What a month for LSA all across the club. Our membership has now reached 435, with 200 adult members, 235 Juveniles and Under 20s.Our Juvenile coaches have been busy returning to training with the focus on the Cross-Country season and looking ahead to the Indoor Track and Field season. Our Juvenile athletes took part in the Dublin Cross Country League series with races in Lusk and Tymon Park. Well done to all. Congratulations also to our coaches who have successfully completed Athletics Ireland Coaching courses. Our Juvenile coaches have also been inspiring our younger members: Dara Carr and Eimear Caulfield both have represented Ireland in the recent European Masters Athletics Championships in Pescara, Italy. Dara competed on the track in 100m, 200m and as part of a 4x 400m relay team that placed 4th overall. Eimear was the proud winner of a Gold medal as part of a winning Cross country team! Our adult members have been in top form. Our Fit4Life group is making sure to #nevermissaMonday. Many of our Intermediate and Advanced groups of athletes are now focused on the Marathon, inspired by recent top performances by our Berlin Marathon participants. But whether it’s a 2 hr 38-minute marathon, a 38-minute 5k, or helping out at our Juvenile training and events, there’s the Power of Support in LSA.

Last year Tradfest came to Fingal as it extended & embraced not only Dublin City & Temple bar but Dublin County & Fingal. The launch was held in the Seamus Ennis Centre in the Naul and then Tradfest put on other wonderful Trad Music events in Malahide & Swords Castles. This year they are celebrating the roots of Irish Trad Music by also hosting events in smaller and unique buildings and locations in Fingal, like the Parish Hall in Donabate. Traditional music came from Homes, Halls & Hostelries! or Parlours, Parish & Pubs! In list of venues, we are in there with Dublin Castle & The Button Factory! Donabate Parish Hall is one of these special places, beautiful and old world and which thanks to the assistance of FCC Community Dept. has fantastic acoustics which enable it to be used as a great venue. Martin Harte a Parish man, CEO of Temple Bar Company is the driving force behind bringing Tradfest out to Fingal and Donabate Parish Hall. We are steeped to have Gerry O’ Connor another Parish man and legendary world-famous Banjo player perform two separate concerts in the Parish Hall - lunchtime & late afternoon - on Sunday 28th January 2024. This is a very exciting happening for the Peninsula & Donabate Parish Hall & Tradfest so check out their website for all events & booking for other venues in Fingal & Temple bar - it is a great festival and we are truly delighted to be a part of it. Contact Parish Office re queries re availability of Parish Hall for use for classes, activities, events & public meetings on
Ph: 01 – 8434574

It has been a very busy month for AAfA getting members settled into classes. We still have places left in Chair Yoga, Yoga and Singing & Music. As you know AAfA is for those aged over 55 years and all are welcome. We had a great response to our event for Positive Aging Week, a free singing class followed by refreshments and a lunchtime concert. It was a resounding success! The Caintóirí, Gerry & The Men’s Shed Plonkers, Peig McManus and Enid Hughes also took part. Members danced home to the lively music of the Plonkers as the band played us out. Proving that all are aging positively! This event was sponsored by DPCC and Age Friendly Fingal. Another event is planned for Inclusion Week on Wednesday November 15th. In conjunction with The Bleeding Pig and DPCC we are organising a Dementia Friendly Coffee Morning. Starting at 11.00 a.m. with an informative talk followed by refreshments and music by The Caintóirí and Gerry & The Men’s Shed Stompers. Hope that you can come along and support Inclusion Week. All are welcome. For Information about Active Age for All please visit our website activeageforall.com or email us at activeageforall@gmail.com or TEXT only 0868806808. Our photos are from the Positive Aging Week Concert.

