The United Parishes of Malahide, Portmarnock and St Doulagh’s are delighted that the top floral artist and former Chelsea Flower Show gold medallist Christopher White is directing a spectacular flower festival to take place next month in St Andrew’s Parish Church in Malahide, which is celebrating its bicentenary. Taking place over the weekend of June 9-11, the Festival will be launched by RTE weather presenter Joanna Donnelly. Joanna, who spoke about her love of flowers and gardening in a recent edition of the RTE Guide, will perform the official opening at 2pm on Friday 9th June in a short ceremony at which the Choir of St Brigid’s Girls’ National School in Killester will sing. The Festival-which is entitled ‘The Good News in Flowers’ and recalls in more than 30 displays major events in the life of Christ, will remain open on Friday (until 8pm) and Saturday (10am-8pm), with refreshments available in the St Andrew’s Parish Centre until 5.30pm, and will open again after Morning Service on the Sunday at 12.30pm, with refreshments also available until 5.30pm. A Closing Service, on the Sunday at 6pm, to which all are welcome, will be sung by the Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, under the direction of Tom Little.
Christopher White is much in demand as a floral artist, and he is taking time out of a very busy schedule to co-ordinate this special event, which features work by flower arrangers from all over the country. A few days after the Malahide flower festival he will be in Gloucester Cathedral at the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies National Show where the UK’s premier designers showcase their work.
And, later in the summer, he will also be involved in the prestigious Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show, where he has previously won a gold medal. The Rector, Reverend Canon David Gillespie said the festival was the latest in a number of events to mark the bicentenary of St Andrew’s Church which is one of the oldest buildings in Malahide village.“This is a very significant year for us, and we wanted to do something special to mark it which would be enjoyable for everyone. If the number of enquiries we have received are anything to go by, we expect to be very busy but it will be great to welcome visitors to this lovely part of North County Dublin from all over the country.” Entry to the flower festival is €10 and includes a commemorative colour brochure detailing the 30 plus flower arrangements on display – all of which have been generously donated by parishioners of St Andrew’s in memory of loved ones. All proceeds from the Flower Festival are to go towards the cost of a new organ in the parish church.

Malahide Sea Scouts always supports positive mental health for our young people.We are very proud to have supported Darkness into Light Malahide and gave up a couple hours of our weekend sleep to support those in crisis and suffering from suicide or self-harm. Thousands of people across the country walked with us from Darkness Into Light and our Scouts and Scouters were with them supporting and encouraging along the route. Oh and a big thank you to our Scouts, Ventures and Scouters who were up in the very early hours supporting Darkness into Light Malahide as volunteer stewards.

We all know someone, we are all someone who has been left behind in one way or another. We’re all aware. Everyone who attended the Darkness into Light Walks all over Ireland and across the world did something about it. Whether you were there to honour someone’s memory, to help heal your own pain and feel comforted by the support around you or if you were simply there because you believe that we need more action for mental health - you did something about it. Thank you and well done to Malahide Sea Scouts.

Also recently the Sea Scouts celebrated their 104th Launch Day! Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Ventures, Scouters, Parents and friends all gathered at the Den to launch the 2023 Boating Season! It was a beautiful day with ideal winds and plenty of sunshine. A tradition for some of our youngest Beavers to ring the Albatross Bell in front of the gathered crowd to formally open the season followed by the blessing of the boats wishing well and safe passage to all afloat.This then gave the signal to launch the fleet where over 150 young people got out for a taster of sailing, rowing, power boating and paddling. On the shore, the Cubs hosted a BBQ and bake sale with all donations towards our friends at the RNLI – nearly €900 was raised! Fair winds and following seas to everyone this year.

By Mr. John Moore - Deputy Principal

We were delighted to welcome the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Mr. Darragh O’ Brien TD, to St. Mary’s on Friday 5 May 2023. The Minister was accompanied by Mr. Sean Haughey, TD and Mr. Cathal Haughey, local Fianna Fail election candidate. The Minister was welcomed by the Principal, Dr. Edel Greene, Deputy Principal, Mr. John Moore, our Head Girls and incoming Sixth Year Senior Prefects.

