Living In Portarlington

SONEILL

Hi,
I just moved to Portarlington and I was wondering if anyone could suggest any clubs etc I could join to get to know people in the area
Soneill

IMPEGA

hello and welcome to portarlington

there are a few clubs

of course the GAA would be the most popular - depending on which end of the town you are the clubs are Gracefield (offaly end) and Portarlington (laois)

the rugby club out on the lea road is very active and caters for both genders

the tennis club is located on station road

there a also a fishing club but a not too sure of its base

also 2 great golf courses one in Garryhinch and the other at the Herritage in Killinard

depending on your age and gender i can recommend a good few bars which might suit you

agian welcome to port!

also the snooker club which is going through a re building stage ( members wise) is on the Main street just before the good year chinese (up the steps in the catholic club) details for this can be got in Finlays pub aldo on the main street

SONEILL

Thanks For The Info It Would Be Great If You Could Suggest A Few Lively Fun Pubs - I'm 25 & Female

daithimac

If you want to meet people then my only suggestion would be not to join the pioniers. ports a cracking town and the people are as friendly as fudge.
the conto and anvil on main street are always lively and the afterdark is always good for a laugh

Steve_o

SONEILL wrote:

Hi,
I just moved to Portarlington and I was wondering if anyone could suggest any clubs etc I could join to get to know people in the area
Soneill

Welcome to Port....There's a basketball club aswell if your interested!!

IMPEGA

well it was said already the Anvil Conto and After Dark are good spots at the weekend

Also the front bar of the Hotel, Tom's Bar have live music at the weekend( mostly sat night) and does be a bit of craic.

O'Deas ( across form the Hotel) is a sound spot too.

connundrum

Welcome to Port! (Via Dublin?!) If your goin out after 12.30 on a Saturday night, do not go to the Hotel, for your own safety. You'll be shortly made aware that the GAA is the biggest underage barn yard gathering in the country (avoid too). Best Sunday dinners are to be had in Garryhinch Gold Club.. if I think of more I'll post it

LegacyUser

Hey there, I am from Dublin, my boyfriend is from Port.

I go out in portarlington every weekend and have the best time. In fact,for me, Port has replaced Dublin for all major piss ups, Stephens day, new years eve, halloween, Paddys day... an all that jazz.

There is a cool, friendly young crowd, the drink is cheap and the atmospher is really lively and fun.

I don't know if I could live in Port, because I am a city girl at heart and I love my shopping, buses and taxis, but its definitely the best place for a night on the tear.

We used to go to the spa (corrig house) and then tumble into in the hotel, but as connundrum says, the hotel is a pretty dangerous spot.

Now we frequent the weighbridge, or the after dark, the continental, the rugby club... Oh, and delaneys! Can't forget Delaneys:D

booth

Howye doin? I was playing a gig in After Dark last Sunday night and it was really cool and chilled out and they have great leather couches/jukebox down the back. Anyway I'm playing again this Saturday for anyone who's interested in acoustic guitar, etc ... just thought I'd mention it while on the subject of After Dark. I love that place. :#0

Durka_Durka

I'm thinkin of buyin in Portarlington. It seems like a bit of a hole. The main street looks run down.
And compared to Tullamore and Portlaoise, it has limited services. Can anyone convince me otherwise????

IMPEGA

Durka_Durka i would not try to attempt to convience your otherwise
there are extreme limited sevices in port, except your an alcolohic then there are twenty odd pubs.

head for tullamore or portlaoise - more to be had there - but property is that bit more expensive

Derek1

Hi Im thinking of moving to Portarlington and there hasnt been anyone in this forum for a while. Anyone with any more views on it? Has anybody moved there lately and if so how are they finding it? Is it going ok for you soneill?

connundrum

Consider a couple of facts before you move..

A huge portion of the adult population in Portarlington work in Dublin, and therefore get the train every day. If you work in Dublin and are considering commuting, this will do your head in after about 6 months.

I would suggest that if you have a few extra €'s then consider either Port Laois or Tullamore as you will have 100 times better facilities for you and/or your children.

