A huge thanks to FCC especially Shane Sutton & Martin from King Landscaping who laid the 2nd Boules Court last month. It is hoped that with the 2nd Court the game can be developed further. So come and join Active Age for All & or Men’s Shed and we will have a few sessions in July to get you going. It is great fun and a small bit of exercise! Please note the good work FCC are doing in the park eg the painting of the benches for the hub!

It’s been a busy time in LSA. Many of our adult members represented us at the Great Limerick Run, the Belfast Marathon, and the Drogheda 10k. In Track and Field our athletes have had a great start to their season in Schools Athletics and Dublin Leagues. Meanwhile we have also had athletes compete in Irish Mountain Running events.

Our Juvenile athletes had excellent performances at the North Leinster Schools Championships with a great haul of medal for our Juveniles who went on to compete at the Leinster Schools Athletics Championships. Our athletes secured top 6 places, winning valuable team points for their schools (Donabate Community College and Loreto Secondary School Balbriggan).

The Dublin Athletics League series is well underway. Our Under 16 athletes competed in the Juvenile League and our older teenagers and adults took part in the Dublin Graded Meets. We were particularly proud of the success of our Competition group athletes who train with coach Gerry Ronan.

Although Donabate isn’t known for hills, one of our athletes has had great success at Irish Mountain Running events. Under 19 Sinead Farrell has been selected to represent Ireland at the European Athletics Off-Road running event in Annecy, France following qualification at the Seefin Trials in Co. Limerick. Sinead also won the recent IMRA Leinster League Race at Argillan Demesne, Skerries, whilst Under 12 athlete Kate Jones was 3rd in a shorter race at the same event.

We are looking forward to welcoming 150 young athletes to our 2024 Summer Camp in July. Our sincere thanks to St Pats GAA for offering us the use of their grounds for our camp. Thanks also to our volunteer coaches who give us their time to provide three days of fun-filled activity and athletics.

We always welcome new members and volunteers. If you would like to get involved please contact us - details below:

Adult memberships queries: Lambaysportsathletics@gmail.com. Little Athletics and Juvenile athletes (7-18) : lsajuvenilereg@gmail.com

Keep up to date on all the events by following LSA on our social media pages!

Preparations are well under way for the annual Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival in September. This year the festival starts on Thursday September 12th, and over the following 10 days the peninsula will be buzzing with a full timetable of activities to satisfy all cultural appetites.

The Bleeding Pig Cultural festival has been running for more than 10 years now, and is getting bigger and better every year, and this year promises to be no different.

The fun starts on Thursday 12th September with some ceol agus craic in the Brook Pub in Portrane, led by renowned Piper Eamonn Galldubh agus a chairde, and featuring members of Ceomhaltas Leithinis.

The organisers are very grateful to Mick and Bríd Moynihan at the Brook for hosting the launch. The 2024 festival will feature all the usual favourites including:

Workshops for Adults and Children; Gala Concert; Mol an Oige; Art and Photograph Exhibition; Short Film Festival; Walks and Talks; Any Voice open mic; Short plays from the Dramatic Society;

Sing-a-Long; PizzaTrad with complimentary pizza from DoughBox; September Miscellany; and plenty more.

This year there will be some new and exciting events including a car-based Family Scavenger Hunt, Expoloration Dome Planetarium experience, and more.

In an effort to highlight some local history, this year the festival will feature a forum, interviewing and chatting with some local residents who grew up on the peninsula, sharing their memories of Donabate and Portrane in times gone by.

After the festival, on Sunday 29th September, the Dublin Orchestral Players will visit the Parish Hall to perform a narrated production of Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev. This much-loved orchestral work is an age-old crowd-pleaser and promises entertainment for music-lovers of all ages.

Keep an eye on the festival Social Media platforms, Facebook, Instagram and Website for more details about all of the events.

The Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival is always seeking new recruits to help with the arrangements and the events. If you would like to join the committee, or help out at any festival event, please contact Eilish McDermott on 087-7911833.

