The Border village of Muff, transformed by huge growth, adapts to life where sterling is no longer almighty. Chris Ashmore reports
The dramatic growth in population of a number of Donegal villages over the past decade now looks set to slow considerably due to the weakening of sterling in the past year.
Muff, situated right on the Border with Derry, is a prime example of how Border towns can be directly affected by fluctuating exchange rates and cross-Border shopping patterns.
Like many Border towns and villages in east Donegal, it was economically depressed for much of the 1980s. And the fact that Southern motorists could save 60 pence a gallon on fuel across the Border didn't help. Muff's population fell between 1981 and 1991.
But as the Republic's economy improved and the punt-sterling differential widened, this small, quiet village suddenly became a sought-after location for house-hunters from Derry.
Between 1991 and 1996, its population soared by 30 per cent and, according to the Central Statistics Office, the latest census figures for 2002 show the number of people living in the Kilderry electoral area around Muff rose from 963 in 1996 to 1,364 last year - a rise of 41.6 per cent.
Muff is the gateway to the Inishowen peninsula, with its rolling hills and splendid beaches, while at the same time being less than 10 minutes' drive from the city centre of Derry.
Finance from the Peace and Reconciliation Fund helped a number of local projects and a new sewerage network was put in place. Property developers seized the initiative and soon the houses were being snapped up. Take-aways, a bookies and even a sunbed premises opened.
In some respects, it was the best of both worlds. Get your petrol and cigarettes in the South, go to Sainsbury, Marks & Spencer or Tesco in the North. But the housing market is slowing. Early last year, when £1 sterling was worth €1.63, Northern purchasers could still get a detached house in Muff - or in similar "suburban" Border villages nearby, such as Killea or Newtowncunningham, for £75,000 sterling (€122,250). Today that same £75,000 sterling is worth less than €110,000. Add in inflation, and buying a house "down South" is not as attractive as it used to be.
"It will be interesting to see what way it pans out now," one local shopkeeper said. "Many of them would have got their mortgages in euros but are paid in sterling so they have to pay more every month."
An easing of the rapid growth of the town may be a mixed blessing. It might give it breathing space to allow the development of increased recreational facilities and amenities.
The post office has become very busy - an additional postman will soon be employed. "I used to have about 400 homes, now I have around 700," local postman Junior McConnellogue said.
Meanwhile, the gardaí are operating from a portacabin. The old station became so dilapidated they refused to work in it any more. A house has been bought with a view to converting it into a Garda station, but the project has been delayed.
Local TD, Ms Cecelia Keaveney, raised the matter in the Dáil recently. She was told it is number three on the priority list for new Garda stations.
Developing a sense of community is one of the biggest challenges in the expanding village. "I would hope that with the passage of time the old and new will blend," she said.