In May & June the Parish Hall will be busy with many daily activities still taking place and some special events also. These take place around the daily activities or when they are suspended to facilitate one-off events!

May
As part of their great events, the Bleeding Pig Festival will be holding an Art Exhibition on Sunday 25th May 9am - 6pm, in the Parish Hall.

Donabate & Portrane Dramatic Society will be putting on one of their great plays from Thursday 15th to Sunday 18th May in the Parish Hall, (with rehearsals starting from Saturday 10th).

June

‘Music Fest’
This grew out of a request by FCC, namely Rafe Costigan, to the Parish Hall to have a special event ‘Festival in a Van’ take place in their grounds. (Other options were fully explored but not possible this year).

‘Music Makers’ were already booked to hold a Summer Session and ‘Peninsula Voices’ had sought to hold a charity event in the Parish Hall. Also as ‘Leithinis CCÉ’ regularly hold sessions in the Parish Hall, it made sense to combine them all together along with a few friends!

These will be small, focused events & adults, if attending with children, must keep an eye on them. So, save the days!

Friday 27th June - Evening
Peninsula Voices & Friends - under Áine & Tony, their musical directors - will organise a Charity Concert in aid of UNICEF, a most worthy cause.

Saturday 28th June - Afternoon
‘Music Makers’ will hold a special event for O/15 to play & perform under their leaders, Noel & Sean. ‘Leithinis CCÉ’ will then play a few Irish Traditional tunes. ‘Festival in a Van’ will finally take to their outdoor moving stage, with their own performers from outside the Parish & with some local guests joining them! It should be a great two days of music for a good cause & another chance to display some local talent. There can never be enough opportunities, especially for young people, to participate in Cultural events - eg music, singing, dance, drama, photography, art….!

School is over … so start the holidays with a bit of fun for all! Put the dates in your calendar now, on the phone & or at home.

More details with regards to attending & ticketing will be in the June edition.

July
Camps
1st Drama House Summer Camp from Monday 7th July - Friday 11th July & 2nd Drama House

Summer Camp: Monday 14th July - Friday 18th July

At present there are 2 Camps booked in for over the summer.

If you want to enquire about running a camp or workshops over the summer, please do so ASAP.
If you have any queries with regard to any of the information above please contact Parish Office in the mornings 01-8434574

As included in the last month’s issue, the Parish Office will be in touch with current users in early May re their requests from Sept 2025 - Aug 2026 which must be received back by mid June so that all can be worked on & put in place before end of June.

We wish you a lovely May, as our Summer begins!

We have now finished our Active Age for All Spring term activities and classes so ‘school’s out for summer’! Having said that some of the tutors will be running extra classes for a few weeks, I’m sure all their attendees will really appreciate that. I would like to thank all our tutors very much for the dedication and enthusiasm they bring to their classes, you are a brilliant bunch.

The AAfA Camera Club have been taking advantage of the good weather to get out and about. We explored the sights of Malahide; did a wildlife photo trip to the Dodder river in Rathfarnham where Mr Fox very kindly came out to pose for us, and enjoyed a morning in Howth harbour which included some street photography.

As the summer break is quite long we will endeavour to organise some trips and tours during it. We will also arrange one morning a week to meet up in the community centre cafe ( which by the way we are all delighted to have open again, it was badly missed) to keep in touch with all our AAfA friends.

Keep an eye open for our information day which will be on a Friday towards the end of August, in the meantime have a lovely summer and we look forward to seeing many of you in the Cuppa Cabana cafe.

The Health Service Executive has confirmed that plans are progressing on a new Primary Care Centre for Donabate with a preferred operator and site now selected.

Reacting to the HSE response, Cllr Corina Johnston said;” I refer to my ongoing representations along with other public representatives for the provision of a much needed Primary Care Centre in Donabate especially given the growing population. I am very pleased to have received the below response from the HSE to my recent representations on this matter.”

“The proposed Primary Care Centre will include accommodation for the following: Local GP Practice, Disability Day Services, Community Mental Health services, Primary Care Team services including: Nursing, Speech and Language Therapy -Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Psychology and Dietician Services.”
The HSE stated that there are a number of steps that must be taken before the facility can begin construction.

“Approval to proceed is currently being sought and if approved, the preferred operator will be notified which would allow for progression through the design and planning stages in 2025. The delivery of Primary Care Centres are subject to a number of external factors which are outside of our control such as statutory approvals, for example grant of planning permission, therefore the HSE are not in a position to provide the timeframe for when works could commence on this Primary Care Centre at this early stage of the project,” the HSE stated in response to Cllr Johnston’s query.

