Moving to Ireland

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buzyizzy

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Some of you may remember I was thinking of moving to Ireland a year ago. I found a place with land, although it needed a lot of attention and stables building, but it was feasible and the off road riding was limitless :) however, despite the assurances of the vendor, when I had the survey done, it needed a whole lot of work done and as I've done three restorations, I really didn't want to do another one, plus I'm getting a bit long in the tooth for moving to a strange country and having to find builders etc that I can trust, so I decided to walk away.
However, I am still thinking of the move, but I want to be somewhere fairly civilised for all the usual reasons, yet with decent riding. I don't want to spend my time holding my breath going round roads wondering what is going to come round the next corner :).
So, where would everyone recommend? I thought of the edge of Connemara, yet close enough to Galway, but I've heard the English are really accepted there.any suggestions gratefully received.
 
We have a house in Mayo. The countryside is breathtakingly beautiful, but there isn't really anywhere to ride as it is either mountainous, boggy or you are constantly on & off opening gates. The beach riding is great though!
 
Galway might be a good area, I have an English friend who lives there, bought a small cottage and land and moved over with her 3 horses. Hacking is not really a big pursuit over here, although of course some people do ride out on the roads (brave or foolish people, IMO...........). The horse culture in Ireland is very different to that in the UK, you will not have access to the same variety of feed brands, there are fewer equine therapists (physio, chiro, etc.) and there are not so many competition centres, but it is still fun!
 
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I don't know Ireland, but am I right in thinking that there are no bridlepaths? So you have to ride on the roads, or on your own land, apart from the beach - or if you go hunting presumably. How do people get their horses fit if the roads are dangerous and there is limited off road riding?
 
Orangehorse said:
I don't know Ireland, but am I right in thinking that there are no bridlepaths? So you have to ride on the roads, or on your own land, apart from the beach - or if you go hunting presumably. How do people get their horses fit if the roads are dangerous and there is limited off road riding?
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I'm in Northern Ireland, but there isn't bridleways the way there seems to be in the UK. A lot of livery yards let you hack across their land/have routes/tracks on their land you can ride on, and some of the big country estates have places you can box to and ride.

There are definitely equine therapists, but probably not as many per mile as there is in the UK.

Where I am, it's not that there's not competition centres, but that they're smaller competition centres or smaller level shows. That said, in the North everything is a lot closer and not as spread out as the South.

Regarding getting horses fit - you just don't have as much hacking. If you're at a livery yard with paths, or that connect to a forest path/trail/place you're allowed to ride then it's not an issue. My old yard had great hacking over fields and their land, and was a 15 minute walk on the road to the beach, my current one doesn't have the same hacking, and the roads are more dangerous, but as long as you know the type of road and what traffic is like, there are still places you can hack.

I can't speak for down South though, but I know some counties are much much more horse friendly than others.
 
Orangehorse said:
I don't know Ireland, but am I right in thinking that there are no bridlepaths? So you have to ride on the roads, or on your own land, apart from the beach - or if you go hunting presumably. How do people get their horses fit if the roads are dangerous and there is limited off road riding?
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We ride on the roads! Why do you presume the roads are any more dangerous than anywhere else?! Depending on where you are- I'm in the South, in Leinster - there are Coillte forestry areas etc as well for off road hacking. Plenty of yards have off road hacking too. Alternatives are the beach, rented cross country courses etc.

OP, have you considered Dublin? Or the Wicklow/Dublin border, or North Kildare? Loads of horsey places, access to beaches fairly easily (Kildare a bit more of a trek to the beach but doable) - also Wexford/Waterford also; a bit more rural than the others but nice. All within range of various competition centres and equestrian facilities. Plenty of hunting, showjumping, dressage, both unaffiliated and affiliated, and I believe endurance riding is kicking off a bit now too. Bear in mind that Ireland is smaller and from most places you wouldn't have to box for more than 45 mins to an hour to reach competition grounds.

With regards to whether some counties are more horse-friendly than others, I can't think of any county that wouldn't have a few schools/livery yards/tack shops - this is horse country!!

Livery prices are possibly a bit cheaper than the UK (I could be wrong on this, depending on what area of either Ireland/UK used as a comparison) so that could be an option either.
 
