For anyone interested in practicing or improving their Irish language skills there is a group that meet at Cate’s Cafe (beside Supervalu), Donabate each Saturday at 14.00
There is no cost involved. The group is an informal get-together to let participants improve their Irish in a supportive environment.
All levels are welcome. Bíonn fáilte mhór roimh cairde nua i gcónaí. There is always a big welcome for new friends.
Tuilleadh eolais / Further info: Liam @ 086 3814422
In September the Peninsula Pacers celebrated National Walking Day - they went to Skerries by train - visited the Mill & Markets - then went on a long circular route towards the beach, went left along the sea up to Red Island & back by the Harbour for food - a good walk!
The next two walks are on:
Saturday 31st October - Halloween!
The Clontarf Greenway a 7/8km walk up & down to the Port - then food after in the Yacht. Travel by train to and from
Donabate Station.
Saturday 21st November - City Walk!
The Dodder Way is a 8/10km walk along the River Dodder - with food along the way. Travel by bus & train to and from Donabate Station.
For further information please contact
Margaret O’Brien on - 086 1956058
Jim O’Donohoe on 086 3694316
At the recent first screening of out Autumn/Winter season we revealed something new for December – The Lambay Cinema Club Audience Choice. You get to choose what film you want to see at our December screening. We have hand picked four films to choose from. Reflecting the range of movies we show, these range from “exhilarating and funny” to “profoundly tender”. See Lambaycinemaclub.com for more details.
Meanwhile we continue our Autumn/Winter season with Blue Heron, a festival award winner set in the 1990s. It introduces us to Sasha – an 8-year-old girl who has recently moved, along with her family, from their native Hungary to Vancouver Island.
While Sasha and her other siblings get used to their new environment, their parents become increasingly concerned about the unpredictable behaviour of their eldest son, Jeremy.
As the parents keep attempting to help Jeremy, Sasha struggles to understand what is happening around her. This uncertainty will return to her as an adult when she works on a deeply personal filmmaking project.
This autobiographical film from first time director, Sophy Romvari, opened this Summer and has been described as “One of the best of the year.”
Other critics have called the film “A bold and intimate stunner”, “An extraordinary debut feature”, “An unexpected triumph” and “Surprising and tremendously moving”
Blue Heron will be shown at St Patrick’s Church of Ireland church in The Square, Donabate (K36 Y521) on Thursday Oct 15th at 8:00pm.
Tickets go on sale on Thursday Oct 8th at 9:00am and cost €10 (€8 for students/OAPs)
For more information and to buy tickets, please visit lambaycinemaclub.com
Bring your own cup for free tea and coffee – we even supply the biscuits!
If you want to get in touch, email us at info@lambaycinemaclub.com.
Everyone is welcome and we look forward to seeing you on the 15th.
Early last month, Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed had a fascinating tour of St. Michan’s Church in Dublin, built in the late 17th century. Led by our knowledgeable and chatty guide, John, a local man from the Liberties, we started in the church itself. John explained that, although a new organ was installed in the 1940s, the original one, on which it is reputed Handel composed, or at least practiced, his Messiah, and the original wooden organ gallery depicting 17 different musical instruments, have been preserved. However, the most unusual aspect of St. Michan’s is in the crypt underneath the church. Here the mummified remains of the great and good (and not-so-good) of 17th, 18th and 19th century Dublin are interred. Thanks to Ray for organising this visit.
Two members of our shed, Gerry and Paul, represented us at the recent networking event for all 17 of the Men’s Sheds in Fingal. As one of the main topics was the availability of grants, the meeting was attended by Cllr. Tony Murphy, Mayor of Fingal and by Rafe Costigan, Senior Community Officer. It was also an opportunity for the various sheds to share their experiences, but probably the most unusual aspect was the attendance of a delegation from South Korea on a fact finding mission as they are starting up sheds in South Korea. Many thanks to Balbriggan Men’s Shed for hosting this event and for their warm welcome and much appreciated catering.
Gerry and the Plonkers, our music group, were delighted to play in Donabate Portrane Community Centre at September’s Memory Café, a monthly event for people with dementia and their carers. As The Plonkers will be providing part of the entertainment, our shed has been involved in the planning for the forthcoming Men’s Health Week event in Newbridge Park in November. We hope to have more information about this for next month’s issue.
If you, or someone you know, wishes to join us, please call Jim, our PRO, on 086-3694316.
In the last month The Parish Hall regular activities have got back into full swing, includes Drama & Yoga Classes, Bridge & Cards, Senior Citizens & Youth Services.
There are a number of cultural & music groups that use the Parish Hall - Leithinis CCÉ have a Traditional Irish Music Session two Fridays a month, while The Peninsula Voices local community choir have performed there in a charity fundraiser every year.