“I hope approval for this project to proceed is granted as soon as possible. I will continue to pursue this important matter and will keep you informed of developments,” she concluded.

LSA members have taken to the roads in the last month with lots of our members taking part in the Lusk 4 mile Road Race and the Bohermeen Half Marathon at the start of March.

In Lusk, James Keegan was the first LSA member home in 23:42 for the 4 miles. Grace Brady was the first female in 31:30.

In County Meath the following weekend, Shane O’Farrell led the twenty seven LSA athletes home, covering the thirteen miles in 1 hour 20:18. Sinéad Kiernan was the first LSA female finisher in 1 hour 39:16.

Meanwhile, the Indoor Track and Field season continues. Our Little Athletics group had a busy day of competition at the Dublin Spraoi Games in Abbotstown. A small group of LSA Under 20 and Masters athletes competed in the Leinster Championships in Abbotstown, The following week our Masters were back in action at the National Masters Championships in Athlone.

Masters athletes Dara Carr (W55) and Enda Gavigan (M60) took double Championships titles in the 60m and 200m at both Leinster and National Championships. Xavier Hubert (M45) claimed the Leinster High Jump title, and a second place finish in that event in Athlone

Our female relay teams claimed Gold and Bronze in the Leinster Championships and went on to mark International Women’s Day with a Bronze. We also had a Mixed Masters Relay Team who claimed Bronze in Athlone.

The Cross Country season concluded with Sinéad Farrell and Reuben Capocci qualifying for the All-Ireland Championships. Huge congratulations to Sinéad who helped her team to victory in the Senior Girls event.
We are very grateful to all the coaches and parents who volunteer their time to help all the members of our club. We always welcome new members.

Keep up to date on all the events by following LSA on our website and social media pages!
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lambaysportsacademy
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lsadonabateportrane/
Twitter https://twitter.com/LSARunning
https://lambaysportsathletics.ie/
Adult memberships queries:
lambaysportsathletics@gmail.com
Little Athletics and Juvenile athletes (7-18):
lsajuvenilereg@gmail.com

9 DL 14 Sproai Games with David Gillick WEB

Last month there was a great do in the Parish Hall there was singing & dancing thanks to Gerry & the Plonkers Band, and eating delicious sambos made by Cates Cafe & drinking tea & coffee served by the Tea Team! All thanks to the Parish Hall Committee.

It is just great craic to have 6 times a year in the dark months of October, November, December, January, February & March an event like this for adults only on the Peninsula. Witness people meeting for the first time in one photo and all the folk just getting up dancing in another pure craic!

We were delighted to see Louis from Active Age for All committee & Rafe from FCC our hard working Community Officer there, see the two lads chatting at the door!

Sandra, Manager from the Community Centre also came to support - her ‘Memory Cafe‘ which is just fantastic continues on the third Wednesday of the month in one of the Studios from 11-1pm there is anything from poetry so witty … to flower arranging so creative … to singing so uplifting! & delicious refreshments generally homemade don’t miss it!

Other news Music Makers (see other article) Drama Society Play in mid-May always a must & Camps in the Summer starting with Drama in early July for youth.

If you want to request a booking in the hall for daily activities & or events please call the Parish Office on 01 8434574 - the Parish Office takes all requests, wishes & wants in in mid May and in early June works on the Programme of Activities - daily or events - to produce by the end of June a Programme for the year to try to meet the needs of our ever growing community.

A very Happy Easter to all in our community.

If you are a man who enjoys the company of other men, why not join us at Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed? We have a variety of weekly activities, including exercise classes, croquet in Newbridge, music jam sessions and Thursday morning get-togethers from 10am to noon for tea/coffee and a chat at the Sea Scouts’ Den on Portrane Road.

We also have two plots at Turvey Allotments, which need continuous attention at this time of year. We have onions, tomatoes, garlic, cauliflower and broccoli planted, but opted out of potatoes this year, after last year’s disaster with potato blight. Perhaps with the improving weather, we can plan for coffee/tea get-togethers on the decking at one of our plots for members who don’t regularly visit the allotments.
Gerry & The Plonkers, our music group, who as their name suggests don’t take themselves too seriously, have gone from strength to strength, with frequent concerts for community groups. Recently they played at the International Women’s Day Sing-along in Parslickstown House and in Donabate Parish Hall. On both occasions, they were joined by a special guest, Edel Dempsey, on flute and whistles and received enthusiastic responses from the audiences.