The Minister toured the school to see five construction projects that are at snagging stage. The Minister first visited the Admin Area comprising new entrance area, new office, meeting room, new Principal’s office and ancillary rooms. The area has been designed to take full advantage of natural light. Next up was a visit to the very impressive new toilets which the students think very highly of. The Minister was very impressed with the new Home Economics kitchen which the students spoke highly of. Mr. O’ Brien then visited upstairs projects. Room 13 has been enlarged and it is hoped to have it developed into an audio visual room. Adjoining Room 13 are the new upstairs toilets which are also specified to a very high level. Dr. Greene acknowledged the support of the Minister for Education, Ms. Norma Foley and her Department in the provision of these significant improvements to the school.

Following the tours, Minister O’Brien discussed current developments in St. Marys. The Sports Day was currently taking place in the Coast Park, Baldoyle and the Transition Years were working on a performance of Matilda Jr, the musical, that was to take place later in May. Dr. Greene also updated the Minister on the next projects due to take place shortly in St Mary’s. A new lift is at construction tender stage while the appointed roof consultants are working with the Department regarding the roof. There are also a number of smaller projects in application stage. More serious future developments were also discussed in relation to St. Mary’s continued service as a school for our local community.

The recently established Malahide Boules group is keen to publicise the new Boules playing surfaces (known as Pistes) at Malahide Castle grounds and the organised playing sessions held there each Tuesday @11:00am and Saturday @ 3:00pm. The playing pistes are located next to the Playground area at Malahide Castle grounds and there is plenty of free parking nearby. We welcome anyone to join us, as there are no specific skills necessary to play the game, but rather just a willingness to try it out. If you would like to buy a set of basic boules (set of 3) these can be purchased for example at the Decathlon store, next to IKEA in Ballymun, or online through (www.decathlon.ie ). If interested, you can, and please do contact us through our website : //sites.google.com/view/malahide-boules/home or by email malahideboules@gmail.com,

The weather is getting warmer and the Taekwondo training is heating up too.

At Junsa we recently took part in all Dublin tournament held in Baldoyle and run by our national governing body Taekwondo Ireland. We are also looking forward to the 2nd Lusk Festival and preparations are under way for some of our students to take part in international competitions abroad.Contact Master Stuart on 087 7775202 or follow us on Facebook @ Junsa Taekwondo for more details on training times and class locations.

As the days get longer training in daylight is always more pleasant than in darkness. The races and events are coming thick and fast as summer approaches. The graded meetings are a great way for our athletes to test themselves and experience the thrill of competition. Well done to all who have taken part so far. Congratulations to all our juvenile members who have participated in League 1 & 2 of the Dublin Juvenile Outdoor Leagues. There is one league left in June and we would encourage parents to bring their children along. It’s a great day.

Basketball has finally come to Lusk with the establishment of the Lusk Ravens Basketball Club. Playing out of Lusk National School they currently have two men’s teams, a ladies team and two Academy classes for 5th and 6th class students.

The Lusk Ravens ladies team had the honour of playing the Ravens first ever game against a very experienced Division 3 team - Glasnevin Basketball. In what was a tight game the Ravens lost by only two points in a score of 48-50. Sharon O’Toole made history by scoring the Ravens first ever point and going on to play a storming game of Basketball. Coaches Brian Clerkin and Gavin O’Neill were delighted with the teams performance as was Director of Coaching Bob Hartigan.

The men’s second team recently got off the mark when they proudly welcomed a Killester Special Olympics team in a friendly. Coaches Ty Henry, Jeff Errington and Matteo Deidda were delighted to get a tough game under their belts and much needed game time for the players.

Not to be outdone the boys Academy teams travelled to take on St Kevin’s Knights.

Although in its early stages of formation the club has made huge strides in a short space of time and will aim to enter some teams for next season leagues. They have a website luskravens.com and a YouTube channel. The Club are looking for sponsorship from local business, interested parties should contact the club to receive a sponsorship pack. They would also like to hear from any coaches or ex-players in the community who like to come on board and help get this wonderful new club off the ground. ‘Go Ravens Go’

