Tell me about Monksland

finooola

I'm hopefully buying a house in Athlone in the next year. I originally wanted to live close to town, but I'm beginning to think I'd get a more modern, spacious house for the same money in Monksland. I don't know anything about the place though (I'm from Limerick, and Monksland reminds me a bit of Shannon). Is there any kind of community out there? I want to live someplace where I can be part of a community. I have two young kids. What's out there in terms of groups, classes, playgrounds, pubs, voluntary organisations etc? I presume there's playschools.

Saint_Mel

Jebus you must have a very low opinion of Monksland if you are comparing it to Shannon!!!

finooola

Saint_Mel wrote: »

Jebus you must have a very low opinion of Monksland if you are comparing it to Shannon!!!

No offence St. Mel. I wouldn't want to offend the patron saint of the football field. I just meant it's all modern, and not a proper town.

Do you know anything about the place? Is there a community centre there?

nice_guy80

Monksland is in Roscommon

pawrick

There is a big difference between specific areas of Monksland even though they might be close by one another.

A lot of newer estates around Supervalue but there are more established areas also. Check out your neighbors before buying if you can as I've known people to have had serious problems with neighbors who were in rented accommodation next to them which caused them to sell.

Overall it's a handy location, supermarket, local credit union office, schools, pitch and putt, childrens activity centre, gyms and bus route all close by. Local GAA club and soccer club, there will also be a mixed 2nd level school opening in nearby Summerhill next year (currently a girls school only on site), Summerhill / Drum is also the location of the nearest community centre.

Primary school wise the largest one nearby is in Summerhill with an average of around 240 pupils but there are other smaller ones also, Bealnamulla NS for example would be closer to most of Monksland but is much smaller.

pawrick

Re it being in Roscommon (it is well in to county roscommon), some auctioneers include homes for sale in the area as being in Westmeath so if you are checking daft ensure to search both counties as some might show up in one and not the other search.

There was also plans to build and aldi/lidl out there but I haven't heard anything much about it, someone living around there might know more

Addle

Can't advise re schools etc for kids, but I'd say the majority of house are occupied by young families.
I loved living there.
It's like anywhere, up to yourself to make the best of it.
It isn't lacking in any service, and Athlone is on your doorstep.
I can't fault it.

veryangryman

Its grand, a little soul-less compared to places closer to town. Your right beside the M6 which is good for getting in somewhere decent.

Pros: Cheap enough for what you get accomodation-wise, plenty of shops nearby.

Cons: Very close to the rural hicks ("save Roscommon" Lord...) so being "in Roscommon", the constituency gets alot of farmer head TDs. No secondary school nearby if you have boys they'll need a bus (I recommend the Community College).

Zubeneschamali

veryangryman wrote: »

No secondary school nearby if you have boys they'll need a bus.

Summerlicious opening for boys in September.

flazio

Of the Roscommon/East Galway TDS, one of them is Minister for Communication and Natural Resources, not agriculture.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

veryangryman wrote: »

Cons: Very close to the rural hicks ("save Roscommon" Lord...) so being "in Roscommon", the constituency gets alot of farmer head TDs.

This is a little irrelevant and unhelpful tbh and I'm surprised you posted it. I'm presuming you're from Westmeath which isn't exactly New York either, last time I checked. The Save Roscommon campaign (which worked, for now by the way) has SFA to do with what the OP asked so that's a conversation for another thread.

The Monksland area is very much an up and coming part of the Athlone area. Cholaiste Ciaran will be up and running from September as a mixed secondary school and Summerhill NS is also nearby, Cloonakilla NS is being extended at the moment.

BrianBoru00

veryangryman wrote: »

Its grand, a little soul-less compared to places closer to town. Your right beside the M6 which is good for getting in somewhere decent.

Pros: Cheap enough for what you get accomodation-wise, plenty of shops nearby.

Cons: Very close to the rural hicks ("save Roscommon" Lord...) so being "in Roscommon", the constituency gets alot of farmer head TDs. No secondary school nearby if you have boys they'll need a bus (I recommend the Community College).

Are you the new Sean Spicer?
Why post information that simply isn't true.

beggars_bush

veryangryman wrote: »

Its grand, a little soul-less compared to places closer to town. Your right beside the M6 which is good for getting in somewhere decent.