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Triple, riding on Coillte land is NOT allowed; there are a few areas where you can get specific permission (and have to provide evidence of insurance), but in general it is off limits.
 
Cortez is quite right. I did plenty of homework for the area I was moving to and they are very anti horses. I shall have my horses at home, so I'm looking for somewhere I can ride out from home. I'm not too fussed about competing, although I could be tempted with Endurance. I don't hunt. I did think of Wicklow, quite fancied being up in the mountains, but it's out of my price range :( I was wondering if there were any other areas where I can ride and also has friendly locals? I found some places out on the Connemara, but I think that's too rural!! Lol
 
Coilte allow you to ride once you have applied for and bought a permit.

Connemara is a lovely part of the country but has very small, twisty roads that are often chock a block with tourists come the summer, though if you are a little but out of the way of tourist routes you might be ok! Connemara is also quite remote, not too much of an issue if you don't intent to show/compete much but means s but of a trek to the nearest venues and a bit of a hassle to get vets, farriers etc. That said, if you are close enough to Galway there shouldn't be much of an issue and Galway has some nice equestrian centres and venues.

As for best places to live in Ireland, Kildare would cone up trumps in terms of equine facilities, access to Dublin and is central so easy to travel up/down the country as you can hop on the motorway. Also, lots of horses in the area so though the roads may not be quite as quiet, most people are used to horses and there are plenty of places to hack if you go looking hard enough.

North Dublin is also v nice, some nice equestrian centres, fab beaches and again, easy access to Dublin city. Meath is also very nice.

I'm based in the midlands (north tipperary/offaly/laois) and I like where I am. I hack out on the roads regularly, generally without much problems - small country roads so usually only farm traffic, farmers around my area are quite conscientious towards horses on roads and there's plenty of facilities within a 20 min drive of me so no shortage of local comps, lessons etc. Roads are a little narrow and twisty for pulling a box but that's the worst of it. I'm an hour from Kildare and have 3 hunts close by.
 
I live in south Mayo (near Glencorrib). I moved here one year ago with my horse. The horse culture is different and riding on the roads is considered a bit abnormal (they tend to assume you intend to show-jump, hunt or breed if you have a horse - those are the only possible options!). The road riding isn't any more dangerous than it was in Somerset where I lived before, and the chances for off-road probably similar (I didn't have great hacking there). There aren't any bridleways but there are (around us at least) "tracks" which are similar, though you will meet tractors etc on them. Although people don't ride on the roads around us they do herd their cows/sheep/horses, walk their dogs loose etc so people drive sensibly and I haven't had any problems. If anything they are more careful as they are used to semi-feral horses and expect them to panic at the sight of a car.

There is some amazing off-road riding around Cong. Ashford Castle (formerly the country house for the Guiness family and now a posh hotel) have an equestrian centre and they ride out on the former estate so keep it well maintained for horses, but most of the estate is publicly owned and I believe you can get a license to ride there. Its something I will definately be looking into once I have transport sorted out. I have also been able to get things like my preferred horse feed delivered because they are delivering to the equestrian centre and so come pass me - otherwise I would have struggled as the local stockists just sell stuff smothered in molasses. Specialist equestrian vets are hard to find, especially in an emergency, though there are plenty of general large animal vets. I have a good dentist and barefoot trimmer as they travel all over the country so not a problem.

We certainly haven't had any problems about us being "incomers" or English. Of our close neighbours, one family is Scottish and the other a local man and his English wife. The whole village were thrilled we bought the house (it had been standing empty) and especially that we were young(ish) and had a child as they are worried about the village dying. The only problem we had was we couldn't get anything done for the first month as so many people came around to welcome us.

We are doing a major renovation project so it is hard and I don't ride much at the moment, but we have a stone detached house with 8 acres, 5 out-buildings and no mortgage - something we would never be able to achieve in the UK.
 
I*HM said:
Coilte allow you to ride once you have applied for and bought a permit.


As for best places to live in Ireland, Kildare would cone up trumps in terms of equine facilities, access to Dublin and is central so easy to travel up/down the country as you can hop on the motorway. Also, lots of horses in the area so though the roads may not be quite as quiet, most people are used to horses and there are plenty of places to hack if you go looking hard enough.

