IN ... SMITHFIELD:With the Luas, lots of high-end apartments and the Lighthouse cinema in place Smithfield should have more of a buzz, says Paul O'Doherty.
THERE'S SOMETHING peculiar about Smithfield that does little to reconcile the trappings of modernity - the glass, cool new apartments that stare out over the cobblestone square - with the older buildings that line up awkwardly around the old Jameson distillery, chimney and dysfunctional observation tower.
And it doesn't help that every film buff in Dublin will tell you stories of how Richard Burton drank the area dry when he was making The Spy Who Came In From the Cold. The dispassionate cobblestoned space seems to be missing something - like a Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburg Gate, Nuremburg rally. Also, surprisingly, in such a small area, pockets of wasteland remain undeveloped.
Then there's the lighting that looks attractively like retired ordnance plucked from some north African Second World War battlefield, extended and rammed into the ground, to pose idly in sympathy with the many empty retail spaces.
As for the people, the community is still at the getting-to-know-you stage, missing a focal point, outnumbered at times by the legal profession in their spotless black and whites, puritan-style neckties and bundled notes, windswept, with the power of authority in their gait, going to and from their chambers.
How's the market?
Like everywhere else, prices are down or need to be reassessed. In not the largest of apartment-living (and the odd terrace) markets, a scarce one-bedroom first-floor apartment at Smithfield Village is looking for €290,000.
Two-beds start around the €350,000-mark with a second floor apartment, with use of tennis courts and roof garden, at The Richmond, typical of the asking price.
While closer to the action (and I use the term loosely), a second floor apartment at Smithfield Village overlooking the cobblestone plaza costs €380,000. In the newer and more modern Smithfield Market development a sixth-floor option seems overpriced at €635,000. At the top of the square and moving into the three-bedroom variety, a penthouse at Smithfield Gate, over the Eurospar, with south-facing views of the cobblestones, is reasonably priced at €525,000. Top of the market, in the same league, there's a Section 23 fifth-floor apartment with a car-park space going for €749,000.
And to rent?
One-bedroom apartments around the main Smithfield Gate, village and market complexes or at The Hardwicke are hovering around the €1,000-point with a view of the square costing you an extra €300.
Into the two-beds, the market still hasn't realised it's got competition with prices for what's similar in the classy Smithfield Market complex asking between €1,400 and €1,600. Going below that a modest first-floor apartment at Smithfield Gate or off the quieter North Brunswick Street are looking for €1,350, while penthouse prices in the same division are between €2,950 and €2,000.
If it's a three-bed you're after, opening gambits are at €2,400 at The Tower, while a penthouse in the same building, with great views of the city, is at €3,500.
Going out?
With the Luas running through it, the city centre is a couple of stops away or at the end of a gentle stroll. Which is pretty handy because, apart from a couple of odd bars and restaurants and the stylish Lighthouse cinema which should bring in visitors, strolling over the cobblestones, you can't help but wonder, Geldof-esque, is-that-it?
Price of a pint?
€4.40 in Thomas Reads or €4.30 in Frank Ryan and Sons.
Good for families?
Close enough to children's hospitals, proposed or otherwise. Crèche places in the area are tight although Blackhall Parade Children's Project on Arran Quay, which is full at the moment, is accepting applications in July for the upcoming season.
Prices are €70 full-time and €50 part-time. And, the One-Parent Exchange Network (OPEN), the organisation representing one-parent families, is based on Red Cow Lane (which incidentally doesn't have a roundabout or roadworks) and is a useful drop-in educational resource centre with a parents-in-education programme, devised by the National College of Ireland (NCI).
What to do?
The new Lighthouse cinema is definitely worth a visit as is the old Jameson distillery who do a mean tour.
The controversial pony market on the first Sunday of every month still brings in the horse traders, although for how long, with the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Dublin SPCA) once again, recently, calling for its immediate closure.
And, if you're around at Christmas, there's Smithfield-on-Ice. Or, in two years time, when it is due to open, you might get a chance once again to see Dublin from the Jameson chimney.
Home to . . .
The Law Library
Locals say . . .
"The regeneration of the area was badly needed and has brought life back into the old area" (Mags in Frank Ryan and Sons public house).
"I'm only after moving in but I really love the pony market" (Daria Protti).
"A fierce amount of traffic builds up on Queen's Street every day" (Eddie Cleary).
"The Lighthouse cinema is a great addition to the area but they have to do something about the amount of other vacant units" (Sarah Tracey).