Pros: Cheap enough for what you get accomodation-wise, plenty of shops nearby.

Cons: Very close to the rural hicks ("save Roscommon" Lord...) so being "in Roscommon", the constituency gets alot of farmer head TDs. No secondary school nearby if you have boys they'll need a bus (I recommend the Community College).

Less Westmeath people, so it might be a bonus

road_high

veryangryman wrote: »

Its grand, a little soul-less compared to places closer to town. Your right beside the M6 which is good for getting in somewhere decent.

Pros: Cheap enough for what you get accomodation-wise, plenty of shops nearby.

Cons: Very close to the rural hicks ("save Roscommon" Lord...) so being "in Roscommon", the constituency gets alot of farmer head TDs. No secondary school nearby if you have boys they'll need a bus (I recommend the Community College).

And Athlone/Westmeath is such a bastion of liberal thinking and modernity? :eek:

pawrick

pawrick wrote: »

There was also plans to build and aldi/lidl out there but I haven't heard anything much about it, someone living around there might know more

I think the Aldi planning was objected to by the owner of Supervalu, it would have been a direct competitor, as it is Supervalu have the local market almost to itself.

veryangryman

road_high wrote: »

And Athlone/Westmeath is such a bastion of liberal thinking and modernity? :eek:

Is that a question? If so, the answer is yes. The cycleway has got almost as far as the bridge on the Westmeath side. All banks have set up on the Westmeath side (indeed BOI moved across to it). All decent shopping centres are on the Westmeath side. AIT, Dept of Education, Ericsson all on ...emm where again?

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

veryangryman wrote: »

Is that a question? If so, the answer is yes. The cycleway has got almost as far as the bridge on the Westmeath side. All banks have set up on the Westmeath side (indeed BOI moved across to it). All decent shopping centres are on the Westmeath side. AIT, Dept of Education, Ericsson all on ...emm where again?

Go to any of those employers and you'll find half the place staffed by Roscommon people. If you want to go down that road, Elan (now Alkermes) was one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world and was started in Monksland. I don't get your point but I think you're just trolling anyway. If you're using a cycle path to illustrate your point you're really clutching at straws.

road_high

veryangryman wrote: »

Is that a question? If so, the answer is yes. The cycleway has got almost as far as the bridge on the Westmeath side. All banks have set up on the Westmeath side (indeed BOI moved across to it). All decent shopping centres are on the Westmeath side. AIT, Dept of Education, Ericsson all on ...emm where again?

Most be a different Athlone to the one I was in to a few weeks ago...run down, depressing and divided by two shopping centres. Quite a rough and unpleasant atmosphere really.

Just because it's lavished with Government jobs and IDA ones doesn't make it and Westmeath into something akin to NYC- Westmeath is very much like any other Midlands county including co. Roscommon to the west. I see very little to be looking down your nose at neighbours for to be honest.

beggars_bush

veryangryman wrote: »

Is that a question? If so, the answer is yes. The cycleway has got almost as far as the bridge on the Westmeath side. All banks have set up on the Westmeath side (indeed BOI moved across to it). All decent shopping centres are on the Westmeath side. AIT, Dept of Education, Ericsson all on ...emm where again?

Funny, I thought both sides of the river in the town were Westmeath!
Roscommon starts at the roundabout before White's garage

Claw Hammer

beggars_bush wrote: »

Funny, I thought both sides of the river in the town were Westmeath!
Roscommon starts at the roundabout before White's garage

That is where Roscommon ends, not where it starts.

Lt Dan

pawrick wrote: »

There is a big difference between specific areas of Monksland even though they might be close by one another.

A lot of newer estates around Supervalue but there are more established areas also. Check out your neighbors before buying if you can as I've known people to have had serious problems with neighbors who were in rented accommodation next to them which caused them to sell.

Overall it's a handy location, supermarket, local credit union office, schools, pitch and putt, childrens activity centre, gyms and bus route all close by. Local GAA club and soccer club, there will also be a mixed 2nd level school opening in nearby Summerhill next year (currently a girls school only on site), Summerhill / Drum is also the location of the nearest community centre.

Primary school wise the largest one nearby is in Summerhill with an average of around 240 pupils but there are other smaller ones also, Bealnamulla NS for example would be closer to most of Monksland but is much smaller.

