The move from Ballyfermot in Dublin to Ballinskelligs in Kerry is a quantum leap requiring some imagination. And Paul O'Neill and his family have made that leap. Why, you might wonder, would a Dub want to take himself off to the sticks? Now almost three years into the experiment, I thought it might be interesting to hear how the experience had lived up to the initial, romantic view of the move, and if the motivating forces were still as strong.
The townland of Emlough Mor in Ballinskelligs, near Waterville, is vastly different from Ballyfermot. I suspect that it would be far easier to find the former O'Neill home in Ballyfermot, at Crawford Drive, than it is to find their tidy bungalow at Emlough Mor.
The fuchsia and montbretia, so spectacular in this part of Kerry at this time of year, seem a million miles away from the concrete of Ballyfermot. Turf was piled along the roadside, drying and awaiting collection.
In the open countryside which leads through Killarney, Killorglin, Cahirciveen and towards the beautiful coastline nestling up to Ballinskelligs and Waterville, there were signs that the tourist season was drawing to a close. The bustle of June and July was no longer evident.
Less than three years ago, Paul O'Neill (38), his wife Stephanie (36), and their three children, Grainne, then just over 16 years, Tanya, aged 14, and Paul junior, aged 12, moved to Ballinskelligs. They had little idea what their future would hold. And when they heard what the plan was, friends in Dublin were sceptical and doubted the O'Neills would make it.
There were wagers that it wouldn't be long before they packed their bags again and headed back to Dublin. But the central question was what made them do it? Why Ballinskelligs?
The answer is the Late Late Show. One evening, the O'Neills were watching an item on the programme dealing with a rural resettlement scheme under which people in urban areas were being encouraged to take up the slack left by the flight from the smaller villages and towns.
The two O'Neill girls and their younger brother were at an age when clubs and discos were beckoning. Their parents were fretting about the rising crime rate in their area, the growing drugs culture, the increase in socalled joy riding and car theft. They were concerned about the apparent breakdown in law and order in the neighbourhood. Watching the programme, an idea formed.
Paul O'Neill turned to his family and said the idea seemed excellent to him. There was some discussion, doubts were raised but no dissenting voice. The family consensus was that they should explore this novel project. Paul O'Neill contacted the Rural Resettlement Ireland offices in Dublin.
He knew no more about the scheme than he had heard on television, and once initial contact was made, he had no idea, if they were accepted, where his family might live.
When the house in Ball inskelligs came up, it was all the same to the O'Neills - they had decided to go to the countryside, away from Ballyfermot - and they were not too fussed. It was a great adventure for a Ballyfermot family and they were determined to go ahead with it.
The children were sent first to Ballinskelligs so they could make up their minds. There were further discussions and then they all moved down. They left behind a three-bedroom home in Ballyfermot, and leased a four-bedroom bungalow in Ballinskelligs.
The freedom to explore the beaches, the hinterland and the country lanes near the new house was a different experience for the younger Dubliners.
They had doubts, though. Who would their new friends be? How would they meet them? Would they ever again have friends? Those fears were soon removed. Once settled into school in Waterville, friends came naturally and all those earlier worries were allayed.
But they kept in touch with their Dublin friends who regularly came to Ballinskelligs during the holidays. The three children, say their parents, have had the best of both worlds, although they are in no doubt that Ballinskelligs is where they prefer to be.
Paul O'Neill has just completed a local painting contract under a FAS scheme. The contract will be renewed again next October. In the meantime, he enjoys fishing off the local beaches for bass or deep-sea fishing with friends in the area. For his wife, Stephanie, the feeling of being on a sort of permanent holiday has not diminished.
But she also sees a more practical side to the move. She estimates that her weekly shopping bill has been reduced by up to £30 by leaving Dublin. "In the big supermarkets in Dublin, I was always picking up items I didn't really want - I think that's what they are designed to make you do.
"But here in Ballinskelligs, shopping is on a much smaller scale - it is more focused - I buy only what I need. The meat is much cheaper and fresher. The butchers do their own slaughtering. You know exactly what you are getting," Mrs O'Neill said.
Grainne O'Neill has spent the summer working for a local hotel, and living in. Next year, she will complete her Applied Leaving Certificate. Tanya has completed her Junior Certificate, and Paul junior will sit his next year. He and his sister have spent the summer caddying at the Waterville golf links, earning about £15 per day, but sometimes as much as £40, depending on the generosity of the tippers.
The O'Neills now find that for them, Dublin has become a city to which they go as seldom as possible. The noise, the crowds, the volume of cars are alien to their new lifestyle. They say that three days in the city of their birth is more than enough, in fact it's as much as they can take.
"Every time I arrive at Heuston Station, I experience a culture shock. After a few days, I'm longing to get back to the quietness and slower pace of Ballinskelligs," says Paul O'Neill.
He adds that one effect of the move is that the family have grown closer as a unit. "We have more time together, more time to share walks and talk. It's been very good for us." There's another reason why visits to Dublin are not regularly planned. To get there, the O'Neills must take a bus from Ballinskelligs to Killarney. That costs £20 for two people.
The cost of the train fare to Dublin is £60 for two, bringing the return trip to £80.
Would the O'Neills advise other families to do as they did? "Most certainly we would," Mr O'Neill said. "But we would strongly advise them also to join a credit union immediately. That's vital, because there might come a day when an emergency arises and they have to go back to where they came from in a hurry. It's important to have a contingency plan." Mr and Mrs O'Neill cannot say with any certainty that the children will remain in Ballinskelligs. But the parents have their minds made up: "This is the place for us," Mrs O'Neill said.
Rural Resettlement Ireland was started in 1990 by Clare sculptor Jim Connolly because of his concern about the population decline in the country. The scheme receives 60 per cent of its funding from the Government and the remainder from the Ireland Fund, the Heinz Corporation and Irish/America.
It has an annual budget of £100,000, a waiting list of 3,500 families looking to resettle, and an 80 per cent success rate among the 297 families who have moved from urban to rural Ireland over the past seven years.
Over 90 per cent of the families who moved were from an urban environment - the bulk of them from Dublin. It would be difficult to mention the scheme without acknowledging the appalling deaths of Carl and Catherine Doyle last month who were killed in their home at Ballintubber, Co Roscommon, having moved there to make a new life away from Dublin.