The “Magic of Beauty and Creativity | Bewitch” event, organised by Bewitch Your Beauty and Kortell House of Beauty in Swords, was a tremendous success and attracted a large number of visitors from Swords and across Dublin.

The event brought together talented local women, artisans, and small businesses showcasing handmade jewellery, artwork, candles, gifts, home-baked goods, beauty products, and many other unique creations. The quality, creativity, and craftsmanship on display were truly exceptional, and visitors were delighted by both the variety of products and the warm, welcoming atmosphere throughout the day.

Guests enjoyed meeting local makers, discovering new businesses, receiving beauty consultations, and taking advantage of exclusive offers available during the event.

One of the highlights of the day was our raffle, featuring a wide range of valuable prizes generously donated by local sponsors, as well as beauty treatments and gift vouchers from Bewitch Your Beauty and Kortell House of Beauty. The raffle created great excitement and added to the festive atmosphere of the event.

The feedback from visitors was overwhelmingly positive. Many people commented on how much they enjoyed supporting local businesses, discovering unique handmade products, and spending time at such a friendly and inspiring community event.

At Bewitch Your Beauty and Kortell House of Beauty, we are proud to be more than just beauty salons. Alongside providing professional beauty and wellness services, we are passionate about supporting our local community, promoting women-led businesses, and creating opportunities for talented local artisans to showcase their work. Events like this help bring people together, encourage collaboration, and celebrate creativity within our community.

The success of the event has inspired us to continue organising similar community-focused events in the future.

To mark UNESCO’s World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, the third Multicultural Day was celebrated at St Catherine’s National School on Friday 22nd May. This event has been run previously in 2018 and 2024 and this year’s event brought new countries and cultures to the exhibition.

The following countries were represented with a stand in the hall: Australia, Brazil, Central African Republic, Congo, France, Great Britain, India, Ireland, Mauritius, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

Many of the stands displayed traditional artefacts and offered food from the country on display but the interpretation by some country’s representatives was quite broad. The Great Britain table featured a spotlight on Bristol and featured a model of Concorde and a large Darth Vader figure (played by Bristolian actor David Prowse in the original trilogy). The Australia table featured a Bluey playset which was complemented by the more traditional boomerang. Other sights included a mini Eiffel tower and a Christ The Redeemer statue displayed on France and Brazil’s stands respectively. One feature from the 2024 event that returned for 2026 was the long queue for food at the stand for Nigeria!

In addition to the exhibition stands, visitors to the event took part in an interactive Multicultural quiz to test their knowledge of flags, capital cities, patron saints and the world’s biggest rivers!

The atmosphere in the hall was wonderful, helped in no small part by musical accompaniment from CeltAfrik, a musical quartet that performs a fusion of African and Irish music, led by Dr. John Nutekpor. Dr. Nutekpor is a performing arts teacher who regularly visits the school to give music lessons to groups of pupils.

Hundreds of people came into the school hall to sample the sights, sounds and tastes of the various countries and cultures. It was fantastic to see many people from around the town, including past pupils and their parents, coming together to celebrate our diversity as well as the things that we all love and have in common.

Minister for Education and Youth Hildegarde Naughton today (Friday) officially opened the new school building at Rush and Lusk Educate Together National School, marking a significant milestone for pupils, staff and families in one of Dublin’s fastest-growing communities.

The state-of-the-art facility provides modern classrooms and specialist educational supports, creating a high-quality learning environment designed to meet the needs of current and future generations of pupils.

The opening marks the culmination of years of commitment, planning and collaboration between school leadership, the Board of Management, parents, Educate Together and the wider school community, whose shared vision has helped bring the project to fruition.

Speaking ahead of the official opening, Minister Naughton said: “It is a great pleasure to join the school community today to celebrate the opening of this wonderful new building for Rush and Lusk Educate Together National School. This is a landmark day for the school and for the wider community it serves.

“This modern facility will provide pupils with an excellent environment in which to learn, grow and thrive. It will support high quality teaching and learning while also creating a space where friendships are formed, confidence is built and young people are supported to achieve their full potential.”

The Minister acknowledged the work of all those involved in delivering the project and paid tribute to the school’s strong inclusive ethos.

“I want to thank everyone who played a role in making this day possible, from school leaders and staff to parents, Educate Together as patron and the wider school community. Their commitment and determination have helped deliver a fantastic facility for local children and families.

“Educate Together schools are built on principles of equality, inclusion and respect and those values are clearly evident in Rush and Lusk Educate Together. Every child is welcomed and supported to be themselves.”

Minister Naughton wished the entire school community continued success in their new surroundings and thanked pupils, staff and families for the warm welcome extended during the visit.

There’s a great sense of pride around Rush this month as volunteers with Rush Tidy Towns gear up for the annual judging visit. Across the town, dedicated teams have been busy with litter picking, planting, painting, and general upkeep, ensuring Rush is presented at its very best.

The strong community spirit has been evident everywhere, with residents and local volunteers working together to enhance the town’s appearance. These efforts highlight not just the beauty of Rush, but the shared commitment to maintaining it.

A standout initiative this month is the introduction of a toy library on Rush South Beach. Aimed at families, it provides shared beach toys while encouraging a “leave no trace” approach and promoting sustainability among younger visitors.

