It’s a damp midweek morning at Ladies Cove in Greystones, Co Wicklow, and the Dryrobers are out in force for their daily dip.
The cafe across the road is doing a brisk trade in flat whites and mixed-berry tart croissants, while a steady stream of swimmers pick their way across the pebbles to the trendy sauna.
On the face of it, this fashionable seaside town – home to Taoiseach Simon Harris – seems like a bubble of affluence, packed with artisanal bakeries and thriving restaurants.
Peek beneath the surface and there are challenges here too, say locals.
Many say the commuter-belt town is struggling to cope with rapid population growth which has seen the municipal district population jump to just over 22,000, a 20 per cent increase over the course of about five years.
Whether it be traffic problems, shortages of school places or oversubscribed sports clubs, residents say they feel increasingly stuck in a backlog.
Deirdre Glennon, a mother of two primary school-aged children and the director of a creative agency, is walking her dog Blanche, “the OG greyhound in Greystones”.
She is here to meet her friends for their twice-weekly swim. All are working mothers with plenty of first-hand experience of juggling careers and family life against the backdrop of a creaking transport system.
“This is a very liveable community and I feel very fortunate to be here,” says Glennon, who has brought Blanche out for a morning walk.
“But there are issues here with housing, secondary school places are very limited ... the Dart is not dependable. Often, you’re left standing at the platform and then you’re an hour late ... I do feel we pay high taxes, but we don’t really have any services.”
Claire Herbert, another member of the “ag snámh” WhatsApp group, lives in Shankill, Co Dublin, and travels here to swim with her friends. She has two children, aged six and eight, and works in advertising. Childcare, she says, is an urgent issue.
“There’s a discussion at the moment about making it a public service and I feel that is the right way to go – especially for women, single women, separated or divorced women,” she says.
“We need childcare to help the amazing women of Ireland to do the job that they need to be doing to reach CEO levels, manager levels, director levels and to have a voice at the table ... it is a big barrier when you have to choose your career or choose your family.”
The cove is especially popular with retirees. Carmel Egan (76) and Jacinta Douglas (75) have arrived for their daily swim.
Egan admits that her Dryrobe was initially more of a fashion accessory before she eventually took the plunge.
“I bought it because we were sitting around outside having coffee and felt a bit of a fraud, so I figured I better get back into the swimming ... Once you’re in the water, you forget about everything. I’ll stay in for about 20 minutes.”
Traffic, she says, is a real problem in Greystones. A trip into Bray, which ordinarily might take 15 minutes, can take the best part of an hour in heavy traffic, she says.
“We need more infrastructure,” she says. “There’s been a massive amount of housing. We’re practically connected to Delgany and Kilcoole now.”
For Douglas, meanwhile, the cost of living is a bigger concern: groceries, utility bills and the odd treat swallow up large chunks of her pension.
“Two coffees and two scones in Powerscourt is €16.50 – that’s going a bit above,” she says. “You can do it now and again, but you have to really enjoy it.”
Among the sea swimmers, there is near universal praise for Simon Harris: most pay glowing tributes to his work rate as a local TD, as well as the energy he has brought to the office of Taoiseach.
Mairéad Coughlan (52), a lawyer on her “second retirement”, and Ciarán Lyons (67), a retiree, live down the road in Newcastle and are regulars at the Cove.
“I think he’s great – I’d have leanings to Fine Gael anyway, and it’s lovely to have a local Taoiseach,” she says.
Lyons agrees: “He’s got politics in his blood; he’s a passionate guy and I’d have a lot of faith in him. I really would. We’re lucky to have him here.”
Deirdre Glennon feels his stance on “difficult issues” such as immigration is the right one.
“I’m proud on how he handles it ... there’s an undercurrent that I don’t like with Irish people waving flags, and I don’t feel that is representative of Irish people,” she says.
Mary Keating, a regular swimmer from Ashford, is also impressed by the new Taoiseach, though she doesn’t underestimate the challenges ahead.
“He has massive energy. I think Ireland needs that youth ... for me, he’s taken the bull by the horns. He won’t get it all right. He’s going okay” she says.
“There’s a lot to be solved: homelessness, housing, what we do with migrants ... With all the Apple money coming in, they need to make sure our infrastructure is right – but will they get it right?” she says, referring to the €13 billion tax windfall coming from the US tech giant following the long-running EU unlawful state aid case.
“They’re lucky ... They better do a good job.”
