Creative Places Balbriggan has successfully awarded 11 artists to work with local Balbriggan community groups through a brand-new funding scheme.
Making Waves will contribute over €45,000 to 11 artistic programmes to be carried out involving artists collaborating with local community groups in Balbriggan between September 2026 and February 2027.
Mayor of Fingal Cllr. Tony Murphy said: “I greatly welcome the Making Waves funding for the community of Balbriggan. Being a local councillor here, I am fully aware of the vibrant arts community in Balbriggan, and this is a great opportunity to share creative skills with the wider community. This seed funding will help stimulate more involvement in the arts and more accessibility to creative activities locally with the support of the Fingal Arts Office and the Creative Places Balbriggan Coordinator. My congratulations to the 11 artists who made the successful application and the community groups involved and I look forward to seeing what their collaborations will inspire and produce in the coming months.”
Creative Places Balbriggan is an Arts Council funded project coordinated by Fingal Arts Office. Its main aim is to connect with people, artists and places to allow ideas to develop into creative actions that are community-led and socially engaged. Under The Creative Places Balbriggan Strategy 2026-2027, the project has three main priority work pillars – Creative Youth, Creative Industry and Climate Action. The project is based for 3 years in Balbriggan, from 2025- 2027, with scope to develop in further 2-year cycles.
The Making Waves programmes will be officially launched at a public event as part of Culture Night on September 18 at Ardgillan Castle.
For further information, please see: Creative Places Balbriggan | Fingal County Council
It’s been another busy few months for the Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch of Guide Dogs and also a few months of fun filled with plenty of celebrations for our branch. With the final event of the summer culminating with continued celebrations of the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blinds 50th birthday and also a milestone birthday for our very own, Tom O’Neill in O’Dwyer’s GAA club, Balbriggan. As I’m sure plenty of you know, Tom and his late wife Breege founded the Balbriggan Branch of Guide Dogs back in 1987 after Tom received his first guide dog, Frank and immediately noticed the positive quality of life Frank provided him. Inspired by his newfound confidence, Tom and Breege started with small group walks to fundraise and the community of the branch grew and grew and has lead to nearly four decades of community fundraising and over €5 million raised for the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. The tentacles of the fundraising in Balbriggan also resulted in the setting up of the Tuam Branch by Toms sister Mary Byrne, who raises about €20,000 annually and the foundation of the Cavan Branch by the late Brid McEvoy and Patricia Hannick in 2018, raising up to €10,000 annually.
In 1995 the branch name changed to include ‘North County Dublin’ as no one was raising money in Skerries, Rush, Lusk, Oldtown or Garristown and now the branch also fundraises in Duleek, Stamullen and Ardcath, Co. Meath all thanks to the late Francis Wall of Duleek, who met Fred, another Guide Dog and brother of Toms first guide dog, Frank, when Fred went to live in Duleek in 1985 with his late owner Gerry Healy.
Tom and the Balbriggan/North County Dublin branch of guide dogs continues to be a very active Branch and as determined as ever to keep up the work. We want to wish Tom O’Neill a very happy belated birthday and thank him for everything he has done for the Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch of Guide Dogs.
You can contact Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch of Irish Guide Dogs by phone/text 0876489479, email: GuideDogsBalbriggan@gmail.com or find us on Facebook at Balbriggan
Branch of Guide Dogs.
If you had wandered into the Dublin Convention Centre on the second weekend of August, you would have found yourself in a world where fantasy and reality blur. Stormtroopers patrolled the corridors, Jedi knights crossed paths with medieval warriors, and superheroes queued for coffee alongside Victorian ghosts and Prussian generals.
This was Dublin Comic Con, Ireland’s largest pop culture event, which brought in over 20,000 visitors over the weekend of 8–9 August. For fans of comics, movies and video games, it was a sanctuary where dressing up isn’t just accepted but highly encouraged.
Among the cosplayers and costumed characters was an unexpected group from Balbriggan. Takemusu Aikido Society made its Comic Con debut this year, with a demonstration area and a table set-up where the group could meet visitors, talk about Aikido and introduce people to their martial art.
