Trade Names:An inner city garage - a rarity in these days of high property prices - is still steering a successful course after over 40 years in business, writes Rose Doyle

Noel Barron, in over 40 years of selling, leasing and servicing cars in Grantham Street, has come to an intimate acquaintance with the Camden Street/South Circular Road part of the capital.

Enjoying every minute of it he's watched buildings, population and car fashion changes in what was, and is, a part of the city with a lively and colourful urban life. He's never wanted to move his business elsewhere.

"I like it around here," he says, "it's as simple as that." Grantham Street is a quiet place off Camden Street but with a buzz to it that's constant and lively. It was always like that, in this part of town. It's a nice area, with nice people in it."

It's not even that he was born in that part of the city. Life began for Noel Barron in Sandymount, Dublin 4, where he spent a childhood, with schoolgoing years in the CBS Monkstown, which left its indelible mark in a passion for rugby football. "There's hardly an international I've missed in the last 25 years," he says proudly, "either at home or abroad." But cars were a passion too, as with all young boys. Most grow out of it, or at least become more interested in other things, but the passion stayed with Noel Barron and repaid him well.

As a young man, with schooling in the Star of the Sea, Sandymount and CBS Monkstown behind him, he worked for "three or four different car companies, Murrays Rent-a-Car and Malone Bros Motor Sales among them. When Malones was taken over by an English company and they wanted us to work for the same as the staff in England, which was less than I was earning by Irish standards, I left. I came up here and started my own business in the laneway."

The year was 1967. "I bought an ex-potato store in the laneway," he says, "and after another while bought a car upholsterers which owned another small area in the laneway. Then, about 30 years ago, I bought what used be a car servicing business further up Grantham Lane."

We're sitting in his office/reception area where a high, worn stool behind the counter supports him as he meets and greets customers. Shelves all around are packed with car bits and parts, with auto spray and air filters and cleaning fluids, air fresheners and wheel covers. There are a couple of desks, several chairs and large, paned windows onto the street. Noel Barron says he's "semi-retired".

"There were two shops here," he explains, "and after I got the corner end about 30 years ago I went on and bought here, which was next door and more part of the street, about 10 years ago. It used be a paper and sweet shop run by a mother and son. When the mother died the son decided to live in Poulaphouca. I was lucky enough to buy before the prices went up!"

In 1967, when he opened shop, the 1600 E Cortina Ford was the thing to own. The Mini was popular, too, as was the Fiat 850 "and the Ford Angelas - as we used call the Ford Anglia. In 1968 spraying saloon cars a metallic silver was very popular. In the early 1970s they'd buy Triumph Heralds and Austin Minis but you wouldn't really sell big cars, except maybe the odd Ford Zodiac. The numbers of people buying cars began to grow, bit by bit. I used sell mainly new cars then and you'd get all ages driving them; you didn't need to do a driving test."

He suddenly remembers that his very first job, after he left school, was with the sadly defunct Evening Press. "I got a job in the advertising department and had to go around the Sandymount area looking for ads. For 1/- you could buy three inserts. They were trying to build up the Evening Press as an advertising paper - and they did it too."

Grantham Street/Camden Street, when he arrived there in 1967, "had a lot of character to it. The street traders were all along the other side of Camden Street - this side was always quieter. A lot of people bought in Camden Street at the right time, and good luck to them. There's a 247-bedroom hotel beside the Bleeding Horse Pub now - that's a big change.

"There used be panel beaters all along Grantham Lane, and small garages. But they only rented and, when the places became valuable as property for development, they had to go. I bought my place because I didn't want to be paying rent to an absentee landlord. I'm the only one left here now. There are very few garages in the area as a whole, in fact, all because people didn't think about buying in earlier days."

He paints a graphic picture of what housing was like in the area years ago. "When I bought here it was the same as all of the houses around with the toilet halfway up the stairs and a big sink in the back where people had to come out and collect the water they needed. It was like that until about 25 years ago. The corporation wanted to make this a listed building and I said to them 'look at the inside; who wants to go halfway up the stairs for a toilet and out into the yard for water?' Camden Street and all around is cleaned up now and it's much for the better. You can't be having scruffy places, after all."

Still, he thinks it's "sad to see small businesses going out of the town. If we were more like France now, where they allow for lots of small speciality shops, lovely little boutiques. They survive in Paris and such places because the rent is controlled. We're losing individuality to a certain degree. But at least here in Camden Street we do have unique shops - there's still a few of the old shops left. There are quite a few of the old people still around but, even so, anyone looking for the Camden Street of 1967 would be surprised at what they see!"

He laments the passing of petrol stations in inner city areas too. "They're all going - the land they occupy is too valuable. I always keep a gallon of petrol here, in case anyone runs out." A lot of his customers today "are Indian and Chinese people. Lovely people. Women as well as men". He laughs: "Young Chinese men come in, buy a car and a week later they've alloy wheels and all the extras put onto it. The Chinese spend their money and when they buy a car they're not afraid to spend money on it."

He is, and well knows it, part of "the end of an era. Because of where I am I'll eventually be forced to close down. There's very little parking around here any more, just like the rest of the city. I could do 30-40 cars but, because of parking, can only do about 20 - and that's tight. The place will probably go when I do, unless I decide to move and I don't feel like investing €5 million or so in a flashy garage in the suburbs. This place would be more profitable as a different kind of business. Still, I'll give it another while, soldier on for another few years!"