Love stories begin in Chapelizod, if the legend of Tristan and Isolde is anything to go by. Isolde had a chapel here and the ruin in the grounds of the Church of Ireland church on Mill Lane is said to mark the place where Tristan asked for her hand in marriage. The belfry tower which dates from the late medieval period is built around a much earlier one.

James Joyce liked the area enough to set his epic Finnegans Wake in the world of Chapelizod, the Phoenix Park and Strawberry Beds. The local residents and heritage societies are holding the first annual "Wakeday" on Easter Sunday next to celebrate it's Joycean links.

Today's visitor will fall in love with the narrow streets with pretty cottages running down to the Liffey on both banks. The former garrison town is sandwiched between the Chapelizod Bypass and the Phoenix Park, with the river running through the centre.

The boundaries go from the Castleknock end of Knockmaroon Hill, citywards to the junction of Sarsfield and St Laurence Roads and south towards Kylemore Road. It's linear shape is determined by the vast acreage of Phoenix Park which bounds the northern end - fortunate Chapelizod residents can access the park from a gate in the centre of the village.

Older residents who remember strolling in the park with the children on summer days regret that Chapelizod is no longer a place where families grow up. Progress in the form of apartment blocks in every spare infill site has turned the pretty riverside village into a yuppie paradise.

Given that Chapelizod is a very scenic four miles or so from the city and the village itself is oozing with character, it's not surprising young professionals are flocking here. The park and the river provide endless recreational facilities and the M50 is minutes away by car.

While both sides of the river are picturesque, the roads bordering Phoenix Park on Knockmaroon Hill and Martin's Row are more sought-after. Celebrated portrait artist Thomas Ryan has lived all his life here and runs an art gallery from his period house next door to the Villager pub.

Clonbur House, one of the best houses in Chapelizod, is to be auctioned next month by Jackson-Stops T and is expected to make in excess of £1.6 million. Investors will be interested in the land's development potential. Tiny cottages on both sides of the river which could be bought for under £100,000 in the mid-1990s are now beyond a first-time buyer's reach. A very pretty period cottage in need of complete refurbishment on Knockmaroon Hill was sold by Gunne Residential around that time for £60,000. These cost considerably more when they come on the market now.

Gunne sold Drummond House, a two-bedroom cottage with a tiny front garden and rear yard, for over £160,000 late last year. One of the little houses on New Row right in the village was sold by Flynn & Associates recently for over £150,000. Lisney achieved £120,000 last June for a two-up-two-down in poor condition on St Laurence Road and Gunne sold a similar terraced house in good order on Chapelizod Hill in December for £130,000 plus.

Currently on the market is a 200-year-old terraced cottage on Maiden's Row, beside the river, asking £200,000 through Lowe & Associates. The same agency has a granite-fronted three-bed semi for sale on Lucan Road for £180,0000.

In many ways, Chapelizod is like a country village. There is an annual July festival with a Bonny Babies competition, prizes for the best sponge cake and a sponsored plastic duck race down the Liffey. (Real live geese are kept behind the old church on the Main Street.) Not surprisingly, Chapelizod was voted the tidiest village in the Bord Failte competition in 1999.

The local residents' associations are keen to secure special amenity status for the village. They claim that the Corporation has built a brand new village in Smithfield while Chapelizod - older than Dublin itself - is an original village virtually ignored as a potential tourist attraction. The Corporation intends putting a proposed plan for the village square on public display.

One of the problems, say residents, is that applications for planning are dealt with on an individual basis. With relatively small sites costing huge money, developers looking for a return on their investment need to build upwards. Heaslon Properties has applied for an amendment to an existing permission which will allow them to build seven three and four-storey apartment blocks containing 164 units on the site.

Drumriley Constuction is hoping to build 105 apartments and duplexes in a six-storey scheme on the old Grants of Ireland site on St Laurence's Road which was bought for £6.2 million. The development will be on three levels and access will be from St Laurence Road. An application has also been made for 67 units, a creche and a restaurant on the New Age Services premises beside the village square.

These future residents and their cars will add to the already serious traffic problems on Main Street, say residents. At peak times, commuters from Castleknock and Lucan shortcutting through the village cause tailbacks on the narrow Main Street and Knockmaroon Hill. Like it or not, apartments are very much part of the scene in Chapelizod and sell well. Some, like the stylish Mill Race apartments on the site of the old distillery, command premium prices. Flynn & Associates recently sold a one-bedroom Mill Race apartment for in excess of £130,000 and a two-bedroom for over £150,000.

First-time buyers can still find two-bed apartments for around £140,000 in earlier schemes such as Northcliffe, which has a rear entrance to the park. Gunne is currently inviting offers in excess of £139,000 for a two-bed Northcliffe apartment and £120,000 each for two one-bedroom units at King's Hall on the city side of the village.

Sherry FitzGerald has two apartments on view for the first time this week. A two-bed in Weir View on the river bank is priced at £175,000 and a two-bed unit at St Laurence's Glen, £150,000. Across the bridge, the Laurence Brook townhouse development is extremely popular for its riverside location and attractive landscaping. Gunne sold a two-bedroom house here in late 1999 for around £170,000. The real bargains are to be found, however, off Lucan Road on Glenaulin and Belgrove estates.

Here, you can buy a family-sized four-bedroom house with a good back garden for under £250,000. Gunne is currently selling a modern four-bedroom semi on Belgrove Lawn, asking in excess of £230,000.

Locked in by the park and the river and undervalued as a village of genuine character, there is only one way for Chapelizod property to go - skywards.