Happy New Year to all our walkers! Most of our walks are between 8-12km and mainly on the flat. We do once a month walks for about 8 months of the year, we try hard to use public transport mainly trains but sometimes we must use cars. We repeat walks as it is as much about - fitness & fun as the route taken! We have been to e.g. Poolbeg, Bull Island, Howth, Virginia, Boyne Board Walk, Rush Beach, Donabate Portrane Peninsula & the recent walk below in Clogherhead. Our next walk is Carlingford on Sat 6th Jan 2024!
I am Eoghan Dockrell, a first-time local election candidate and I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and set out my priorities. I grew up on the Portrane - Donabate peninsula and have recently moved back to Donabate. I count myself very fortunate to have grown up here; however, many of the problems we now face should have been foreseen by those planning the development of our community. Fingal County Council has a central role to play in how our peninsula is developed. I believe too much emphasis has been put on the development of large-scale housing estates, yet we still don’t have adequate social and cultural infrastructure. For a population our size, we should have better, more reliable transportation links. We should have better childcare facilities and not have young families traveling long journeys to drop off their children. We should have a dedicated cultural centre and performance space for local groups to use (musicians, artists, our drama society). We should have more Community Gardaí given how rapidly our area is growing. These are the issues that I’m prioritising. Our elected councillors are responsible for holding the executive of our local authority to account and this includes pushing for developing our community in a balanced and sustainable way. In my view, that hasn’t happened; In other areas of Fingal, outside of Portrane and Donabate, you see towns with similar populations that have more social and cultural infrastructure. If elected, I promise to bring new energy to the Council. I’ve already started working on the issues I’ve mentioned by making representations to the Council on behalf of residents of Donabate and Portrane. I have also been in contact with An Garda Síochána to discuss policing matters on the peninsula and how we can have more community Gardaí assigned to our area. In the coming months I will continue to meet as many people on the peninsula as possible in the hope of earning your support. Please contact me at: eoghandockrellfg@gmail.com if you have any issues, you need help with.
The newly formed Community Singing Group rocked around Donabate Villages Christmas Tree in early December, as Mayor of Fingal, Cllr. Adrian Henchy turned on the Christmas lights. The group only began singing together in October and entertained everyone with a medley of Christmas Favourites, under the musical direction of Aine Daly. Meeting every Wednesday evening in Donabate Community Centre, the group welcomes everyone who enjoys a sing song, no auditions or talent required just a willingness to have fun and meet new friends The group also helped to raise funds for the Simon community by singing in Powerscourt Townhouse and St, Stephens Green Shopping Centre later in December.
The Parish Hall programme provides for a variety of activities and events to satisfy as many needs as possible. During the normal week e.g.: Seniors meet twice - on a Wednesday and Friday mornings and enjoy bingo and other activities and a cup of tea and chat. There are also in the Parish Hall, Cards, Bridge, Pilates, Irish Dancing, Drama Classes and Leithinis Trad Music on different days. The special events range from Photo Exhibitions, to Drama Productions, to various Camps, to Music Makers and Craft Fairs! At present the Parish Office is confirming all activities and events from January to July. In 1923 the hall was described as cold and cheerless. Locals organised a football tournament, Cinderella dances and gift sales resulting in a new floor and new piano. The hall became so busy that bookings were hard to get. In 2023 the Parish Hall after refurbishment and a makeover, courtesy of FCC and the Parish Committee is now busy again and bookings are hard to get! We still have no piano but plenty of music is taking place anyway with Leithinis & the Music Makers Men’s Shed! If you wish to book a time and space for weekly or special events including camps, please contact the Parish Office on 01 8434574 immediately to check if there is still any availability. The Parish Hall Committee wishes all their users and the entire community a very happy and peaceful New Year.
Circle VHA is proud to announce its entrance into the Cost Rental sector, commencing with the tenancy of 29 homes at Lanestown View, Donabate, situated in North County Dublin. This partnership focuses on providing long-term, secure rental options, contributing significantly to the provision of high-quality homes in the region. In a significant expansion of its affordable housing initiatives, Circle VHA, a prominent Approved Housing Body, is set to scale up its housing delivery, aiming to provide over 3000 social and affordable homes in the next four years. This ambitious goal builds upon the success of the recently launched rental homes with an additional 700 cost rental homes set to commence construction in 2024. The strategic move solidifies Circle VHA’s commitment to addressing mixed tenure housing needs through innovative solutions. The inaugural Cost Rental homes at Lanestown View represent a pivotal moment for Circle VHA, marking its entrance into the Cost Rental market. This development, in partnership with Cairn Homes, will deliver 29 high-quality Cost Rental homes, forming part of a larger project comprising a total of 72 homes. The mixed-tenure scheme, encompassing both social and Cost Rental homes, offers a diverse range of housing options, including 2-bedroom homes, duplex homes, and apartments, complete with contemporary amenities such as private balconies and communal spaces, enhancing its appeal to prospective residents. This development not only represents Circle VHA’s groundbreaking entry into Cost Rental but also holds the distinction of being the first development along the new Donabate ring road. This road is anticipated to usher in thousands of new homes on the peninsula, marking a significant stride toward meeting the burgeoning housing demand in the region.
