' . . . all we miss is Liffey Valley!'

Tina and Billy Birthistle, then 37 and 40, and their three children, Romy, Bobbie Jean and Zack, then 14, 11 and three, were living in Celbridge, Co Kildare - and the morning commute was a nightmare.

"I worked on the Naas Road and, if you missed the morning envelope by five minutes, you would be sitting with the kids in traffic for ages. We left early, Billy dropping me to work first, all of us in the car because you couldn't leave them in the house on their own, then coming back to drop them to school before going to work himself.

It meant they had to be up at 7.15 to be in school down the road at nine o'clock, rushing, school lunches, shoes, finding things - it shows the madness of it.

"Also, we had had a real community on our estate, but properties were now being bought up for rental in the boom. We were beginning not to know our neighbours."

They began to look west, travelling down to Galway at weekends to vet properties, and finally took the plunge, initially renting in Clonbur where they decided to build. But it didn't work out.

"The children were in school in Ballinrobe and felt cut off from friends. I was taxi mum. So we had a family meeting, and finally bought our present home 10 minutes outside Ballinrobe.

It's detached, with a huge back garden, and our own redesigned interior. We are surrounded by green areas, walks, lakes. We could only have dreamt of it in Dublin. "Renting first was the right decision, I think anyone who buys too quickly is mad. You can rent for half the price without cutting all ties as you look round, so it's win win."

Three years ago, Tina opened her restaurant, Ellie McGuires, in the nearby village of Ballindine. "This is something I always wanted to do, and I could never have afforded to lease a property in Dublin. Here in Ballindine, we lease from someone who had faith in me and has treated us really honourably. Then Ballinrobe Credit Union backed us for a loan, and gave us a favourable response.

"I'm front-of-house and have a fantastic chef, Siobhan Higgins. We wanted a restaurant where families are welcome, the children's menus emphasising health and choice.

"Billy initially kept on his job (in shopfitting) but he was up and down to Dublin, defeating the whole purpose. He had always been marvellous at cooking at home, and within the last year came into the business with me. He's commis chef, responsible for all the sauces and a lot of the menu ideas."

These days the pace of life is very different. Zack, now eight, goes to school in Ballindine, with both parents sharing work and parenting flexibly.

"Driving to and from work is an extremely pleasant 20 minutes, and the job expands depending how busy we are. I'm working more hours than in my last job, with half the stress," she says.

While the move has been ideal for herself, husband and son, it has been tougher on their daughters. "Moving at 14 was difficult for Romy; while she has made good friends here, she missed her Dublin friends, and now lives in Dublin while training at the Gaiety School of Acting and studying make-up. Bobby Jean didn't settle as well as we hoped, and we spent many hours looking at ways of ironing things out without running back to Dublin. She is now at a fantastic boarding school in Limerick and loves it. There are always solutions to problems if you are prepared to look hard enough.

"What do I miss from Dublin? My family first, then Liffey Valley! I miss accessibility to theatres, the Point Depot, booking a show, babysitters within the extended family.

"What don't I miss? The regimented lifestyle, watching the clock, people with miserable faces sitting in traffic. I was one of them and it gets into your bones. Life here is perfect for Zack and perfect for us. I wouldn't ever consider moving back."