Fingal County Council has been urged to follow through on finding a new location for an Arts, Cultural and Youth Facility that is badly needed in the area with ever-increasing population numbers in the area of Donabate Portrane.

With 31% of the local population under the age of 19, and a projected increase in total population numbers expected to grow in the area to 20,000 by the year 2030, calls are being made for FCC to provide the new facility.

Speaking about the issue, Donabate Portrane Local Representative Corina Johnston (LAB) said FCC stated that the existing Community Centre could cater for the current needs of people in the area, something she strongly disagrees with.

“FCC stated at a recent follow up meeting with the Crossroads group that the additional community requirements could be met in the Community Centre when the Library is relocated to the Credit Union site. This proposal is unacceptable as it will not meet the needs of an expanding population of Donabate.”
“The LAP has an objective to provide a Multifunctional Community Facility which the Council seem intent to renege upon. It seems Donabate can have the 4000 houses but not the infrastructure, a situation that we cannot accept. We must demand infrastructure in line with development and a facility that caters for our youth population,” she said.

Despite the suggestion of a new location proposed on the Tilberry Site on the New Road, FCC stated there was ‘other plans’ for the site, something that has worried Cllr Johnston on the Council’s commitment to the Local Area Plan.

“I am deeply concerned that this objective in the LAP is being reneged upon. What is the purpose of public consultation when the council seems intent on reneging on this objective. If this site is not delivered while the land is still not built upon it may never happen. Having spoken to many residents throughout the peninsula they are not prepared to accept that this much needed community facility is being reneged upon. I intend to pursue this to a successful conclusion if elected on 7th June,” she added.

The coming summer promises to be a busy time for Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed.

Work at our plots at Turvey Allotments has reached fever pitch tending to the vegetables and installing adjustments to our polytunnel to improve ventilation in the expected (hoped for!) hot weather.

Fresh from their successful gigs for the launch in April of the Memory Cafè in the Community Centre and a gig last month for clients in St. Ita’s Hospital, the Men’s Shed music group, Gerry & the Plonkers, is preparing for a gig at the Sea Scouts’ Open Day later this month. We are delighted to show our appreciation for the Scouts allowing the Men’s Shed to use their den.

Plans are being finalised for our visit later this month to 14 Henrietta Street, the social history museum of Dublin life.

Also our regular weekly activities of exercise classes, croquet at Newbridge House, music jam session and tea-and-chat get-together continue.

If you, or anyone you know, would like to join us, please contact our PRO, Jim, on 086-3694316. We are always open and welcoming to new members.

Well some good news - the Parish Hall has received a generous Activity Grant from FCC. Our Senior Community Officer, Rafe Costigan, was most helpful with advice in this regard. The equipment includes a full sound system for Music Makers - microphones & stands, mixer desk, speakers, monitors & other accessories.

It is hoped that, with help & support, this equipment will be available to over 18s who play or study music. This will take place on some Fridays or occasionally on a Saturday or Sunday if there is some free time available.

Sean Collins & Ciaran MacGiolaruaid & a few other adults will lead the way! Both of these young men, Sean Collins & Ciaran MacGiolaruaid and friends are performing this year in Newbridge on Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th at the annual “Flavours of Fingal” festival - what an honour for the local lads - please support the whole event & such talent.

At present young & older! people need places to practice & then perform. There are very few suitable places, except your garage if you are lucky enough to have one or failing that your bedroom! - nowhere with the good acoustics of the Parish Hall in Donabate.

We wish to thank the following people for their advice and assistance with this positive project - Ian Butler, Chairperson of Leithinis CCÉ, Colm Slattery, Manager of The Sound House Venue in Dublin, and Sean O’Leary, lead guitarist with ‘Harvest’ (Neil Young Tribute Band)

The Parish Hall will be taking expressions of interest for booking for the coming year in the next week or two; as we must make plans to try and accommodate our present users and the increasing number of new enquiries we are receiving. We will do our best to cater as best as possible for your requests. Your wishes must be by email please to stpatricksrcdonabate@gmail.com. Our year runs from end of August to end of August but we must work on completing the program in June so that everyone can plan their activities & events well in advance.