As judging approaches, Rush Tidy Towns extends sincere thanks to everyone who has contributed. The ongoing support and enthusiasm continue to make a real difference in keeping Rush a place we can all be proud of.

By Bríd the Cow, County Dublin

I read with great concern (Malahide Local, June 2026) that my sisters and I are once again being blamed for climate change. Apparently, after 10,000 years of providing milk, cheese, butter, leather, fertiliser, and the occasional scenic postcard, we have become Public Enemy Number One.

Now, I don’t wish to point a hoof at anyone, but while you humans are busy counting my burps, perhaps you could glance over the hedge at a few other developments.

Before I continue, let me be fair. Methane matters. No sensible cow would deny it. But climate debates become rather lopsided when cows are singled out while other major producers of emissions receive far less attention.

For example, data centres now consume 22% of all metered electricity in Ireland. Twenty-two percent!

That’s as if one greedy heifer guzzled more than a fifth of the farm’s silage all by herself. Even the sheep would start asking questions.

Those big blinking computers also need vast amounts of water for cooling.

I ask you: when was the last time a meadow needed air-conditioning?

A data centre may process information. We process grass.

And that grass, which humans cannot eat, becomes milk, cheese, butter, yoghurt, and countless other foods. Along the way, we help support farming families, rural communities, local businesses, and landscapes that millions of visitors come here to admire.
By all means, let’s talk about methane. Let’s invest in cleaner farming and reduce emissions wherever we can. All I ask is that the conversation be balanced.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s a patch of clover over yonder with my name on it.

The club were delighted to hold a 24 hour relay for Charity in mid June. Multiple members completed a 5k run from the Hub in 30 minute segments throughout the 24 hours. There were some outstanding achievements during the month. Robyn Carey set a new Junior Leinster Championship record of 2:12.86 in the 800m. At the other end of the spectrum, Peter Doyle completed the 85km Comrades Ultra Marathon in South Africa. Congratulations to the Happy Couple, Justin and Aishling on their recent wedding. It’s time to register for our summer race, the Man O War Round. It’s a 7km route where you’ll get to experience some fabulous scenic views.

Did you know that over 1,700 people in Lusk work remotely? That’s 36% of the town’s workforce — a quiet but significant shift in how our community lives and works. Grow Remote Lusk exists to make that shift visible, and to turn it into something social.
We’re a volunteer-led local chapter of Grow Remote, an Irish non-profit social enterprise. Our mission is simple: give remote and hybrid workers in Lusk a reason to show up locally, connect with their neighbours, and feel part of the community — not just residents who happen to work from home.

Since launching in 2024, we’ve run free, informal events: monthly brunches at Skinny Batch Bakery, after-work socials at Murray’s Lounge, a guided tour of Lusk’s Round Tower and Belfry, and walks in the local area. Every event is free. Every event is open to all.

May was a particularly good month. On 24 May, we teamed up with the Lusk Camera Group for a photography walk and nature stroll at Turvey Nature Reserve — a lovely afternoon along the estuary trails, even if the birds had clearly decided it was too warm to make an appearance. It was our first collaboration with the Camera Group, and one we’re keen to build on.

The following Friday, our monthly brunch at Skinny Batch brought together seven people — including several new faces who found us through a local board games group forming in Lusk. The conversation ranged from remote work to community ideas, and one of our new attendees — an arts teacher — raised the possibility of running community arts workshops using Skinny Batch’s studio space. Exactly the kind of idea that starts over coffee and might just become something real.

In June, we’re co-hosting an after-work Board Games Night with the Lusk Board Game Group at Murray’s Lounge on 24 June, and our regular monthly brunch continues on Friday 27 June at 12:15 PM at Skinny Batch.

This is what Grow Remote Lusk is becoming: not just a brunch, but a platform for the kind of community connections that happen when people who live and work locally start actually meeting each other.

All events are free. Find what’s coming up at https://bit.ly/LuskCollection or email us at community@growremote.ie — we’d love to see you there.

Flavio & Conor, Local Leaders, Grow Remote Lusk

Pictured are the members of Lusk Senior Citizens at their Friday Morning Club. The members enjoyed their Art Classes and also celebrating Rose Hussey’s 90th and Mary Hogan’s 91st Birthdays!

The Celbridge & Straffan Pilgrimage to Lourdes tournaments and 10 of us enjoyed a fantastic trip lead by father Philip Curren and Kieran Troy

There was an international military pilgrimage with brass bands from all over the world.

We visited the village of Bartrès where Saint Bernadette spent her early years

The members of the Top Shop Golf Society recently had outings to Ballymascanlon and Swords Golf Clubs that were sponsored by Amble Storage and The Top Shop Bar & lounge for the Ballymascanlon outing.

The winners were, Bernard Grimes, overall, Category 1, Brian Sandford, Category 2, Tanya Mulligan, front 9, Padraig Lehany, Back 9, Graham Sandford.

Swords Open, was Sponsored by East Coast Blinds and Conrad Murray of The Top Shop. Another great day out. Winners were, overall Matt Byrne, Category 1, Robbie Moore, Category 2, Tanya Mulligan, Front 9, Padraig Lehany, Back 9, Ray Kelly, Birdie winner, Robbie Moore.

Thanks to all our sponsors. If you want to join us call Martin Russell 087 1923059.