The Committee have been hard at work cleaning up the flower beds and planting wildflower seeds and generally tidying up the village. Thank you to the pupils of Lusk National School who took part in the annual art competition and the teachers for their support. The flower tubs around the village will be shortly replanted for this year. Our Tidy Towns plaque on the Skerries Road has been replaced and our heritage stone on the Rathmore Road re-lettered, thanks to Fingal County Council for this. Please keep Lusk tidy. ‘Lusk Tidy Towns committee.’

The Lusk Men’s walk and talk group meet at the Hub car park at 7:00pm every Monday for their weekly walk. This is open to all men and it’s an opportunity just get out of the house, have a nice walk, clear the head and have a chat if you wish. You can do it as a once off or every week, no joining necessary, just turn up. This group is organised by Ciaran Russell, so if you want to introduce yourself to him and before long you will find you have made new friends. So why not let any friends or neighbours know about it as new members are always welcome

Thank you to everyone who came out to support Lusk’s Community Tree Planting Day last Saturday. Three varieties of bare root whips and Holly shrub saplings were planted along the boundary fencing between the Hub and Lusk Community School. Students from Lusk Community College also helped to plant some bare root whips last Friday too.Thank you to Fingal County Council for supplying over 300 bare root whips and for helping to pre-dig so many holes in the ground, it made the job so much easier! In addition to the hedge planting at the HUB, Fingal County Council also planted: Six mature trees along Minister’s Road, Six mature trees along Dun Emer Drive, Bare root whips at the end of Minister’s Park, and Bare root whips along the railings between Orlynn Park and Remount Estate.The Spring Community Tree Planting Event was a first for Lusk and Fingal County Council hope to facilitate another one in the autumn. Thanks to the sub committee from Lusk Vision 2030, Fingal County Council and Councillor Robert O’Donoghue for co-ordinating the day.

Following our recent AGM we are delighted to congratulate Rose Anna Darby who was elected as
our new President. We wish her the very best in her new role. We also want to say thank you to our outgoing President Teresa Killoran for her hard work over the past three-years and for keeping us going despite the challenges of Covid On another note a very successful fundraiser was held in aid of The Irish Cancer Society on Daffodil day with the Guild raising a massive €5,807, thanks to everyone who supported us. We’re always happy to welcome new members so if you are looking to make new friends and learn new skills why not drop in to our monthly meeting which takes place the first Tuesday of the month. Caroline O’Malley PRO

Cllr Rob O’Donoghue has welcomed the opening of the second public consultation on the Dart+ Coastal North project which commenced on the 9thof May and runs until the 23rd of June. Information on the project can be found on the dedicated website dartplus.ie. The project will deliver higher frequency, capacity reliable electrified route to enable an increased DART service between Drogheda and Dublin City Centre. Coming works will provide a sustainable, low carbon and climate resilient design to make use of existing infrastructure and add new infrastructure at key locations. Works to be undertaken will include bridge improvements, continued electrification of the northern line, track reconfigurations and the addition of extra carriages. These works will increase peak passenger capacity and train frequency at the Rush-Lusk Station, facilitate more frequent public transport for surrounding communities for work, education and leisure purposes and help to alleviate road congestion on the Lusk bypass. Cllr O’Donoghue supported the second public consultation and expansion of service saying that without development of the service the traffic issues facing the North County would continue to exacerbate. “Rush hour traffic along the R127 and R128 is already bumper to bumper, which impact commuting times and quality of life for all commuters in the North County. The expansion of cost effect train and bus routes, in conjunction with the cycling connection from Lusk to the Train Station is vital in order to improve quality of life, reduce carbon emissions from vehicles and provide solutions to residents who need to commute to Dublin City Centre for work or education.”

