Cllr Adrian Henchy has expressed concern about a planning application and said recently. “I support developments in Donabate where they are of merit, well designed and contribute something positively back into the Community. However, there are a lot of major shortfalls in this planning application. The only merit at this stage is the provision of housing but without the critical underpinning of the social and physical infrastructure that would be needed in tandem with a scale of this enormous development upon the rural peninsula of Donabate. The fact the developer acknowledges within their documentation, that this application is a breach of the Donabate Local Area Plan is totally unacceptable for me given the enormous work, time, effort and extensive public consultation that has gone into adopting the Donabate Local Area Plan.I would also contend that this application is also in breach of National Planning Guidelines and I would also lend a lot of weight to the Ministerial Circular Letter: NRUP 02/2021 from April 2021. The Circular clarifies the application of the Sustainable Residential Development Guidelines to ensure that when carrying out their planning functions, An Bord Pleanála and Planning Authorities apply a graduated and responsive, tailored approach to the assessment of residential densities in Peripheral and/or Less Accessible Urban Locations,which would very much apply to Donabate.This high-density development made up of mainly one and two bedroom apartments is entirely unsuited to a rural environment and is not in keeping with the dramatic and critically important local landscape that is at the very heart of this application.On behalf of my local community, I want to acknowledge the work and effort of Donabate Portrane Community Council who have worked tirelessly with the local community in highlighting the biggest planning application that has ever been lodged on the community of Donabate and the second largest strategic housing development (SHD) that has ever gone to An Bord Pleanala.The fact, this application was lodged at the height of the summer season with absolutely no public engagement was very disappointing.I would request that An Bord Pleanala in its deliberations reject this SHD Planning application and instead request that the developer goes back to Fingal County Council and starts again with this development by clearly working within the frame work of the visionary Donabate Local Area Plan and the Fingal County development plan.”
To date, members of Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed have been holding our regular Thursday mornings get-togethers outdoors at the Scouts’ Den on Portrane Road, but we are now preparing for full indoor re-opening later this month when public health restrictions are fully eased. We have all the sanitising equipment we need to make re-opening as safe as possible, thanks to a grant last year from Fingal County Council. We will also re-start our occasional outings to places of interest. The Men’s Shed has been given a weekly slot on Tuesday mornings at the croquet lawn at Newbridge House. Contrary to its reputation as a “genteel” pastime, we’re discovering that croquet can be a cut-throat, competitive game. Members are really enjoying it and there is space for more; so, give us a call. Over the past few weeks, members have done a huge amount of work at our plots at the Turvey Allotments. The harvest is in and we’re now preparing for next season using materials funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development and Fingal LCDC. To upgrade fencing at our allotment plots, we plan to recycle picket fencing from Newbridge House, donated to us by Fingal County Council thanks to Colm Connell and Paul Smyth. We installed a deck and benches, with material costs mostly covered by a grant from Fingal County Council, so members can rest between shifts working on the allotments. As Covid-19 restrictions ease, we are welcoming new members. If you wish to join us, please call Jim on 086-3694316.
Donabate Parish Hall hope to have resumed activities if Covid restrictions allowed, or as soon as possible. There are a number of times & spaces available for renting in the newly refurbished hall & ancillary rooms; so if you are interested in further information, please email Bernie with your details and request to the Parish Office email address at stpatricksrcdonabate@gmail.com as soon as possible and she will get back to you. In the meantime stay safe & well.
Our first ever summer camp for children took placer this summer. We hoped to give our young LSA members and other members of the community an opportunity to experience a range of athletics disciplines without having to travel outside the Donabate/Portrane peninsula. It was fitting that Ballymastone GAA Grounds was the venue for the first two days of the camp, where St Pat’s GAA club generously gave us their pitches, storage and clubhouse. Ballymastone could be called the spiritual home of Donabate, since this was the location of the first Community Games that led to the formation of the club in 2011. We made full use of all the space in Ballymastone with six different activity stations. Children and teenagers from age 6 up tried out Throws: (Shot put, Turbo Javelin and Discus); Jumps: (High Jump and Long Jump) Sprints and Middle Distance, as well as fun games, yoga, obstacle course and tug of war. We are hugely grateful to our 30+ volunteer coaches and helpers who gave their time and shared their experience, energy and enthusiasm with our 85 participants. Apart from being great fun, this was also a wonderful opportunity for many of our club members to meet for the first time.As we have gradually returned to competition, LSA members from our juvenile and adult sections have had great success competing. Anna Gavigan was selected to represent Ireland at the under 18 International Team Match in Franconville Paris. Anna secured a 2nd Place finish in Discus with a new PB of 43.33m. Anna and her coach Gerry Ronan continue to go from strength to strength; shortly after her international appearance, Anna went on to become the National Champion Discus U18.September will see a return to training for all our members. Our Masters Track and Field team take on the National Masters Championship on September 5th in Tullamore. Note that our next C25K will start September 7th and finish on October 30th for a Halloween run. If you’re interested in joining our C25K, email lambaysportsatheltics@gmail.com.
