Stay in a coastal village near Dublin, Ireland

Details

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  Description

  perfect for dog lovers
  
  Hi, I would love some help with dog walking, and with a bit of cleaning and gardening. I've space for one or two Workawayers. Please get in touch. Thank you for reading. :)

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance

  House & pet sitting
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  Interests

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Technology

  

  Politics / Social justice

  

  LGBTQ

  

  Events & social

  

  Vegetarian or vegan

  

  Sustainability

  

  Pets

  

  Culture

  

  Van life

  

  Self development

  

  Movies & TV

  

  Farming

  

  Charity work

  

  Plant care

  

  Music

  

  History

  

  Books

  

  Art & design

  

  Gardening

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Blogging

  

  Architecture

  

  Writing

  

  Hitchhiking

  

  Animals

  

  Camping

  

  Nature

  

  Dancing

  

  Beach
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  I've been fortunate to travel a lot myself, and I sometimes host students who are learning English as a second language, so I'm familiar with folks who are not fluent in English. You'd have plenty of opportunity to practice your English skills, if that's something you'd want or like.
  
  I volunteer as a tour guide at a local heritage site (one that was founded back in 550AD), and I'm a huge history and culture fan, so if you want to learn a bit about Irish history and culture, that's great, and I'd love to learn about yours too.
  
  Travellers would, I hope, enjoy having a relaxed place to stay in a comfortable house, with a beautiful coastal village on their doorstep, and Dublin city just a 20 minute train ride away.

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  Help

  I'd love help with walking my dogs. And some help with cleaning. Maybe a little gardening, weather permitting. Mainly you'll be looking after the dogs, walking them daily and making sure they're fed, watered, and regularly cuddled.
  
  Please let me know when you're available to come and how long you'd plan to stay.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  French: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
  You can contact them directly for more information.
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  Accommodation

  My house is a large red-brick house on a quiet street. The house is part of a housing estate with its own small private park in the centre. It's a five-minute walk to the local shops beside the small park - a coffee shop, a supermarket, and a chemist/pharmacy - and the bus stop where you can catch a bus to the nearest city, Dublin; the nearest town, Swords; the airport, or wherever you want. A little bit further away, about fifteen or twenty minutes walk from the house, is the nearest village, Malahide, and it's easy to access Dublin city by either bus or train from there.
  
  The house has a big bright kitchen; four bathrooms; six bedrooms; an utility/laundry room with a washing machine and a tumble dryer; a big living/sitting room with fireplace, couch, armchairs and a TV; and a hall, where the stairs go up to a landing with some bookcases. The house is insulated and is heated by oil-fired central heating, and sometimes we light the wood fire in the living room fireplace, too. We use the patio out the back and the porch/veranda out the front as outside 'living rooms' during the summer. There's WiFi of course. :) Your bedroom is in a garden room that is fully insulated and heated, with double glazing and a double bed, and a sofa and desk.
  
  My four dogs live with me. They are very friendly cuddly dogs. :) I am fostering a dog as well.
  
  Please note that tea and coffee are included, however food is not included while you stay here. So you have to be prepared to cater for yourself. There is a small supermarket nearby within five minutes walking distance, there are bigger supermarkets in the village 15 minutes walk away, and/or you are welcome to come in the car on my regular shopping trips to larger supermarkets if you wish.
  
  We're flexible about your hours and happy to drop you to the bus stop or train station, or take you to see local sights if you want. It's a very relaxed place to live. We drink a lot of tea and coffee and do a lot of chatting. :D

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  What else ...

  The main thing people come out to our village to see is the local castle, Malahide Castle, which is beautiful, at least 800 years old and contains antiques and art treasures (and four ghosts). Malahide Castle sits at the centre of a large park that contains lots of sports grounds, lawns, woodland, a playground complete with a zip wire to zoom down, a craft centre with a cafe, and a separate botanic garden.
  
  Malahide village itself is very scenic, and stocked up to the eyeballs with shops, pubs with regular live music, cafes, and restaurants. It also has a marina, bus stops and a railway station. There are DART (local Malahide to Dublin) trains and there are intercity (Malahide to Belfast) trains. The village is on the sea and in summer it's a lovely place to relax by taking walks around the harbour.
  
