Corina Johnston, Labour Party Area Representative is deeply concerned that the highly significant archaeological find recently discovered in Corballis, Donabate could be undermined by a planning application which is currently with An Bord Pleanála.

Johnston said; “The Environmental Impact Assessment Report for this planning application was submitted in 2021 which was prior to the recent discovery of this archaeological find. It therefore fails to take into account the possible implications of this historic find. Efforts to date to bring this new information to An Bord Pleanála have been refused. The Bord have stated that under the SHD legislation it cannot take any further comments or information on this planning application.”Johnston said; “this archeological find was discovered by locals in fields at Corballis, Donabate, in recent weeks. Duncan Smith TD and I reported this to The National Monument Service who visited the site and confirmed that this can be classified as a souterrain (underground tunnel), a significant archaeological find which has now been added to the online non statutory Sites And Monuments Record. The National Monuments Service confirmed the monument will be noted for consideration for inclusion in any revisions of the Record of Monuments and Places (RMP) which is a statutory record which affords a measure of legal protection under existing legislation.” Johnston continued; “ Fingal County arranged for an archaeological survey to be carried out on the Corballis lands in 2007. An Enclosure was discovered that also found the remains of copper, charcoal and bones. The recently discovered souterrain was not discovered at that time. Johnston added; “ In view of the position taken by An Bord Pleánala Duncan Smith TD and I have written to the Minister for Heritage outlining the significance of this find and appealed to him to ensure the protection and preservation of this site including placing a temporary preservation order on the souterrain and extended site. Johnston concluded;” it has been brought to my attention by an independent archaeologist in recent days that the writing on the ceiling of the souterrain maybe Runes from the Norse Futhark Alphabet rather than the Ogham script. He also stated “that stones with runic script on them are even rarer than Ogham stone”. In view of the implications of the find and this latest information it is vital that a temporary preservation order be placed on the souterrain and a thorough examination of the extended site be carried out. This is the least we can expect as we commence National Heritage Week.“

After two years of cultural drought on the Donabate/Portrane peninsula, the Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival makes a welcome return in September.From Thursday 8th to Sunday 18th September, there will be a full timetable of cultural events, suited to all cultural tastes and all ages. From Céilí dancing to Basket Weaving, Art Exhibitions to Gala Concerts and Casino Nights to Nature Walks, the schedule promises something to entertain everybody.This year sees the return of some festival favourites, including Craft Workshops for Adults and Children, Mol an Óige showcasing some fun-sized talent, Gala Concert, Short Film Festival, Sing-a-Song or Sing-a-Long, Short Plays from the Donabate Dramatic Society, Tour of Newbridge House and Farm, Tours of the Martello Tower, and lots more.The programme this year also features some new attractions, including for one night only Casino Night, Family Local Knowledge Trivia Trek, A Pizza’Trad, Tai Chai on the Green, and much more. Keep an eye on the festival website, bleedingpig.ie for details about times and dates and venues. All events in the Bleeding Pig Festival are free of charge, and the organisers are very grateful to all our generous sponsors who make the festival possible.

Donabate Parish Hall has over the summer completed some further work on the hall - some internal & external painting was undertaken, the floor was given a top up sand & varnish; but the main work was the installation of special acoustic panels in the ceiling to improve the quality of sound in the hall; in layman’s terms reduce the echo and noise!

This will make the hall a very desirable place especially for Cultural & Creative Activities & Events. The cost of these works was funded by the Parish Hall Committee with grateful assistance from Fingal County Council Community Department. The electrical work to facilitate the installation was done by CP Electrical & Security and the installation of the boards by EK Property Maintenance this was very specialist work and completed to a very high standard by all of the local trades people! A special mention to EV Kidds over a 100years in business in Floor laying & Restoration and easy to see why - they promised to do this extra work for FREE after the hall had had some use and true to their word, came back this summer and did it to an excellent standard.The Parish Hall was back to full swing at the end of August but may still have some availability left for Weekly Activities and in the Cultural & Creative Slot in October & November - any queried to Bernie in the Parish Office in the mornings 01 - 8434574.

Our next walk coincides and links with the Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival, so it is local - Saturday 10th Sept- starting at 12noon at The Parish Hall - walking to the Shoreline then on to Tower Bay short stop at Wayne’s Coffee Box - then down to Portrane and the Burrow walking along Rogerstown Estuary up Marsh Lane and back to the Brook for Pizza and Trad at 4pm! Bus or walk back to Donabate for the train ! Sound good - join us! Adults only & sorry no dogs - please wear the right attire especially footwear for the walk - we will do a good average pace ok. You can do the SHORT walk by waiting at the Brook and enjoying some refreshments while the LONG walk adds a loop of the Burrow as a few extra kms! Contact Carolyn 087 9284307 or Breda 086 8693243 for information or if interested!

