McCann FitzGerald LLP donate €1,000 to The Anchor Club, a parent led club for children with additional needs based out of Seabury Parish Hall, Malahide, Co. Dublin.
The annual Senior Citizens’ Christmas party hosted by Malahide Lions Club took place on Saturday 29th November in the Grand Hotel. Over 120 local senior citizens attended the event. Santa greeted each guest with a small gift as they arrived and the guests then sat down to a delicious three course lunch. After the lunch musical entertainment was provided by Derek Keyes and he had the crowd up singing and dancing. The afternoon finished with a monster raffle.
Club President Rose Minton welcomed all the guests and thanked the Grand Hotel and the hotel staff. She also thanked the Lions and their friends for all their hard work in making the event such a success.
Malahide Lions Club is grateful for all those who sponsored tables and donated raffle prizes. We would also like to thank Londis & Supervalu - Malahide, Tony Byrne Menswear, Aine McCabe, Malahide Castle & Gardens, Minister Darragh O’Brien T.D, Cllr. Jimmy Guerin, Ann Graves T.D. and Linda Weldon. The Club is also grateful to the Grand Hotel for its generous support for this event; no effort was spared from the wonderfully festive presentation of the venue to the quality of the fare. It all added up to a very enjoyable Christmas celebration for our senior citizens.
Welcome back to training and a warm welcome to our new members. There is still time to sign up to our Fit4Life & Fit&Fab groups. Calling all club members age 12+ to attend our Women in Sport evening with Catherina McKiernan. The event will take place on Friday 6th February at Corduff NS. Another important date for your diary is Sunday 1st March for the ever popular Lusk 4 mile. We expect the event to sell out again this year so please register before it’s too late. Best of luck to all athletes with upcoming races and training plans.
Thanks to all The ICA Members, including Antonette Rea our ICA Dublin Federation president for turning up at our “Day of Action” along side the Lusk Men’s Shed. Rob O’ Donoghue TD counciller Mark Boland and Senator Lorraine Clifford Lee came out and supported us , as we continue our campaign for a permanent site for our members in the town. It was a bitterly cold day but we receive a very warm response from all who passed by the protest.
Antoinette Rea the ICA federation president held another craft day sponsored by DAA in ALSAA. fabric wreath, baby mobile and a memory box.
Thanks to Anne Smithers for arranging four lovely nights entertainment and
shopping in the beautiful Glen Eagles Hotel Killarney.
Our bowling team enjoyed a great night in ALSAA Teresa Killoran Maria Baird Frances Devane and Caroline O’Malley.
We entered Christmas snowmen entered in the ICA Dublin Federation crafts competition by Lusk members Maria Baird Monica Kilty and Frances Devane (came 3rd)
After all those recent celebrations we sat back and Relaxed in the cinema to the beautiful Music of Andre Rieu.
We held our last meeting of 2025 in the Scouts Den and Instead of Christmas presents, members contributed towards the local St. Vincent de Paul.
We began the new year and celebrated Nollaig Na mBan in the lovely Pasta Castello Donabate. We exchanged and regifted lovely Christmas presents with each other.
The girls recently enjoyed the unforgettable music of Tom Jones in the Lark Theatre brought to life by top tribute artist Danny Roman
We want to send our condolences to our friends Pat Kelly on the recent passing of her husband John Kelly and also Olive Fitzgerald on recent passing of her husband Paddy Fitzgerald.
The ladies, want to wish you all a happy new year and look forward to another wonderful year for 2026.
On Thursday 18th December 2025 Active Age for All held their annual Christmas Carols fund raiser in the community centre for St Francis Hospice.
It was very well attended and we were splendidly entertained by the Bright Sparks crèche childrens’ choir; the Active Age singing group with Muireann and the ‘No Name Band’ of Willie, Maurice, Brian and Fran. Non-alcoholic mulled wine, mince pies and lots of other goodies were served as everyone joined in with the singing.
Due to peoples generosity we had a huge array of prizes for the raffle; we actually ran out of raffle tickets but DPCC came to the rescue with extras. The first prize was a 32’’ Sony TV which was won by Sybil Harte-Weir, that was a nice start to Christmas Sybil!
As always the staff of DPCC excelled themselves in helping with every aspect of the event, a BIG THANK YOU to them all for helping to make the day such a success.
This year we raised €1500 for the Hospice, a wonderful foundation which provides palliative care for people, both in their own homes or in a dedicated centre or hospital, providing comfort and dignity for both patient and family at end of life.
Many thanks to the AAfA committee, DPCC and all who attended for making a real contribution to the true Christmas spirit.
In 2025, almost 1100 films were released in cinemas across the combined UK & Ireland market. However this is only a small part of the estimated 7,000 films produced each year globally.
Of those released in UK and Ireland, only 224 are widely screened meaning that smaller, less headline-grabbing films are harder to find in commercial cinemas.
This means that we are all missing out on some great films and the Lambay Cinema Club is doing all it can to bring these lesser-seen, but world-class movies to the peninsula.
The Lambay Cinema Club was born out of the Bleeding Pig cultural festival in 2022 and is run by volunteers. We have monthly screenings in the unique setting of St Patrick’s Church of Ireland church in The Square and aim to show the best of World and Irish cinema.
