Asian Financial Services, as part of Symmetry Financial Management group, has been announced as the winner of the Mortgage Broker Expert Award at the Broker Ireland Expert Broker Awards 2023 which took place in The Round Room at the Mansion and were hosted by RTÉ’s Jacqui Hurley. Asian Financial Services is headed by Balbriggan -based broker Kanwar Singh who is originally from India and who provides specialist financial advice to Ireland’s Asian community. The Broker Ireland Expert Broker Awards shine a light on excellence by recognising Insurance, Financial, and Mortgage Brokers who offer the highest level of professionalism, innovation, performance, and service to their clients.

Accepting the Mortgage Broker Expert Award, Kanwar Singh, Head of Asian Financial Services said, “I am delighted that Asian Financial Services, as part of Symmetry Financial Management group, has been recognised through this prestigious award. It is my honour to serve the Asian community in Ireland and to provide dedicated financial advice tailored to the needs of individuals and families. Many of my clients are highly skilled employees in the health and IT sectors with visa stamps that require specialist consideration when purchasing a property. I am delighted that, through Asian Financial, we can provide that service.”

Over the last months, Balbriggan Rugby Club adult players have been volunteering with our youth and mini teams. Our aims are to foster relationships across the teams within the club, to grow our internal support structures, and to highlight the pathway for within the club for our young players.

Join us for a Christmas Bingo night at The Milestone, 27 Drogheda St, Balbriggan K32 RD98 on Wednesday 6th Dm 8pm to 10 pm hosted by Balbriggan LGBT+ Peer Support Group and proudly sponsored by Outcomers LGBT Support Service. Embrace the festive cheer as we gather together the vibrant LGBT+ community of Balbriggan and its neighbouring areas. Newcomers, outcomers, and their allies are warmly invited to join us for an enjoyable evening of gay bingo and delicious finger food. Admission is free! Participate in 3 games of bingo for just €5. Let’s make it merrier by dressing in our most festive Christmassy clothes! Come along and celebrate with us in a welcoming and joyful atmosphere …see you there! Also do not forget….the Balbriggan group meets twice per month in the Flemington Centre. For any queries please contact Annie Blake, Regional LGBT Community Outreach Worker, Outcomers Office 042 932 9816.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) provides grant support to Sustainable Energy Communities (SECs) to improve local energy efficiency and help with the transition from fossil fuels to renewables. We are working on a voluntary basis with ORS energy consultants on an Energy Master Plan for Balbriggan, which consists of an online Home Energy Survey, community building and business energy audits, a baseline energy use assessment and energy action plan. We are the link between the community and ORS and our main role is to encourage participation in the Energy Master Plan process. In the future, we hope to pursue further energy related projects in Balbriggan. Thanks to everyone who has completed the Home Energy Survey so far. We’ve had 70 responses but we would like to get to a 100 so please fill out the 5-minute survey and help inform the assessment of energy needs in the community. You can contact us on balbrigganclimateclub@gmail.com if you need help with it or would like further information. Five homes representative of different house types will be energy audited by ORS, along with three community buildings. ORS are also supporting a number of local businesses to apply for Support Scheme for Energy Audits (SSEA) vouchers worth €2,000. Please do visit us at this website for any and all further look up balbrigganclimateclub.wordpress.com. Balbriggan Climate Club is a sub-committee of Balbriggan Tidy Towns and a few members set up the Balbriggan SEC to avail of the grant to develop the Balbriggan Energy Master Plan. We wish everyone a lovely break. The Energy Master Plan should be finished in spring 2024, when we will have a public launch so keep an eye out for further updates in the New Year!

I am delighted that Fingal Co Council have confirmed in reply to my formal question that consultants will be procured for a site specific feasibility study at Castlelands Balbriggan with a view “to guide the Council’s next steps in terms of timelines and route through the planning process.” for a Balbriggan Public Swimming Pool and that €75,000 Hs been set aside in the Fingal Capital Plan for that purpose. “The previous swimming pool projects In Skerries and Balbriggan were complicated public private partnerships and failed for that reason. This public swimming pool will be built on council land by Fingal Co Council. The council must build and fund a Public Swimming Pool in Balbriggan for Balbriggan residents and the North Fingal catchment area including nearby Skerries. “ said Cllr Tom O’Leary. There are various Funding sources possible, Fingal Co Council, Government National Funding, and levies from new homes to be built in Balbriggan. The ongoing review of the options to deliver Swimming Pools in Ireland may present some new interest value for money models already in use in England and energy efficient models that make running costs of a public swimming pool more sustainable and affordable said Balbriggan Ward. Councillor Tom O’Leary said, “I look forward to more progress on this project, engaging with the consultants on the proposal for a public swimming pool in Balbriggan and also engaging with the North Fingal Swimming Pool group.” The Housing and Community Dept will be commencing the procurement process to engage a consultant for this study with an appointment likely in Q1 2024. “ said Fingal Co Council on 13th November 2023.

