Despite running a rigorous recruitment campaign over the last few months, the Council will be unable to put lifeguards at all its designated bathing areas. This shortage of available lifeguards will leave some beaches exposed during the summer, with patrols not possible on all popular beaches. Beachgoers are reminded that if there’s a red over yellow flag flying from the lifeguard station, a lifeguard is present and it is safe to swim. A red flag means there is a lifeguard on duty, but it is not safe to swim. No flag means there is no lifeguard on duty. A lifeguard is only on duty in the summer months from 11am to 7pm as follows: Every day during July & August (N.B. locations will be dependent on staffing availability), - The first two weekends in September (Blue Flag Beaches only. To maximize beach safety and minimize potential hazards, Fingal wants beach goers to keep the following tips in mind: (1) Swim in designated areas: (2) Keep a close eye on children: (3) Follow lifeguard instructions: (4) Please do not bring inflatable toys to the beach:(5) Avoid alcohol and drugs: Drinking alcohol is forbidden under Fingal County Council beach bye- laws. Remember that alcohol and drugs also impair judgement and coordination, increasing the risk of accidents in the water. Stay sober and alert while enjoying the beach. (6) Be aware of weather conditions: (7) Learn basic water safety: If you’re not a confident swimmer,please consider taking swimming lessons or familiarise yourself with basic water safety techniques. (8) Stay hydrated and use sun protection: Protect yourself from the sun’s harmful rays by wearing sunscreen, a hat, and sunglasses. Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and avoid heat-related illnesses.(9) Leave No Trace: Respect the environment by cleaning up after yourself and disposing of trash in designated bins.Take your rubbish home with you, if our bins are full. Also, please do not bring BBQs to our beaches, as they can lead to serious burns if left behind. (10) Be alert: Where an area is not being lifeguarded and you get into trouble or see someone else in difficulty, dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Coast Guard. By adhering to these guidelines and being responsible beach goers, we can all contribute to a safer and more enjoyable summer experience.

In his inaugural address after his recent election as Mayor Of Fingal, Cllr Adrian Henchy promised to be a “Mayor for All”. This is an excerpt from that speech: “Is mór an onóir dom bheith tofa mar Mhéara Fhine Gall inniú ag sibhse mo chuid comhghleacaithe anseo inniú inár Seomra Comhairle.Buíochas ó chroí le gach duine a thug tacaíocht dom, agus buíochas freisin le gach comhairleoir is gach ball foirne den ár gComhairle a oibreann go dian gach lá ar son na saoránaigh áitiúla.Geallaimse do mhuintir Fhine Gall go ndéanfaidh mé mo dhícheall gach lá ar bhur son, agus mar Mhéara, ní hamháín ar son muitir mo thoghcheantair féin, Port Reachrainn, Domhnach Bat, Rois Eó, Lusca, Baile Bachaille, Baile Gháire, An Seanbhaile, An Aill agus Baile Scadán, ach as son gach duine a chónaíonn, a oibríonn agus a thugann cuairt i gContae Fhine Gall.

It was both humbling and a great honour for me to be elected as the 18th Mayor of Fingal and to also receive such a strong mandate from my fellow Councillors who entrusted me with their support for this highly respected and prestigious role.

At this time I of course want to especially thank my family for their encouragement and unwavering support at all times.I also want to very much remember the last person who served as Mayor of Fingal from Donabate and that was Gerry McGuire in 2011. Sadly Gerry passed earlier this year and is greatly missed by his family, relatives, friends and wider community. It would be remiss of me not to pay tribute to the first ever Mayor of Fingal, a Portrane man Sean Ryan who went onto be an outstanding public representative and TD for Fingal. I want to welcome Seáns brother Brendan whose first meeting was the election of Mayor in his new role of Councillor within the Skerries/Balbriggan ward having replaced Seána O Rodaigh. It has been one of the privileges of my life to serve the good people of Portrane, Donabate over the last 9 years within Fingal County Council and I now look forward to serving all of the people of Fingal over the next 12 months.