The Peninsula Pacers recently went out to the Pool beg Lighthouse for a long walk. We left Donabate Train Station at about 10am for Sandymount Train Station and started our walk through Sandymount Village crossing the road near the Strand then hugging the coast headed out to the Lighthouse. While the day was not the best it rained a bit and was a bit misty, we got a good walk in and ended up back in a great pub in the heart of Sandymount Village for some superb grub at good prices! We may take a break over the summer months but hope to be for our walk around the Peninsula in September to coincide with the Bleeding Pig Festiva back l Trad Event at the Brook Pub in Portrane where good pizzas are also to be had! If you are interested and wish to contact the Pacers contact Des on 087 7846813 or Carolyn on 087 9284307.

The Parish Hall have been working hard at finalising the Programme for next year with daily activities like Irish Dance, Cards and Parent & Baby Group and also the slots for special events like Exhibitions, Creative Camps & Drama. The hall is becoming busier and busier with an ever expanding population and increased demand for space so it is necessary to plan well in advance for all that is happening in the hall to satisfy as best as possible all wishes. If you have not already been contacted, please contact the Parish Office re use immediately. For those that use the hall for their activities thank you for your continuous support.

May has been a very busy month for AAfA hosting events in Donabate/Portrane Community Centre. We had a presentation from Danielle Monahan of the Healthy Age Friendly Homes Programme. The aim of this organisation, which is part of Fingal County Council, is “to support older people to live in their own home with dignity and independence for as long as possible” It was a most interesting presentation and she gave us very useful information about grants and supports available to the older person. We were delighted to finally host the Rosemount Singers from Julianstown for our Bealtaine Festival event, the Bealtaine Miscellany. They were joined by our own singing group the Caintóirí and Peig McManus and the writers from the Chinkwell Writers group. The Bealtaine Festival celebrates creativity in the older person. Both events were very well supported by our members and enjoyed by all. The Caintóirí were pleased to be invited to Malahide to join MARA - Malahide Active Retirement Assoc - and the Bealtaine Poetry Group in their Bealtaine celebration in Malahide Library which proved to be a great success on a most enjoyable morning. Classes are now finished for the summer, but your hard working committee is already planning for September. We are also in the final stages of designing our new website, so watch this space! As always if you need information about AAfA or you would like to join us please email us at activeageforall@gmail.com or check us out on our website activeageforall.com TEXT only 0868806808

Corina Johnston Labour Party Area Representative welcomes the announcement by Fingal County Council of its intention to commence, by late Summer this year, the badly needed and long overdue Turvey Avenue Enhancement Scheme.

Johnston said; “This information was given at a recent Council meeting in response to the following question submitted by my colleague Cllr Rob O’Donoghue on my behalf and is subject to a procurement competition and the appointment of a suitable contractor.

The Council’s reply stated: Tender documents for the procurement of a Contractor are expected to issue to the market this month. Following appointment of the Contractor, works will commence with a target start date on site in late summer. Timelines are subject to a successful procurement competition and appointment of a suitable contractor. Johnston said;”A far back as 2019 Fingal County Council’s Turvey Avenue Enhancement Project went through a public consultation process and the scheme was subsequently approved by the Council. The Council position however was that this scheme would be included with the Portrane Road Scheme (Adjacent to the Boys and Girls Primary Schools) as part of a single tender process. This position was unacceptable as it was obvious that it would take much longer to reach agreement for the Portrane Road Scheme and therefore delay the Turvey Scheme even further. “
Johnston added; “I am delighted that the council have taken on board our views and are now seeking tenders for a single project. The contents of Scheme include: (1) 115×2m footpath Northern Side of Turvey Ave, (2) Road resurfacing. (3) Provision of uncontrolled pedestrian crossing. (4) Re positional of existing bus stop on southern side. (5) Provision of new road gullies to improve drainage.

Leithinis current term of traditional Irish music classes is proving a great hit in Donabate Portrane Educate Together National School. Leithinis CCÉ provides weekly lessons in Tin Whistle, Fiddle, Flute, Bodhrán, Accordion, Banjo, Mandolin and Concertina. We would like to welcome our new students and we were delighted to see some of them participate at the fortnightly Friday NIght Music Gathering which takes place in Donabate Parish Hall. The Session is going from strength to strength with increasing numbers of experienced musicians participating and for the rest of the year, takes place on the first Tuesday of every month. All are welcome to come along and listen.