The musical narrative of ‘OCEAN CHILD’, is composed by Neil Martin, and is wrought from the tragic sinking of the RMS Tayleur off Lambay Island on January 21st, 1854. This is the world premiere of this newly commissioned work and it will be performed in St Patrick’s Church Donabate for the very first time ever on Sunday 28th January 2024. In this suite, a spoken narrative, drawn from contemporaneous newspaper reports and witness accounts, marries with an original score embracing string quartet, uilleann pipes, harp, flute and concertina. The performers include the world-famous actor Stephen Rea, The West Ocean String Quartet, Louise and Michelle Mulcahy. It was Commissioned by Templebar Trad Fest and made possible through the generosity of Fingal County Council. Remember the time and date: The Concert is at 6pm on the Sunday January 28th in St Patrick’s Church Donabate, tickets on sale Thursday November 16th on tradfest.com
Hi everyone, Corina here, just a note to wish you all a Happy New Year. In reviewing my past year, I want to thank you all for your support. At very short notice I contested the local elections in 2019 and narrowly missed out for the final seat. Although unelected I decided to continue to work and represent the people of the area given the lack of real progress on the provision of vital infrastructure, public transport and public services. I am pleased that on foot of our representations and campaigns we have delivered a number of projects in 2023 all of which we proposed and pursued including:
Duncan Smith TD and I held well attended public meetings on public transport and the need for a Cultural/Arts/Youth Centre. Our proposal will be debated in FCC chamber soon. I have been successful in raising these issues and many more with the assistance of my colleagues. I am keenly aware that while the area will grow in population to over 20,000 in the coming years the necessary infrastructure, school and childcare places and services are not coming quick enough to meet the needs of the people and will continue to campaign at local and national level for these vital facilities.
I can be even more effective on behalf of our growing community if elected a councillor in the upcoming elections.
November was another exciting month for LSA. After a fun Halloween themed training session on the Hockey Pitch, many of our Juvenile members joined our adult group at the Donabate Park Run to support our Marathon participants ahead of their big day. We celebrated a superb club effort at the Dublin Marathon - runners, coaches and supporters alike! LSA members Sinead Kiernan and Willie Cahill also won Dublin Marathon Championship medals in their respective age groups. Other club members took on Marathons as far afield as New York and Athens. We were very proud to see our Juvenile Athletes compete in the Dublin Cross Country Championships in Santry. Mark Kelly, Under 13 and Kate Jones, Under 11 were the sole LSA representatives in their races. We had a girls Under 9 team competing, with five girls taking on the muddy 800m distance. Under 9 team captain Clodagh Goggins was a superb Silver medallist. Clodagh qualifies to compete in the National Cross Country Championships in Navan in December, representing both LSA and the Dublin Country and Regional Teams. Good luck Clodagh! Our club is run by volunteers. We always welcome new members and volunteers. If you would like to get involved please contact us - details below: Adult memberships queries please contact lambaysportsathletics@gmail.com
Little Athletics and Juvenile athletes (from age 7-18) please contact us on our email at
lsajuvenilereg@gmail.com.Why not keep up to date on all the events by following Lambay Sports and Athletics Club on our social media pages! Our Facebook page is called facebook.com/lambaysportsacademy. Instagram instagram.com/lsadonabateportrane/ Twitter twitter.com/LSARunning Please also visit our website lambaysportsathletics.ie/
Dear Resident,
My name is Eoghan Dockrell and I will contest next year’s local elections to Fingal County Council as the Fine Gael candidate for your area. As part of Senator Regina Doherty’s team, I work with community groups and residents of Donabate, Portrane and Lusk on a daily basis. In the months ahead, I hope to meet you to convince you of my commitment to represent our area on Fingal County Council. However, I appreciate how busy people are. I am therefore taking this opportunity to introduce myself; to give you an overview of my priorities and to share my contact details with you should you wish to raise any issues with me by phone or email (or if you’d like to arrange a meeting). I know that North County Dublin is a brilliant place to grow up and live. However, we all know that as the population has increased in recent decades, not enough consideration has been given about the impact on our close-knit communities. Our local authority, Fingal County Council, is one of the best resourced local authorities in the country; yet there is still a significant lack of social, cultural and sporting facilities in our area. The development of our area should involve more than just building homes. It should be about nurturing our communities as the population increases so that people feel connected. If elected, I will be a strong advocate on Fingal County Council calling for social, cultural and sporting infrastructure in Fingal to be prioritised. I want to be a fresh voice on the Council, fighting for increased spending on infrastructure in Donabate, Portrane and Lusk, and I hope to earn your trust and support in the months ahead. I will be dropping a leaflet in the coming weeks which will set out my priorities in detail (including the urgent need for quality childcare facilities, more affordable housing and better transportation links). If you have any issues that you would like to discuss with me or if I can be of any assistance to you or your family, please contact me at 087 618 3774 or at: eoghandockrellfg@gmail.com. Yours sincerely, Eoghan Dockrell.
As part of Fingal Inclusion Week AAfA were delighted to join DPCC in hosting a Dementia Friendly Coffee Morning. We had a great attendance for a most interesting talk by Geraldine Mc Graffery from the Alzheimer’s Society on Dementia and the services that are available.
Citizens Information also gave a short presentation outlining the entitlement for over 65s. We hope to have a longer presentation from them in the New Year. This was followed by lunch and music from the Caintóirí and Gerry & The Men’s Shed Plonkers who enticed our ladies to show their jiving skills as they rocked the room. It was a very pleasant and informative morning! Thank you very much indeed to all who participated!
We are looking forward to our next event which is our very popular annual Christmas Carol Concert with our singing group Na Caintoiri. This will take place on the12th of December at 11.00 a.m. with mince pies and mulled wine to follow. By popular demand they will be joined by The Men’s Shed Plonkers who will rock us into the Christmas spirit. We will have our usual Monster Raffle and a collection for St Francis Hospice. So please come and support this very worthy cause. Wishing you all a very Healthy and Happy Christmas and we will see you all in the New Year!