The only way I would move down to Portarlington would be if I were able to work from home, and I'm not sure of the broadband situation there at the mo so I don't know if that'd even be possible.

voodoo

guys, port isnt too bad! Depending on your lifestyle! There are lots of good pubs and some of these have had a good facelift giving it a bit of a trendy image (was badly needed to be honest). Lots of good restuarants (more chinese restaurants than most towns though), Mario's Trattoria is lovely - always packed...

If you are into things like bowling or cinema or anything like that, stay away! These services are badly needed in the town!

Sports - there is also a good soccer club which people ommitted (has won some things in the last few years). If you have young male kids, their underage teams are excellent - made it to the All-Ireland U12 semi's only to be beat by think it was Bohemians a couple of years ago.

Overall, facilities and services not great, but getting better - great swimming pool being re-designed with jacuzzis and saunas and the like. Supposed to be a gym going in as well which will compete nicely with The Heritage in Killenard which is a grand a years membership.

Anyway, hope this gives you something! As others have said, it's cheaper than Portlaoise and Tullamore to buy in, probably because of the lack of some of these services!

loughgate.com

Just moved here to Portarlington within the last few months and although i would agreed with previously comments about the services in the area, but i think you need to think long term. It is true the house prices are alittle bit cheaper but not much. When we arrived here to live in Portarlington about 3 months ago, it seems very under populated but now i know different. There has been alot of houses built in Portarlington and this combined with a good Train service, it is only a matter of time before you have better services.

They have started a shopping centre in Portarlington but due to planning objections this is now on hold, but i am sure this is a minor setback.

Here are a list of services i have collected and will add more when i become aware of more:

http://www.loughgate.com/links.html

The website above i put together about the area where i have moved to. The site is still in its early stages but when locals become more involved i hope to add more content.

For the record, i am one of the mad commuters that work in Dublin and live in Portarlington! For now it is ok as i am using the train and not the car, but its still 3 hours ago traveling.

Hope some of the information helps.

Kingdom

Hi,

Felt urged to post about Port here.
We decided to buy our first house last year and for various reasons (age being chief among them - I'm 24) Portarlington and the cheaper houses appealed to us. My wife is from Kildare, we had been renting in Sallins so moving a bit further out wasn't much of a problem.

We moved to Crann Nua exactly a year ago this month and we have seen the good the bad and the ugly of Portarlington.
I haven't been that impressed with most of the estates in the town. I know our houses are poorly finished which is unfortunate. We have been unlucky with ours as we had to move out for 6 months as the tank burst in the attic, so we missed the best of the town during the summer. The best houses are probably the small Wilton Estate or the Railway Mews estate. The amount of Dubs in the town is crazy! There are about 10 houses in our cul de sac and by my guess the occupants of 7 are Dubs. None are locals.

As for the town I think the general vibe is very friendly. I like the area. We hope to move house within the next year and although we intend to move to Tullamore if something suitable came up in Portarlington we'd jump at the chance.

The sporting community seems to be bustling. Good GAA clubs, a very good soccer club and a rugby club(don't know about it -believ the social scene is good there). Two good golf clubs and even a Pitch and Putt society. There does seem to be little to offer kids who aren't sports orientated unfortunately.

As for eating Mario's trattoria is as good as anything you'll find of its equivalent in Dublin, while the Chinese in the Courtyard is nice too.
The boozers are where the town comes out tops for me. Quite a few quality pubs, the tops being O'Deas for the Guinness (sound Bar woman too - even if it is a Mayo joint:eek: ), the Anvil for the football, and the COntinental for going out for a laugh and some good tunes.

I've had mates from Dublin down the last few weekends and none of them have had anything bad to say about the place (apart from the dark walk out to the housing estate at three in the morning!)

2funki4wheelz

Had to post, I bought a house in Port beside the train station in 2002, although it wasn't ready until 2004 (long boring story). Railway Mews, don't mind Kingdom, our houses despite taking an age to build were finished poorly too and everyone we know has had issues big and small.:( However, I would really recommend it as a place to live.:)

Since moving down Portarlington really has become my home. My estate is really friendly and we've met people from Kildare/Athlone/Meath/Dublin, who all moved here because of house prices and the decent train service. I know the houses are not as good value now but it is a nice escape from having to squash into a tiny flat on the outskirts of Dublin for the same (or more:eek:) money.