North Dublin is also v nice, some nice equestrian centres, fab beaches and again, easy access to Dublin city. Meath is also very nice.

I
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Cortez, I understand that it is not allowed on all land but it is not a foregone conclusion - permits can be procured and the forestries are lovely places to ride.

Agree with the above quoted about Kildare; it is very horse-friendly indeed - arguably the equine capital of Ireland?? North Dublin/Meath is also excellent, and has the same advantages of being relatively close to Dublin if you want to get in to the city. All three of the above are easily accessible as noted above due to the motorways. Connemara is absolutely beautiful but very remote; road infrastructure not great either and the land wouldn't be as good as the east/south east in terms of grazing.

In relation to the road-riding, I would agree that it comes with a degree of risk, and I myself would be very cautious about firstly the horse I would bring out onto the road, and also the horses I would go in company with. However, sometimes it is a means to an end, even for access to off-road hacking it can be necessary to get there via the road. As regards fitness however road-riding is an excellent way to get horses fit, so there is that advantage to it.
 
I lived in North Dublin and had good hacking over farmland and local beaches. I then moved to Kildare/Dublin area and again had good backing in foothills of the Dublin mountains and local farmland. I found it was quite specific to local farmers and if there is a good local hunt then you often find the farmers are happier with you hacking around their land but as with all privately owned land there's no guarantee.
I liked both areas as good competition centres and a good starting point for many further afield.
 
Living in UK we've given up hacking out because although we live in a beautiful rural area the lanes are lethal with holidaymakers, cyclists in lycra, lorries taking satnav routes and enormous tractors. The only way we can hack now is to box up and drive to the forest where there are lots of tracks but this is pretty unbearable with flies in the summer, especially deer flies.
But when in Ireland especially Cork, we've found lots of lovely hacking, the lanes are very quiet, there's forestry you can ride in with permission, and the beaches are superb on the west coast. We've never experienced any anti Brit feeling, and generally found most of the stuff we need, though some things are more expensive.
We certainly don't meet the enormous wide tractors you meet over here. Inland, and reasonably priced, Roscommon seems very quiet and easy to get about in. Perhaps anyone on here from round there could enlarge?
 
As I don't intend to compete at all, I don't mind how far to centres. My only concern is being near a town for health, work and practical reasons. Saying that, it would also be fairly good to not be too far from an airport as my children will be visiting fairly regularly. I don't want to move to Roscommon/Leitrim or any of the counties close by and can't afford anywhere near Dublin, so that narrows it down. I know that Ireland is horse friendly, but as I'm on my own I'd like to be accepted as a Brit. I've heard that rural Ireland can be very narrow minded. :(
 
We've found rural Ireland very good fun, yes of course there are still some outdated views, but hey, they're the first country to vote for gay marriage - winds of change and all that.
Cork, Kerry airports, easy to get to and from. Mealagh valley absolutely beautiful, near Bantry, Dunmanway etc.
 
Sorry crosscountry course down the road at different address. approx 2 hours from Dublin airport, also Cavan show jumping arena 45 mins away which holds alot of shows with international comps held at it for days out.
 
You should definitely consider Wexford and Waterford too. Less expensive, statistically the Sunny South East (Well a little sunnier) and fantastic beaches. Also very accessible. Cork and Kerry are just lovely too especially West Cork/Kerry. The problem is the 'lovelier' the area sometimes the remoter the area. Tipperary around the Golden Vale is lovely too as are some other areas you may not have thought of such as Laois around Stradbally Hall etc. or Carlow/Wexford border there are plenty of mountain trails around there and you are near to the Munny Trail. You can also ride in Stradbally Hall and go to 'The Field Equestrian' which is great fun. Very accessible areas but a little less pricey.
We are in the thick of it in Kildare, you can't drive 20 minutes without hitting a major equestrian venue. Also we have vets, physio's, Chiro's, Osteos etc by the dozen. Loads of feedmerchants, tack shops, saddleries etc
Hacking is a bugbear. Canals were built for horses but most are closed to horses. We are very lucky where we are in that we do have off road both yard tracks and around the immediate area but it is a crying shame that we cannot hack out across the Curragh, not the racecourse just the commonage. One of these days I will get off my ass and start a petition :)
The very best of luck and feel free to ask for as much info as you want :)
 
Tipperary, close to Nenagh would be a great spot for you or in the country close to Limerick city. The latter is 20 mins from Shannon airport while Nenagh is 45 mins from there.

