Members of Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Aideen Hoey last month. Despite a break in our activities because so many members were away, a few of us were able to attend her funeral mass in the Church of the Nativity, Beaumont to say a final farewell to our friend and to express our condolences to her family.

In 2019, Aideen delivered two HSE-sponsored Healthy Eating courses to members of our shed. She is fondly remembered not just for the professional, informative and entertaining delivery of the courses, but more importantly for her good humour and ability to join in with the banter of the Shed. Aideen will be sadly missed by all who knew her. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam.

After a short break last month, Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed is resuming our normal activities this month. Anyone interested in joining us should contact our PRO, Jim, on 086-3694316.

Corina Johnston, Local Area Representative is calling for the bad bend road realignment works on the Hearse Road to urgently proceed. Johnston said; “ The bad bend on the Hearse Road, Donabate is a notorious accident black spot with many regular road traffic incidents resulting in numerous injuries, and sadly a fatality on this stretch of road. “Johnston continued;”In October 2019 Fingal County Council’s Hearse Road Bend Realignment project went through a public consultation process and was approved by the council in 2020.”Johnston added;”Ever since we have highlighted the need for this project to commence on health and safety grounds. In response Fingal County Council have recently informed us that “This project will be assessed for consistency with the Donabate Distributor Road Phase 2 (Donabate- Lissenhall) project. A consultant is currently being appointed to begin the feasibility and options assessment process for this project, and options for implementation will follow on over the course of the next 12-18 months.” Johnston said;” While welcoming the upcoming feasibility and options assessment for the much needed Hearse Road upgrade it is obvious to me that this major project is at least a decade away. On health and safety grounds we cannot wait for that length of time before resolving the issue at this location. Last week another traffic accident occurred at this bend which reinforces the need for action. “ Johnston concluded; “On health and safety grounds It is totally unacceptable that this stand alone scheme approved by the council in 2020 is now being considered as part of the main Hearse Road upgrade project which is many years away. This position is totally unacceptable and we intend to pursue it until this urgent scheme is prioritised and approved by Fingal County Council.”

Softball Ireland and Fingal County Council have officially launched the Women’s Softball World Cup Group A, which will be held in Bremore Castle, Balbriggan from July 11th to 15th 2023. Ireland’s national women’s softball team will be joined in Group A by the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Botswana and Chinese Taipei, with some of the biggest names in the sport descending on Fingal to take part in the competition. Tickets start from €15 and can be found and purchased on softballwcireland.ie/
Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Adrian Henchy was on hand to officially launch Ireland’s hosting of the Women’s Softball World Cup Group A at Bremore Castle, Balbriggan. On the field, Great Britain and Australia will get the event underway from 11am on Tuesday July 11th, followed by the United States v Chinese Taipei from 2pm, before the hosts take on Botswana from 6.30pm.Tickets for the Women’s Softball World Cup group stage are available now and day passes are €15, weekly passes are €60 and a weekly family pass (2 Adult & 2 Children) is €145. For more information and for tickets check out our website softballwcireland.ie or tickets.ie.

Over 300 kids attended the ground recently for a school blitz as kids from St Theresa’s NS and Balbriggan Educate Together NS who have had weekly sessions in their school enjoyed the experience of playing at a cricket ground. We hope to see many of them down to our rapidly growing Blasters on Friday evenings at 6pm Massive well done to Lara Maritz for organising it along with our huge team of club coaches.

Glebe North U13’s took part in an end of season tournament in Kinsealy recently coming away as plate winners on the day. Well done to all the team who only conceded 2 goals across the four games with some brilliant performances put in in the sweltering heat. Thanks to Kinsealy for organising and all the other teams that took part as the games were played in a great spirit.

It was a stunning night recently for Irish 1500m running at the World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze Meet in Nice, with both Balbriggan’s Andrew Coscoran and Tyrone native Nick Griggs breaking the Irish Senior and U20 national records respectively. Coscoran crossed in 3:32.68NR to take yet another win on the Continental Tour, breaking his won 33.33. 49 record from indoors in Birmingham earlier this year. The time betters Ray Flynn’s long standing outdoor time of 3.33.5 set in Oslo back in 1982. The Irish 1500m record holder raced superbly against stiff competition to take the win, settling in behind New Zealand’s Samuel Tanner from the bell, before unleashing a race-winning-kick down the home straight which would see him battle bravely to hold off the fast-finishing Niels Laros of the Netherlands who clocked 3:32.89NR. Nick Griggs finished in 9th place on his way obliterating the Irish U20 outdoor record held by Cian McPhillips with 3:36.09PB to move to 13th on the Irish all-time list. Surely bigger and better things are to come from both athletes in the future

