Malahide: ‘I don’t know anywhere else you would get this sort of vibe’

“Malahide has kind of grown into its own little city over Covid,” says Aoibheann Callely, co-owner of Puck Burger, a food truck situated along the north Co Dublin marina. “The pedestrianised street has been a little bit controversial. It caused a bit of an issue with some people taking advantage of it, but I don’t know anywhere else around Dublin where you would get this sort of vibe, it’s unique.”

Alongside Callely’s “pandemic pop-up” business are three others, with everything from coffee, burgers, Mexican food and pasta on offer.

Facing the food trucks is the site of the once infamous Malahide restaurant Cruzzo, which is now home to a different hive of activity. The View, which offers dedicated office space, hot-desks and meeting spaces, opened in June 2020.

“There’s a lovely community vibe here at the moment and we’ve lots of regulars,” says Callely. “They come down in the morning for their coffees between 7.30am and 9am, then the uptake for lunch starts around 11am.

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“Between the coastal drive, the beach walks and Malahide Castle, there is just so much here for people to do...I very rarely have to go anywhere else.”

On an overcast Wednesday morning in Malahide, outdoor areas are beginning to fill up on New Street while a continuous flow of workers, some dressed in suits and most carrying takeaway coffee cups, can be seen entering The View.

Malahide has been an established, affluent seaside town for years, but the pandemic has boosted it further, say residents, turning it into “a mini city”.

Fingal County Council’s decision to pedestrianise part of the village has added to the area’s popularity despite objections from some locals.

Seamus Moriarty, who works for a company based in Malaysia, is among those making use of the office space available at The View. "I had a desk in an architect's office in Malahide village previous to here, it was an open plan type layout," he says. "I had been looking for somewhere a bit more private, it's perfect. Otherwise I was getting on a Dart into the city, for something like WeWork. This is exactly what I was looking for."

Moriarty, who has been living in Malahide with his family for the last five years, says traffic must now be prioritised due to increased footfall in the area.

“Congestion is an issue...They’ve done a lot in terms of pedestrianisation but they’ve taken a lot of the parking spaces away and brought more people into the village,” he says.

“I dropped my son to soccer this morning and coming back into the village, you’re 15 minutes in traffic and there’s no school at the moment. I think that’s something that needs to be looked at. Pedestrianisation is great but you’ve got to keep the traffic flowing as well.”

Aoife Reynolds, community marketing executive for The View, says it has seen increased demand for all of its amenities recently.

“I think the pandemic has changed how people think of work and where and when they can get their best work done,” she says. “It has shown that there needs to be a level of separation between home and work life, but has also proven that commuting into the city centre every day is no longer necessary.”

They are not the only ones who have seen an uptake in business. Darragh Duggan, manager at Hi5 Childcare, a before and afterschool club for children, says "we've probably nearly doubled our numbers in a year".

“With the likes of The View, we have some parents who are over there and it’s quite handy for them that they can drop the kids, go to work and then it’s a two-second walk back over,” he says.

Eoghan Keenan, Sherry Fitzgerald Malahide branch manager, says the area's amenities have never been more prevalent and there has been "huge" price increases for houses, sometimes 10 per cent over an asking price.

“There’s huge demand for homes closest to the village, in the old residential estates, into the village hub,” he says. “The price increase has the potential to go anywhere, we’re hoping supply picks up a bit. People want to stay in Malahide.”

And they are clearly proud of living there too. The Irish Times is currently running a competition to find the Best Place to Live in Ireland in 2021. Nominations have now closed but Malahide is the most nominated location with 320 entries among the 1,500+ entries submitted. Read: The rise of suburbia: How we live is about to change Churchtown: ‘There’s a buzz that mightn’t have been there before’