Speaking at a recent meeting of the Balbriggan Branch of the Labour Party, Cllr Brendan Ryan encouraged the people of Balbriggan to shop local as much as possible this Christmas. He said that local businesses are an integral part of our town. They offer local employment and by supporting them we are ensuring that the money generated within their businesses is being reinvested directly into the town. He particularly called on people to support those businesses which are still surviving on Balbriggan Main Street in a very difficult trading environment and to actively consider buying at least one Christmas gift in the town Centre. “Let’s support our Main Street and Town Centre businesses as much as possible to help them survive” he said.

This message would equally apply to all our towns, but Balbriggan Main Street has had its own particular challenges. In a follow up, at the November Council meeting, Cllr Ryan called on the Chief Executive, AnnMarie Farrelly, and her economic development team, to initiate a strong Shop Local campaign across all its media channels to drive home the message. Cllr Ryan stated that he was delighted with her very positive response and looks forward to the roll out in the coming weeks.

Well done to former Glebe North players Ruby McCarthy, Lia O’Leary and Hannah Healy wo were called into the Republic of Ireland WU19 squad in recent weeks. Ireland played their first game recently against Wales winning 7-0 with our very own 15-year-old Hannah Healy on the scoresheet. Well done girls, we are all so proud of you!

2023 was the first year we brought over an overseas female player , we spoke to Jaimie Lee Strang about how we wanted her to be a role model on and off the pitch and to help us win the league. Well, Jaimie Lee delivered on all fronts and was top class on and off the pitch , she’s already back home in Oz and into her new season and we wish her all the best for her season , hopefully more silverware. Thanks for Everything JL

Balbriggan U16s travelled to Drogheda recently to play Boyne RFC ‘B’ team in the last game of their North East group stage. Two tries from Kajus, one from Conor, and another very strong performance across the squad left the two teams tied on tries scored - the difference at the end being a couple of successful kicks from Boyne.

However, the day was about more than the rugby match; Boyne hosted a memorial event for Andrew Dobson, one of their much-loved coaches who passed away, far too young, a couple of years ago. After the match, Boyne hosted our team and parents to hospitality before presenting awards in Andrew’s name.

Another key milestone in the ‘Our Balbriggan’ rejuvenation programme, which is set to transform the town with public investment of over €50m, has been reached with the granting of planning permission for a €3.3m creative hub. .Fingal County Council has approved plans for works at 2-4 Dublin Street, which are expected to be completed by mid-2025. Ensuring Balbriggan becomes a nationally renowned destination for arts and culture is a key part of the Our Balbriggan rejuvenation programme, and the creative hub will be central to this. The vision for the listed building includes the development of creative art spaces with adjoining digital learning facilities, a courtyard and gallery. The project will now move to the design stage before the appointment of a contractor. Welcoming the move, Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Adrian Henchy, said: “The creative hub is another key piece of the rejuvenation programme which will shape the development of Balbriggan and ensure it is regarded as a great place to live, work and do business.” Under the Our Balbriggan rejuvenation programme, the council has made a number of strategic property acquisitions as well as completing preliminary works for the redevelopment of the Harbour as part of a massive urban regeneration project. “Four years on from the launch of the Our Balbriggan rejuvenation programme 2019-2025, the bricks and mortar transformation of Ireland’s youngest town is now beginning to take shape,” said the Chair of the Our Balbriggan Leadership Group, Professor Brian MacCraith .“The ambitious vision contained in the rejuvenation plan was the result of an historic community engagement which saw more than 25 per cent of Balbriggan’s residents outline their preferences for the future of the town .”Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly, was pleased to note an important milestone in the Our Balbriggan rejuvenation programme. “Fingal County Council is strongly committed to delivering the Our Balbriggan rejuvenation programme for the benefit of the people of the town. The creative hub is a key piece of the planned infrastructural development,” she said. The move is complementary to Balbriggan’s designation by the Arts Council as a truly Creative Place. It is to receive Arts Council funding of €330,000 over three years, under the Creative Places programme, to provide local people access to the arts in their own community. That funding was also secured by the Our Balbriggan rejuvenation programme, led by the Council’s Economic, Enterprise, Cultural and Tourism Department. Ireland’s youngest town now plays host to a number of festivals and cultural events in partnership with the locally-based Irish Institute of Music and Song (IIMS) which is due to open a 400-seater state of the art concert venue.