By Siobhan O’Neill White

Thinking of organising an Easter egg hunt for your little ones? It doesn’t have to be EGG-stravagant
but with a little effort, you can make it really fun!We like to create riddles for our children to solve, to find the eggs and treats we have dotted around the house and garden. And if it rains, don’t worry because you can do it all indoors! All you need is chocolate and imagination! Here are a few ideas for riddles and hiding places:• In the place you sit down, look for chocolate upside down (under the sofa!) • Where you lay your sleepy head, find a yummy treat instead (inside their pillowcases) • Inside the pots and pans, rummage around with your hands (choc eggs in pots/pans) • Where we block the daylight out, is a treat for you to scout (behind the curtains) • School is out for 2 whole weeks but check your schoolbag for scrummy treats • Where dirty clothes are made clean, look near the washing machine! (laundry basket)Dealz have easter eggs from €1.50, ideal for egg hunts. They also have Easter decorations to pop up around the house. Dunnes Stores have fab Easter decorations too, such as pastel coloured wreaths. The Works stores have ‘Colour your own’ Easter egg hunt bags and Easter eggs kits, which are ideal for rainy days for keeping kids busy whilst using their imagination. Dealz, The Works and Dunnes are all in Ilac SC if you fancy a trip to get ‘Easter’ ready! As we are still dealing with Covid, we may not be able to get together with family this year. If you are unable to see someone you love, All Ireland Foods delivers wonderful chocolate hampers, which would cheer up anyone stuck at home with Covid over Easter! And if you are getting over Covid or suffering with colds and coughs, which are so common at this time of year, check out Salt Cave and Salt Cave Paradise in Balbriggan. Our daughter is asthmatic,and we take her there to inhale the salt in the air. It is so good for clearing out her sinuses. It’s helpful for anyone who has sinus issues or is getting over a cold. There are toys for the children to play with and massage chairs for the adults to lay back in and relax. We’ve been hit by Covid recently and found this helpful for recovery.As always, stay safe this Easter and if you need inspiration for activities at home, or places for a family day out, check out www.mams.ie

Fingal County Council`s Community Office, were delighted to be joined by Cllr Mary McCamley, deputising for Mayor of Fingal and Chief Executive AnnMarie Farrelly, in Millennium Park Blanchardstown to Celebrate International Women’s day on March 8thand Shine a light on Gender Bias and Safety Issues for Women. Also in attendance at the commemorative tree planting and symbolic walk event were local councillors and Director of Housing and Community Robert Burns with participants lighting the way as they walked in solidarity with women.Speaking at the event Cllr Mary McCamley said “While International Women’s day is an opportunity to Celebrate Women it’s also an opportunity to highlight challenges and issues that effect their lives.” Cllr McCamley spoke of the struggles of all girls and women in Ukraine at the moment and asked that they be remembered during the walk saying the walk was an opportunity to shine a light on issues and challenges women in society face so, “lets shine a light for women going forward”.Chief Executive AnnMarie Farrelly echoed Cllr McCamley’s sentiments for the women of Ukraine and said: “I am delighted to be here to mark this day with all of you and it is great to see so many local residents and groups along with so many local councillors which shows their commitment to their local constituents.” Over 100 people registered for the ‘Shine a Light’ event and many more people engaged in all of our International Women’s day events this week which is great to see. The Community Development team has been working hard on getting back out and engaging with local communities and groups and developing community initiatives. We look forward to opportunities for working with communities in the coming months.”

Staff at the HSE Contact Management Programme, in Dublin, celebrated its diverse and multicultural team through Holi, the Hindu festival of colours on our St Patrick’s Day . This year Holi was observed on sundown of Thursday, March 17th ending at sundown on Friday, March 18th.

Following the announcement that most Covid-19 restrictions were being lifted, Fingal County Council have been quick to confirm that they are ready to welcome a return of the annual St Patrick’s Day Parades to the streets of Fingal after a two-year absence. The Council has outlined that while official parades are set to take place in Swords, Blanchardstown and Balbriggan, community groups in Rush, Lusk and Skerries will also host celebrations on 17 March via the Council’s Festival and Events Funding Scheme. The theme this year is “Essential Workers”, chosen to thank the thousands of frontline staff for their tremendous hard work and dedication throughout the pandemic. The Council is also looking to make it a truly green parade by making it a carbon neutral event. Announcing the parades, Mayor of Fingal Cllr Seána Ó Rodaigh said: “The annual St Patrick’s Day parades held across the County have always been a highlight on the events calendar, so I am absolutely thrilled that we are able to get the crowds back once again where they can enjoy a full day of music, song and dance. “Reducing carbon emissions is very much at the heart of our thinking and to that end we want to be the first local authority in Ireland to go non-combustion engine in our parades. That’s why we are asking that only electric or hybrid vehicles be used on the routes, along with anyone who is choosing to run, scoot, cycle, or walk. “Táim ag súil go mór le gach duine a fheiceáil ag ceiliúradh don chéad uair le cúpla bliain anuas. Ocáid iontach a bheidh ann!” Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly, said: “After such a long wait, this is a fantastic opportunity for Fingal residents to come together to celebrate. It’s also a time for the many local groups and businesses we have to get involved in creating a wonderful atmosphere at what is always one of the most popular events of the year.” The Council is inviting local businesses, organisations, youth clubs, sports clubs, schools and other groups from across the County to participate in these parades and help make this year’s celebrations truly memorable.Groups are being encouraged to incorporate the “Essential Workers” theme as part of their parade effort. Anyone interested in taking part in any of the parades should contact Davis Events at fingal@davisevents.ie or register via fingalparades.com. Participation is free and applications close on 17 February.

