More and more first-time buyers are following the trail of affordable houses down to Carlow, taking a good hour to get to the outskirts of Dublin by car and depending on the traffic after that. It is a 52-mile journey each way and at least three hours travelling time out of the working day. Balanced against that, there is cheaper housing, fresher air and an impressive array of sports and leisure facilities for weekend chilling out. It's a good place to settle, newcomers say.
Carlow is no quiet backwater. There is as much buzz and energy here as in any comparable college town. It wasn't just the prospect of an affordable house that brought Dubliners Bernie and David Trainor to Carlow, although they did manage to snap up a four-bedroom detached house on the Kilkenny Road for £85,000 a couple of years ago.
With the decision made to move out of the city, Bernie and David went to Waterford for a look around, saw a "For Sale" sign in Carlow on the way home and decided there and then to buy.
"We wanted to get out of living in a box, where everyone was on top of each other. I couldn't even walk our dog in Drimnagh and there were no green trees. We moved for the air and the safety. That and the fact that when we did sell our house, we bought one twice the size for the same price," says Bernie. She has since persuaded one of her sceptical "you're mad to move out so far" friends to invest in one of the smart new houses being built on the outskirts of town.
Bernie and David drove to work in Dublin every day for about 18 months and "didn't mind" the journey, getting used to the almost daily traffic pile-ups and minor accidents at the Kill end of the Naas bypass. Two years after their move, hair stylist Bernie is now managing the Peter Mark salon in Carlow and David has found a new job a few miles away in Tullow.
"He's more sane-looking now when he gets up in the mornings," says Bernie. This is our town now. Even if I won the Lotto I wouldn't go back to Dublin."
Carlow is still a compact town, although with considerably more residents than at the time of the 1996 census, when a population of 12,000 was recorded. There are several new developments at the planning stages and the numbers are expected to rise to 20,000 in the next few years. It's a town which does not expect to become a satellite of Dublin, according to Urban Town Clerk Joe Waters.
He hopes that students graduating from the ever-expanding Institute of Technology will be persuaded to stay on, taking up positions in high-tech industries in the town. Carlow is famous for its sugar factory, which has been a major employer in the town for the past century. The long lines of beet lorries waiting for processing is a thing of the past, thanks to newer and faster technology.
Other main employers are electrical equipment company Braun, German pressed tool company Lapple and Oglesby & Butler, which makes soldering irons. Small indigenous companies specialising in technology and engineering are also an important part of the Carlow business scene. Oakpark, a Teageasc agricultural research centre on the town's northern outskirts, is a wonderful place for country walks.
The 2,500 full-time students who attend the Institute of Technology are a major money-spinner for the town and their presence means that rental potential is always strong. Apartment and duplex developments built on the banks of the River Barrow under the Urban Renewal Scheme find a ready market for tenants, although there is some local regret that owner-occupancy is low in this picturesque spot.
A draft Plan for the town, carried out by BDO Simpson Xavier Consulting and architects Murray O'Laoire, is due to be completed by the end of October. This will deal with how best to develop run-down areas, in particular the old grain stores and warehouses off Pembroke Road. Liam Fitzgerald of Carlow County Council is anxious that their eventual use will benefit the town. With a high proportion of under 30s in Carlow, there are plenty of pubs and nightclubs. The narrow cobbled main streets are packed with restaurants and speciality shops, while more serious shopping can be done at the Superquinn and Tullow Street covered shopping centres. Sporting activities are hugely important. The beautiful Barrow River and its tributary, the Burren, run through the town, so boating and fishing are popular pastimes. There is also hang-gliding, horse-riding, swimming at the parish-built pool at Graiguecullen pool, bowling, athletics and all-terrain driving.
Carlow is renowned for the prowess of its rugby team and GAA and soccer have large memberships. Then there is tennis, a cycle road club and several good golf clubs within reach. The spectacular Carlow course was once a deer park attached to the former Bruen Estate. The annual Eigse arts festival has become an international event and there are several theatre and musical groups to join.
House prices start at about £80,000 for the pretty, older-style, ex-council houses on Pollerton Road. A more traditional four-bedroom semi can be bought for £90,000 to £120,000 in the Pollerton Road area and £130,000 on the older private estates off Green Road. A brand new four-bed detached a bit further out will cost around £180,000. Close to the Institute of Technology is a very popular area to live and good for renting. The most upmarket houses in Carlow are probably found in the Oakpark area, backing onto the golf course and the rugby grounds.
Although Una Coughlan is finding the commute a struggle, she likes living in Carlow. Like many young Dubliners, she moved here because she couldn't afford city prices. "Carlow is a good place to live. Its not like being in the middle of the country, there's a lot happening in the way of arts, crafts and music. Its just very hard to connect with them when you're not working here and its difficult to get a job in the area when you're not known."
Carlow is Ceatherlach in Irish, usually translated as Four Lakes. One of the largest dolmens in the country with a capstone weighing about 100 tons is at Brown's Hill. County Carlow was heavily involved in the 1798 rebellion and the remains of 640 United Irishmen were buried in an unhallowed mass grave in a disused sand pit. The Croppies Grave monument can be seen in Graiguecullen, Carlow.
Famous names associated with the town include Walt Disney, whose ancestors emigrated from here. George Bernard Shaw inherited substantial property in Carlow, which he donated to the Urban Council with instructions that it was on no account to be used to line their coffers.
