Through the Lens camera club are pleased to report very successful sales of our 2026 calendar, and we are delighted to have been able to donate €600 to the Donabate/Portrane Special Olympics group to help them on their way to competing in the 2026 Irish Special Olympics in June ( 18th to 21st ).
The Special Olympics group provides year round sports training, athletic competitions and developmental programmes for their members giving them the opportunity to participate in the sharing of skills and friendships with their families and other Special Olympic groups.
Through the Lens members look forward to cheering them on in the Irish Special Olympics, and getting some good photos, when they compete in June.
Through the Lens provides an informal, friendly and supportive environment to anybody interested in photography, whether it’s learning how to use your camera or how to get better pictures with your smart phone, all levels of photographic skills are catered for. The club is open to all over 18yrs, we meet every second Tuesday in Donabate Golf Club at 7.30pm and anyone interested is welcome to come along and give us a try. Look up our website www.thoughthelens.ie for further information.
Every year, International Women’s Day celebrates the social, cultural, economic and political achievements of women. To mark this year’s event, Lambay Cinema Club will be showing Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story on Thursday March 5th at 8:00pm.
This 2024 documentary features iconic, taboo-breaking Irish Novelist, Edna O’Brien, who definitely made a big cultural and social impact. In archive footage from throughout her career, including her final interview at the age of 93, she reflects on her life and what many would call, extraordinary career, alongside contributions from Jessie Buckley, Gabriel Byrne and Anne Enright.
Defying Ireland’s patriarchal, religious constraints with her 1960 debut novel, The Country Girls, she became a literary sensation. Vilified in Ireland and escaping an abusive husband, O’Brien was a prolific, controversial, taboo-breaking powerhouse who made a fortune and lost one. This film tells the whole story of this remarkable woman.
Tickets cost €10 (€8 for OAPs / Students).
For more information and to get your tickets please go to www.lambaycinemaclub.com.
The Lambay Cinema Club holds monthly screenings at St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Church at The Square, Donabate, K36 Y521.
Members of Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed were saddened to learn of the recent passing of Willie Walsh. We remember Willie as a quiet, but wise man, always cheerful and a true gentleman. He was a regular at our Thursday morning get-togethers until he moved to Beechtree Nursing Home a couple of years ago.
e were proud to be asked by his family to form a guard of honour at the entrance to Donabate Cemetery as the funeral cortege arrived. Willie will be sadly missed by all who had the good fortune of knowing him. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
On a lighter note, Gerry and the Plonkers, the Men’s Shed music groups, have two gigs coming up in March after a quite time since Christmas. The first is a celebration of International Women’s Day in Parlickstown Community Centre. The second, closer to home, is part of the St. Patick’s celebrations in Donabate on Saturday 14th March, which is being organised by Donabate St. Patrick’s Festival Committee. This promises to be a great event for all; so get out and get involved.
Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed had our AGM at the end of last month, too late to include a full report in this article. We’ll have more information for next month’s issue.
The Men’s Shed is in the process of acquiring additional new equipment for use in our weekly exercise classes, led by our own Fintan Delaney. We also continue our weekly croquet outings in Newbridge Park, weather permitting, our regular music practice sessions and our Thursday morning get-togethers in the Scouts’ Den on the Portrane Road. So, if you or someone close to you would like to join us, please call Jim on 086-3694316.
Saturdays:
Feb 28th-NO walk took place due to weather conditions.
Mar 21st-Planned the Royal Canal
April 25th-Planned the Leitrim Blue Way
May 16th-Planned Dunlaoghaire to Dalkey (OR the
Newry Greenway if possible to do a successful reckie before the date!)
Special Day Walking Tour of Dublin City: Tuesday June 16th 2026
(for James Joyce Bloomsday Events)
This year we have some new leaders who have done the GetIrelandWalking 1 Hour Course for to Lead Group Walks!
New! Margaret O’Brien, Rosaleen O’Reilly
Join! Des Carthy, Carolyn Smith, Breda Dockrell, Jim O’Donohoe
Walking is the cheapest and best form of exercise!
A meeting was held recently to finalise routes & details of the Slí na Sláinte project hoping to come to Donabate in the near future.
This initiative started in 2019, then covid hit & we were also waiting on three situations to be resolved - the lights to cross at the entrance to the Links, the lights & new footpath on Turvey Ave & the new footpath at the corner of The Hand Ballisk & Beaverstown.
This small focused group came together for this project to be achieved - so hopefully we are nearly there! Thanks to the hard work in particular of Jennifer Tanner & Dara Carr from Lambay Sports & Athletics Club who have been involved since the start and a number of other people who have put the effort in since the beginning Eilish McDermot, Gerry Kirwan, Peader Bates, and some who have come on board recently to help get the Slí na Sláinte across the line - namely the three local Cllrs Corina Johnson, Eoghan Dockrell & Paul Mulville. Key to bringing this project forward are the Irish Heart Foundation formerly Tara Curran & now Dáire Conway Health Promotion Officer. FCC formally Lourda Darcy and now Aileen O’Connor Parks Superintendent are also instrumental in the success of the project. We will keep you updated!
Funding has been secured for the installation of a Rock Armour Revetment at Burrow Beach, Portrane, to prevent further erosion of this section of coastline which is threatening homes in the area.
The Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Darragh O’Brien TD, and the Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Kevin Boxer Moran TD, announced today that €622,703 in funding will be provided by the Office of Public Works towards the €700,000 cost of the emergency works.
Meanwhile, a long-term solution for the protection of the coast at The Burrow will move a step closer on Wednesday when Fingal County Council submits the Burrow Coastal Flooding and Erosion Risk Management Plan (CFERM) to An Coimisiún Pleanála for approval. The CFERM plan has already been the subject of a significant level of analysis and local consultation, and the Council has already received approval for the plan from the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA).
The two ministers were joined by the Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Tom O’Leary, local councillors, the Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly, and officials from both the Council and the OPW when they visited Portrane this afternoon to view last week’s damage to the coastline from Storm Chandra and announce the emergency works funding.
The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Tom O’Leary, said: “I am delighted that the Ministers have agreed to provide funding through the OPW towards the €700,000 cost of emergency works at the Burrow. This will hopefully provide further protection for the homes that are under threat until the permanent solution can be constructed.”
The decision to proceed with the emergency works follows consultation between Fingal County Council, the OPW and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage with specialist advice from the Council’s consultants Tetra Tech RPS.
Approximately 300 metres of coastline at the southern end of The Burrow Beach has been identified as the most vulnerable section of the coastline on the peninsula and the rock armour will be installed here.
Donabate Village is getting ready for the very first St Patrick’s Festival and Parade which will be held on Saturday 14 March.
Residents of all ages are warmly invited to come out, line the streets and take part in what promises to be a lively and colourful afternoon for the whole community. The parade will begin at 1.30 pm and will feature local schools, sports clubs, community groups and musicians, all coming together to celebrate our national day and the spirit of Donabate Portrane.
Following the parade, the festivities will continue in the village with music, entertainment and a welcoming festival atmosphere for families and friends to enjoy. This year will also see an Artisan Food Village on the green at St Patrick’s Church, showcasing local food producers, sweet treats and quality coffee, the perfect place to gather and soak up the celebrations.
The St Patrick’s Festival is a special occasion and a wonderful opportunity for neighbours, new residents and long-time locals alike to connect and celebrate together. Organisers are encouraging everyone to walk into the village where possible, wear a splash of green and join in the fun.
Come along, support your local community and help make this year’s St Patrick’s Festival in Donabate a memorable day for all.
Donabate St Patrick’s Festival Committee
On Thursday 18th December 2025 Active Age for All held their annual Christmas Carols fund raiser in the community centre for St Francis Hospice.
It was very well attended and we were splendidly entertained by the Bright Sparks crèche childrens’ choir; the Active Age singing group with Muireann and the ‘No Name Band’ of Willie, Maurice, Brian and Fran. Non-alcoholic mulled wine, mince pies and lots of other goodies were served as everyone joined in with the singing.
Due to peoples generosity we had a huge array of prizes for the raffle; we actually ran out of raffle tickets but DPCC came to the rescue with extras. The first prize was a 32’’ Sony TV which was won by Sybil Harte-Weir, that was a nice start to Christmas Sybil!
As always the staff of DPCC excelled themselves in helping with every aspect of the event, a BIG THANK YOU to them all for helping to make the day such a success.
This year we raised €1500 for the Hospice, a wonderful foundation which provides palliative care for people, both in their own homes or in a dedicated centre or hospital, providing comfort and dignity for both patient and family at end of life.
Many thanks to the AAfA committee, DPCC and all who attended for making a real contribution to the true Christmas spirit.
In 2025, almost 1100 films were released in cinemas across the combined UK & Ireland market. However this is only a small part of the estimated 7,000 films produced each year globally.
Of those released in UK and Ireland, only 224 are widely screened meaning that smaller, less headline-grabbing films are harder to find in commercial cinemas.
This means that we are all missing out on some great films and the Lambay Cinema Club is doing all it can to bring these lesser-seen, but world-class movies to the peninsula.
The Lambay Cinema Club was born out of the Bleeding Pig cultural festival in 2022 and is run by volunteers. We have monthly screenings in the unique setting of St Patrick’s Church of Ireland church in The Square and aim to show the best of World and Irish cinema.
Everyone is welcome and we even provide the Tea and Biscuits!
For more details please visit www.lambaycinemaclub.com to get details of upcoming films. You can also sign up to our email list so you are kept informed of future screenings and also book tickets. Tickets are on sale one week in advance.
We’re proud to be rooted in our local area, and equally proud of the growing audience who support us each month. Whether you’re a regular or visiting for the first time, you’ll always find a warm welcome at Lambay Cinema Club.
In January Peninsula Pacers braved the elements and walked from Portmarnock Train Station to Malahide Village - mind you the weather forecast on all sites stated clear blue sky all day! Either climate change is daily or a Friday end of week weather report!
Anyway, a stop at Sands for coffee - remember Mango in the 70th & 80th - revived them all to stomp on to McGoverns Restaurant in Malahide - where a great meal was had.
We have a number of new leaders & will be sharing the walks - we hope to do one a month until June - most walks are from 8/12km and at a reasonable pace - reasonable fitness needed. Walks mostly on the flat but not always. Walks will include the Dodder & hopefully the New Newry to Omeath Greenway & maybe a trip back to lovely Leitrim and the Canal.
Further information for this month - please contact Breda on 086 8693243