The Donabate Portrane Dramatic Society are celebrating their 90th year in existence with a number of performances in the Parish Hall over two weekends Thursday 12th - Sunday 15th November & then Thursday 19th - Saturday 21st November. This will be followed by an exhibition of photographs by local group ‘Through the Lens’ over the weekend of Friday 27th November - Sunday 29th November.
A highlight of the year in the Parish Hall is the Christmas Craft Fair & Turning on of the Lights held on the first Saturday of December.
If you need any more information on what is taking place in the Parish Hall or wish to enquire about booking a time for a class in the Parish Hall contact the Parish Office on 01- 8434574.
DP Crossroads has launched a newly revamped website, providing residents with a clearer and more accessible picture of the campaign’s work over the past three years and the continuing challenge of ensuring that community infrastructure keeps pace with the rapid growth of Donabate and Portrane.
Established in late 2023, DP Crossroads began with a campaign for the delivery of a dedicated Youth, Arts & Cultural Centre for the peninsula. Since then, its work has developed into a broader campaign for balanced and sustainable growth, with a consistent message: new housing and the infrastructure needed to support it must be delivered together.
The redesigned website brings that story together through a new visual “Our Journey 2023–2026” section, highlighting key moments from three years of community action. These include community surveys, the development of a business case, public information events and meetings, more than 2,000 petition signatures, engagement with Fingal County Council and elected representatives, national media coverage, planning submissions and appeals, and continued scrutiny of major development and infrastructure proposals.
The site also puts the scale of change taking place across the peninsula into sharper focus. Donabate and Portrane had a population of approximately 5,000 at the beginning of the century. Today, with thousands of additional homes built, under construction or planned, the population is expected to continue growing substantially to top 20,000 residents by 2029.
“The houses are being delivered. The question we continue to ask is: where is the community infrastructure?” said a Ann Hogan, Chair of DP Crossroads.
Young people remain at the heart of the campaign. DP Crossroads’ community research found that 31% of the local population was under 19, while 84% of respondents supported a dedicated Youth Centre and **83% said there were insufficient safe places locally for young people to spend time.
The revamped website also explains the wider need for appropriate spaces for arts, culture and community activity; places where local organisations can rehearse, perform, create, meet and bring people together.
DP Crossroads said the redesign was also an opportunity to make its position particularly clear.
“We are a voluntary, independent and non-politically affiliated group of residents. We are not opposed to housing or development. We support investment in schools, sports, transport and other essential infrastructure. What we have consistently challenged is the idea that communities should have to choose between them.”
The group said that while much has happened since the campaign began, its central objective remains unresolved.
“Three years on, Donabate and Portrane still do not have the dedicated Youth, Arts & Cultural Centre that our growing community was promised by FCC. In fact, we now have LESS indoor infrastructure per capita than ever before. We will continue to research, question, engage and campaign for infrastructure appropriate to the population our peninsula is becoming.”
The new website brings together campaign updates, research, publications, planning information and the story of DP Crossroads’ activities since 2023, providing residents with an accessible record of both what has happened and what remains to be delivered.
Cllr Corina Johnston continues to receive a high volume of complaints regarding the reliability of the 33B bus service, with repeated reports of buses not showing up particularly from residents in The Burrow, Portrane, which is served by just one bus per hour.
“In recent weeks I again contacted the National Transport Authority to highlight the continuous cancellations on this route and the serious impact on commuters, especially those in The Burrow, Portrane, who are left without any alternative transport when a service fails to operate. While the NTA has outlined the issues facing the operator, the reality for commuters in Portrane and Donabate remains unchanged.”
Cllr Johnston continued: “The Burrow is served only once per hour, and any missed service leaves passengers stranded for a minimum of two hours. Despite assurances that fleet related issues have ‘broadly stabilised’, I continue to receive regular reports of cancellations. These incidents are not isolated, they represent a persistent pattern of unreliability that is disproportionately impacting communities with limited alternative transport options.”
“The NTA has stated that construction works and traffic management arrangements make timetable adjustments difficult. However, this does not address the core issue commuters are repeatedly left without any service at all. I welcome ongoing engagement between the NTA and Go Ahead Ireland but the lived experience of passengers continues to fall far short of what a public transport network should deliver.
Communities in Portrane and Donabate deserve a reliable, dependable service not recurring disruption and prolonged waiting times.”
Cllr Johnston concluded: “I will continue to press both the NTA and the Department of Transport for immediate and sustained action to restore reliability on the 33B route. The current situation is not acceptable, and meaningful improvements must be prioritised.
The Lambay Cinema Club was formed to give local residents a chance to see a wide range of movies from around the world that otherwise would be difficult to track down.
To kick off our Autumn/Winter season we once again return to our home at St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Church in The Square, Donabate, with a film that really demonstrates our commitment to showing films that entertain while giving us a glimpse into other worlds.