Please contact the Parish Office ón 01-8434574between 9:30am - 12:30pm with any queries.

Community Art Mosaic Mural - The EggHeadz Global Roots Mural unveiling took place at ‘Donabate Portrane Community College’ on April 22nd by students from Donabate Community College well-being committee. The event was well attended by locals young and old who admired their contributions to the art mural mosaic. It is and wonderful uplifting positive community creative project. Thank you to Fingal County Council for funding the mural.

Community Events - EggHeadz ‘Feel Good Fest’ was well attended on April 28th. The free of events included a range of Health and Wellness activities. We look forward to hosting our more health & wellness activities and events throughout summer for all ages.

Darkness Into Light – for Pieta House. The inaugural Darkness Into Light Donabate Portrane walk took place on May 11th. The event took place in Newbridge Park with over 500 registered attendees. The community really came together for the sunrise walk, it was an empowering and emotional morning. Thank You to the wonderful ambassadors, committee members, volunteer marshals, and local businesses for supporting the event.

The sense of community connection was evident throughout the peninsula after the event. Sometimes the simplest things can mean the most.

Petition For Facility – As we celebrate 3 years of health and well-being services in Donabate Portane and the wider Fingal area, EggHeadz are seeking to establish a permanent base. Currently our services are dispersed across several locations and venues. Please sign our petition so we can continue to provide our services and cater for our growing community.

Peninsula Art are having an exhibition and sale on the Bank Holiday Weekend, 1st and 2nd of June, from 11.00am to 4.30pm. We will be showing on the railings of Uisce Eireann’s property at The Hand, in the middle of the village. Please come and support your local artists.

For the first time, Leithinis Donabate Portrane CCÉ musicians entered the Dublin Fleadh competition which took place in Edmund Rice College on the Navan on May 18th. We are very proud of our junior members who performed extremely well.

On Sunday May 26th we were joined by members of Cluain Tarbh CCÉ at the Parish Hall for our second annual end of year celebration where tunes were played by adult and junior musicians from both branches. Slow and intermediate sessions continued in the Parish Hall every two weeks and due to the popularity of the Brook Pub Trad Sessions, the frequency has been increased to the first and third Tuesday of every month.

The Traditional Irish Music lessons concluded at the end of May and if any readers are interested in joining in September please email us with your name, age (if under 18), instrument and proficiency level at leithinis@comhaltas.net

It’s been another busy month for the committee of the DP Crossroads Campaign for a Cultural & Youth Center on the Peninsula. Following on from their meetings with FG, SF and Green TDS, they met with Duncan Smith and Darragh O’Brien this month. Both TDs commended the group’s work and strongly supported their campaign. Following this the group met Senior FCC officials and local Councilors to discuss their recently submitted business case. The business case outlines the clear need for this facility and provides solid suggestions on how it would be planned, constructed and operated.

Unfortunately, the council officials are unwilling to move from their previous position that Donabate-Portrane residents use existing facilities. The group are disappointed but vow to continue the campaign and plan to re-engage with the new council following local elections in June.

Meanwhile, the DP Crossroads Team held an Information Day in the Town Center on 26th April. Members of the committee were available to discuss all aspects of their campaign in particular the planning proposals for the peninsula and population forecasts. They had detailed information on how the town has grown over the past twenty years and illustrated the lack of accompanying community infrastructure.

They had some fun displays which allowed residents an opportunity to indicate where they think the site for the center should be. Residents were also given an opportunity to sign the groups petition in support of the new facility and if you missed your chance you can go to https://www.change.org/p/provision-of-an-arts-cultural-youth-multifunctional-community-center-in-donabate