Are you interested in volunteering? Do you have a few hours to spare a week? ‘Remember us’ are holding a Volunteer Recruitment Evening on: Friday 25th March 7.30 – 9pm at the ‘Remember Us’ Base, Unit 5 Balbriggan Retail Park, Dublin Rd. Balbriggan K32K002 . We have opportunities for: activity assistants .The Days and times we are looking for volnteers are - Monday mornings 10am – 1pm Monday afternoons 4pm – 6pm .Tuesday afternoons 4pm-6pm Wednesday afternoons 4pm – 6pm Thursday mornings 10am – 1pm and Thursday afternoons 4pm –6pm - Friday night’s 7 – 9 Saturday’s various times depending on what we are doing. We also require cleaners on a few days per week and helpers for fundraisng events , at various times during the year. Why not come along and have a chat with us, see our state of the art base and see some of our members in action.In the meantime, check out our website rememberus.ie. If you have any queries’ please contact Nora or Anne on 0860457003 or email hello@rememberus.ie .

Operation Transformation Leader and Swords resident Katie Jones along with the Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Seána Ó Rodaigh, joined enthusiastic walkers on Saturday January 16th in Holywell Park to complete a 3k walk organised by Fingal County Council Sport Office in conjunction with Operation Transformation. The annual walk is supported by Sport Ireland in association with the RTE TV show and provides an opportunity for people to get more physically active. Mayor of Fingal Cllr Seána Ó Rodaigh said: “This was a perfect opportunity for people to kick start their ‘get fit’ New Year resolutions with a short fun walk and to hopefully use it to start exercising on a regular basis. It was fantastic to have Katie here today to show her our support as she embarks on her journey on Operation Transformation” Holywell park has seen a number of upgrades in the last few years, including the addition of fitness equipment and provides an ideal location to get those steps in around the 800m path. If you want to continue walking or running in 2022 many GAA clubs are taking part in the ‘Ireland Lights Up’ initiative by turning on their floodlights and opening their walking tracks to the community for exercise. Fingal’s many parks and 88km of coastline provide great locations to enjoy the outdoor lifestyle and there are also 6 adult parkrun events (5km) and 5 junior parkrun events (2km) in Fingal offering free weekly timed runs, for information see parkrun.ie. For more information on getting physically active check Fingal County Council Sports Office on social media or learning.fingal.ie

Fingal County Council has announced that Robert Burns has taken up the role of Director for Housing and Community Development from 24 January. Robert joins the council’s executive team at a time when Fingal has committed over €390 million to deliver a significant housing programme under the Government’s Housing for All initiative. He is taking over the role from Liam Burke who has been the Acting Director of Fingal’s Housing and Community Development team following the departure of Margaret Geraghty last May to the Housing Delivery Co-ordination Office at the Local Government Management Agency. Welcoming the appointment, Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly said: “We are delighted to be able to bring someone of Robert’s calibre to Fingal. Having his extensive experience and expertise on board will be invaluable to help drive the county to reach its ambitions around housing provision as well as developing the many community assets that benefit everyone who lives, works or visits here. On starting his new role, Mr Burns said: “This is an exciting time to be at the helm of one of the key departments within Fingal and I’m looking forward to playing a leading role in helping to build upon the excellent work already underway.“I will be particularly keen to work with local communities and stakeholder groups to help ensure there is not only good quality housing built across the county, but that we can also deliver a strong regeneration and development programme which can transform and improve neighbourhoods for residents and visitors alike.” Currently Fingal manages and maintains a stock of around 6,000 homes and is working on the development of landbanks at Church Fields in Dublin 15, Ballymastone in Donabate and Hayestown in Rush. A graduate of Queens University Belfast, Robert has extensive experience as an engineering consultant and also worked at Irish Rail where he specialised in the project management of infrastructure projects. Robert has a keen interest in the fields of housing, sustainable development, transportation, community development, town and village renewal and climate action.

