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
August was a busy month for Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed, as our regular weekly activities resumed after the July break, with croquet in Newbridge Park on Tuesdays and our Thursday morning exercise classes and get-togethers over a cuppa. Our plots at Turvey Allotments were a hive of activity where the daily watering and weeding is being rewarded with a bumper harvest.
In keeping with the motto of the Donabate Portrane Summer Festival - “a festival for the community by the community” - the Men’s Shed music group, Gerry and the Plonkers, provided entertainment on Portrane Green on the Saturday afternoon of the festival. By all reports, the Plonkers played their part in making it a great weekend enjoyed by all. The Plonkers celebrated their third anniversary by playing at the annual Turvey Allotments barbecue. The Plonkers also played a slot at Vintage Picnic, a free, age-friendly music festival for adults over 55, which this year was held in Millennium Park in Blanchardstown.
On a more serious note, last month we had a very informative presentation by a community nurse, arranged through the Marie Keating Foundation, about men’s health issues, including awareness of prostate, testicular, lung, bowel and skin cancer.
Over the next months, we hope to have a few outings to places of special interest in addition to our regular weekly activities. So if you, or someone near to you, would like to join us, don’t wait; contact our PRO, Jim, now on 086-3694316.
A historical society in Donabate & Portrane was first established in 1948 but became inactive in 1955. It was reactivated in 1972 by Mr Peadar Bates of Donabate and continues to this day. The aim of the society is the collection of information on the peninsula as to the customs, stories and incidents of the ancient, medieval and modern times to complete a written history of the area.
The Donabate/Portrane historical society has regular meetings, times and dates of which will be posted on social media and website, anyone interested is welcome to attend. Talks and presentations are also arranged several times a year, information available as before, and all are welcome.
The society Local History Museum is located in the courtyard of Newbridge House and is open every Saturday & Sunday (+ bank holidays) from 2 to 4pm, entry is free. The museum provides a wonderful window into the past of the peninsula containing artefacts and images of life in rural Donabate and Portrane, and the ‘big’ houses of the area. Well worth a visit! For information please contact: Donald Henderson 087-2610164 Copies of Peadar Bates book available in the museum, or call 087-2397608
Active Age for All held their annual Fun Croquet Day in Newbridge Park on Wednesday 24th June this year and we were delighted to welcome guests from the Newbridge House Croquet Club and Donabate Men’s Shed to join us.
The weather was beautiful, the lawns in tip-top condition (many thanks to the Newbridge Park groundsmen) and the game playing went very smoothly. Everybody got to play two games before we had to whittle down to the final rounds. While battle went on in ever decreasing numbers those on the sidelines were free to enjoy the refreshments, have a chat and maybe play some silly croquet like ‘Pot the Wellie’.
The grand final was played by: Peter Dempsey (AAfA), Eugene McKenna (NHCC), John McIntyre (NHCC) & Raymond McGuigan (NHCC) Peter Dempsey carried the day for Active Age. Well done Peter!
The AAfA committee are busy preparing for the autumn term commencing middle of September. We will have a table in the Donabate Mall on Friday 21st August 10am to 4pm so come along and say hello and get all the details for the coming term. If you have yet to join us we would be delighted to meet you.
With our regular weekly exercise classes and Thursday morning get-togethers suspended and only Tuesday morning croquet continuing, July threatened to be a relatively quiet month for members of Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed.
However, the flurry of activity at our plots at Turvey Allotments more than made up for the inactivity elsewhere. Members were kept busy with the shared daily tasks of watering, feeding, weeding and harvesting the impressive range of plants being grown, including tomatoes, potatoes, onions, garlic, courgettes, peas, rhubarb, grapes, lavender, gooseberries, cucumbers and cherries. Ant powder and slug pellets were laid, potatoes were sprayed to protect from blight and, not resting on their laurels, members replaced old fencing with recycled and treated pallets.
Gerry and the Plonkers, the Men’s Shed music group, continued their involvement in community projects by playing for an appreciative audience at Swords Memory Café held in Fingallians’ GAA Club and look forward to playing on Saturday 8th August at the Donabate Portrane Summer Festival.
Our full range of regular weekly activities resumes this month. So, we’re always open to new members joining us. If you or someone close to you might be interested in joining us, don’t be afraid to take the first step by contacting Jim, our PRO, on 086-3694416. We look forward to meeting you.