10 members travelled on the 12th August to visit these centres. While sun was on the forecast, the rain happened too – but reports from all agree it did not dampen their day out. Being able to eat inside was really quite a novelty too! The Interpretative Centre has lots of lovely walks and a café and is well worth the day out – but do book ahead online. It is free but they need to know numbers for each self-guided tour. Flexibus operates in the Navan, Louth and Fingal areas and has been offering free trips to older members from these communities during the summer.As AAfA members who registered in July know, all classes so far are fully booked. The only problem is that we have not received the go-ahead from government for August and we hope that by the time you are reading this, we will have started again. If not, we will wonder what the vaccination bonus really is for us…
We still owe money to some… we still have quite a few members who were with us in 2020 when we had to shut down classes. Many members are carrying a small credit balance with us and we would encourage you to make contact and renew your membership card by just using some of your balance. If you want to do this, please do email us on activeageforall@gmail.com or text the AAfA mobile 086 8806808 and let us know. Don’t forget that your new card will give you discounts in the usual suppliers.If you are new to the area or new to retirement – you just need to be 55+ - you can call in to DPCC and collect an AAfA New Member form and fill it out and leave it for us, or email us at the address above and we email a form out to you. We can make contact and will do our best to include you in classes as soon as possible.
We were all saddened to hear of the death of Kiernan Hughes, our friend and member of Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed. Although we had seen little of Kiernan over the past eighteen months due to his underlying health condition and the risk of Covid-19, a couple of members had kept contact with him by phone. We all fondly remember his wit, his stories and his repertoire of Frank Sinatra songs with which he often entertained us at our get-togethers. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
On a lighter note, members of Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed have been busy at our plots at Turvey Allotments. The decking, funded by a grant from Fingal County Council, is taking shape and will be finished soon. We’ve had a very successful year, with a bumper crop of potatoes, tomatoes and onions, as members learn more about the art and science of horticulture. Or maybe it was just a good year for the veggies! As Covid-19 restrictions ease, we are welcoming new members. If you wish to join us, please call Jim on 086-3694316.
Fingal County Council are soon to begin work on the Boules Court beside the Croquet Lawn. Initially we understood this perfect location may not be possible but in the end it has come good! These two activities Boules & Croquet are complimentary and will form a little hub of activity beside Newbridge House. Hopefully, along with some local groups having access, it will be possible to do casual advance booking of both of these facilities, like other parks, for many people both young and old to enjoy as amenities. Fingal Parks Department and in particular, Therese Casey & Lourda Darcy are to be complimented for the work they have done on this project. We all eagerly await the completion of the facility!
On a sunny Thursday in August over twenty people from the Peninsula Pacers met at the car park beside the Brook Pub and went on two different walks. One a Historical Ramble of the Burrow hosted by Peader Bates our local historian, The other was a Coastal Loop through Portrane Hospital out to the beach, then along the Cliff Walk on to the Portrane Beach and around by Rogerstown Estuary up Marsh Lane. Both groups met back at the Brook Pub - for cakes & coffee or pizza & pints. A really enjoyable day was had by all. Please see the photos of the walks recently forwarded from Carolyn of the Historical Ramble Short Walk Group with Peader Bates local historian; who told local stories of the Burrow area.The group enjoyed refreshments at The Brook, in the new outdoor space. It is hoped to continue with longer & shorter walks maybe one a month. If you are interested in walking please contact Carolyn on 087 9284307 or Breda on 086 8693243
June saw another round of virtual competitions run by Special Olympics Ireland.Our club saw twice the number of competitors this time around; with 24 athletes representing our club, in 4 of the 5 sports offered. DPSO club had at least one competitor in each competition (except the wheelchair races) offered, which included Basketball, Bocce, Golf as well as several athletics events.Well done Sorcha for taking first place in golf, despite the fact that we didn’t have any left handed clubs available for her. Special Olympica competitive events are open to athletes aged 8 and over -we had two of the youngest competitors as Liam and Tom had only just turned 8 by the qualifying date. There have been some very heavy post bags for our athlete’s post men as their medals were delivered over the past week.Some of our volunteers reminded us that they are also athletes and competed in the adult section of the challenges; Becca, Ciaran and Ruairí all winning medals in Bocce. We are especially delighted with this as we have plans for Bocce in our club. Several of our coaches are training as Bocce officials. Well done to everyone! No club sessions for a while as we enjoy the summer break. Looking forward to lots more fun and games in September and hopeful for real life competitions in 2021-2022.
Leithinis Donabate Portrane CCÉ will recommence classes for adults and children in traditional Irish music in late September or early October. Along with our classes in banjo, bodhrán, button accordion, fiddle, flute and tin whistle, we hope to also offer classes in concertina. A limited number of loan instruments will be available to those registered for classes. Due to the evolving public health guidelines, at the time of writing we do not know what format these classes will take. If you took classes with us last semester, we will email you about arrangements for enrolling. If you are a newcomer, please consult our website (www.leithinis.com) or, better still, register your interest by emailing us at leithinis@comhaltas.net.