Everyone is welcome and we even provide the Tea and Biscuits!
For more details please visit www.lambaycinemaclub.com to get details of upcoming films. You can also sign up to our email list so you are kept informed of future screenings and also book tickets. Tickets are on sale one week in advance.
We’re proud to be rooted in our local area, and equally proud of the growing audience who support us each month. Whether you’re a regular or visiting for the first time, you’ll always find a warm welcome at Lambay Cinema Club.
In January Peninsula Pacers braved the elements and walked from Portmarnock Train Station to Malahide Village - mind you the weather forecast on all sites stated clear blue sky all day! Either climate change is daily or a Friday end of week weather report!
Anyway, a stop at Sands for coffee - remember Mango in the 70th & 80th - revived them all to stomp on to McGoverns Restaurant in Malahide - where a great meal was had.
We have a number of new leaders & will be sharing the walks - we hope to do one a month until June - most walks are from 8/12km and at a reasonable pace - reasonable fitness needed. Walks mostly on the flat but not always. Walks will include the Dodder & hopefully the New Newry to Omeath Greenway & maybe a trip back to lovely Leitrim and the Canal.
Further information for this month - please contact Breda on 086 8693243
Fingal Libraries is delighted to announce the opening of the new Donabate Library in Ballisk House. It comes following a €2 million refurbishment project which began in January 2025 and has transformed Ballisk House into a modern, welcoming public building at the heart of the community.
The new library was officially opened today by the Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Tom O’Leary, along with Chief Executive of Fingal County Council AnnMarie Farrelly, County Librarian Betty Boardman, County Architect Fionnuala May, the Director of Economic, Community and Cultural Development, John Quinlivan, and children from Gaelscoil na Mara.
Fingal County Council purchased Ballisk House in 2022, after the closure of Donabate Credit Union. The new library provides an improved, accessible space for reading, learning and community engagement and represents a significant investment in local services for the growing Donabate area.
The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr. Tom O’Leary said: “It is a pleasure to celebrate a milestone for Donabate and for Fingal, the opening of our new public library in Ballisk House. This remarkable new space will serve the people of Donabate for generations to come.”
Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly, said: “This building speaks to Fingal’s belief in the value of libraries as dynamic, forward-looking spaces that respond to evolving technologies and the needs of a growing community. We are committed to investing in our communities and creating places where everyone feels welcome.”
Among the many exciting features of this new facility is the introduction of the My Open Library service which is expected to begin shortly. With opening hours extended from 8am to 10pm, 365 days a year, this service gives library members the freedom to use the space beyond normal staffed hours including Sundays.
The celebration to mark the official opening of the new library included a circus performer, the Bohemian Strings string quartet and a magic show for the children of Gaelscoil na Mara from Reuben the Entertainer.
Director of Economic, Community and Cultural Development, John Quinlivan, said: “The opening of the new library marks the completion of phase one of a two-phase project. Planning for phase two — the expansion of this building and the enhancement of its facilities - will begin in early 2026 and is already at feasibility stage.”
Councillor Corina Johnston has welcomed the addition of an extra 33D bus service in Donabate following a prolonged campaign first being raised in the Dáil nearly seven years ago. However, Cllr Johnston also called on the NTA to also add an extra return service in the evenings.
Speaking on the issue, Cllr Johnston said, “Duncan Smith TD first raised the need for additional 33D bus services with the NTA at a meeting in Leinster House in August 2019 and have been pursuing the need for 33D additional bus services and public transport ever since. In April 2025 the NTA confirmed to us that additional 33D bus service would commence before the end of 2025. We were pleased to receive confirmation early last week from the NTA and Dublin Bus that the additional bus service will finally commence on 9th February at 7am. While welcoming this additional service in the mornings given the current bus is full to capacity, we were disappointed that no additional return service will be provided in the evening. This is unacceptable as trains as completely full at peak times with the population along the line increasing and Donabate population growing at a very fast rate.
“I was very disappointed to be informed that the Bus Connects implementation, which includes direct bus services from Portrane to Dublin airport and UCD via Dublin City centre, has been delayed to 2027. These services were to be implemented in 2023. I am calling on Minister for Transport and Local TD, Darragh O’Brien to intervene, ringfence the funding for these services and to ensure they are prioritised and delivered without further delay.””Donabate is one of the fastest growing areas in the country. Many planning permissions have been granted on the provision of improved public transport services. This is not the case in Donabate. Duncan and I intend to pursue this matter further and will keep you informed of developments, she added.
With a break for Ch ristmas and the New Year, no gigs in January for the Gerry & the Plonkers (the Men’s Shed music ground) and the plots in Turvey Allotments winterised, January was a quiet month by the normal standards of Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed. However, we have some photos, which weren’t available for last month’s issue, from the Plonkers’ Christmas gig in St. Michael’s House.
Although we had no special events in January, our usual weekly activities continued - exercise classes, music practice, croquet in Newbridge and a cuppa and chat on Thursday mornings. Also, plans are being made for some special outings over the coming months.
If you, or someone close to you would like to join us, please call our PRO, Jim, on 086-3694316. We always have a warm welcome for new members.
