Peninsula Art would like to say a big Thank you for the support and positive feedback received for our exhibition at the Hand on 26th & 27th August. It was most encouraging and heartening to see so many people viewing and enjoying our Art, and an even bigger thank you to those who purchased! We would also like to thank those in Fingal County Council who looked after us up to and over the two days - Rafe Cossigan, Senior Community Officer for Fingal County Council, Dean Mulligan, Fingal Councillor,, Corina Johnston, Local Labour Representative, and Duncan Smith, Labour TD, and last but not least Ùisce Eireann for use of their railings.

Leithinis Donabate Portrane CCE lessons resumed on the 2nd of October. We would like to welcome back our existing members and extend a warm welcome to our new students. We had a busy summer with some of our members playing at The Bleeding Pig Festival, the St. Pats GAA Mini All Ireland Prize giving. We welcomed Craobh Cluain Tarbh’s Junior Members to Donabate Parish Hall to join our Junior members for a very successful slow session led by Erin. Leithinis Junior members have performed as part of this year’s Mol an Oige concert on Saturday 16th September at Donabate Portrane Community Centre led by Erin. Well done to all our Junior members. A big Go raibh maith aghaibh to Erin and to the parents of our Junior Members for their support to their branch. In addition to our lessons, we run slow sessions in the Parish Hall on every 2nd Friday of the month for our members. This is a great way for our students to practice their tunes with their fellow students. Some of our members play with an experienced group of local musicians in the Brook Pub on the 1st Tuesday of every month at 7.30pm. This session has become very popular across the North County and everyone is welcome to come along and listen.We still have a number of places available in Tin Whistle, Bodhran, Fiddle, Concertina, Accordion, Flute, Guitar and Banjo so if you are interested in joining Leithinis to learn a traditional Irish instrument email us on leithinis@comhaltas.net and we will get back to you.

Area Rep Corina Johnston said recently; “The population of the Donabate Peninsula is projected to grow to approximately 20,000 over the next ten years. The residential zoned land in the Donabate Local Area Plan provides for approximately 4,000 residential units. Last week phase 1 of the Glenveagh Development consisting of 1200 housing units in Ballymastone commenced. This week a revised planning application for 1020 residential units in Corballis was advertised. A previous application for 1365 units on this site was granted permission by FCC and ABP. While the outcome of these applications will see the provision of a Nature Park in Corballis and a Sports Hub at Ballymastone there are no indoor community facilities provided to cater for an additional 3000 residential units.“

Johnston added; “The need for this facility is even more critical today as according to the census (2022) 41% of the population of the peninsula (11783) are under 30 while 31% are under 19 years of age. The Local Area Plan includes the following objectives for such a facility: -Objective 6.3 To support the provision of a community facility on lands at Ballymastone -Objective 6.12 Support the provision of a community/cultural/exhibition and performing Arts centre for Donabate- Portrane and encourage the development of multi -functional community buildings which are not used exclusively by any one group.
The Civic Centre should include: • a performing theatre with a fully equipped stage, seating for 100 people, Workshop/studio space Meeting/education rooms, Café ,Youth Centre, Sensory Room, a dedicated area with historical facts about the area on permanent display and an Outdoor Children’s play area amongst other facilities. Johnston added;”The FCC Tilberry site located off the Corballis Road would seem to be an ideal location among other sites to meet this criteria. Johnston concluded; “In assessing the merit of this multi-purpose Civic Centre let us envisage what Donabate would be like in 10 years’ time with 3000 additional houses with little additional indoor community facilities for the growing population with all suitable strategic land built upon. This would be a disaster. Surely we must learn from the mistakes of the past. Duncan and I intend to campaign vigorously for such an important facility.”