  The other thing that brings visitors out this way, especially on sunny days, is Malahide beach. In fact, there are two beaches, Malahide and Portmarnock, within walking distance and you can swim at both of them, depending on the tides and the temperatures and how fond you are of getting frostbite. Just kidding. :) Even in bad weather or in winter, the beaches are beautiful and good for walking. If you like being on the water, as opposed to beside it, nearby there's a yacht club, a sailing club, and a water sports club, so if you like windsurfing, stand-up paddle boarding, canoeing, or just messing about in boats, you could check that out if you wished.
  
  Our location is pretty convenient, as it's about a 15 or 20 minute walk (one mile, about 1.5km) to the centre of the local village.
  
  To get to Dublin city from our house, all you have to do is walk five minutes to the bus stop which is near to the local shops, and then take a bus. It's about a 20 minute bus ride, but can take longer depending on the time of day and how much traffic there is.
  
  Another way to get to Dublin is to go up to the village and its local railway station, where DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) trains run on a frequent schedule (about every ten minutes) into Dublin, taking 20 minutes to arrive in the city centre.
  
  I live quite close to Dublin Airport. It's a short bus ride from here. I usually allow twenty minutes to drive to the airport, although once I was late for a flight and a friend got me there in just under eight minutes!
  
  Apart from Malahide, the nearest town is called Swords. It's a 45 minute walk or a short bus ride away. It has its own castle (not as cool as our castle, though) and ancient churches and towers, plus a busy main street with pubs and clubs, and a large shopping centre complete with a cinema. We are also in reach of the windmills of Skerries, and heritage properties as well like Newbridge House and Ardgillan Estate, to name just a few. Most of these are easy to get to by public transport. Just up the road and also on the DART train line is Howth, one of my favourite places, as it's got a pretty harbour, an open-air market, a ruined abbey, a castle (possibly slightly cooler than our castle here in Malahide, but I'm in denial about it), great pubs and restaurants, and breathtaking views over Dublin and the sea if you venture up the cliff paths.
  
  Dublin is the capital city, with all that goes along with that, and what you'd like to do there depends on your interests of course, but plenty of people like to visit the GPO for its connections with the 1916 Rising, see the medieval Book of Kells at Trinity College, or visit Saint Patrick's Cathedral, or Dublin Castle, or Christ Church Cathedral, which was founded by a Viking warlord with the excellent name of Sitric Silkbeard. Some people like to check out Dublin's amazing museums, such as the Collins Barracks decorative arts museum, and the National Museum which is a treasure house filled with Celtic gold. Some people like to visit the Guinness Storehouse, or the EPIC Irish Emigration Museum, or go on a pub crawl around the bohemian Temple Bar area to recover. :) Temple Bar is also a good place to find quirky independent shops, clubs and pubs, tattoo studios, art galleries, street traders, and street musicians.
  
  Dublin's the prime transport hub for the whole country, which makes it easy to take trips to beautiful Glendalough, picturesque Powerscourt, or (in my opinion) the most interesting site in Ireland, Newgrange/Bru Na Boinne (a passage tomb complex that is older than the Egyptian Pyramids), not to mention, many other awesome and fascinating places. You can take trips further afield with one train ride or bus journey from Dublin, such as to Galway in the West, Cork in the South, or the Titanic Museum in the city of Belfast in the North. It's easy to get anywhere in Ireland from here.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  Good WIFI signal.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  Large driveway with plenty of room for campervans and other vehicles.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  Dogs are no problem! Not cats unfortunately as my own dogs would probably eat them, God forbid.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  My animals / pets

  Sugar

  Nicknamed 'The Destroyer' because she chews absolutely everything within reach. Ate an entire couch once. Very sweet though, hence the name, and adores everyone.

  Toffee

  Small wriggly and unbearably cute. She was used as a bait dog before she was rescued. She still has a lot of fear. But she loves it here and is getting on well.

  Ventress

  Skinny whippet couch potato except when he's out and about, when he suddently turns into Usain Bolt. Incredibly fluffy.

  Phoenix

  Awesome dog. Big black dog who looks scary if you don't know him, but in reality, is the nicest and kindest and most mellow dog ever to exist. He's so laid back, he's horizontal.

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