Balbriggan Tidy Towns have recently added another two new planters for the area. Thank you to our garden team who bought and planted these up. We think they add a nice splash of colour to the streetscape and support our pollinators. (We were able to fill the planters with compost made by ourselves and leaf mould collected in 2021 - sustainable gardening).Thanks too for funding from Department of Rural and Community Development and Pobal. Here you will also see some images from our Litter Awareness event recently at Balbriggan Beach. Thanks to everyone who came along to discuss how we can all work together to keep Balbriggan Beach clean and safe for all. As summer approaches, we want all beachgoers to act responsibly by not leaving litter scattered around for someone else to clean up. We’d also like to remind dog owners to ensure they only leave paw prints in the sand & to pick up after their pets. That’s particularly good advice, as a single dog poo can contaminate a body of water the size of a tennis court. Also we remind you that everyone should be sun smart this summer. Thanks to the National Cancer Control Programme our Saturday Clean Team were supplied with Factor 50 and our own sun screen dispenser to protect us while out painting and litter picking today. Currently the UV index can be high so be careful.

On Sunday 30th July Balbriggan locals, Paddy O’Callaghan and his daughter Niamh Kelivanova, will be doing a Sponsored Parachute Jump in aid of Balbriggan Meals on Wheels at The Irish Parachute Club in Clonbullogue, Co Offaly. All money raised will go directly to Balbriggan Meals on Wheels for their ongoing work in providing meals in the local area. This jump had been originally scheduled to take place on 11th June but unfortunately, Niamh suffered an injury and as a result the date of the jump was changed. You can show your support for Paddy and Niamh by sponsoring them via the Balbriggan Meals on Wheels Facebook Page or by dropping your sponsorship in to Balbriggan Meals on Wheels at 14 Hampton Street, Balbriggan Meals on Wheels would like to thank Paddy and Niamh for doing this fundraiser and thank you also to all who have sponsored them.

On the 20th of May we ran an event Busking for Balbriggan, with eight local bands over four venues. It was a fantastic day and the feedback was really positive.Even a group of French tourists were regaled and had a great dance in Supervalu! We will be running another event in July and are looking forward to it! The bands that played are: Acoustic Misfits, Alan Moriarty and Friends, Black Captains, Damo and Big John, Rush to Judgement, Ships Wheel, Skerries Ukulele Strummers and The Beatles. The Venues were: Millfield SC - Molly’s Coffee Shop - The Square Café - & SuperValu and we are most grateful to all musicians and venue owners. Thank you all so much to our wonderful residents and the public for making Busking for Balbriggan a great day! Whether it was by volunteering, playing music,singing, or by hosting the event, or by donating your hard earned money, we are incredibly grateful! Over €1600 was raised which is phenomenal! Roll on July for another great day of music filling the streets of Balbriggan.
Áine O’Beirne, Secretary, Balbriggan Community Council - Working Together for a Better Balbriggan for All!

Cllr Grainne Maguire (Ind, Balbriggan) will serve as Deputy Mayor of Fingal for the second time following her election recently . She was nominated by Cllr Tony Murphy (Independent) and seconded by Cllr Karen Power (Green Party Comhaontas Glas). Joining as a Balbriggan Councillor in 2013, Cllr Maguire had previously served on Balbriggan Town Council from 2009. She has extensive experience in local government and is a well-known figure in Ireland’s youngest town for the work she does across many different groups and for her passion around local issues.

Fingal also has a new leader after Cllr Adrian Henchy (Fianna Fáil) was elected by his fellow Councillors recently to become the region’s 18th Mayor. Originally from Portrane, and representing the Rush-Lusk electoral area, he joined Fingal as a Councillor in 2014.From his role as a Councillor to his involvement in numerous local initiatives, Mayor Henchy’s focus has always been on making a positive difference in the lives of the people he serves. A dedicated health professional with a passion for public service, he said he is ready to usher in a new era of progress, collaboration, and innovative leadership for the County. Henchy succeeds Cllr Howard Mahony, who handed over the chains of office at the AGM.

In securing the role as Mayor, Cllr Henchy was nominated by Cllr Eoghan O’Brien (FF) who said it was a privilege and an honour to nominate him for the position. The nomination was seconded by Cllr Brian Dennehy (FF). “I am humbled to have been elected to serve in this prestigious post,” said Mayor Adrian Henchy. “I am committed to working tirelessly to build a stronger, more inclusive, and vibrant Fingal. Together, with the support of our community, we can achieve great things and help build a Fingal that thrives economically, socially, and environmentally. I would particularly like to focus on delivering more houses, not just the bricks and mortar of the homes themselves but also ensuring we are building sustainable communities around them.”

At the AGM, praise was given to the outgoing Mayor and also to Deputy Mayor, Cllr Cathal Boland, for their unwavering service to the people of Fingal across the last year.A strong advocate of Dublin 15, former Mayor, Cllr Howard Mahony, has undertaken a large number of activities during his term, attending 365 community and Council related events across the year.