September is here and time to think of which classes you would like to take. We have a great
range of classes on offer. To tone up we have from Dance to Fitness, to Yoga and Sit and Get Fit
and Pilates. We also have Stronger for Longer which concentrates on strengthening and balance. Then for the mind we have French and Spanish and to exercise the vocal cords we have Singing and Music. Our free activities are Boules, Croquet and indoor Bowls and Table Tennis, and for the very fit we have Pickleball. You must register for all classes and activities.Registration for classes and all our activities will take place on the 4th & 5th of September from 11.00 a.m. to 14.00 p.m. We hope to have our website ready by then so that you can join online. If you need any information about AAfA please check our website activeageforall.com or you can of course email us at activeageforall@gmail.com It TEXT only to 086 880 6808.

In July, Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed had an entertaining and information visit to the Irish Military Museum and Park, near Collen, Co. Meath, where members got to see and hold guns and rifle, military uniforms and vehicle related to both World Wars, 1916 and other conflicts. We also took the opportunity of an impromptu visit to the nearby Broomfield Men’s Shed where we were treated to typical Men’s Shed hospitality over tea and sandwiches. Last month, we had a joint croquet day with Active Age for all. A full report and photos of this fun day will be available for next month’s issue. If you are interested in joining us, please call our PRO, Jim, on 086-3694316.

Just like that our 5th year in operation has come to an end and what a year! Our Young Athlete Program continues, and we welcomed many new members throughout the year. This group cater to athletes aged 4 years + and focuses on gaining gross motor skills and introducing the basic skills of various sports e.g.,running, throwing, catching, balancing, turn-taking, striking, etc.,all through fun and games. Our three basketball groups started this year, and they have all progressed so well. We have a ‘Come and try’ basketball’ team and a girls’ preteen/teen team training on Thursday evenings. On Fridays, our teen boys’ team meets up. The athletics club meets on Saturday mornings. Over the past year, their members have been introduced to the rules of athletics meets and have been training hard to master them. They have recently trained on the ALSAA track and in the National Indoor Arena and tried out new events like the high jump and the long jump. Our wonderful gymnastics club has gone from strength to strength and the progress of the gymnasts is very impressive. It is hard to believe that they have only been training for less than 10 months. They finished off their fantastic year by hosting an interclub gymnastics competition with Tivoli Tigers Special Olympics Club.None of these clubs could exist without our amazing volunteers and coaches. We would like to publicly thank each and every one of them and look forward to seeing them and all our athletes when the club starts back in September. We are always looking for volunteers to give just a few hours a week with our club or if you would like to enquire about your child joining our club, please email us at dpsoclub@gmail.com

The Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival people are hard at work putting the preparations in place for the upcoming festival in September. From Thursday 7th to Sunday 17th September, venues across the peninsula will play host to lots of cultural activities for festival-goers of all ages and all cultural tastes. This year, the programme for the festival will include all the tried and tested favourites including: Short Film Festival, a feast of film for fans of the silver screen; Mol an Óige, showcasing some fun-sized talent on the peninsula; PizzaTrad, or Céilí dancing and Pizza in the sun; A Gala Concert, featuring the Young Dublin Symphonia and more;Art and Craft Workshops for children and adults; Casino Night, with gambling fun and music and dancing till late; Short plays from Donabate/Portrane Dramatic Society; Guided tour of historic St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland; Sing-a-longs featuring any singer, any song; and lots more.

This year the festival is embracing technology with 2 workshops called “Make a Movie on your Mobile Phone”, one session for 12-18 year-olds and one session for adults. A hand-held Gimble worth €165 will be presented to the best movie in the 12-18 year-old workshop. Most of the events of the Bleeding Pig Festival are free of charge, however there is a small fee for some of the great workshops and events. The number of attendees for most of the workshops is limited and reserving a place is essential. Booking is through Eventbrite and reservation opens on August 18th 2023. Full details of all the workshops and events that require booking are on the Bleeding Pig website and Facebook page. The first event in the Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival will be a fund-raising Pub Quiz in Keelings on Wednesday 23rd August. Tickets are €10 per person. Tickets can be reserved in advance from Emer on 0863691871. A raffle will be held throughout the festival, with prizes of some beautiful works of art by local artists.Tickets for the raffle will be on sale at all festival events. The Bleeding Pig Festival will hold a bag-pack on the weekend of 25th August, and brochures for the festival will be available at that time. Keep an eye on the Bleeding Pig Festival website and Facebook for details of all events. The organisers would like to thank all our generous sponsors, without their support the festival could not happen.Check out bleedingpig.ie and Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival Facebook page for full details about all the events in the festival, and come along in September and enjoy some local culture!