Corina Johnston, Area Representative is calling for the Garda Commissioner and Minister for Justice to sanction the provision of a Garda Station in Donabate.She said; “We have been campaigning for the such a provision for a number of years. In 2021 we proposed that the state acquire the Credit Union Building which would and still is an ideal location for a station. Duncan Smith TD and I also raised such a need at a meeting in 2021 with the Assistant Garda Commissioner and Senior Gardai. In their response the Gardai said that while they have no objection in principle to a Garda Station on the peninsula, this however would be a political decision. “ Johnston added; “Duncan has since raised this at National level with the Ministers for Justice, Public Expenditure and OPW. He was informed that the current Garda Building and Refurbishment Programme does not include the development of a new Garda station in Donabate, Co. Dublin. The 2006 Local Area Plan included as an objective a Garda station. I am still astounded that such an important objective was removed from the current Area Plan. Given the projected increase in the population of the area and the increase in anti social behaviour it is imperative that such a facility is planned for now.” A determined Corina Johnston concluded;”Duncan Smith TD and I met with the Garda Superintendent in recent weeks and highlighted this issue once again and also the need for the provision of addition Garda resources for our expanding area. We intend to pursue these important issues at National and Local level and will keep you updated. “

LSA was very proud to see a 13th place finish for our wonderful record breaking Discus thrower, Anna Gavigan representing Ireland at the 2023 European U20 Athletics Championships! It was a far cry from the wind and rain of Donabate for Anna, when she competed in the searing heat of Jerusalem in early August. LSA is an adult and juvenile athletics club with over 400 members, based in Donabate. We were established in 2011, and Anna joined us as a 10 year old in 2014. She helps coach our Juvenile athletes and also coached at our recent very annual summer camp. The format for the European U20 Championships in Jerusalem involved two qualifying groups with each competitor getting just three throws, with the top 12 to go through to the final. It was an intense competition ‘shootout’ and Anna, with a best of 46.09m secured an excellent 5th place in her group finishing 13th place overall, agonisingly just outside a top 12 spot for the final. 13th in Jerusalem was an excellent round off to a great season in which Anna retained her All Ireland Senior Schools Title, Leinster U20 Title, won Silver in the National Senior Championships, retained her National U20 Title setting a new outright National U20 record in the process. None of this would be possible without the commitment and expertise of Anna’s coach, Donabate man, Gerry Ronan who dedicates so much time and effort to his athletic training group. Well done Anna and Gerry. For memberships queries or to get involved in any way please feel free to contact us at lambaysportsathletics@gmail.com Keep up to date on all the events by following LSA via our social media pages! Instagram instagram.com/lsadonabateportrane/ Facebook facebook.com/lambaysportsacademy Twitter twitter.com/LSARunning Also visit our website lambaysportsathletics.ie/

The Bleeding Pig Film Festival returns to Donabate for its sixth year with an eclectic and inspiring selection of films to be screened over three evenings within the beautiful confines of St Patrick’s Church of Ireland in Donabate. From 11th - 13th September 2022, the film festival presents two nights of dazzling short films from both established and up and coming film-makers, culminating in a final night feature film screening to be announced soon. Included in the line up this year is the Oscar winning Irish short film An Irish Goodbye by Ross White and Tom Berkeley. The festival’s popular Q&A’s with filmmakers will be hosted by Sinéad Brassil presenter at LMFM and Luke Dunne, film writer and founder of Film in Dublin The Bleeding Pig is presented is association with the Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival and supported by Fingal Co Co, Wiley Design, Film Equipment Hire Ireland and Supervalu Donabate. Remember - Venue - St Patrick’s Church of Ireland, The Square, Donabate, Co. Dublin K36 Y521. More information and to book your FREE ticket check out bleedingpigfilmfest.com

The Peninsula Pacers are doing their Annual Walk on Saturday 9th September from Donabate Parish Hall at 11 30am to the Burrow. This walk passes by Wayne’s Coffee Stand at The Tower and ends at The Brook Pub & Pizza Place! where the Bleeding Pig have a Traditional Irish Ceile in the afternoon which is always a great event the very best of craic. (After the walk one can take the public Bus back to Donabate!) A healthy day & an environmentally friendly day! In the October edition we hope to outline our walks for the year. In the autumn we hope to car pool and do some walks in Clogherhead & Carlingford to suit different abilities. We will have maybe some walks for the serious walkers also! We will be using the All Trails App where there are a number of walks we can do within our radius by train or car. A few years ago some people came together with FCC to look at Sli na Slainte (Healthy Walking Ways) routes on the Peninsula with some of them in & connecting into Newbridge Park - it is wonderful to see that Tracks and Trails are now developed, open and colour coded so you can easily follow a great way marked walk around the Park. It is a not expensive and is an easy exercise to take! so get going or stay going all year! You just need walking shoes/boots, a waterproof rain jacket and a small rucksack! Contact Carolyn Smith 087 9284307 or Des Carthy 087 7846813 for any further information.