Going out is what you make it. We're not big into nightlife but some of the pubs are good, you can go somewhere for trad sessions like O'Deas or random stuff in Tom's Bar, Karaoke in the Weighbridge (I think!). Nightclubwise like others I've heard Club Ibiza is for kids and auld leches but if you go with a gang of mates it can be fun.

Mario's is gorgeous for food and the New Star Oriental has the friendliest staff and is lovely to sit down/take away.

My butcher Tynans has the best meat and gossip and the cab drivers are great for the local gossip too! I couldn't belive how friendly people were when we moved down cos I lived in Wexford town before and when people heard the accent you got the cold shoulder.

I wish I could work nearer, I'm from Swords originally and the commute takes the same and I think trains are less stressful than buses but i would love to work in Port or Portlaoise but I can't drive yet so that limits my options.

Midlandsbase

Just to correct an earlier posting. The shopping centre is not held up due to any planning objections. The development cannot go ahead until the Portarlington Development Plan has been approved. The centre itself has permission to build but the land needs to be fomally rezoned for retail. In the meantime the new estate beside the centre is being built - 250 houses. That is the activity that is ongoing at the moment.

Talking to the developer of both the houses and shoppping centre he was promised that the development plan would be submitted and approved last year but it has dragged on. When he was indicated to him that the plan was going to be published they started developing the roads into the area. In hindsight it wasn't the best idea as time has dragged on but an e-mail to your local TD would not go amiss to get the development plan published as soon as possible.

As someone who was born and bred in Portarlington it's great to see that the town is being rejuvenated by the influx of people.

tiggs

Good Morning Everyone, I am currently living in Dublin and looking for a new job and have been with a number of agency's... there is a point to this I swear...

I have been offered an interview with a company who are moving to Portarlington soon and I would need to re-locate with the company! I would be moving down on my own... obviously (or I'd be hoping) that I'd have other work colleagues with me!!!

From reading this forum am a bit in limbo there seems to be good and bad points all round but I suppose that's the same with everyone!!

Am a single white female, 29 - who loves the craic!!!!! (no am not looking for dates!!!! Sounds like that doesnt it??!?!!)

Should I stay or should I go ?!?!?!?!
I havent even got job yet but... maybe I should take it as a sign if I do get the job?!?!?!!?

valpuk

hi ya i have recently taken up residence in Portarlington and I will b here until around August. At the moment i dnt have any energy after work to do anythin or go anywhere to meet anyone. I am 20 and wud really like to get to kno a few people up here. Just this evenin i visited the rugby website and applied to become a member of the team although trying to get every mon and/or wed nights for trainin cud b a different story. with my job i wil probably b workin wkends which means i wud not b able to travel back home to kilkenny. if anyone who sees this is willing to point me in the right direction or guide me towards the night life that wud b great, as i said i am up here all on my own so even if u do give me advice on where to go i am too shy to go alone .... from a very lonely Cat xxxx Bye for now!

Heisenberg1

hi me and my partner bought a house in sli na mona does anybody here live there as well what do you think of the houses???

rsta

nice thread everyone!

I'm also thinking of buying a house in portarlington. can't afford dublin on my own, so i'd be commuting by train or else driving up to dublin. I've been in Port a good few times and it looks like a nice town, friendly people too.

how do those of you who commute by train find the journey?

is the train totally packed in the mornings? What are the chances of getting a seat?!

I'd prob be getting the 7.15 train. Does it start in Portarlington or does it start in PortLaois or somewhere else?

ChuckProphet

rsta wrote:

nice thread everyone!

I'm also thinking of buying a house in portarlington. can't afford dublin on my own, so i'd be commuting by train or else driving up to dublin. I've been in Port a good few times and it looks like a nice town, friendly people too.

how do those of you who commute by train find the journey?

is the train totally packed in the mornings? What are the chances of getting a seat?!