Our season opener is DJ Ahmet, a Sundance festival award winner that introduces us to Ahmet, a fifteen-year-old teenager from a remote Yuruk North Macedonian farming village who becomes “the first celebrity from the village” after a video of him chasing his escaped sheep through an illegal rave goes viral on TikTok.
Life is difficult on the farm with Ahmet’s family struggling after the death of his mother. His younger brother, Naim, hasn’t spoken since her death and his grieving, strict father regularly takes him to local healers to try and get him to speak.
Meanwhile, Ahmet copes by daydreaming during class until his father removes him from school so he can work on the farm full time. He also worships his teenage neighbour, Aya. She is considered to be worldly wise as she lived in Germany for a while before having to return for her arranged marriage to an older man she hates the sight of.
Ahmet uses music as a form of escape and shows his affection for Aya by rigging up his tractor to play music so she and her friends can practice their dancing.
Critics have described the film as “totally charming”, “delightfully humorous”, “hugely lively”, “charming and optimistic” and “laugh-out-loud.”
DJ Ahmet will be shown at St Patrick’s Church of Ireland church in The Square, Donabate (K36 Y521) on Thursday Sept 17th at 8pm.
Tickets go on sale on Thursday Sept 10th at 9am and cost €10 (€8 for students/OAPs)
For more information and to buy tickets, please visit lambaycinemaclub.com
Bring your own cup for free tea and coffee – we even supply the biscuits!
If you want to get in touch, email us at info@lambaycinemaclub.com.
Everyone is welcome and we look forward to seeing you on the 17th.
The first six months of this year have been exceptionally busy, with 620 representations submitted to Fingal County Council on behalf of constituents across the electoral area. This volume reflects both the scale of growth in our communities and the increasing pressure on essential public services.
A substantial proportion of these representations relate to core local infrastructure issues — deteriorating road and footpath surfaces, missing or faded road markings, pothole repairs, road safety concerns, requests for traffic calming measures, pedestrian crossing provision, coastal erosion risks, planning enforcement matters, and the need for wider upgrades across our public realm.
These issues are not isolated; they are symptomatic of infrastructure struggling to keep pace with population growth.
In addition to Council matters, I have made numerous representations to national and regional bodies including the NTA, Irish Rail, Go Ahead, Dublin Bus, HSE, Gardaí, Uisce Éireann, EIR, Government Departments and other State agencies. The largest number of representations received relate to:
As a Peace Commissioner, I continue to support residents with witnessing signatures, verifying statutory declarations and assisting with official documentation. This is a free service available to all constituents.
Donabate is experiencing significant and sustained population growth. However, the delivery of essential infrastructure ( transport, education, water services, community facilities and Garda resources)
is not keeping pace with this rapid expansion. This mismatch is placing increasing pressure on families and communities who rightly expect timely, reliable and well planned public services.
I will continue to pursue these critical issues relentlessly on your behalf and advocate for the infrastructure and services our growing communities urgently need.
You can read my latest newsletter here:
https://mailchi.mp/bb6f2ddf53e5/community-update-july-2026
If you would like to receive regular updates on local issues and community events, you can join my mailing list by scanning the QR code in the newsletter or registering at the link below:
https://mailchi.mp/dc356852b3e1/corina-johnston-mailing-list
As a community we are absolutely delighted to welcome Fr John Bracken as our new Parish Priest! Fr John, who comes from Beaumont, was ordained in 1996 and has recently been Parish Priest in Churchtown. He was both surprised and honoured to be appointed by Archbishop Dermot Farrell to serve in the growing parish of Donabate, Portrane and Balheary.
Fr John recently shared his thoughts on his predecessor, the late Fr Pat Reilly, and spoke about the heartfelt words shared on rip.ie and on social media following the sudden passing of such a beloved pastor. He mentioned how, in Fr Pat’s humble way and under his gentle guidance, the parish was growing into a welcoming and faith-filled community, all the while practising servant leadership, active in social justice.
Fr John looks forward to working with our Parish Pastoral Council and within our local Early Saints of Ireland Partnership of Parishes of Swords, River Valley, Brackenstown and Donabate, in developing further our mission of Building Hope. He also looks forward to working with the Parish Finance Committee, who advise and assist the parish priest in matters of finance, compliance, fundraising and maintaining our church buildings and parish hall, and working too in the Parish Office - the welcoming face of the parish - where Bernie also supports our many volunteers in their varied ministries.
Fr John said, “I am so thankful for the warm welcome I have received as I start to make this lovely parish my home. I hope everyone who comes to worship in our faith communities of Donabate, Portrane and Balheary feels the same welcome. I want to extend that welcome to everyone, especially those who are new to the parish as I am.”
Weekend Mass times: Donabate Saturday 6.30pm (Vigil) & Sunday 11am, Portrane Sunday 9.30am, Balheary Sunday 11.30am