The O'Connell family live in the Laois countryside, surrounded by woods, lush fields, and the still waters of the Grand Canal. Only the sounds of birds singing and tractors at work in nearby tillage fields break the silence.
However, the tranquil setting, in a cul-de-sac off the N7, is threatened by a multi-million pound bypass which will run through the O'Connells' lands at Killaglush, Ballybrittas and at one point will be just 60 metres from their front door.
Work on the four-lane highway, which will link the Portlaoise and Kildare bypasses, has not yet started but is due for completion by 2004.
Known locally as the Heath to Mayfield bypass, it will be built on an 11-metre high embankment over the Grand Canal, which flows in front of the O'Connells' bungalow.
It will, the family fear, obliterate their scenic woodland views and create unbearable noise.
Mr Dan O'Connell said the development would effectively mean his family would be left living under a motorway. They will have to be rehoused by the National Roads Authority (NRA), he believed.
He and his wife Breda objected to the route of the motorway at an oral hearing last year but their concerns were not taken on board. They are now seeking a meeting with the authority.
Local Fianna Fail TD Mr John Moloney said the O'Connells were in a very peculiar position and their case stood out. "I did not grasp it until I went there to see for myself. It's quite preposterous to imagine how somebody could remain living there once the new road is built.
"The family are most reluctant to move but they will have to unless the route is changed and it will not be changed at this stage. The only thing is for them to be compensated adequately," he said.
Mr O'Connell said he had not been offered any compensation yet. His wife said the problems "will only start if and when we get compensation. Where will we get another house close to our farm?" she wondered.
During the summer Breda would normally leave her windows open at night. This will no longer be an option with the noise of passing traffic, she said.
She also expects 23 acres of their holding to be taken from them by Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for the motorway. She believes CPOs should not be allowed and that the compensation given under the scheme was inadequate for farmers who wanted to buy back land in its place.
Mr James Deegan, a Fine Gael councillor in the area, said the new road would place the O'Connell family "in a virtual prison".
He said neither he nor the O'Connell family were against progress. They accepted a bypass was necessary to ease traffic congestion through Kildare town but "nobody should be hard done by".
He said it cost £6 million to build each kilometre of motorway. "They should set some of it aside to compensate people adequately. It's a moral issue," Mr Deegan said.
"The O'Connells have very few people to fight their case, but if they were an exotic butterfly or snail, every environmentalist in the country would be campaigning for them," he added.
A spokesman for the National Roads Authority said the CPO had been confirmed, despite the O'Connells' submission to the oral hearing. He added that the planning and design of the route was a matter for their local authority. However, he would not confirm whether the authority would meet the family. "We will be replying to their request in due course," he said.