In addition , you got everything else , including extra Secondary Schools in Athlone itself , which is a few minutes drive into the town center (cinema , Shopping center etc)

Lt Dan

veryangryman wrote: »

Cons: Very close to the rural hicks ("save Roscommon" Lord...) so being "in Roscommon", the constituency gets a lot of farmer head TD's. No secondary school nearby if you have boys they'll need a bus (I recommend the Community College).

Community College has plenty of those children from said "rural hicks" and lot of "farmer heads" east of Athlone ie Glassan, Tubberclair

Since when did the grand metropolitan of Athlone have decent TD's? Coosan is hardly the grand leafy suburbs and but for Athlone, Westmeath is full of Country n Western Hicks like Foster n Allen, TR Dallas, Joe Dolan...............

Westmeath is a knac*** hole east of Athlone to Mullingar (Moate and Mount Temple excluded) , so it is - Where (and why) do you think many of the new families that are in Monksland since expansion came from originally ?

Hon The Rossies!

Lt Dan

beggars_bush wrote: »

Less Westmeath people, so it might be a bonus

Hmm, not sure about that, a lot of blow ins from the Westmeath part of Athlone over the last 15 years

Though they would be more the good daycent "Athlonians" than Westmeath folk, more in common with the man from Ballinasloe than than the man from Mullingar

road_high

Lt Dan wrote: »

Community College has plenty of those children from said "rural hicks" and lot of "farmer heads" east of Athlone ie Glassan, Tubberclair

Since when did the grand metropolitan of Athlone have decent TD's? Coosan is hardly the grand leafy surburbs and but for Athlone, Westmeath is full of Country n Western Hicks like Foster n Allen, TR Dallas, Joe Dolan...............

Westmeath is a knac*** hole east of Athlone to Mullingar (Moat and Mount Temple excluded) , so it is - Where (and why) do you think many of the new families that are in Monksland since exapnsion came from originally ?

Hon The Rossies!

This is the town that elects "Boxer" Moran after-all. So you can see how sophisticated the place must be in that alone...

Lt Dan

road_high wrote: »

This is the town that elects "Boxer" Moran after-all. So you can see how sophisticated the place must be in that alone...

If Boxer fixes the roads , or as he promised do something about the Shannon, which affected thousands in the midlands and parts of Galway (and it is more than ,a "parish pump" matter, excuse the pun - Pat Kenny Style) then he will have done well.

Martin "respect your betters" Manseragh was suppose to be an intellectual power house, as was Brian Cowen...............look what happened

beggars_bush

Lt Dan wrote: »

If Boxer fixes the roads , or as he promised do something about the Shannon, which affected thousands in the midlands and parts of Galway (and it is more than ,a "parish pump" matter, excuse the pun - Pat Kenny Style) then he will have done well.

Martin "respect your betters" Manseragh was suppose to be an intellectual power house, as was Brian Cowen...............look what happened

Is Boxer going to drain the shannon then?
or divert it somewhere else maybe?

Zubeneschamali

beggars_bush wrote: »

Is Boxer going to drain the shannon then?
or divert it somewhere else maybe?

Whatever anyone does about the Shannon, Boxer will be there to take credit.

Claw Hammer

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

Whatever anyone does about the Shannon, Boxer will be there to take credit.

I thought he spent weeks trying to keep the water in the Shannon.

Zubeneschamali

Claw Hammer wrote: »

I thought he spent weeks trying to keep the water in the Shannon.

Yes, which apparently makes him qualified to sit in the Dail and make laws for the land. Although since his election to the Dail, the only bit of work I have seen him do is picking up litter in Athlone, work which I think he is a bit below his pay grade.

nice_guy80

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

Yes, which apparently makes him qualified to sit in the Dail and make laws for the land. Although since his election to the Dail, the only bit of work I have seen him do is picking up litter in Athlone, work which I think he is a bit below his pay grade.

there's plenty of scumbags around the town who should be doing community service work and cleaning up the town

Lt Dan

nice_guy80 wrote: »

there's plenty of scumbags around the town who should be doing community service work and cleaning up the town

I would prefer if said scumbags just left town and never ever ever ever come back. Sure, they would probably fall over and sue the council