Special Olympics is an all-Ireland sports organisation for people with an intellectual disability. Donabate Portrane Special Olympics Club (DPSOC) is one of 293 Special Olympics clubs across Ireland. The club has over 80 athletes and is run by over 40 volunteers, who give of their time freely to support the athletes and help them develop their sporting skills. If you would like to volunteer your time on a weekly basis, the club is always on the lookout for new volunteers. The club is specifically for younger athletes, aged 4 – 12. Training sessions take place every Saturday at 11:30, 12:30 and 13:30 in the Donabate Portrane Educate Together National School. Sessions are volunteer led and no previous sport or coaching experience is necessary. All you need is a willingness to get involved and have fun. New members are always welcome. For further information please email dpsoclub@gmail.com If you have a child who would like to become an athlete in the club we have a waiting list for new members. Email us to get your child added to the list. Lastly we would like to congratulate Special Olympics volunteer Suzanne Dunne who completed her 5th marathon on Saturday the 19th of March in aid of the club. Suzanne raised €1,900 for DPSOC by completing 5 marathons over a 5 month period!

Donabate Portrane shedders are a busy lot. There’s not much spare time, with exercise classes at the Scouts’ Den on Mondays, croquet and boules at Newbridge House on Tuesdays, coffee and chat at the Scouts’ Den on Thursdays, tending the plots at Turvey Allotments on other days and occasional outings to place of interest. A vine in our greenhouse, which was thought to have died, is now thriving and has been nicknamed Lazarus. Who knows, next autumn, along with the usual spuds and onions, we may be harvesting and pressing our own grapes. Watch out for the latest offering from the Men’s Shed - Châteauneuf-du-Turvey! Now that we’ve had our first proper AGM in nearly three years, we’re open for new members and to suggestions for other activities. So if you’d like to join us, just contact our PRO, Jim, on 086-3694316.

The Peninsula Pacers went on a great 12km 3hr walk on a Saturday in mid April. The route was really interesting & the weather was only glorious. We parked at the Millbank Theatre / Rush Library and headed down the Sandy Lane to the South Shore beach where the beautiful vista of Lambay Island and The Burrow & Portrane awaited us! Turning right we headed to Rogerstown Harbour and on to the NEW Rogerstown Park passing along by fields of tulips then along a thin rough road which hugged the inner estuary. This walk is only possible at low tide! We returned to the Harbour and headed up the Chanel Rd back to our cars. Finally we went for a delicious lunch/dinner at The Man of War Pub - an original of the species! Good food and full of character now under new management. It was a lovely day and really enjoyed by all. Next walk will hopefully be in May. We try to cater for different interests & abilities so ring Carolyn on 087 9284307

Some people from BUGS based in Blanchardstown; whom many of us play with on a Wednesday night led by Tania Cahill & some Donabate folk led by Phil O Brien had a little session at the re launch in the Parish Hall. It was great fun and enjoyed by all. The group aim to play about one a month and the next session is Friday 20th May. If you play a bit already and are interested drop in at 7 30pm.

Leithinis Donabate Portrane CCE were delighted to be invited to play some tunes at the relaunch of the Parish Hall. Other acts included Ukele United and Donabate Dramatic Society. The Hall is looking fantastic and is a great community facility that is used by many local groups. A great evening was had by all.Our lessons resumed on Monday 25th April following the Easter Break.Our recent slow sessions led by Erin have been very successful in allowing members to participate in playing tunes in a friendly and fun environment , however we are always improving and to cater for the varying abilities we have refined the times of these sessions: 7.45pm to 8.30pm Junior Members - 8.30pm to 9.15pm slow tempo to suit all adult members - 9.15pm to 9.45pm faster tempo to suit adult members.The next 3 sessions will be held in the Parish Hall on : Friday 13th May and Friday 27th May. There will be a €5 cost per family to cover costs. We hope to see many of our members at these musical sessions.

There has been a card playing group in Donabate for as long as anyone can remember, for at least the last forty years. Every Monday night the group gather at 7.30 pm in the parish hall to play whist. Every player pays €7, and the amount collected is paid out in winnings after hall rental expenses are deducted. We did have eighteen months down time during the pandemic lockdown, but we are delighted to be back again and fully operational. We are of course always looking for new members, and you can be sure of a warm welcome to our group. If you play cards at all you will quickly get the hang of Whist as whist is the cornerstone of so many card games.