I fully believe in truly been a Mayor for All where every citizen has a right to not only have their voice heard but to also achieve their dreams & aspirations. I am passionate about making our communities not only better places to live, but to be safe and wonderful to visit. Fingal is an incredible place, full of incredible people which means we can continue to build an incredible future. We have so much to be proud off and yet so many opportunities to build an even brighter future. I promise to give it my very best every day, and as Mayor, not just for the people of my own electoral area, Portrane, Donabate, Rush, Lusk, Ballyboughal, Garristown, Oldtown, the Naul, & Balscadden, but for everyone who lives, works and visits Fingal. Go Raibh Mile Maith Agaibh.

Just like that our 5th year in operation has come to an end and what a year! Our Young Athlete Program continues, and we welcomed many new members throughout the year. This group cater to athletes aged 4 years + and focuses on gaining gross motor skills and introducing the basic skills of various sports e.g.,running, throwing, catching, balancing, turn-taking, striking, etc.,all through fun and games. Our three basketball groups started this year, and they have all progressed so well. We have a ‘Come and try’ basketball’ team and a girls’ preteen/teen team training on Thursday evenings. On Fridays, our teen boys’ team meets up. The athletics club meets on Saturday mornings. Over the past year, their members have been introduced to the rules of athletics meets and have been training hard to master them. They have recently trained on the ALSAA track and in the National Indoor Arena and tried out new events like the high jump and the long jump. Our wonderful gymnastics club has gone from strength to strength and the progress of the gymnasts is very impressive. It is hard to believe that they have only been training for less than 10 months. They finished off their fantastic year by hosting an interclub gymnastics competition with Tivoli Tigers Special Olympics Club.None of these clubs could exist without our amazing volunteers and coaches. We would like to publicly thank each and every one of them and look forward to seeing them and all our athletes when the club starts back in September. We are always looking for volunteers to give just a few hours a week with our club or if you would like to enquire about your child joining our club, please email us at dpsoclub@gmail.com

The Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival people are hard at work putting the preparations in place for the upcoming festival in September. From Thursday 7th to Sunday 17th September, venues across the peninsula will play host to lots of cultural activities for festival-goers of all ages and all cultural tastes. This year, the programme for the festival will include all the tried and tested favourites including: Short Film Festival, a feast of film for fans of the silver screen; Mol an Óige, showcasing some fun-sized talent on the peninsula; PizzaTrad, or Céilí dancing and Pizza in the sun; A Gala Concert, featuring the Young Dublin Symphonia and more;Art and Craft Workshops for children and adults; Casino Night, with gambling fun and music and dancing till late; Short plays from Donabate/Portrane Dramatic Society; Guided tour of historic St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland; Sing-a-longs featuring any singer, any song; and lots more.

This year the festival is embracing technology with 2 workshops called “Make a Movie on your Mobile Phone”, one session for 12-18 year-olds and one session for adults. A hand-held Gimble worth €165 will be presented to the best movie in the 12-18 year-old workshop. Most of the events of the Bleeding Pig Festival are free of charge, however there is a small fee for some of the great workshops and events. The number of attendees for most of the workshops is limited and reserving a place is essential. Booking is through Eventbrite and reservation opens on August 18th 2023. Full details of all the workshops and events that require booking are on the Bleeding Pig website and Facebook page. The first event in the Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival will be a fund-raising Pub Quiz in Keelings on Wednesday 23rd August. Tickets are €10 per person. Tickets can be reserved in advance from Emer on 0863691871. A raffle will be held throughout the festival, with prizes of some beautiful works of art by local artists.Tickets for the raffle will be on sale at all festival events. The Bleeding Pig Festival will hold a bag-pack on the weekend of 25th August, and brochures for the festival will be available at that time. Keep an eye on the Bleeding Pig Festival website and Facebook for details of all events. The organisers would like to thank all our generous sponsors, without their support the festival could not happen.Check out bleedingpig.ie and Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival Facebook page for full details about all the events in the festival, and come along in September and enjoy some local culture!

