Balbriggan’s own Andrew Coscoran recently broke his own Irish 1500m record for the second time in two months. This was another outstanding performance from Andrew at the Silesia Diamond League meeting in Chorzow, Poland in mid July as he finished 4th with an amazing time of 3.30:42, - knocking over two seconds off his previous best that he recorded in Nice in June ! The race was won by Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway in a new European record time of 3.27:14. Kenyan’s Abel Kipsang and Reynold Kipkorir Cheruiyot finished second and third, respectively in the race. Coming as it does following his recent great form it is another excellent result for Coscoran who is being coached by Feidhlim Kelly. Andrew Coscoran now holds the national record for the metric mile indoors and outdoors. He will now turn his attention to making a final at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest later this month. Fantastic Andrew - Balbriggan is proud of you

Although heavy rain meant Glebe North FC had to somewhat abandon their plans at the end of the recent week 1 of their Summer Camp it did not dispel the smiles and enthusiasm for the club and the camp from some of their young participants. With a very wet Friday, the club closed their week 1 of FAI football camps. However the kids said overall it was a a great week with a lot of fun while learning and developing football skills. Well done to the club who called the early ending which was the right call due to very poor weather conditions. While disappointed, the smiles on the kids faces and the fact they are looking forward to next year tells the whole story. A big thanks to the coaches Robbie, Sean, Michael, Eoin, Graeme, Alan and Sarah. Well done to all!

Staying with Soccer and Congratulations to Balbriggan’s own Diane Caldwell on her selection for the Ireland squad who flew out to Australia and New Zealand recently for Ireland’s first ever appearance at a FIFA Women’s World Cup! What an amazing achievement, well done Diane!

Jack Monaghan Head of Football Development and Dave Byrne Club Secretary at Balbriggan FC were delighted to get the opportunity to speak with Duncan Smith TD when they attended the Dáil recently to watch the Labour Party debate on funding grass roots football. The Government supported the Labour Party’s motion to invest in and support Irish football. We are looking forward to seeing investment and real action to develop and build the domestic football game in Ireland.

Huge congrats to Brian Dunphy and Aadi Wankhade who were part of the Leinster u15 team that won the Inter provincial title last month. Well done lads , all that hard has paid off for you!

Also this month and not to be outdone by the boys, a huge congratulations and a massive well done from all at the Brig to Erin Knight and Izzy McLean who were part of the Leinster team that won the Interprovincial Girls u15 tournament that was held recently. Well done Girls , keep up the hard work. Please also note Week 2 of the Cricket Summer Camp ..from 8 to 11 of August is upcoming..this is for ages 5 years and up and is a great way for children to enjoy the sport,

The Aer Lingus Social and Athletic Association was originally founded in 1966 by employees in Dublin Airport and is still going strong today, ALSAA Tennis Club is now open to everybody. Membership in the first year was £1.00, which was more expensive than it sounds as the club had no courts. Although no longer at £1.00 the membership is still great value particularly if you are interested in any of the many other sports ALSAA has to offer. In ALSAA Tennis Club, we pride ourselves in having a welcoming and intimate club where everybody is on first name terms. We cater to all levels, from the player who just wants some fun, social tennis to those who want to pit themselves against the very best in other clubs around Leinster. We are an extremely active club, hosting a range of club tournaments and events throughout the year. We’re always open to new membership so come check us out. Our club is located on the grounds of the ALSAA Sports Complex (.alsaa.ie), Swords Road, Swords, Co. Dublin – Eircode: K67 YV06.

So why don’t you join a vibrant Tennis Club? We take pride in having an active social tennis club for all our members, whatever your level. Enjoy club tournaments, social tennis, and our annual club championship. Something for everyone. You can check us out on our website (), on Facebook (https://facebook.com/alsaatennisclub) and our email address is alsaatennisclub@gmail.com.

We would love to have you as a member and all levels are welcome. ALSAA membership is €200 (which you spread out over 12 months), with membership to our tennis club being an additional €110. Please ring John on 087-6526378 if you have any questions or would like to join.

Skerries RNLI would like to say a huge thank you to all the staff and customers in Tesco Balbriggan They recently presented the life boat station with a cheque for €825 raised through the blue tokens. The local branches of Tesco and their distribution centre in Donabate have been incredible supporters through the years, always helping the volunteers to save lives at sea.