In addition to these regular activities, the Men’s Shed also from time to time organise outings to places of interest. As reported last month, a group of members enjoyed a guided tour of Kilmainham Gaol Museum, which is steeped in the history of Ireland from the late 18th century to the early 20th. They saw the cells where Robert Emmet, Charles Stewart Parnell and Countess Markievicz were imprisoned and the Stonebreakers’ Yard where 14 of the 1916 Rising leaders were executed. The Men’s Shed’s next planned outing is to EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum.

We are always open to new members. So, if you or someone you know is interested in joining us, call our PRO, Jim, on 086-3694316.

8 DL 01 Gerry The Plonkers at Parslickstown House WEB

Last month the Peninsula Pacers did the Balbriggan to Laytown trail walking by the coast - a long walk but enjoyable with scrumptious food in the - Cottage Inn - Italian Restaurant. One can take a circular bus from Laytown to Bettystown every 15 minutes - a great service if one is on a day out!

Our next walk will be our annual city tour - this year for James Joyce & Bloomsday - details in the May edition of the magazine.

Contact Carolyn or Des for further details.

Leithinis Comhaltas played a session in SuperValu Mall on Sunday March 8th. We were delighted to have a large group of musicians, both young and old play with us on the day.

Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann is the largest group involved in the preservation and promotion of Irish traditional music in Ireland. Leithinis, meaning peninsula, is the name given to our local Donabate Portrane Comhaltas Branch. We run lessons for adults and children on Monday evenings in the Donabate Portrane Educate Together School on Beaverstown Road. We also host a Stay and Play Slow Session from 7.30-8.30 on Mondays at the school. Twice a month we host a slow session in the Parish Hall, Donabate. It’s a very supportive and sociable way for adults or children to learn a new instrument, meet new people and learn a new skill.

A wonderful group of Leithinis musicians visited St. Patrick’s Boys School and Scoil Phádraig Cailiní on March 10th as part of the schools’ Seachtain na Gaeilge celebrations. The children showed great musical abilities in singing and playing themselves and learned about Irish traditional instruments such as banjo, fiddle, bodhrán, tin whistle, and button accordion. A big thank you to the teaching staff of both schools for facilitating our visit and to our members for promoting annd representing our branch so well. It’s wonderful to have a collaborative musical relationship within the community. We’ve been in contact with all the schools in Donabate and we look forward to future collaborations.

Recently, an Open Mic Extravaganza was held in the Parish Hall one Sunday afternoon. It was a special event organised by the Music Makers in collaboration with the Parish Hall; so, with adults present to keep an eye as minors played & sang, the 15-year-olds & upwards got a chance to perform their music, some of them for the first time!

It was all about participation - giving it a go - not about perfection; so, you could start & restart, no problem at all! They even got to have a coffee and a chat with pals and meet a few new like-minded music lovers. It was a success for all those that came and they all want more!

Fridays are music nights in the Parish Hall. Two Fridays a month Leithinis CCÉ run their Slow Sessions. They are an established group with a committee and run under Comhaltas as the umbrella organisation. The other two Fridays, Music Makers invite musicians who are over 18 come & do their thing! Under age cannot be catered for on a regular basis - only for occasional events unfortunately. A committee of adults needs to be established, or a group needs to be found as an umbrella, so that the younger teenagers can be included in regular sessions.

At present the Parish Hall and some responsible adults keep the show on the road. So simply commitment is needed to further the Music Makers! The enjoyment and real buzz the young ones got from the afternoon was just brilliant & infectious.

It is hoped to run another special event coming into summer for all the local budding talent over 15yrs. In the meantime, if you as an adult have something to bring to the party in terms of energy, expertise, effort & enthusiasm, please do not hesitate to contact Noel (Dowling) & Seán (Collins) at this email:
Musicmakersph@gmail.com

NEXT MUSIC MAKERS SESSIONS - Friday 4th April, Friday 2nd May & Friday 6th June.

The Memory Cafe in Donabate is run by the Donabate/Portrane Community Centre in co-operation with Active Age for All. The cafe is held on the last Wednesday of every month from 11am to 1pm in the community centre and is always free of charge.

Memory cafes offer people with dementia and their care partners the opportunity to enjoy regular enjoyable social interaction with others in similar circumstances in a safe welcoming environment.
There are regular talks and presentations from healthcare professionals and support groups; for instance the March Memory cafe had presentations from Maria Heffernan from Healthy Eating made Easy and Mary Woods Murphy from St Francis Hospice in Raheny. Also popular is playing cards and games that promote physical co-ordination and mental acuity.

Refreshments of tea, coffee and home bakes are served and the cafe always winds up with music from local groups or musicians to enjoy and sing along with.