Sweeping harbour views in revitalised Passage West

UP CHURCH Hill in Passage West, turn to the right, then climb another bit and you come to Ard Cluain.

The estate lives up to its name: it has sweeping views of the harbour, over to Tivoli and Glanmire in the distance. Still, the wide vista pales into insignificance compared to the glittering expanse of water that is the lower harbour.

Ignored, under-utilised and grossly undervalued, the second deepest harbour in the world had been used and abused by its citizens over the years, but rarely respected. The advent of a concrete Dockland strategy and the development push to the outer harbour is about to change all that.