I'd prob be getting the 7.15 train. Does it start in Portarlington or does it start in PortLaois or somewhere else?

hi,
the commute from port to heuston is handy enuff. Depends how far u have to travel on when u get to heuston which may wreck yer head!
the 7.26 is prob the best to get..the cork train (new flashy ones)...doesn't stop after port and u'll always get a seat. the 7.15 is now the 7.06 (comes from galway i think). the 7.00 starts at portlaoise and is very reliable.
u will always get a seat on any train in the morning.
it's the evening that may be a problem (esp 5.10 back)
basically yer talking about 1 hour...tho this can be done in 45 mins sometimes.
happy commuting!!!

undecided

hi all
need some help! put a deposit on a house in port really love the house but have heard a few horror stories about the area. Is it true that there is alot of trouble in the town at night? Is it an area I want to bring up my family in? When I visited the town seemed a quiet and friendly place now i dont know what to believe! also is there a regular train/ bus service to portlaoise??

all comments and info welcome and appreciated
Thanks

ChuckProphet

undecided wrote:

hi all
Is it true that there is alot of trouble in the town at night?

dunno where u heard this, it's a fairly quiet spot. maybe someone got it mixed up with portloaise

connundrum

Like the prophet, I've never experienced any trouble on a week night

Of course on a Saturday night outside the hotel and chipper/chinese there may be a few rows but its all usually handbag stuff and the cops are usually on hand to deal with it.

Its as normal as any other small town IMO, Port Laois may be a different story but I'd never be afraid in either town after 11pm.

There is a bus service running between Portarlinton, Tullamore and Port Laois every day. I think it goes over and back 3-4 times a day. Trains are regular too (see irishrail.ie and contact slieve bloom coaches iirc)

mooem

Hi me and my boyfriend have just bought a house in Whitesfields in portarlington, can anyone tell me what this estate is like?

We rae both in our early 20's and from Dublin. We would like to know what are the best pubs to go to and night clubs if any??
Thanks;)

genie_us

undecided wrote:

hi all
need some help! put a deposit on a house in port really love the house but have heard a few horror stories about the area. Is it true that there is alot of trouble in the town at night? Is it an area I want to bring up my family in? When I visited the town seemed a quiet and friendly place now i dont know what to believe! also is there a regular train/ bus service to portlaoise??

all comments and info welcome and appreciated
Thanks

Hiya
I have been living there for 10 years now and honestly have not even witnessed a fight on the street. Obviously the odd 1 or 2 in the pub but where doesn't get that!
My parents moved us down from Dublin and at first being a typical teenager I hated it but it was a good place to grow up in. People are friendly and the pubs are generally good craic. I think you've made a good decision!:)

genie_us

mooem wrote:

Hi me and my boyfriend have just bought a house in Whitesfields in portarlington, can anyone tell me what this estate is like?

We rae both in our early 20's and from Dublin. We would like to know what are the best pubs to go to and night clubs if any??
Thanks;)

Hiya

I don't know what that estate itself is like but it seems quiet enough. As regards pubs, my gang generally go to the anvil, the continental or the after dark. The continental is more of a disco type bar on a sat night and the other 2 are good craic. The 'nightclubs' - avoid the hotel and the rugby club is your only other option. Small and sometimes cramped but if you're with a good crowd then you can have great craic!

undecided

thanks a million for all the repliees. You have put me at ease. The whole point is to get out of Dublin i dont wont to be moving somewhere thats as bad. Heres hoping it all goes well!:)

mooem

jergam wrote:

Hiya

I don't know what that estate itself is like but it seems quiet enough. As regards pubs, my gang generally go to the anvil, the continental or the after dark. The continental is more of a disco type bar on a sat night and the other 2 are good craic. The 'nightclubs' - avoid the hotel and the rugby club is your only other option. Small and sometimes cramped but if you're with a good crowd then you can have great craic!

Thanks a million.

Would you compare the hotel or rugby club like anything in dublin??

Whats tullamore like for clubbing?? Would it be far in a taxi? and how much on average is the fare?