Corina Johnston, Labour Party Local Representative has welcomed the recent announcement of funding by the National Transport Authority which will facilitate an extension of the existing cycle path on the Donabate Distributor Road to Portrane. She said; “I am very pleased to have been informed that €1,225,000 has recently been allocated to Fingal County Council by the National Transport Authority(NTA) as part of its Active Travel Investment Grants 2022.” Corina continued; “ In response to representations from Duncan Smith TD and I the NTA confirmed that this project includes the development and implementation of cycle protection measures at various locations along the relevant stretch of road. These measures will include the installation of uncontrolled crossing points, junction build outs and the construction of kerb protected cycle lanes.”Johnston added;” Fingal County Council in response to a question submitted to a recent council meeting on my behalf by my colleague Cllr Robert O’Donoghue confirmed that this project proposes to link the existing cycle path from the West along the newly constructed Distributor Road to the junction of Portrane Avenue in Portrane. The funding allocated for this scheme is for the development of design options, preliminary & detailed design and implementation of protected cycling infrastructure on the ground. The Council’s Active Travel Unit is currently procuring a consultant to work on this among other projects in the programme of works for 2022. Once the options report is available, this will progress to detailed design and implementation by year end.“ Johnston concluded;”I am very pleased that this project has been prioritised and funding awarded by the NTA and look forward to its implementation. When completed this will enhance cycle links between Donabate and Portrane and ultimately provide a direct cycle link to Malahide and Newbridge Demesne via the Broadmeadow Way Greenway which is projected to be delivered in 2025. “

Classes for Active Age for All are in full swing with very few empty spaces. People are so delighted to be back to real-time classes once more. It has been most gratifying for the Committee to see how everyone is enjoying being together again and to see the return of some structure to the social lives of our members.Our latest project is to offer free English classes to our fellow Europeans from Ukraine who are in Donabate, in many cases, join their families. We are doing this in conjunction with the Community Centre. We are also offering free membership in Active Age for All and its classes, until the summer, for all of our recent Ukranian refugees. If you know anyone who would like to avail of these offers please contact the Donabate/Portrane Community Centre or email us at activeageforall@gmail.com or see our website activeageforall.com Or text only to 086 880 6808

Lambay Sports Athletic (LSA) continues to grow. As a local athletics club we consistently strive towards helping our members to accomplish personal achievements and club acclamations. As a club we welcome all levels of adult and juveniles to join us and offer support to our members who choose to compete in organized events country wide. Some of our award-winning competitors since our last update have competed in NIA Live, our chairperson has won medals for Ireland at the European Masters Indoor Championship in Portugal, all levels of members participated in the Lusk AC 4-mile race in Lusk village, and most recently club members traveled to Bohermeen in Co. Meath to compete in the Bohermeen AC Half Marathon. Our Juvenile Section caters for children and teenagers from age 6 to 18. Our Thursday training sessions continue to grow with almost 70 children training at 6pm and another 50 training at 7pm at the Astro hockey pitch. The younger children’s ‘Little Athletics’ group introduces a fun-based approach to Running, Jumping and Throwing. Our 7pm group, for children born in 2011 and older, focuses on learning to train and compete in all athletics events. Our athletes from U10 and up will have an opportunity to try outdoor competition in a full-size athletics facility in the Dublin Track and Field Leagues in April and May. In addition, we have a plan to run our three-day Summer Camp 2022. LSA are currently in the process of organizing our very own race which will take place on the scenic peninsula of Donabate and Portrane on 22nd May 2022. This will also include children’s events. The club of LSA look forward to working with the local community and inviting their friends from other clubs from across the country to compete. Keep up to date on all the events by following LSA via our social media pages! Facebook www.facebook.com/lambaysportsacademy Instagram www.instagram.com/lsadonabateportrane/ Twitter twitter.com/LSARunning For additional information on the above please visit our website lambaysportsathletics.ie/ or pop us an email lambaysportsathletics@gmail.com

Good news for local film enthusiasts, Donabate-Portrane is going to the movies with it’s very own cinema club.Lambay Cinema Club is non-profit and run entirely by volunteers. Our mission is to give local audiences the chance to see a range of world cinema not usually available on commercial cinema screens.We are a new venture on the Peninsula partnering with The Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival. The brain child of Larry Carolan and Breda Maguire, we hope to bring the best of International Cinema to Donabate and Portrane.Tell your friends and bring one or two along to our monthly screenings – we won’t exist without your support.We will soon announce details of our scheduled screenings for the coming months so follow us on our Instagram and Facebook pages @lambaycinemaclub. Lambay Cinema Club is supported by Access Cinema, a resource organisation for regional cultural cinema, The Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival and Fingal Co. Co.