2022 was a great year where we finally got back to normality, which also meant fundraising with the general public. It was great to meet people, hear their stories and all the ways the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind changes lives. We had multiple events throughout the year and we want to thank everyone who supported our Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch of Guide dogs and all the volunteers who helped out, thanks to them our branch managed to raise a fantastic €32,453.32 as of the middle of November 2022! At our weekend of fundraising in Millfield Shopping Centre, Balbriggan on the 11th and 12th November, we managed to raise €1,556.74! We also had a very busy and successful few weeks of fundraising in the lead up to Christmas and we are so grateful to everyone who donated and helped out. We are excited for all the events coming up this year! In 2022 we said goodbye to some and welcomed others. Puppy in training Adel went off to Cork and is now an assistance dog and getting on fantastically with her family in County Kildare. Volunteer Adele Halpin welcomed puppy in training Voldee who is showing great signs of confidence and volunteer Anne Mulligan welcomed lovely Cosmo, a puppy in training, just before Christmas and we look forward to sharing more updates on her as the year progresses, along with volunteer Jade McCormack who was matched with Guide Dog, Winter and Andy Green of our Balbriggan/North County Dublin branch who was matched with his Guide Dog, Ollie. Finally, we just want to say thank you again for the continued support from you all and we hope you had a lovely Christmas and wish you a wonderful New Year!

If you would like to volunteer for our Balbriggan\North County Dublin Branch of Guide Dogs, you can contact us via phone: 085 7663107, email: GuideDogsBalbriggan@gmail.com or on Facebook: Balbriggan Branch of Guide Dogs.

Congratulations to our youngsters on winning the Fingal 6-a-side u14 indoor cricket competition yesterday with three wins from three, held in Gormanston Park. Thanks to Brían O’Rouke and all at Fingal County Council Sports Office for organising a great event.

Congratulations to Alma Atagamen, Shannon Campbell and Makia Carey who represented AB on the Leinster North East team versus Leinster Metro recently. It was a very tightly contested game with both teams taking the lead at various points in the game. Well done to Makia Carey on her NE debut, she was solid in the scrum and carried well in the loose. Balbriggan player Alma Atagamen proved to be unstoppable in the 2nd row with a hat-trick of tries. Shannon Campbell who, we are very proud to say, was team Captain on the day, converted one of the tries. The final score ended at 29 v 29. Skye Healy also of AB was unable to play today due to illness but we look forward to seeing her at the next match. Well done to all the players and coaches for providing a very enjoyable and competitive match. We would also like to remind you to join us for our Christmas party night ..Happy Christmas Everyone!!

The Senior Ladies team are Leinster Champion for the first time ever for the club. Our pictures show the jubilant team immediately after winning and later some of the senior ladies brought the Leinster trophy to visit our Club President Dinny O’Leary. The players, management and Committee of the club wish to say a big thank you to all of the supporters who travelled once again, we really appreciate it as always.

Balbriggan Roadrunners are a local running club set up almost six years ago with the aim of helping people interested in running and walking at whatever level, meet similar people and provide motivation and support within the community.The intention of the Balbriggan Roadrunners is to get people together for the health, social and motivational benefits of running with a group. There are no membership fees – the club is non-profit, self-funded and is run totally on a voluntary basis. We are an inclusive club and our members are representative of the diversity of Balbriggan and we have runners from all parts of this community and as well as surrounding communities. We are registered as a club with the Fingal Sports Council.We meet 3 or 4 times a week and have about 250 members who turn up regularly to our scheduled runs as well as over 1300 people following us on Facebook. Runners range from beginners to very experienced, running various distances from 5km, 10km and upwards, a few have even run several marathons. In 2016 we launched our “Couch to Roadrunners” group which focuses on getting people out running from the very beginning and support them right up to whatever distance and level of runner then want to become. This group is mentored by other group members who have all started as beginners and want to “pay it forward” and help others beginners achieve their goals. One of the most adventurous is the Sliabh Liag Challenge in Donegal next May see the poster for details We also have a sister club called Balbriggan and District Athletics (Senior) which is registered with Athletics Ireland and takes the opportunity to enter national championships and progress runners interested in entering competitive events..

