Hi there, I know Westend well. As stated by other posters, traffic can be pretty bad Saturday afternoons and especially around Christmas time but most of the time it's fine. The complex is fine. A lot of non-nationals (is that the PC term?) which some people may have a problem with but it doesn't bother me. A lot of young families so there are a lot of kids running around which, again, may bother some people but I think creates a good atmosphere about the place. You've a lot of facilities within walking distance, the shopping centre obviously, a convenience store at the gate, a library, a theatre, a Dunnes Stores for the weekly shop and a few pubs in the village. We had problems with one noisy apartment (loud music late at night) but we contacted the management company and they contacted their landlord and it seems to have cured the problem. There's also Heaven nightclub just outside which I thought might be an issue but really hasn't affected us. The residents are relatively friendly as in most people will nod and say hello but I never got to know any of them. A lot of them seem to know each other especially those that have kids. No issues in terms of safety either although I have seen Garda cars once or twice in the complex but don't know why. I've never seen or heard of any problems anyway.
I know Waterville as well which another poster mentioned. It's nice there also and the apartments are bigger than Westend I think.
That's just my experience anyway, other people may have different opinions. On a different note, I wouldn't be rushing in to buying a 2 bed apartment around Dublin for the forseeable future unless I was getting a very, very good price but again that's just my opinion and other people may think differently.