Family ties on the South Circular Road

When Shona O'Neill and Hugh Chaloner first moved into 49 Raymond Street in Dublin 8, they were fun-loving singletons who had left suburbia to be close to the city.

Now, although marriage and two children may have tempered their late nights, eight years on they are still singing the praises of the three-bedroom redbrick terraced house off the South Circular Road.

They didn't move out of the inner city after the birth of their daughter Kaytlin five years ago. Even Ben's arrival nearly two years ago didn't shake their resolve. "Contrary to what people might think, this is a great area for bringing up kids," says Shona. "There's lots of childcare and the local national school which Kaytlin attends only has around 90 pupils.

"People don't always think it's an obvious choice for children but large families were traditionally brought up in these houses." There are inevitably other children in the area given that first-time buyers and younger couples are often attracted to these houses.

Best of all, Shona, who is head of internal communications for Guinness (Ireland) Ltd, is a mere four-minutes commute by car to St James Gate. "I only take the car because I have to use it during the day," she says. "Otherwise I could walk and it's great to know I'm close by in case of an emergency - either at home or at work." Hugh is a film and video editor with Pluto and walks each day to his office on Leeson Street Bridge.

Raymond Street was built in the 1880s and is a settled and mixed community. "Even the children know the people who live in the street," says Hugh. Another advantage for Shona and Hugh is that friends live locally. "It's easy to keep in the touch when you only have to walk around the corner to visit people," he says.

They bought the house for £70,000 €88,816). "It was always a popular area," says Hugh, "but even since we arrived, it has become more gentrified." The houses may not have gardens but they have small yards out back and the house is close to a number of parks such as Iveagh Gardens, St Patrick's Cathedral park, Sundrive and Harold's Cross. They also find the Phoenix Park a convenient stop-off.

The area is adjacent to coffee bars, pubs and restaurants and "We can also get food delivered quite easily," says Shona. Shopping is convenient, especially with the outdoor Camden Street market close by.

Hugh originally came from Rathfarnham and Shona from Foxrock. "We do spend a lot of time with our families but it means we are going out of town at weekends when traffic is light, says Shona.

Raymond Street is narrow and parking can be congested but a residential disc parking scheme is about to be introduced. "Living here means you don't have to have a car at all if you don't want to," says Hugh.

And why are they moving? "We want live-in childcare," says Shona, "and so we need an extra room. We wondered about doubling up the children but that would only be a short-term solution anyway, so we are looking for another house in the area. We certainly don't want Kaytlin to have to move schools."