Down my way

Architect Tony Reddy grew up in the city and wanted to live in one of the established Victorian suburbs when he and his wife Aoife first married. "There were a lot of good family-sized houses in need of refurbishment then. Terenure offers the opportunity of living in the city, yet it still has very good facilities for children. The parks are very good, great sports grounds and the quiet residential areas are still safe for children to play on the streets."

When the Reddys moved here two decades ago, many of the older houses were in flats. Now, almost all of these have been turned back into family homes. The Reddys are on their third house in the area, all of them period houses in various states of repair which they lovingly restored.

"Each property we renovated had a lot of work to do. Our first house was very old and hadn't been lived in for five years and there was a tree growing in the ground floor. The house we live in now on Terenure Road West was in reasonably good condition. The outbuildings had a lot of potential and we incorporated them into the house. The Reddys have four school-going children and local sports activities instead of house renovation take up much of the family's weekend these days. There has been a lot of architectural change since they first moved here, but the village centre has held on to its village atmosphere, with newer specialist shops trading alongside traditional grocers and butchers.

What of the future ? As an architect, Tony Reddy has great faith in the four local residents' associations to keep a watchful eye on the area - but he's not against changes.

"Some people like to think the city should stay the same. But like it or not, greater Dublin has pockets of undeveloped land and old property falling into decay like in London or Paris - new apartment developments will be built in place of single houses. It's a reflection of the city changing and will make it more compact."

The facilities are there in the village and don't need changing, he says. "In years to come, established centres like Terenure will take on a greater importance. They will become the most desirable places to live in the city."