We at Balbriggan Historical Society had a wonderful evening recently as Grainne Maguire shared memories of 75 years of Balbriggan Dramatic Society. It was fantastic to have members from the first production in 1947 joining us on the night and Grainne presented Eoghan O’Callaghan and Dermot Reynolds with framed programmes from the historic event. She slso had an exhibition of old photographs. We were also delighted to welcome 3 students from Loreto Secondary school Noshien Aktar, Deborah Emeh and Rebecca Lawrence to share presentations on The Grand Palace Thailand and Balbriggan Harbour and Lighthouse.

Remember us would like to wish all our families. Staff and Volunteers a very happy Christmas and a happy new year. We would also like to wish all our grantors and all who have supported us during 2022 a very happy Christmas and a million thanks to all for their generosity to our charity.

As we approach year end, Balbriggan Meals on Wheels would like to thank, most sincerely, all those who supported the service throughout 2022. Huge thanks to all the volunteers and staff who enabled Meals on Wheels to continue providing meals throughout the year.In the run up to Christmas Balbriggan Meals on Wheels is seeking donations to help with the continuation of their service. You can help by making a monetary donation through the Balbriggan Meals on Wheels Facebook page or you can send your donation to Balbriggan Meals on Wheels, 14 Hampton Street, Balbriggan. You can also assist in the annual Food Drive in order to prepare hampers of food and essential items for distribution within the wider Balbriggan community. Donations of non-perishable foods and essential hygiene items can be brought to Balbriggan Meals on Wheels from Monday to Saturday from 9am to 1pm.Balbriggan Meals on Wheels is looking forward to continuing to provide meals for those in need in our community throughout 2023. They would like to wish all their service users and supporters all the very best wishes for Christmas and hope 2023 will be a great year for everyone. Balbriggan Meals on Wheels, 14 Hampton Street, Balbriggan.

Tel : 01 8416743 or Email: mealsonwheelsbalbriggan@gmail.com

Balbriggan RFC hosted 11 school teams in the Leinster Rugby Junior 3A qualifiers blitz today. A great morning of rugby including our local Ardgillan Community College Junior team.

Well done to Ardgillan Community College and Malahide Community School who have qualified for the Cup.

We are delighted to tell you all that Adel, who was puppy raised by volunteer Anne Mulligan has officially qualified as an Assistance Dog and has been matched with a young boy in Co. Kildare. We wish Adel and her new family the best of luck in the future and we want to thank Anne for all her hard work. We are also happy to announce that our Balbriggan Branch attended the Bremore Castle Food and Craft Village back on Sunday the 4th September and a total of €161.50 was raised. A big thank you to all the volunteers and all who came over to support us. Jacqui Madden was the winner of our Guide Dog Hamper, a big congratulations to Jacqui again and thank you for supporting us. Are you looking for ways to support your local Balbriggan Branch of Guide Dogs? Well, we are hoping to hold a Quiz night in November/December, be sure to keep an eye on our Facebook/Instagram for updates on that. Another way you can help us is if you have any old coins or stamps that are no longer in circulation. Annually our branch puts out this request, ‘If you have any used postage stamps, stamp albums, or coins which are no longer in circulation, please give them to us. We will turn them into Euros and lodge them to the guide dogs account.’ We receive coins from all over the world and old postage stamps. In our guide dog boxes and large collection dogs we find coins from all over the world and from Europe that are no longer legal currency since the Euro came into place. We get paper notes of all sorts of denominations, coins and used stamps from our branch volunteers and friends.If you are interested in volunteering with our Balbriggan branch of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, please feel free to contact us by call or text: 085 7663107, email guidedogsbalbriggan@gmail.com, or you can find us on Facebook: Balbriggan Branch of Guide Dogs.