Don and Sheila Comiskey, aged 57 and 56, decided to trade down to another house a year ago.

They sold their four-bed family home on one-and-a-half acres in Kilcroney, Enniskerry, and bought a new three-storey, four-bed house in Delgany which will be completed in the new year.

"The family house was far too big and isolated for us," says Sheila.

"After our youngest had moved out last year we thought: 'What are the two of us doing here?'

"It was getting to the stage where the house needed a major refurbishment and maintaining the gardens was a chore.

"We knew we wanted to move closer to civilisation, but we weren't ready to move to an apartment either.

"So we opted for a new house in a small development which would appreciate in value. We made the decision overnight and I was really happy and relieved to be moving.

"The new house is big enough for our children and grandchildren to come and visit. And we still have a small garden. But the rooms are much smaller so we had to sell all of our antique furniture. This house is going to grow old with us. It's easier to manage and closer to everything if we got ill, which has made our children happier.

"Also, if one of us was left alone, we both felt we'd be quite happy here. We are hoping to travel more in the future, and maybe buy an overseas holiday home, so we needed somewhere easier to secure and we didn't want the garden to become a mill around our necks."