It was a proud day for Donabate Tidy Towns when it was recently announced that we reached 2nd place in our category and 12th in the whole of Dublin. We applied for the Tidy Towns competition a number of months ago hoping to get some useful feedback from experienced adjudicators in terms of projects completed and work projects we could complete over the next year. We did not expect to score so well and needless to say we were overjoyed with the results and the feedback. Of course, there were plenty of suggestions and ideas for the village which we look forward to planning and implementing over the coming weeks and months as some of the projects require more planning and funding than others. We would like to thank the volunteers who helped and participated in the Tidy Towns activities over the last year. Without your hard work and dedication none of the completed projects and progress around the village would have been possible and this was reflected in the report. Quite a few of the volunteers often do so very quietly and in their own time and do not seek any gratitude for the work that they do but we would like to extend our thanks to each one of them. We will be holding our rescheduled AGM at the Donabate Portrane Community Centre on Tuesday the 24th of October at 8.30pm. We will reflect on all the hard work that has been done by both the committee and volunteers over the last year, plans for the coming year and we hope to share these with you in due course. We would be really interested in hearing everyone’s thoughts and ideas for the village or for your own area/estate. Tidy Towns would be happy to work with you and provide as many resources as possible to help you with any projects you had in mind. We would also like to hear how Donabate Tidy Towns could bring in new volunteers and support the existing volunteers more. We hope to see as many people there as possible.

Donabate Portrane Dramatic Society is delighted to announce the upcoming performances of two Irish plays from the 23rd to the 26th of November 2023 in Donabate Parish Hall. “A Galway Girl” directed by Aengus Gordon and Áine Dilleen is a one-act play by Geraldine Aron about the life of a rural Irish wife in the 1950s. Maisie and her husband Dermot. Sitting at opposite ends of a table and rarely addressing each other directly they recollect moments of their married life in London. The anecdotes they relate are both humorous and heart-breaking. Their story is filled with disagreement and bickering but also loving moments and affection. “Playing the part of Maisie gives me an insight into the strength and courage of women of that generation in Ireland, who under an austere Catholic regime, rendered it impossible for women to leave violent and unhappy marriages”, said Christina Fahy, former member of the society and who is back on stage this season playing the part of Maisie. The second play is “Bedtime story”, directed by Lisa Buckley. This one-act comedy, written by Sean O’Casey in 1951, depicts the odd things and misfortunes that may happen to young Catholic bachelor John Jo who has just spent the night with seductive Angela in his Dublin lodging. Full of remorse and afraid of ruining his reputation John Jo finds himself in a situation with which his conscience cannot cope. The play bursts with farcical elements, dark humour and sharp social satire. On stage there will be seen some familiar talents but also some first time actors with the society, while behind the scenes a production team has been assembled to ensure that every other aspect is well looked after when bringing the plays to life on stage. Mícheál O’Dea, long-time member, actor and producer of the society is delighted to be back in the production team after a small break: “I am looking forward to co-producing these two one acts plays with some new directors and actors alongside Italian production manager Valentina Falcone”. Tickets cost €12 per person and can be purchased online on Eventbrite.ie or at the door. Donabate Portrane Dramatic Society is also extending an invitation to all people in the community to become a patron of the society and support the local arts. The annual fee for patronage is €60 per person and it includes two tickets for their biannual productions along with light refreshments. If you want to become a member or a patron of DPDS do not hesitate to contact donabateportrane.drama@gmail.com. And don’t forget to follow Donabate Portrane Dramatic Society on Facebook and Instagram!

Leithinis Donabate Portrane CCÉ resumed Traditional Irish Music classes on Monday 2nd October in DPETNS. We are delighted that 65 members are taking classes in Tin Whistle, Flute, Bodhrán, Guitar, Fiddle, Concertina, Banjo and Accordion. Our Friday Grúpaí Cheoil slow and intermediate sessions for CCÉ members took place in Donabate Parish Hall during October and the next are on November 10th and December 1st and 15th. Traditional Irish Music sessions led by Denis continue as usual in The Brook Pub, Portrane on the first Tuesday of every month at 7.30 pm. All are welcome to come along to listen and enjoy a great evening of music by some of our talented local musicians. We are delighted that Donabate Parish Hall has been confirmed as one of the venues for Tradfest 2024 featuring the very talented local musician, Gerry O’Connor, and friends playing on January 28th. This will be a great gig!

