Drumcondra

I

irishguy

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Whats drumcondra like? By the royal canal. I know the further out you go the nicer it gets, but then around dorset street its not the nicest. Kind of thorn between a really nice period house in drumcondra or a not so nice house in Ranelagh. Just thinking resale wise the Ranelagh house would be easier to sell/would hold its value better?? What do people think??
 
Drumcondra in general is a very nice area. A green leafy kind of atmosphere but still close to the city centre. I'd say it is more pleasant as you get further out from Dorset St to Griffith Avenue. Yet the most salubrious area near there would be the superb redbricks along the Iona & Lindsay Roads which aren't far at all from the canals. But there is a different atmosphere between those roads and the actual canal itself even if it's only 5 minutes walk.

Drumcondra doesn't have the village feel that Ranelagh has cultivated recently and it doesn't have the same cachet if that's what you're after. But equally you could say that prices have further to fall in Ranelagh since they rocketed there quite recently. Only big drawback with Drumcondra is closeness to Croke Park which can be annoying during summer months. Spend some time in both and see where you feel more comfortable.
 
I live in Drumcondra. I'd broadly echo Noel's comments below.

I recently relocated within Drumcondra and I was quite stringent in my requirements as for where the new place should be. I wanted west of the Drumcondra Road, not too close to the canal, but not too far north either.

This cut it down to essentially the roads between St. Alphonsus and Millmount Avenue. These criteria were based off my own requirements obviously, I'm sure you'd have your own ideas, but for my money the area I outlined is the nicest part bearing in mind its proximity to the city centre. It contains the Iona/Lindsay Rds mentioned below. It gives you easy access to Tesco, pubs, restaurants, cafes, newsagents, public transport etc.

Because I'm west of the Drumcondra Rd Croke Park has never really impacted me. If you're living on a road near it bear in mind you may not be able to move freely on match days, and could have thousands of fans passing your door. For me it's just been a case of knowing there are certain times on match days where a trip to the shop or the off licence is going to take a long time.
 
I am concerned about being that close to croke park alright, but you can get allot more for your money in the area than you can on the south side. I am just a bit concerned about being so close to the north inner city and the potential resale/rental value. Where as Ranelagh has got a very well know reputation. Its hard to know really if you should go for a house you really love in an area you might not be as mad about or a not so nice house in the best area... if only house prices would come down further and I wouldnt have to make the decision
 
We lived off Clonliffe Road (very close to Croke Park) for a number of years. We never really had a major problem with it. On match days we'd plan our travel around match times. We had a pass for the car to get into and out of our road on match days. If we had visitors coming to the house we gave the details of their to the Garda at the end of the road so that they'd be let in. Granted there weren't soccer and rugby matches there at the time, but that won't be forever either. There were a few concerts there while we lived there and to be honest we thought there was a nice atmosphere around on those nights...
Hope this helps. I've lived on Botanic Ave., Millmount Ave., Richmond Rd., Off Clonliffe Rd., and now off Gracepark Rd. towards Marino so if I can offer any advice on these areas maybe pm me. They're a bit further from the canal maybe than you'd want...

Good luck with the househunt.
P
 
 
The city council is considering a vast expansion of the restricted area, which will take in the western side of Drumcondra Rd and the areas in question. That will mean less hassle from match day traffic, but more hassle getting into and out of the expanded area.
 
Does anyone have any idea how busy the train line would be along the royal canal ? Is it the Sligo line? Also can anyone remember has there been flooding along the royal canal/ whitworth road? I cant find any details about flooding there.
 
The flooding was on botanic avenue, the canal never flooded. I live near, but not beside the railway line. Noise it not an issue, and people living by it dont complain. I am sure it is something you get use to.
Maybe try renting by the line, if you dont like it, you can move out!

I am not a Dubliner, but have lived on dorset street and then drumcondra, and would not move elsewhere. There are great, good value restaurants that are very walkable, the canal is a great walk, and is paved most of the way to the M50 ( and is a very underutilised amenity), and modern developers have not been able to ruin the area as it is quite mature. Also, Bradys butcher by the Blacktie shop on Dorset street is the best butchers I know of in Dublin.

Problems: Croke Park parking, terrible supermarkets nearby ( Please give us a Dunnes or Superquinn, as opposed to second rate Tesco), too many politicians looking for your vote in council, dail and euro elections!
 
In the very long term Dorset St may improve as an area as O'Connell st gets it's revamp and the ethnic restaurants around parnell st become more trendy.
If you personally prefer Ranelagh why not hold out longer and see do prices fall further? If it's just resale value then forget it.
I think i know the house that's tempting you near the canal, looks great.
 
i think drumcondra is one of the nicest areas of dublin - rented there for a number of years- and am in the process of buying near clonliffe too- never had any trouble living there, nice, local feel about the place, within walking distance of town etc. Match days when Croke Park is full to capacity are actually quite few- mainly semi and final days only- and the crowds usually disperse quite quickly. In my opinion there was always a good atmosphere on match/concert days. Can't rate Drumcondra highly enough- go for it. Previous poster is right about politicians etc. We once had Bertie knock on our door touting for business- how Gift Grub is that!
 

Well its mostly getting a very nice house, but also resale price is a big concern. Was thinking the area might improve when metro north would go ahead (at some point). Its also very close to town
 
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