Donabate Parish Hall has run a number of successful camps this year to cater for local kids they are generally of a cultural & creative nature. They aim to offer a variety of camps to cater for all interests. The most recent was the Lego bricks 4 Kids Summer Camp which was extremely popular with nearly 30 kids taking part. The organiser Alison Bosonnet was delighted with the turnout and said the hall is fab a great space. Regular classes and activities include Irish dancing, Leithinis, Traditional Music, Mother and Baby Group and Cards to name a few! If you are interested in finding out more about the camps and classes or in using the hall for some community activity or event please contact the Parish Office on 01 8434574.

The Mayor of Fingal said recently, “As many people across Donabate Portrane will have seen in recent months an appeal went out from a small group of local residents from the peninsula who were anxious to restore and improve the grave in Donabate Cemetery of the late Eddie Guerrini who was affectionally known locally as “ Neddie”. Cllr Henchy said, “ I am delighted to say this appeal has been a wonderful success and the restoration of “ Neddie’s” grave has been completed in recent months. While the local residents behind this wonderful initiative want to remain anonymous, I just wanted to say a massive thanks as a public representative of my local community for completing such a benevolent kind gesture. It is greatly appreciated.

Donabate Village Open Air Art Exhibition is happening in August! Come take a walk down our open air Art Gallery on Uisce Eireann’s railings at The Hand from 11am to 5pm, Saturday & Sunday. If you are interested in showing your work, there are a few places available. Make contact with Peninsula Art Group by email to mareseart@eircom.net.

Many thanks for the help, advice and support from Corina Johnston, Labour Party local Area Representative. Duncan Smith, TD, Labour Party. Rafe Costigan, Senior Community Officer, Fingal County Council and Cllr Dean Mulligan,Independent4Change.

Fr. Pat Reilly celebrated his Golden Jubilee of his Ordination recently in St. Patrick’s Church, Donabate with Mass celebrated by Fr. Pat and con-celebrated by Fr. Augustine, Fr. Paddy O’Byrne, Fr. Patrick Hannon and Fr. Richard Sheehy.

Fr. Pat’s family and friends took part in the Readings and Music alongside our Parish Choir..After Mass refreshments were served in the marquee on the green and the music was provided by our Folk group. It was a wonderful evening of celebration marking Fr. Pat’s 50 years serving God with 17 of those years serving the people of Donabate, Portrane and Balheary. We congratulate Fr. Pat on his 50 years and wish him many more happy and healthy years serving the Lord.

Last month members of Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed had two very different history lessons. The warm humid conditions in the earlier part of the month provided the perfect conditions for phytophthora infestans, the potato blight fungus that caused the Famine. So, our entire crop of potatoes at our plots at Turvey Allotments was lost, despite our best efforts. Thankfully the other plants – onions, scallions, cabbage and tomatoes – were not affected. Obviously, the inconvenience and disappointment of our loss was nothing compared to what our ancestors experienced in the 1840s. Our second history lesson was at the Irish Military Museum, near Collon Co. Meath, a hands-on exhibition of weapons and uniforms ranging from the Viking raids to the Vietnam War. If you’d like to join us, please contact Jim on 086-3694316.

Leithinis Donabate Portrane CCE’s new term of lessons resume in September. If you are interested in learning a traditional Irish instrument in a relaxed and friendly setting please email us at leithinis@comhaltas.netand we will get back to you with details.

We offer lessons in Tin Whistle, Bodhran Fiddle, Concertina , Accordion and Banjo Classes are small and our teachers are talented and experienced musicians.Classes are held on Monday evenings in the Donabate Portrane Educate Together School.

In addition to classes we have twice monthly ( every 2nd Friday) slow sessions led by Erin in the Parish Hall. This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to practice their tunes. We have recently started meeting with other Comhaltas branches to play some tunes Cluain Tarbh CCE’s junior members joined us in the grounds of the Parish Hall in June and a great afternoon was had by all. We are looking forward to visiting their branch over the next few months.The Brook Pub in Portrane host a Traditional Irish Music session on the first Tuesday of every month. The session starts at 7.30pm. This has proved to be very popular. Experienced traditional Irish Musicians come from all areas of the North County to play. Everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy a great evening of entertainment. For further information on our branch please see our webpage leithinis.com and our Facebook page Comhaltas Leithinis Donabate Portrane CCE.