I live on the Monread side of the town and the plus points are:
Handier to access the N7/M7 (no need to traverse the town, which can be very busy)
Handier to access the train at Sallins
There's a large park with playground and playing fields
There's a gym complex with a nice cafe there, as well as a pharmacy and creche, a little on down is a shop, chipper, butchers and pub
Generally speaking, it's a quiet area (I live in of the the 'Na Rioghs' (there bru na riogh and dun na riogh), there are the usual congregations of kids near the shop and skater boys in the park car park, but apart from being noisy, they do no seem to cause much bother.
You're at the end of the town with the new cinema!
Have a drive or walk around the various areas at different times to see what you think.