For many attendees, the demonstrations were their first encounter with Aikido, a Japanese martial art focused on blending with an opponent’s attack instead of meeting force with force. Takemusu Aikido Society presented different aspects of its weapons practice, including sword and staff, alongside empty-handed techniques, showing how these forms of training connect into a single, unified system.
What made the demonstrations special was that beginners had the opportunity to show some of the first techniques they learned. This gave visitors a chance to see that Aikido training begins not with impressive skills, but with simple movements gradually developed through practice. Takemusu Aikido Society sent an important message: no one needed to feel intimidated by flashy instructors’ displays. Instead, everyone could see a clear progression from novice to mastery through consistent practice, depending not on natural ability but on effort invested.
The club’s presence at Dublin Comic Con was like opening a door into a welcoming community. Aikido can seem mysterious from the outside, but by showing students at different stages of training, the group demonstrated that martial arts are accessible to everyone, no matter their age or experience. Visitors could see that they too could start as beginners and, with time and practice, develop real skill.
The weekend delivered plenty of unexpected moments too. Our instructor suddenly found himself in a friendly battle against a Jedi warrior who, much to the amusement of onlookers, was dispatched with remarkable efficiency. A Cyborg Ninja and Michael Jackson stopped to watch the action, clearly impressed but keeping their distance.
But the best part of the weekend was the sense of connection. Visitors stayed after the demonstrations to ask questions about both the techniques and the ideas behind them. Several people expressed genuine interest in attending classes. Strangers became friends over shared curiosity, and conversations sparked between people who otherwise would never have met.
By the end of the weekend, the group had shared their passion with hundreds of visitors and proven that a martial art founded on harmony can fit right in, even among the chaos of costumed characters and fantasy heroes.
Visit www.aiki.ie for full details about Takemusu Aikido Society. New members of all levels and ages are always welcome.
Tom O’Neill of the Balbriggan/North County Dublin branch of Guide Dogs, got his first Guide Dog, Frank in 1985 and is currently on his seventh guide dog, Qeb. Tom speaks of the freedom, mobility and confidence he gets from having a guide dog and the ability to meet so many people through having a guide dog, the positive image that is shown to the world and the freedom it allows him to get out and about, be involved and to do something extremely positive with his life and within the community.
Tom met his late wife, Breege in Sligo when they were both doing a course designed to help visually impaired people adjust their lives due to vision loss or impairment. In June 2021, Tom lost Breege to cancer and his then dog, Gatsby, passed away in the middle of losing Breege, also due to cancer. The dog Tom currently has, Qeb, is the last dog Breege ever trained with. In Longford, where Breege is laid to rest, Qeb allows Tom the ability to walk twenty minutes up to the graveyard and sit and reminisce at the gravestone to think about the 40 plus years they shared together, all thanks to the dog they would one day go on to share and grant them both independence.
Given the importance of a guide dog in their lives and the lives of others, Tom and Breege left a legacy donation to the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind in their wills. Did you know that 1 in 3 guide dogs are supported by legacy donations from being left in a persons will. If you are looking for a noble and lifechanging way to support the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, why not leave a legacy donation in your will and help give independence and change lives.
Please see link below to video of Tom O’Neill speaking about leaving a donation in your will:
https://www.guidedogs.ie/how-you-can-help/ways-to-donate
You can contact Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch of Irish Guide Dogs by phone/text
0876489479, email: GuideDogsBalbriggan@gmail.com or find us on Facebook at Balbriggan
Branch of Guide Dogs.
Many people reach a point in life when they realise they should be more active. The challenge is not recognising the need for exercise, but finding an activity that remains engaging year after year.
Most physical activities focus primarily on fitness. Others challenge the mind but involve little movement. Few activities develop the body, stimulate the brain and create meaningful social connections at the same time. Aikido is one of those rare exceptions.
This Japanese martial art develops balance, coordination, mobility and body awareness while simultaneously challenging practitioners to learn new movement patterns. Training takes place with partners rather than opponents, creating a supportive social environment where people help one another progress.
This combination becomes particularly valuable as we age. Maintaining physical mobility is important, but so too are mental engagement, confidence and a sense of community. Aikido brings all of these elements together in a single activity.
