“Our lucky number 7” at Seamount Rise

Beautiful Malahide is a coastal community in one of Dublin’s most sought-after suburbs and Ballymore is onsite here creating an entirely new neighbourhood at Seamount Rise. Here, we meet Aislinn Geraghty who tells us why this is her family's ‘forever home’. 

In late 2022, the first residents began moving into the newly created Ballymore houses at Seamount Rise – our new coastal development for Dublin. Demand had long been high for these homes, with waiting lists of local people eager to secure one of our high-quality homes in this emerging neighbourhood by the sea.

Among them was 39-year-old Aislinn Geraghty. The Malahide native moved to London in 2011, but family circumstances prompted her to move back to the place she called home. “In 2021 our youngest son contracted meningitis,” Aislinn explains. “We happened to be visiting family in Ireland at the time, and the support we received while he was being treated just made me realise how important it is to be close to family and extended family support.”

Thankfully with son Finn fully recovered, Aislinn and Mark set about moving the family – including oldest son Marshall (4) from their then home in Upminster back to Ireland. “Mark has always lived in England; I met him when I moved over to London through work, he was happy to try something new and uproot the family – seeing the benefit of raising the boys around their extended family in Ireland.” 

In early 2022 the hunt for a new home began, with Aislinn making journeys across the Irish Sea to view potential homes. It proved a difficult process as, she says, the market was “crazy”. Instead of considering in-demand new-builds, they initially began looking at older properties in Portmarnock and Malahide – areas where their support network is based. 

Soon though Aislinn’s head was turned by Seamount Rise, which she says “just stood out”. She adds. “I knew of Ballymore from my time in London. The company had very distinct marketing around the city, and I always thought highly of the work they were doing over there. 

“When I went to see Seamount Rise, I thought I knew what to expect based on that, but I was blown away with the level of detail and design – better than any comparable other new builds I’d seen.”

The buoyancy of the market in 2022 meant that appetite was shared by many others. Aislinn continued: “I really wasn’t hopeful at all that we’d get a home here. We knew the waiting lists were long and the interest was high, so I viewed but tried to restrain myself. Thankfully though, the home we wanted – lucky number 7 – was available and I just acted there and then, putting a deposit down. 

“Thankfully Mark understood when I called him back in England to say I’d made the decision.”

The only compromise Mark had to make was the garden, giving up his unusually large green space in Upminster, something Aislinn said he came to terms with on seeing the house at Seamount: “We have more outdoor space to enjoy in the community here – not just a great garden where we can host parties and create play spaces for the boys, but also the added bonus of the beach just 20 minutes’ walk away and Malahide Castle just 10 minutes from our front door!.” 

Fortunately, their employers in London were equally supportive of the move; Aislinn and Mark both work in the insurance sector and their requests to transfer to Ireland were swiftly accepted by forward-thinking companies. The pair now hybrid work, with Operations Director Mark regularly returning to London. 

Their main base though is the semi-detached four-bedroom home at Seamount Rise that the family moved into late last year. There’s a master suite occupied by Aislinn and Mark, bedrooms for each of the boys and a fourth room that’s used as a guest bedroom and office – helpful for Mark and Aislinn on the days they work at home. 

Aislinn loves the space the home offers the family, with larger rooms than they had in the UK and an ensuite that makes her “feel as if I’m in a hotel every morning”. She continues: “The kitchen-diner area is unreal. It’s so spacious and great to let the kids run around in; they didn’t have that at our old house. I can’t wait to fling the sliding doors open in the summer and have friends over to share the space. 

“We’re big on entertaining and that hub of the home was a huge appeal and one of the reasons we had to go for the house. It’s great to be able to have family and friends over and know we have a lovely space to host in, makes it easy. We also have room for Mark’s family to come and stay whenever they want which was high on our wish list.” 

Among those they’re planning to host are family and friends who live close by; Aislinn’s mum and dad live just minutes away in Malahide while her cousins and brothers all live in surrounding areas, but it’s the new friendships that are helping Aislinn each day too. “I hadn’t fully appreciated the collective experience of moving into a new-build development. It’s not like buying and older house, where we would literally the new kids on the block, trying to make our way into long-established neighbourhood friendship groups; here we’re all in the same boat. Everyone has moved in at the same time, so we’re all open to friendships and getting to know each other.

“It’s honestly fantastic to meet new people, see old school friends from back when I used to live in Malahide, and establish the kids in this emerging community.”

Now as they settle in, the couple are adding their own personal touches to the home, including the creation of new storage areas, work to the garden, a new built-in TV unit, a bike store at the side of the property, and some decorating to add their own colour schemes. “We think this is our forever home,” she adds, “how could it not be? I love everything about living here. I hadn’t appreciated Malahide when I was younger, but this community is everything to me and my boys now.

“Every day I just feel so lucky to call Seamount Rise my home.”