to drive and to be honest even with the tolls its still saving money.

Td.