Dublin-bound commuters are the main driver of growth in what was once a holiday town for Dubliners, writes Michael Parsons
Building a good road between Wexford and Dublin has been on the national agenda since the Norman invasion of the 12th century. But, thanks to Ireland's recent version of Mao's "Great Leap Forward", the dream is beginning to take real shape.
The interminable protests by Luddite "Eco-warriors" at the Glen Of The Downs were finally overcome and towns which were once bywords for traffic misery - Arklow, Rathnew and Ashford - have also been bypassed. Gorey, one of the country's notorious bottlenecks, is to be relieved later this year. Diverting the N11 traffic will restore the town's fine Main Street to its traditional status as the grand boulevard of north Wexford and, with enlightened planning, allow it to be pedestrianised.
Gorey has long been gateway to "the sunny south-east" for Dublin families on the annual journey to seaside holidays at Courtown, Ardamine or Ballymoney. Over the past decade, these resorts have seen a proliferation of "tax-incentive" holiday homes built alongside caravan parks and mobile homes.
But today, a growing number of people are choosing Gorey and its environs as their permanent home. They are drawn by the prospect of living close to the sea and by property prices that are lower than Dublin. The downside, for many, is a daily round-trip commute of 100 miles.
Agents ascribe some of Gorey's popularity to nostalgia. Young couples, unable to afford a house in Dublin, but who know nothing about "the country", often have happy memories of childhood holidays and feel comfortable about moving there. There is also a perception among many Dubliners that Gorey - 50 miles distant - is "not far away".
Wexford County Council says the Gorey area has the highest rate of population growth in the south-east region and has experienced a larger influx of new residents than any provincial town in the State.
Today an estimated 80 per cent of the population originates from outside Co Wexford, with one-third coming from Dublin, another third from other counties and the rest from overseas - both immigrants and returning Irish emigrants.
Most of the new arrivals are young couples or families. And because Gorey is a market town with no major industrial employer, almost 50 per cent of those in employment commute to work - usually to Dublin. Most, over three-quarters, drive despite the rail and bus alternatives. When the Mayor of Gorey, Cllr Bernard Crosbie, moved to the town from Rosslare 27 years ago, he "knew everybody". "Today is a different story," he says, "but it's still a very friendly town."
Travelling to a Wexford versus Dublin football match at Croke Park last summer he noticed "almost as many cars travelling from Gorey with Dublin flags" as were sporting the local purple and gold county colours.
This surge in population has sparked a building boom and caused a sharp increase in property prices. According to figures prepared by Wexford Co Council, the average price of a house in Gorey has jumped by 58 per cent over the past two years and a three-bed-semi today costs €325,000. An "entry-level" property - a two-bed mid-terrace townhouse - costs around €260,000.
Niall Slattery of Warren Estates Ltd, founded in 1871 and one of the longest-established auctioneering firms in the country, says most of his buyers are "young couples from Dublin and north Wicklow attracted by "better value than they can find at home". Most want a "traditional three-bed semi with a garden which they can't find in Dublin at an affordable price".
Increasingly, they also want to live "within walking distance of activities as parents are tired of acting as a taxi service to their children". Four-bed houses are also "beginning to do well as couples have more kids and trade up".
At the upper end of the market there "is a serious shortage of executive-style houses in excess of 2,000sq ft". The "best address in Gorey", Courtown Road, has "some lovely detached houses in their own grounds" in the €800,000 to €1 million bracket but "they rarely appear on the market". Outside town, Tara Hill is "the most sought-after rural address" where "a nice 2,000sq ft detached house with spectacular views sold before Christmas for €720,000".
"Access to the seaside is a huge attraction," according to James Kinsella, of Sherry Fitzgerald O'Leary Kinsella, agent for the Aylesbridge estate at Ardamine. Here, four and five-bedroom detached and semi-detached houses "within walking distance of the sea" sell for between €335,000 and €500,000.
Courtown is a perennial family favourite and Ballymoney, further up the coast, is reputed to be "highly sought-after by the south Dublin brigade".
"Blow-ins settle in well in Gorey," Kinsella believes, "because the town has always had a tradition of welcoming holidaymakers. Life is a different pace down here - crime rates are low, it's a pleasant place and the commute is tolerable."
But, with both partners in many households "working in high pressure jobs and commuting all week", what they "really appreciate at weekends is tranquillity and access to seaside and forest walks". Up to 40 per cent of Kinsella's buyers "want the rural life but with reasonable proximity to shopping".
For €450,000, he says, "you could still get a very nice four or five-bed, 2,000sq ft house on an acre about five miles from town".
Pauline O'Sullivan, managing director of DNG O'Sullivan, says "80 per cent of the business is coming from people relocating - mostly from greater Dublin". It's not all young commuters. "Older Dublin people who may have had a mobile home at the coast for years and now want to retire" are an important segment in the Gorey property market.
During the last six months, O'Sullivan has also noticed that migrant workers from Eastern Europe, especially Poles, who've been in Ireland for a few years, "are now becoming eligible for mortgages and beginning to buy".
She also sells to Irish returning from England who are "horrified by prices" though the blow is lessened by the sterling differential.
Like other agents, she confirms that "there is not a big demand for apartments" and that "most people will opt for a two-bed townhouse with a little garden instead to avoid the management fees".
However, apartment living is likely to increase as planning authorities may insist on higher density housing. A two-bed costs from about €235,000 and more in upmarket developments like Priory Court.
Agents say that they expect house prices in Gorey to rise because demand outstrips supply. Slattery says that "growth has reached saturation point" and further significant development won't take place until a planned overhaul and upgrade of water facilities is completed.
There is also intense pressure on local schools. Gorey Community School, the largest secondary school in Ireland with almost 1,600 pupils, is in "an over-capacity situation", according to council officials.
Bernard Lawless, town clerk of Gorey, confirmed that the Government has approved a new secondary school but a site has yet to be found. More primary schools may also be needed but, in the meantime, national schools in outlying areas are seeing large increases in pupil intake.
Research carried out to ascertain the wishes of the town's new residents revealed a demand for improved parking facilities, better shops and more youth facilities.
Lawless says there are plans for a new parking lot near the railway station; a new shopping centre with Dunnes Stores as anchor tenant is due to open soon (there's already Super Valu, Tesco, Lidl, a farmers' market on Saturday and an Aldi being built is due to open soon); and the council has opened a new children's playground and created Wexford's first skateboard park in the Town Park.
Surveying the busy Main Street, Myles Doyle (82), doyen of Gorey retailers, says "the town has completely changed - for the better". His traditional grocery sells everything from Sweet Afton cigarettes to homemade Wexford jams.
Doyle recalls that "the boat was full with people going to England" when he opened the shop half-a-century ago. "Isn't it great now," he adds, "that people haven't got to go?"
