Name: John Elliot. Address: Sandycove, Co Dublin. Dwelling: Terraced house. Here since: 1994
Our house is almost exactly half way between the east pier of Dún Laoghaire harbour and the Forty Foot and Joyce's Tower. We live on the sea front, directly looking out into Dublin Bay. The particular part of Dublin Bay that we look out on, the stretch of water, is called Scotsman's Bay. I don't know which Scotsman was associated with it, actually, but I'm Scottish myself, by good chance.
It's a wonderful view over the bay; a good view no matter what the weather. Obviously, it's best in brilliant sunshine, but when there's a storm out at sea, that's worth looking at as well. It's the sort of view you might go on holiday to see.
It's the first time in my life I'm living beside the water, and it's difficult to imagine not having the view. I've become so used to it. It's calming.
On a sunny weekend, we get a lot of visitors here - the place is packed. People who live here can see that as a negative, but it's the flipside of living in a lovely area. The only real downside is finding someplace to park your car.
I've lived here since 1994, with my wife Mary and 10-year-old daughter Elizabeth. Mary is from the area. She was born and brought up just a street away in Glasthule village. We were living in London before (we met in England), and Mary said Ireland was a good place to live. Our daughter is growing up in exactly the same neighbourhood, walking in the same parks. We're very happy here, and I plan to live the rest of my life in Ireland.
It's maybe a bit of a cliché to talk about village atmosphere, but we really have that in Glasthule. I'm active in the local residents' association, and I've got to know a lot of people through that. We had a well-publicised battle last year with the County Council over plans to develop the Dún Laoghaire baths site; they wanted to put up some high-rise buildings. We, along with many others, campaigned to get sense to prevail. We were quite surprised at the effort needed to stop what was widely agreed as being an inappropriate development. It took three marches and over 15,000 signatures. We have to be constantly vigilant about the dangers of the seafront being damaged by bad development.
Primarily, it's about protecting the area as a very pleasant residential and recreational area. We're not against change. We're all for improvements. We just want to make sure they're the right ones.
- In conversation with Davin O'Dwyer