Name: Kayrena Dowling Address: Ballyard, Tralee, Co Kerry Dwelling: Detached House Here Since: All her life.
I was born and brought up in Ballyard, about three miles outside Tralee. I've only moved 100 yards from the family home - and that was 19 years ago in October. It was quite a small house, but we knocked it in 2000 and built a 5,000sq ft one. It's just lovely. There's a river running out the back; you just couldn't replace it.
When you're in town working for six days a week [Dowling's family run a number of shops in Tralee, including John Dowling Sports, pictured left], it's lovely to be in the country at night. It's an escape from town. Only one house has gone up near us in the 19 years we've been here. There are a few other houses further up the mountain. Whenever we see the neighbours on the road, it's down with the window for a chat, and when someone behind us beeps, then that's when we move on.
It's very tight-knit. It's getting more built-up, but it's still quiet and friendly. People from all over are moving to Ballyard, but they'll let you know they are coming to live here. Everyone knows everyone, while in bigger places you could be living there 10 years and you wouldn't even know who's living four doors down. I can't say I'd want to live anywhere else, to be honest. I love it.
With the two teams in the finals this year - the seniors and the minors - the anticipation is great. The football is big around here. People who get involved are very serious about it. There are no Tralee players in the panel this year, but that wouldn't affect the excitement. The buzz is unreal.
We're in the sports business ourselves. My father, John Dowling, started out in 1955, the year he captained Kerry, and
they won the All-Ireland. He had just opened a sports-goods shop, and the Sam Maguire was sitting in the window for a year afterwards.
We have two shoe shops now as well. When I was 16, Daddy nabbed me and said, 'Go in there for a week,' and all these years later I'm still here. I like it. I'm a people person, like my father. People to this day come in asking for him, and he's dead seven years.
Jerseys are flying out the door. If we could make them ourselves we would, because people are waiting by the door for them. People will buy anything with a Kerry crest at the minute. It's phenomenal. Everything else is forgotten for a few days, and all we want is to see the team coming back here on Monday night with Sam.