In many ways, learning Aikido is similar to learning a new language, except that the body becomes the instrument of communication. At first, unfamiliar movements can feel awkward and challenging. Over time, however, the body begins to organise itself more efficiently. Movements become smoother, more economical and better coordinated. Practitioners also develop greater spatial awareness, learning to understand their position in relation to other people and to move confidently and efficiently through space.
The combination of physical activity and continuous learning is particularly valuable as we age. Training challenges both body and mind, helping practitioners maintain mobility while keeping the brain actively engaged. Many students find that concentrating on movement and working with a partner provides a welcome break from everyday worries. They leave class feeling calmer, more focused and more energised than when they arrived.
The social aspect is equally important. Aikido is practised with partners, creating opportunities to meet people and build friendships. At Takemusu Aikido Society, training is followed by conversation, laughter and a strong sense of community that keeps people coming back year after year.
One of the club’s members, Eugene, joined in his fifties with no previous martial arts experience. He soon discovered a passion for training and continues to work on improving his mobility, particularly in his hips. Like many adult beginners, he found much more than exercise. He found an enjoyable challenge, a lifelong learning experience and a welcoming community.
Takemusu Aikido Society has received funding through the Age & Opportunity Active National Grant Scheme 2026. Thanks to this support, newcomers aged 50 and over can attend one free Aikido class per week throughout Jne, July and August.
No previous martial arts experience is required, and there is no need to register in advance. If becoming more active has been on the to-do list for some time, this summer may be the perfect opportunity to start. It is never too late to learn something new, improve wellbeing and discover what the body is still capable of achieving.
More information is available from Takemusu Aikido Society at www.aiki.ie or by emailing info@aiki.ie.
On Friday 22nd May our branch celebrated another Guide Dog Day, and this year was extra special as it was The Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind 50th birthday! We kicked off celebrations with a merchandise sale on Friday in Millfield Shopping Centre in Balbriggan, where a fantastic sum of €915.56 was raised and another merchandise sale in SuperValu, Balbriggan on Saturday and raised another fantastic sum of €698.69. On both days we sold raffle tickets for €5 giving a chance to win a €5,000 holiday voucher along with guide dog cuddly toys and pens, to name but a few. Also, on Friday at Millfield Shopping Centre there was a gathering of guide dogs with Guide Dog Qeb, Assistance Dog Gigi, Ambassador Dogs Cassie and Adel in attendance much to the joy of passer-by’s who stopped to say hello to our fury friends.
As part of the Guide Dog Day celebrations Tom O’Neill and guide dog Qeb joined Buoin Peadar agus Pol Brigins and Guides for a sponsored walk where great fun was had by all. A fantastic few days of celebrations was had, and we want to say a big thank you to everyone who supported our branch over that weekend and who continue to support us every day.
As a lot of you would know, our next fundraiser after Guide Dog Day would normally be the Balbriggan Summer Festival over the June bank holiday weekend, however the festival didn’t happen this year. If anybody knows of a festival or any event anywhere in the North County that our branch could have a merchandise stand at anytime in the summer months so we could make up for lost funds due to the festival not taking place, please get in contact on the details below.
You can contact Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch of Irish Guide Dogs by phone/text 0876489479, email: GuideDogsBalbriggan@gmail.com or find us on Facebook at Balbriggan Branch of Guide Dogs.
Congratulations to St. Marys Baton Twirlers who won 1st place overall at the 2026 Baton Twirling Ireland ABTI National Championships! This achievement is a true team effort, showcasing the incredible partnership between our dedicated athletes and coaches. Together, we’ve reached new heights.
Here’s how our athletes got on over the weekend in their individual, pair, and team events:18 x 1st Places; 20 x 2nd Places ;17 x 3rd Places;10 x 4th Places; 5 x 5th Places; 1 x 6th Place.
A big thank you to the parents and families for your continued support of our club.
Some members also recently displayed at the BELIEVE Expo in Flemington Community Centre Balbriggan. The club made wonderful connections with other clubs and organisations and potential new members.
You can see more display from St. Mary’s Baton Twirlers at the Balscadden Tractor Run on 21st June.
Fingal Arts Office has officially launched the Creative Places Balbriggan Strategy 2026-2027, together with a brand new funding scheme for Balbriggan called “Making Waves”.
