Many people dream about it but few actually do it - escape frenetic city life for a peaceful rural idyll. But as our work takes over more of our lives, and Dublin become more impersonal, growing numbers of city couples are choosing to downsize and change their lives, by moving to the country and living over the shop - running a business from home.
Artist Harry Feeney and his wife, former public health nurse, Brigid Stubbings, are one couple who became fed up with sitting in traffic and with worrying every time their children played outside - and decided to do something about it. "We saw a violent attack in O'Connell Street," says Harry. "It was the final straw. We didn't want to bring our children up in that environment." Although Brigid was more reluctant to leave the city, and their cottage near Dublin airport (and still misses friends and the shops), she believes they made the right choice: "To anyone thinking of moving to the country, I say `Do it!'. The crime rate is nil and the scenery is beautiful."
To make a living in the country, the couple decided a bed and breakfast was their best option. Because they couldn't find a suitable property, Harry and Brigid chose to buy a site and to participate in the design of their new home and business. On half an acre on the edge of Foxford, Co Mayo, which is a popular fishing area close to Knock airport, now stands a large, comfortable B&B, with a stylish interior designed using local stone, wood and tiles - and part of a sailing boat, a Galway hooker. Despite knowing no-one in the area when they moved in, Harry, Brigid, Oisin (aged 29 months) and Fionn (aged 18 months) are beginning to feel part of the community: "It's not as stressful as Dublin and people are friendly," says Brigid. "I saw the site on New Year's Day 1998 and we moved in this April," says Harry, a keen fisherman. The Foxford Lodge, with five en suite guest rooms (one of which is wheelchair-friendly), cost £100,000 to build, including the cost of the site. With the addition of underfloor heating, an internal vacuum cleaning system and a state-of-the-art kitchen, Harry believes "it would go for over £300,000 if it was in Dublin".
The couple offer hospitality with a difference: as well as Brigid's home-made bread for breakfast, guests are offered poached fruit and smoked salmon with potato cakes if they don't fancy a fry. "During weekends away, we'd stayed in lots of B&Bs and knew what we would do different," she says. "No `ding-ding' breakfasts from the microwave, big showers and a television in every room." They admit running your own business can be hard, but have no regrets and are full of plans for the future. "We've done well this summer, but everyone says winters are dead here, so we have to think of ways to get people in," says Brigid. "We already run residential art courses and are planning other courses, such as fly tie fishing and cookery - or maybe murder weekends."
Another couple whose country dream has come true are the new owners of the Village Tavern pub and guesthouse in Mountcharles, outside Donegal town. Kim Kelly and Graham Flannery moved from Brunswick Street in Dublin to the tiny village near the coast with a population of 700, a year ago. "It's worked out better than we hoped," says Kim, a jeweller who worked on Dublin's Pearse Street. "We were worried local people would resent us - but as soon as we moved in, people were knocking on the door asking if we were okay. We would never consider raising kids in Dublin - there's too much harm they can get into. Life is simpler here and everyone looks out for everyone else." Kim advises anyone thinking of moving to the country to run a business to research the area very well and to be aware of the demands involved. Although the couple wanted their own business because Graham, a chef at the New Merrion Hotel, worked very long hours, their new life means they both work long hours. "It's non-stop," says Kim. "I used to work 34 hours a week, now I start at nine in the morning and it's 2 or 3 a.m. before I finish. We're tied to the place. It's an ordeal to organise getting away. We have good staff, but you're never off - they can always call you."
Still, Kim and Graham don't miss city life, "especially the commuting". But they do experience one problem similar to business owners in Dublin - getting staff. "We're going to open a restaurant in mid-October," says Kim. "As long as we can get a chef."