The Excitement is building in Donabate and Portrane in anticipation of the Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival 2023, coming soon to a venue near you! People often ask where did the festival get it’s unusual name. The Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival takes it’s name from a rock formation deep inside a cave on the cliff walk between Donabate and Portrane. An arrangement of the erosion in the rock looks like the shape of a pig, and in certain tidal conditions, when the light is just right, the rock formation drips with iron-laden, red-coloured water, looking like the pig is actually bleeding! In 2013 when a name was being sought for the festival, this name was chosen because the feature is on the walk linking Donabate to Portane. The festival kicks off this year on Thursday September 7th with a Trad session in the Brook Pub in Portrane, starring renowned Uileann Piper Eamonn Galldubh agus a chairde, and featuring members of Comhaltas Leithinis. Everybody welcome for some craic agus ceol!

Over the following 10 days until Sunday September 17th there is a full timetable of events with
something of interest to all cultural tastes and audiences of all ages. Some highlights of the festival include:Craft Workshops for children and adults; Gala Concert in St. Patrick’s RC Church featuring the Young Dublin Symphonia and more; Mol an Óige, a showcase of some of the fun-sized talent on the peninsula! A festival favourite;Pizza Trad, or Céilí dancing and complimentary Pizza in the sun! Short Film Festival in St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland over 3 nights; Open Mic for Comedy, Music, the Spoken Word and more;Guided Tours of St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland, Martello Tower and Newbridge House; Art and Photography exhibition; September Miscellany featuring the Chinkwell Writers with musical interludes; Historic walk and talk in Portrane; Casino Night for some gambling fun and Rat-Pack entertainment; Wellness sessions in The Community Well; Sing-a-long sessions; Short plays from the Donabate/Portrane Dramatic Society; BioDiversity walk and talk at Turvey Island Hide; and lots more! Check out the Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival brochure, website, Facebook and Instagram for full details of all the events. There will be a raffle running throughout the festival with some lovely prizes including artworks from some of our local artists, and lots more. Tickets will be on sale at all festival events. Some events require advance booking to secure a place. See the website for information about these. Most events in the 10-day festival are free of charge. However, a small cover charge will apply to a certain limited number events, to guarantee attendance. If you would like to get involved with the Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival please contact Eilish McDermott on 0877911833, or any committee member. Come along to any of the the festival events from the 7th to 17th September across the peninsula and let’s embrace our local culture!

Becca Nolan has been a member of Donabate Portrane Special Olympics Club since it started in November 2018. She volunteers at four different sessions every week and the athletes love her. Becca has also competed for the club as an athlete in athletics and brought home gold and silver medals. Over the past year, Becca has been successful, and we as a club are immensely proud of her. As a club, we want to announce and celebrate each of her achievements.The first award that Becca won was in October 2022 when she was awarded Special Olympics Ireland’s Young Volunteer of the Year. More recently, in May 2023, Becca was presented with her Bronze Athlete Leadership Award by Special Olympics Eastern Region. To qualify for this award the athlete must complete various tasks and activities. They must volunteer on a committee, volunteer in their community, take up a new hobby, and give a speech in public or present to a group (something that Becca is fantastic at doing).

In June Becca was nominated and awarded a Fingal Community Champion Award by the Mayor of Fingal for all her time volunteering and coaching in Donabate Portrane Special Olympics Club. Her latest achievement was being selected as an International Basketball official for the Special Olympics World Summer Games 2023 in Berlin. Becca was an excellent official and was a wonderful representative for our club, her basketball club (Swords Special Olympics basketball club) and Special Olympics Ireland. Donabate Portrane Special Olympics Club is enormously proud of Becca, and we look forward to seeing what is to come for this amazing woman.

Donabate Parish Hall welcomes back all its users - the various groups that do weekly activities Cards, Irish Dance, Senior Citizens to name just a few! and those that do block events like the Dramatic Society Production & the Photography Exhibition by Through the Lens to also just mention a few! It is hoped to run a few children’s camps again during the year starting with one at the October mid term break of a Cultural & Creative nature.There is limited availability now in the Parish Hall for booking activities & events but if you have a request we will do our very best to facilitate you or your group.Please contact the Parish Office on 01 8434574