In March of this year Lusk Ladies Shed launched in the newly renovated Lusk Community Cultural Centre. The goal of Lusk Ladies Shed is to reduce the sense of isolation and increase connections with others in the local community. This non profit initiative was spear-headed by Frances Byrne as she had a wish to have a safe place for women to come find support and to develop a sense of involvement and belonging in the community. The group welcomes all women regardless of age, background or interests and there is always tea, coffee, chats and some fun for everyone. The groups are run on a Tuesday morning between 10am and 12 noon and a Wednesday evening between 7pm and 9pm in Lusk Community Cultural Centre. For more information you can find Lusk Ladies Shed and Lusk Community Cultural Centre on Facebook. Lusk Community Cultural Centre is at Church Road, Lusk, Co Dublin K45CP40.

by Dr Tom McCloughlin, DCU Water Institute

Ask one of the “blow-ins” if there are any rivers in Lusk, and their first answer would probably be no unless they were familiar with Chapelfarm or the north end of the ring road. But all settlements need a water supply! In Chapelfarm you have a short stream that rises on the hill out a little on Quickpenny Road. It winds its way under the housing estate and meanders through the farmland between Chapelfarm and the Carriage House. After that it goes under the main road under a strong bridge and then drops down to Rogerstown Estuary near the Birdwatch Ireland hide joining the Ballyboughal River proper. Unfortunately, this stream does pick up a fair amount of domestic run-off in Lusk and a lot of chemicals end up in the water so we need to be careful that our drains don’t empty into that stream making it stink and killing the life in it.

The other stream which originates way up in Palmerstown and twists its way downhill in two channels - one heading through the Commons while the other comes alongside the ring road after being re-channelled in the early 2000s. The Commons branch passes through Horestown and Rathartan through to Whitestown Mill near Rush. The lower branch pass alongside the ringroad, below Kingstown, then drops down to Effelstown through to Whitestown Mill joining the other channel and the mill-races out to the estuary at the bottom of Spout Lane.

You might be excused for thinking nothing lives in those streams but you’d be wrong since there are a lot of stickleback fish, freshwater shrimp, water slaters, bloodworms, and small shellfish though little of the high-quality pollution sensitive creatures that would indicate a clean stream. You can only see these by actually getting in the stream, though I wouldn’t recommend it unless in full PPE as the stream has a very soft bottom and you sink quite a bit in places, there’s been quite a bit of dumping too, which this writer has at times taken to extracting with thanks to Fingal CoCo for collecting the piles of junk and rubbish I’ve left for them. Pressures on the stream from pump-ing water out of the stream to spread on farmland, disturbance to the channel and again domestic run-off all conspire to kill what is there but the one we can all work on is to stop drains going di-rectly into the stream.Everything has a consequence, they say, and these streams affect Rog-erstown Estuary, the Irish Sea and all that they bring us.

The countdown is on! Saturday the 24th of June will see Lusk Action Group’s second Lusk Summer Festival in Orlynn Park Green and we cannot wait! This year will be bigger and better, with a fantastic music line-up with Eva Campbell, Revolution Remains, Fish in the Sky, Chris Cole, our own DJ Joe and the Redeemed Christian Church and more.

We have a great selection of food vans, with a few new additions, so bring your appetite for pulled pork, falafels, chicken wings, burgers, pizza, ice-cream, fresh doughnuts, crepes, coffee and more! Our kid’s entertainment will keep your children of all ages well entertained, with some new additions for little ones and for bigger kids. There will be face-painting, balloon making and candy floss galore! Grasshoppers International Festival will be there for your little ones earlier in the day and booking is essential so, keep an eye online. And in case your kids haven’t enough to do with all that, there will be a treasure hunt ready from the Information Desk!

Our market is sure to have something to entice you, with great local crafts and small businesses. We are delighted to be able to support them. The vintage cars, tractors and trucks will be back again, and we will have Junsa Tae Kwando and Lusk Judo Khan with their marital arts display. There will be yoga classes for kids and adults. Keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram pages for details.

For children with special needs who may need some downtime from it all, we will have our Inclusion Lusk quiet area. There will be prizes galore, so keep an eye out online and on the day for raffle details. We advise everyone to have cash, however there will be contactless payment available. Please note that there is no parking. We encourage everyone to walk to this very central location, however there will be spaces available for disabled users near the tennis courts. None of this is possible without the support of Fingal County Council, Progressive Credit Union, and our local business donators. We would like to thank them sincerely for helping us to make this great day happen. We look forward to seeing you all there! All in Lusk Action Group and the Summer Festival Committee.