Gubbio is a town in Umbria, Italy, nestled in the foothills of the Apennines. It’s peaceful and picturesque now, but once in the 1200s it was terrorised by a wolf that killed any of the residents that ventured outside of the town walls. Saint Francis of Assisi was asked to intercede on behalf of the residents and famously made a pact with the wolf that if the residents of the town fed the wolf it would stop killing. The wolf indicated its agreement by placing its large paw in Saint Francis’ hand. Thereafter, the wolf lived quietly with the villagers and they fed him and cared for him. The point of the story was that mankind needs to live in harmony with nature and that when the two are not in synch mankind suffers. Today the proverbial wolf at our door in Donabate and Portrane as coastal communities is climate change and also the broader issue of the ecological devastation that has been wrought on our common home. Pope Francis has tried to emulate his namesake by making climate change, ecological issues and care for the poor central to his pontificate. One key action was the publication of his encyclical whose title borrowed from Saint Francis’ words and was entitled Laudato Si’ - care for our common home” and Laudato Si’ calls on people to recognize the urgent need for ecological conversion and sustainable living. In our own community the call in Laudato Si’ has been answered by the establishment of a group in the Parish of Donabate, Portrane and Balheary dedicated to helping achieve Pope Francis’ ecological vision in the parish and wider community. Father Pat Reilly, P.P. who convened the group said “ For ecological conversion to take place we all need to think using our hearts as well as our heads.” The group has launched an initial plan with actions for our parish in the key areas highlighted in Laudato Si’. Details are available on the parish website. The group welcomes new members and more details can be obtained by emailing laudatosi2023@yahoo.com

On Sunday 26.11.2023, Donabate Portrane Educate Together National School will open their doors between 12 and 4pm to welcome you to their annual Winter Fete. This event is a great day out for the entire family. 2€ entrance per adult. Kids and senior citizens go free. Enjoy a great atmosphere, some lovely food, local crafts, games and music. Being the school’s largest fundraising event, there are preloved games, toys, books and clothes available for you to purchase. The entire family gets a chance to compete head-to-head in the game room, or can get their picture taken in our photobooth. Or you can get your nails done or face painted in our beauty room to name only but a few of our activities. Additionally, we hold a raffle, with some incredible prices including cash, voucher, hampers and gift baskets. Tickets can be bought on the day as well as in SuperValu on the 11/12 November 2023.

Recently the Peninsula Pacers went to Clogherhead. So for the first real walk of the season we did a nice short one - suitable for all abilities. There are great views on this short walk of cliffs, sea and sandy beaches. There is a great fish shop at the harbour and when the fish & chips trailer cafe is open, it is second to none for fresh & crispy food. This time we ate in The Forge in Termonfeckin set in a lovely garden and trinkets shop. Our next walk is Saturday 4th November to Carlingford for a longer hike! 90% on the flat! Out on the Greenway & back by the forest. We hope to stop in Fitzpatrick’s on the way home a great eating house closer to Dundalk. If you are reasonably fit & interested in walking, please contact Carolyn Smith 087 9284307 or Des Carthy 087 7846813

Last month, a group of musicians from Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed, jokingly christened Gerry and the Plonkers! by one member, played a short set at the Positive Aging event organised by Active Age for All in Donabate Portrane Community and Leisure Centre. The event also included other music and readings. The Men’s Shed choice of songs, hits from the 50s and 60s, reflected the age of the musicians and most of the audience. The well-attended event was enjoyed by all. And to confirm the wide range of interests covered by the Men’s Shed, we also had a visit to Dáil Eireann. A full report and photos of this will be available for the next issue of Donabate/Portrane Local. If you are interested in joining us, please contact our PRO, Jim, on 086-3694316.