Creative Places Balbriggan is an Arts Council funded project which aims to make the arts more accessible within the community through increased engagement in socially engaged, community-led creative activities. The Making Waves seed funding scheme will support community groups to work with artists to start developing artistic skills and to participate in creative activities through collaboration.
The new strategy focuses on three main pillars of work in the Balbriggan community: Creative Youth, Creative Industry and Climate Action.
Speaking at the launch of the strategy at The Lark Concert Hall in Balbriggan, Mayor of Fingal, Cllr. Tom O’ Leary said “I am delighted to launch the Creative Places Balbriggan Strategy 2026-27. Balbriggan has a vibrant and burgeoning arts scene, as we can see from this magnificent venue, The Lark. With the two-year strategy in place, the stage is now set for more creative opportunities for the local community through the Making Waves Seed Funding scheme. I am particularly glad to see Creative Youth as the main pillar of the work going forward, given Balbriggan is the youngest large town in Ireland with approximately one third of its 24,0000 population under the age of 18. Many of these young people will have the opportunity to develop their creative skills and interests through the Creative Places Balbriggan Project.”
Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly said “I greatly welcome the new Creative Places Balbriggan Strategy 2026-2027 and the Making Waves Seed Funding scheme. Together with the updated Arts Office plan, new public arts projects in Balbriggan, and the planned studio places at 2-4 Dublin Street. I look forward to seeing Balbriggan develop as a major hub for the arts and creativity in Fingal. The strategic pillars of Creative Youth and Creative Industry align with Our Balbriggan strategy pillars in community development and economic development. The creative focus on Climate Action as a pillar will also be greatly complimented by Balbriggan being the designated Decarbonising Zone in Fingal. The Making Waves Fund will seed fund opportunities within the community to get them creatively involved in these developments.”
The Making Waves Seed Funding Scheme 2026 will provide seed funding for creative programmes that involve community members working collaboratively with an artist to develop new ideas and creative activities. The fund is now open to individual artists, community groups, and community organisations based in Balbriggan. It is also open to any artists outside Balbriggan who are willing to work with a group from the Balbriggan community.
Funding of up to €5,000 per applicant is available. Application will be open from Tuesday, 5 May until Friday, 26 June.
Interested applicants can contact Creative Places Balbriggan coordinator Cormac McDonagh for further information on 087 7141691 or cormac.mcdonagh@fingal.ie
For more information, please read the funding guidelines and strategy here: https://www.fingal.ie/creative-places-balbriggan
The below might seem simple to you and me, but sometimes people forget their common courtesy. As Tom O’Neill recently continued the celebrations of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind turning 50, here are some top tips when meeting people who are blind/visually impaired:
Following planning approval at the Council meeting on 11 May 2026, Fingal County Council has confirmed that the long-awaited Balbriggan community swimming pool project is now progressing towards construction, marking a significant milestone for the town and the wider North Fingal region.
The proposed development consists of a single-storey public swimming pool facility featuring a 25-metre, six-lane pool and a spectator viewing gallery.
Supporting amenities will include village-style, group and accessible changing facilities, showers and toilets, a reception and waiting area, staff offices and welfare facilities, meeting rooms, storage areas, plant and chemical storage rooms, and buggy storage.
In line with Fingal County Council’s sustainability objectives, photovoltaic (PV) panels will be installed at roof level to support energy-efficient operation.
Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Tom O’Leary, welcomed the progress:
“This is a very positive development for Balbriggan, Skerries, Lusk and beyond. The pool will provide a high-quality, accessible public facility for families, schools and swimmers of all ages, and represents an important addition to the social and recreational infrastructure of the area. It’s a great day for North Fingal, with an estimated investment of more than €11 million.”
Director of Services, David Storey, emphasised the significance of the project:
“This is a major step forward for Balbriggan and the wider North Fingal area. For a long time, there has been a clear need for a high-quality public swimming facility, and we are now moving closer to delivering that reality. This project is about increasing access, supporting active lifestyles, and providing a vital community resource that will benefit people of all ages for generations to come. It is a strong example of how targeted investment can make a real and lasting difference in people’s daily lives.”