After a short break last month from our regular activities, Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed is back at full swing again.We have our weekly exercise classes on Monday mornings; on Tuesdays it’s croquet at Newbridge House and from 10:30pm to 12:30pm on Thursdays we have a get-together for coffee, tea and a chat at the Scouts’ Den on the Portrane Road. At other times, some members tend our plots at Turvey Allotments, and from time to time we have outings to places of interest. We are always open to new members. So, if you’d like to join us, please come along to the Scouts’ Den any Thursday morning, or call Jim on 086-3694316. You’ll be made feel very welcome.

The Peninsula Pedallers is a local cycling group that meets every Sunday at 09:30 at the Donabate and Portrane Community Centre. We are a community cycling group, not a sports cycling club, which means we want our cycles to be sociable occasions and we welcome cyclists of varied ages, genders, confidence and abilities. If you are interested in joining us, please contact Mark at 087 9607662 or Mary at 087 2340764.

The Donabate-Portrane Heritage Audit was launched recently at local landmark, Stella’s Castle, Portrane by Mayor of Fingal Cllr Howard Mahony. Cllr Mahony and Heritage Office Christine Baker spoke of the importance of Heritage and congratulated Sinéad Begly for such an beautiful publication as well as thanking the many locals who contributed to it. Light refreshments were served and free copies of the audit were presented to those gathered on a beautiful sunny afternoon. Fingal Heritage Office commissioned Sinéad Begley & Associates to conduct a heritage audit of the Donabate-Portrane Peninsula to identify heritage sites and features, and to provide recommendations on the best way to highlight and interpret these. It is intended that this report will provide a framework and promote a strategic and consistent approach to the development of heritage resources and interpretative materials for residents and visitors to the area. The value the local community places on heritage is evident in the action of local groups and individuals involved in recording, communicating, protecting and celebrating the unique character of Donabate and Portrane.

What wonderful weather we have just enjoyed, but now we must get down to the serious business of deciding what to do for the Autumn and Winter ahead! Active Age is here with great ideas and a brilliant Programme of classes to help you decide! For those new to the Peninsula Active Age for All (AAfA) was launched on the Donabate Portrane peninsula in 2015. It is a community organisation that provides social and recreational activities for those over 55 aimed at promoting health and wellbeing with an emphasis on enjoyment. New members are warmly welcomed. We run an extensive programme of classes from Sit and Get Fit, to Pilates and Yoga and Tai Chi and Stronger for Longer. With something for every level of fitness. We also provide language classes, Singing & Music and Drama. As part of our community work we offer some free activities - Croquet, Indoor Bowls, and Boules. Registration for all classes - paid and free - will start on the 5th of September and will continue on the 6th and 7th in Donabate/Portrane Community Centre. Details of dates, and times of classes and our programme is available on our website activeageforall.com. If you need any information about AAfA or our activities please email activeageforall@gmail.com Or Text only to 0868806808.

The National Juvenile Track and Field Championships took place in Tullamore in July. It is the highlight of the Athletics Calendar, and this year LSA had two athletes competing. Éabha O’Farrell competed in U16 girls’ 3kg Hammer and Anna Gavigan competed in U19 Girls’ Discus. Both had qualified for this event by winning their respective competitions in the Dublin Championships in May and June.This was Anna’s final competition as a “Juvenile” and she signed off in style by winning the Discus Championships with a throw of 45.95m and setting a new U19 Championship record!This was Anna’s third major Championship win this summer. At the start of June, Anna won theSenior Girls’ Discus in the All-Ireland Schools Championship representing Loreto Secondary School Balbriggan. Three weeks later she had her best success to date winning the 150thNational Senior Track and Field Championships.Anna is a great example of the Long Term Athlete Development policy. She has been training and competing with LSA since 2014 but it was only in 2018 that she began to win medals in the Dublin Championships and qualify for national finals. Later that year she started to train with coach Gerry Ronan, and has gone from strength to strength since then.Our younger Juveniles may well be inspired by being coached by a National Champion – Anna is part of the coaching team with Fiona’s group at our Thursday evening training session, and she also coached at our recent summer camp.Meanwhile, Éabha is another up and coming LSA Juvenile Athlete, also coached by Gerry Ronan. Éabha set a new LSA club record for 3kg hammer when she threw 36.80m to finish 5th in the National Juvenile Championships. LSA Juvenile training will recommence in September – watch out for details on Social Media.We always welcome new volunteers to help out with our growing club.For memberships queries or to get involved please do so on our gmail account on lambaysportsathletics@gmail.com. Keep up to date on all the events by following LSA via our social media pages! Or facebook.com/lambaysportsacademy or even Instagram instagram.com/lsadonabateportrane/ Twitter twitter.com/LSARunning. For additional information on the above please visit our website lambaysportsathletics.ie/

Donabate Parish Hall autumn programme starts at the end of August with a large array of activities taking place every day, these range from Irish Dancing to Cards, from Montessori to Senior Citizens, from Traditional Music to Bridge. In October/November daily classes will be suspended for a number of weeks to facilitate Cultural & Creative events. These will include Photography Exhibitions and an Active Age for All Display to name but a few! There are still a few spaces available on the programme but it is filling up fast - we hope the addition of the new acoustic panels will create an even better ambience for all our activities & events to take place in! For further information please contact Bernie in the Parish Office