Donabate Parish Hall has run a number of successful camps this year to cater for local kids they are generally of a cultural & creative nature. They aim to offer a variety of camps to cater for all interests. The most recent was the Lego bricks 4 Kids Summer Camp which was extremely popular with nearly 30 kids taking part. The organiser Alison Bosonnet was delighted with the turnout and said the hall is fab a great space. Regular classes and activities include Irish dancing, Leithinis, Traditional Music, Mother and Baby Group and Cards to name a few! If you are interested in finding out more about the camps and classes or in using the hall for some community activity or event please contact the Parish Office on 01 8434574.

The Mayor of Fingal said recently, “As many people across Donabate Portrane will have seen in recent months an appeal went out from a small group of local residents from the peninsula who were anxious to restore and improve the grave in Donabate Cemetery of the late Eddie Guerrini who was affectionally known locally as “ Neddie”. Cllr Henchy said, “ I am delighted to say this appeal has been a wonderful success and the restoration of “ Neddie’s” grave has been completed in recent months. While the local residents behind this wonderful initiative want to remain anonymous, I just wanted to say a massive thanks as a public representative of my local community for completing such a benevolent kind gesture. It is greatly appreciated.

Donabate Village Open Air Art Exhibition is happening in August! Come take a walk down our open air Art Gallery on Uisce Eireann’s railings at The Hand from 11am to 5pm, Saturday & Sunday. If you are interested in showing your work, there are a few places available. Make contact with Peninsula Art Group by email to mareseart@eircom.net.

Many thanks for the help, advice and support from Corina Johnston, Labour Party local Area Representative. Duncan Smith, TD, Labour Party. Rafe Costigan, Senior Community Officer, Fingal County Council and Cllr Dean Mulligan,Independent4Change.

Fr. Pat Reilly celebrated his Golden Jubilee of his Ordination recently in St. Patrick’s Church, Donabate with Mass celebrated by Fr. Pat and con-celebrated by Fr. Augustine, Fr. Paddy O’Byrne, Fr. Patrick Hannon and Fr. Richard Sheehy.

Fr. Pat’s family and friends took part in the Readings and Music alongside our Parish Choir..After Mass refreshments were served in the marquee on the green and the music was provided by our Folk group. It was a wonderful evening of celebration marking Fr. Pat’s 50 years serving God with 17 of those years serving the people of Donabate, Portrane and Balheary. We congratulate Fr. Pat on his 50 years and wish him many more happy and healthy years serving the Lord.

Last month members of Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed had two very different history lessons. The warm humid conditions in the earlier part of the month provided the perfect conditions for phytophthora infestans, the potato blight fungus that caused the Famine. So, our entire crop of potatoes at our plots at Turvey Allotments was lost, despite our best efforts. Thankfully the other plants – onions, scallions, cabbage and tomatoes – were not affected. Obviously, the inconvenience and disappointment of our loss was nothing compared to what our ancestors experienced in the 1840s. Our second history lesson was at the Irish Military Museum, near Collon Co. Meath, a hands-on exhibition of weapons and uniforms ranging from the Viking raids to the Vietnam War. If you’d like to join us, please contact Jim on 086-3694316.

Leithinis Donabate Portrane CCE’s new term of lessons resume in September. If you are interested in learning a traditional Irish instrument in a relaxed and friendly setting please email us at leithinis@comhaltas.netand we will get back to you with details.

We offer lessons in Tin Whistle, Bodhran Fiddle, Concertina , Accordion and Banjo Classes are small and our teachers are talented and experienced musicians.Classes are held on Monday evenings in the Donabate Portrane Educate Together School.

In addition to classes we have twice monthly ( every 2nd Friday) slow sessions led by Erin in the Parish Hall. This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to practice their tunes. We have recently started meeting with other Comhaltas branches to play some tunes Cluain Tarbh CCE’s junior members joined us in the grounds of the Parish Hall in June and a great afternoon was had by all. We are looking forward to visiting their branch over the next few months.The Brook Pub in Portrane host a Traditional Irish Music session on the first Tuesday of every month. The session starts at 7.30pm. This has proved to be very popular. Experienced traditional Irish Musicians come from all areas of the North County to play. Everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy a great evening of entertainment. For further information on our branch please see our webpage leithinis.com and our Facebook page Comhaltas Leithinis Donabate Portrane CCE.