The demesne consists of the ancient townlands of Kilmainham, Ardgillan and Baltray. The district was originally controlled by the Gaelic O’Casey family and later the Earl of Tyrconnell. However, the period 1600 – 1700 saw great changes in the pattern of land ownership in Ireland due to the confiscation and redistribution of land after the Cromwellian and Williamite wars (1640s and 1680s respectively). In 1658, the “Down Survey” records that Ardgillan was owned by a wine merchant, Robert Usher of Tallaght, Dublin and by 1737, the property had been acquired by the Reverend Robert Taylor, one of the Headfort Taylor’s, whose grandfather had collaborated with Sir William Petty on the mid 17th century “Down Survey of Ireland”.Ardgillan remained the family home of the Taylors (later changed to Taylour) for more than two hundred years up until 1962 when the estate was sold to Heinrich Potts of Westphalia, Germany. In 1982, Dublin County Council purchased Ardgillan Demesne and it is now managed by Ardgillan Castle Ltd., under the auspices of Fingal County Council. Ardgillan park is unique among Dublin’s regional parks for the magnificent views it enjoys of the coastline. A panorama, taking in Rockabill Lighthouse, Colt Church, Shenick and Lambay Islands may be seen, including Sliabh Foy, the highest of the Cooley Mountains, and of course the Mourne Mountains can be seen sweeping down to the sea. The park area is the property of Fingal County Council and was opened to the public as a regional park in June 1985. Preliminary works were carried out prior to the opening in order to transform what had been an arable farm, into a public park. Five miles of footpaths were provided throughout the demesne, some by opening old avenues, while others were newly constructed. They now provide a system of varied and interesting woodland, walks and vantage points from which to enjoy breath-taking views of the sea, the coastline and surrounding countryside. A signposted cycle route through the park since June 2009 means that cyclists can share the miles of walking paths with pedestrians.

In a major boost for plans to ensure Balbriggan becomes one of Ireland’s leading arts destinations, the town has been officially designated a ‘Creative Place.’It has received 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. The funding has been secured by the Our Balbriggan Rejuvenation programme, led by Fingal County Council’s Economic, Enterprise, Cultural and Tourism Department. The Creative Places funding allows towns build local arts programmes for the benefit of all, building on existing cultural strengths and enabling local artists to lead a programme rooted in socially engaged practice and community development.

The award of Creative Places funding means sustained and vibrant cultural activity can continue to grow in Balbriggan. It will enable Balbriggan - based artists to work with local businesses, and community groups and individuals. According to the Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Adrian Henchy, the funding will form a plinth of the plan to make Balbriggan a national destination for the arts. “It will provide key funding for a strategy which will ensure the town develops a very strong artistic identity,” he said.Eamonn Donlyn, a key partner in the application and co-founder of the local Scéal Arts Collective, said the award would boost the creative arts in a place already teeming with talent.“Balbriggan has a huge number of creative people. The funding is a wonderful opportunity to bring them together and make the town a destination for the arts.” Balbriggan is recognised as Ireland’s youngest town, as well as being one of the most culturally diverse. And the opening of a 400-seater sate of the art concert venue in the town is set to transform the local economy, as well as further boosting its artistic credentials. The Irish Institute of Music and Song’s (IIMS) Lark Concert Hall, is part of a €12m investment by the Dawson family, in the IIMS campus which will create 150 jobs and attract 250,000 visitors annually.

Shopfronts around Balbriggan are looking great as is the boat flower bed on the Naul road thanks to the efforts of some people who have given their time and energy to improve them. During the month of June this year, Our Balbriggan and Fingal County Council opened up the Shopfront Improvement Scheme. 23 applications were accepted and each applicant received up to €1500 in support of repainting, repairing or replacing signage to their shop front. The purpose of the scheme was to improve the Main Street of Balbriggan by giving back to local businesses and supporting them. We think they all look great! As does the boat flower bed on the Naul road which has been refurbished and replanted by Balbriggan Tidy Towns leaving it a most welcome sight on the approach to the town. Thank you to all involved.

Over 300 kids attended the ground recently for a school blitz as kids from St Theresa’s NS and Balbriggan Educate Together NS who have had weekly sessions in their school enjoyed the experience of playing at a cricket ground. We hope to see many of them down to our rapidly growing Blasters on Friday evenings at 6pm Massive well done to Lara Maritz for organising it along with our huge team of club coaches.