A year ago, the patch of wasteland in Ballymun was notorious for antisocial behaviour disrupting the lives of neighbours.
Yesterday, on the same spot, Jackie O'Donnell (32), her partner Séamus McShane (26) and their two daughters, Sorcha (4) and Roisín (1), stepped into their new detached three-bedroom house, built with the help of more than 700 volunteers.
"The garden is huge!" laughed Jackie, who has been living in a small two-bedroom flat in Ballymun. "Sorcha's big thing is she'll be allowed to get a puppy. That's what she's most excited about. For us, it's a massive change. We'd never have been able to afford something like this if it wasn't for the way it was built."
Habitat for Humanity, which describes itself as a "non-denominational Christian self-build housing organisation", founded in the US in the 1970s, yesterday unveiled four homes which will be occupied by local families who had been living in substandard accommodation.
"The purpose is to move people out of unacceptable accommodation that is either crowded, unhealthy or too expensive for their needs," said Habitat for Humanity's fundraising and communications officer Colm Dolan.
The four families due to take official ownership of their new homes were selected following an application and interview process. Most of the successful applicants were mothers living in cramped local authority flats in Ballymun with their children.
In total, 700 volunteers from corporations and businesses donated more than 7,000 hours of their time to the project, saving in excess of €80,000 in labour costs. However, a key aspect of the initiative was the involvement of the four successful families.
"The families have to contribute what we call 'sweat equity' or 500 hours of labour to the building of their homes and their neighbours' homes," Mr Dolan said.
"They participated in all aspects of the build - learning new skills, and building friendships with their new neighbours. They've built their own homes and they'll own their homes, as opposed to being in a cycle of dependency."
The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Catherine Byrne, who was at the unveiling ceremony yesterday, said the community had been enriched by people who generously gave their time to make the city a better place.
The land in Ballymun was donated by Dublin City Council, while a special zero-profit mortgage was developed with EBS to allow families to buy their homes at an affordable rate.
For the O'Donnells, the house cost around €126,000, about half of its real value. The special mortgage means they can make their repayments on an interest rate of about 2.5 per cent, according to the family.
The Ballymun project is just the beginning, however. Habitat for Humanity is planning a 16-unit site in Ballyfermot and hopes to begin a process of refurbishing abandoned local authority houses over the coming months.