I suggest those places because you are right, rural Ireland is insular, in more rural areas there tends to be very few outsiders. There are many places of course that are popular with foreigners coming to live and these will make better choices for you. Nenagh borders on Lough Derg, wonderfully scenic, fabulously fertile land and not cheap to move to. Moving to the sticks would be much cheaper of course but potentially a lot more isolating.

Coming to rent is a great idea - will let you get the lie of the land.
 
Certainly some good properties round DUnmanway and Macroom with access to Cork, Mill street and so on. House and a few acres considerably more affordable than in UK.
 
Another place you should consider is Monaghan, or south Armagh. They lie along the border of Northern Ireland (UK) and Ireland. This gives you the best of both worlds, plus is a lovely area to live.
It's also a very horsey area and close to most things, good network of farriers/physics/vets/competitions etc.

Eg.
http://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/mason-lodge-carrickmacross-monaghan/3289531

http://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/corledargan-castleblayney-monaghan/3272100

http://www.propertypal.com/11-bernish-road-newry/334900/photo-7

:)
 
Il add sligo and north mayo to that list as well. beautiful countryside lots of small lanes that are safe to hack on.lots of beaches.plenty of hunts and some hunter trials,reasonable showjumping scene.
People wise some reasonably large towns,acceptable hospitals and infrastructure....and a regional airport in Knock makes foreign travel reasonably easy.
Generally very friendly people. As a general rule most of the republic is pretty welcoming and used to english people coming over and living here.

I would be wary about moving to rural connemara/mayo/cork/ anywhere too remote as the rural areas can be very isolating unless you have a good vilage community.church gaa and the pub tend to be the main outlets in small areas so can be difficult to meet people rurally if theres no town. Rural areas can feel very far from civilisation if we get snow or theres a crisis.transport links are important.

Vets over here in the towns tend to be mixed practice so willing and able to treat all species at a basic level. In most cases there will be a local vet with an equine interest if you ask around at shows etc.
we have equine specialist centres for the more serious issues..mcmanus' in galway.ucd vet collage in dublin and feathered in tipp and troytown in the curragh being a few examples..physios dentists etc all availiable but the good ones-again word of mouth to find them- need to be organised well in advance and travel large distances.

Honestly I'd just come over on a visit and see a few different areas.rent short term and see if they are places you could live in longterm.Its not difficult to find somewhere to love in ireland....but come in winter/autumn at least then you know what your getting yourself in for!its the most beautiful place when its sunny...but thats the minority of the time!
 
My parents are in Donegal. I'd certainly not ride on the roads where they are - way too fast and lots of accidents. I've only had one issue with my English accent - dad's Irish and mum is Geordie, so they get away with it but my southern England accent is a bit more 'noticeable' - and the barman who I've known for years stepped in. Very little choice re feed, farriers etc. The local vet practice is good but probably more focussed on cattle than anything else. Beautiful country but get an indoor school, it rains a lot!
 
Thank you all so much. Epeters, of course you can come too :).
You all speak a lot of sense, and lots of info to go through. I'd ideally like the SE, as long as there is somewhere to ride, even for just an hour or two. And I'll be working so I'll need to be near a reasonably sized town in any case. As Roscommon/Leitrim were the only "counties" to not vote for gay marriage, I've kind of given it a wide berth. Not that it bothers me either way, but I do think it speaks volumes for the populace. I'll find the link of the place I quite fancy. :)
 
Thank you all so much. Epeters, of course you can come too :).
You all speak a lot of sense, and lots of info to go through. I'd ideally like the SE, as long as there is somewhere to ride, even for just an hour or two. And I'll be working so I'll need to be near a reasonably sized town in any case. As Roscommon/Leitrim were the only "counties" to not vote for gay marriage, I've kind of given it a wide berth. Not that it bothers me either way, but I do think it speaks volumes for the populace. I'll find the link of the place I quite fancy. :)
 
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