Maria Butterly will launch her new song ‘HERO’ produced by Bill Shanley and recorded in the world famous Windmill Lane Recording Studios in Naul this month. This song touches on an important and hot topic hitting young teens today-bullying. There is an interesting Story behind Maria’s new single ‘HERO’.It is a story of a young teen being called names in school, who dreams up a fictional hero character that represents the inner strength within us all, which allows us to confront and overcome the challenges presented to us whether internal or external. And addresses anti-social behaviour, bullying, and the challenges young students can be faced with in their world! Music has the power to connect with people and this new single from Maria ‘HERO’ is another example of that. A lot of my songs are inspired from true stories, some my own and some of others like this one. It’s radio friendly and the story is a good talking point!…. Not so long ago, I received a handwritten letter from an LMFM listener who was on the verge of taking his own life at 1am in the morning, until he heard my song ‘ANGEL’ being played on LMFM radio, he said the words of the song lifted him and brought him comfort and most of all ‘Hope’ that night and stopped him from doing the unthinkable. He is still with us today!

LAUNCH GIG: Friday 11th February, 2022.
Venue: Seamus Ennis Arts Centre,
Naul, Co Dublin.
Tickets are limited! €16 Available from TSEAC.i or mariabutterly.com

Community and voluntary groups in Fingal are invited to apply for funding under the 2022 Community Activities Fund.The Community Activities Fund (CAF) is a once-off fund that provides grants to assist community and voluntary groups with facilities upgrades, equipment purchase and running costs. The CAF is funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development with Fingal allocated €301,042 in funding for groups across the county. The CAF is administered by Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) in each Local Authority area. It is part of the wider Community Enhancement Programme, which has funded over 8,000 projects in urban and rural communities throughout Ireland since first being launched in 2018. Applications are now being sought from community and voluntary groups in Fingal for grants up to a maximum of €15,000 with a closing date for applications of Friday, February 18, 2022 at 6:00 pm. Commenting on the announcement, AnnMarie Farrelly, Chief Executive of Fingal County Council said: “The work of the community and voluntary sector is highly valued by Fingal County Council.The Community Activities Fund will assist community groups with the valuable work they do within our communities. I would advise community groups to examine the CAF and avail of the opportunity to apply for funding if it is relevant to their activities.” Declan Ryan, Chief Officer of the Fingal Local Community Development Committee added: “The Community Activities Fund comes from within the Community Enhancement Programme group of funds. These funds have been availed of widely by community groups in Fingal in recent years, which has resulted in valuable funding being distributed to groups in disadvantaged areas in particular. The new CAF has the added benefit of allowing applications for both capital costs and operating costs. This added flexibility is very welcome. The Fingal LCDC looks forward to supporting the delivery of this scheme.” Full details on the 2022 Community Activities Fund and how to apply online can be accessed at submit.link/Ch.

Fingal County Council Arts Office partnered with Word’s Ireland to provide professional development opportunities to support Fingal writers through the Word’s Ireland National Mentoring Programme. Four local writers, Niamh Donnelly, Mark Kielty, Shauna Smullen and Lisa Walsh have been selected by Words Ireland to receive professional literary mentoring over the next eight months from an acclaimed Irish writer of their choice.Niamh Donnelly is a writer from Dublin. Her fiction has been published in The Irish Times, The Ogham Stone, The Dublin Review, and elsewhere. She is also an arts journalist and was shortlisted for Critic of the Year at the 2019 Newsbrands Ireland Journalism Awards. She is currently working on a novel, provisionally titled Onboarding. Her writing focuses on any varied themes such as ambition, and also disillusion and cultural change.Mark Kielty is a Dublin based author who has already been published in four anthologies with his writing group, Cupán Fae. In 2021, he published his first short comic in Turning Roads: Irish Folklore Stories with Limit Break Comics. He writes mostly fantasy along with sci-fi, and superhero stories. When he’s not writing, he’s playing hurling or volunteering as a basketball coach with the Special Olympics. Also He is also currently working very hard on writing his first ever full length novel. Shauna Smullen is the co-editor of The Liminal Review. She is working on a collection of short stories about the effects of physical and emotional trauma on the body. Her intriguing and very interesting work has most recently was piblished and appeared in The Madrigal and also This is Not Where I Belong.Last but not least is Lisa Walsh is an emerging working class writer from Ballymun, now living in Santry. She began writing as a participant on the Write On course facilitated by Colm Keegan, in the Axis, Ballymun in 2013 at the age of 43. Most recently, she has completed the Stinging Fly’s six-month fiction workshop 2020, as run, in association with the Irish Writers Centre. Lisa is a playwright and is in the process of developing and furthering her skills as a novel and short story writer, creating new writing based on both her experiences growing up in Ballymun and as a professionally qualified social worker.