This St Patrick’s Day in Balbriggan was a very special one for the town’s 35-strong brass and reed band, which bears the name of Ireland’s male patron saint. For St Patrick’s Brass and Reed Balbriggan Town Band, it marks the start of celebrations of its 140th anniversary, culminating in a gala concert in November. Founded in 1883, the band has taken part in every St Patrick’s Day Parade in the town since then. It was an emotional day for long-serving members, including band master Larry Dunne, Oboe and Clarinet player Damien Byrne and saxophonist Gary Tolan. Larry has been integral to the band since reviving its fortunes in the mid-1970s, while chairperson Damien, a native of Artane, where he was a member of the famous boys’ band, found a ready-made community when he moved to Balbriggan in 2003.But, in the late 1960s, numbers had dwindled and its instruments were put in the care of the town commissioners until Larry revived the band. Now, its make-up is representative of Balbriggan’s youth and cultural diversity, with a burgeoning beginners’ group and members and past members from across the globe. “When my wife Amelia, who plays trumpet, and I moved to Balbriggan we knew nobody until we joined the band after seeing it at the St Patrick’s Day Parade. Now, our daughters, Emily (12, clarinet) and Norah (9, trumpet), are in the beginner group, so we are basically replacing ourselves for down the line,” said Damien. According to Gary, the only language that should matter to any band is music. “We have had members from African countries, Italy, the Philippines, Spain and Ukraine. We are multi-cultural and integrational,” said Gary. Joining as a beginner will get you an instrument (if they have one spare) sheet-music and reeds all covered by €10 a-year membership and a €5 weekly subscription. Advancing years are no barrier to joining, members have been known to take up learning an instrument and playing with the band after retirement. The band meets each Wednesday night at the Cairde premises at the old St George’s School at Hampton Street, beginners from 7.00pm to 7.45, with band practice from 8.00pm to 9.30. There are thoughts of using another weekday or Saturday mornings to start another beginner group. It is on the lookout for a larger, more user-friendly base so if your interested we hope to see you soon!

Today the Four Seasons Hotel, Spa & Leisure Club Carlingford has announced their new Irish charity partner as SoSad Ireland. Since 2007, SOSAD has worked to raise awareness and help prevent suicide in Ireland. The new partnership, which will be in place for 2023 and at this moment in time the Four Seasons Hotel Carlingford are selling yellow branded rubber ducks named ‘Bernie’ aptly named after their Housekeeping Manager Bernie who has played a fundamental role within the hotel for over 12 years and who will be retiring this year. The ducks will be on sale from the hotel’s reception and are priced at €3.50 each, with all monies raised being donated to SoSad Ireland. So Sad Ireland have worked tirelessly in our communities to help those in need feel supported and know they are not alone on their journey. SOSAD offer support and services for people who are struggling with suicidal ideation, self-harming, depression, bereavement, stress and anxiety, or if you simply need to talk. With seven offices based in Cavan, Louth, Meath, Monaghan and Laois from which they provide their services. Natalie Haake, Sales & Marketing Manager Four Seasons Hotel, Spa & Leisure Club said, ‘We are thrilled to announce our new partnership and we are hoping to run a coffee morning and small events throughout the year. As a business, we are committed to raising and contributing much needed funds to such a deserving charity.’

Balbriggan Meals on Wheels has been providing meals to the most vulnerable
members of our community since its establishment in 1975.Throughout the years the organisation relies heavily on fundraising and the generosity of the local Balbriggan community in the provision of its service. Balbriggan Meals on Wheels will be holding a bucket collection on the weekend of Friday 14 th to Sunday 16 th April. Please give generously when you meet their collectors. Please note all official collectors will hold the relevant permit. All money donated goes towards the vital ongoing Balbriggan Meals on Wheels work in our community.

Spring has finally sprung and that means longer brighter days are just around the corner. It also means Guide Dog Day is approaching, on Friday May 26th ,to be exact, make sure to mark your calendar and updates will follow on all the ways you can support us and our branch for this years Guide Dog day. With summer ever approaching, it also means we have the return of the wonderful Balbriggan Summerfest, which will be running from the 28th May to the 4th June. Once again we at Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch of Guide Dogs will be attending and we will confirm the date as soon as it is known. We hope to see you there and hopefully the sun will be shining. We are delighted to say the February Féile Baile Brigín which took place on the 10 th and 11th February, with all proceeds in aid of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind was a great success. We would also like to say a really massive thank you to both Damien O’Shaughnessy and of course to Ann McFadden O’Shaughnessy for organising the event and for their continued support. A fantastic €2,500 was raised and a great day was had by all. We are happy to provide an update on puppy in training Cosmo, who is being puppy raised by branch volunteer, Anne Mulligan. Cosmo is 7 months old now and she continues to do very well with her training. In fact, just recently, she took some time out with her family to visit Assistance Dog ‘Yarrow’, who Anne puppy raised between 2020 and 2021 and is now assisting a little boy in Cork. We will continue to update you on Cosmo’s training. If you are interested in volunteering with us please feel free to contact us by any of these: Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch of Irish Guide Dogs by phone/text 085 7663107, email us at GuideDogsBalbriggan@gmail.com or find us on Facebook at Balbriggan Branch of Guide Dogs.

A packed schedule has been put together for the third annual Our Balbriggan Loves Learning Festival, 2023 which takes place from Monday March 27 to Saturday, April 1. The festival provides an opportunity for a range of groups and services to platform learning opportunities available to local people in Balbriggan and surrounding areas.The Our Balbriggan Loves Learning Festival 2023 celebrates lifelong learning and promotes it through a wide variety of informative, creative and enjoyable activities.These include educational opportunities and workshops in the fields of arts, music and the community. All are welcome.The festival is one of the actions identified in the Our Balbriggan Rejuvenation Programme and was first organised in response to local demand for stronger adult learning opportunities and more information about education and training services available to local people.The Our Balbriggan Rejuvenation Programme is led by Fingal County Council’s Economic, Enterprise, Cultural and Tourism Department and the festival offers both in-person and online events. A Loves Learning Festival section on Balbriggan.ie will operate as a central hub for information on all events as well as for pre-recorded videos with practical learning advice. For a full list of events why not check out balbriggan.ie/loves-learning-festival/Resource providers for the festival include Fingal County Council, Dublin and Dun Laoghaire Education Training Board, Balbriggan Adult Education, Intreo and Empower.Organisers are conscious that learning comes in all shapes and sizes, whether for creatives, aspiring entrepreneurs or those who just want to come along to learn and enjoy.The Our Balbriggan Loves Learning Festival has something for everybody.

We hosted JKS Ireland Open Squad training recently. Everyone from red belt upwards was invited to attend. We covered kata fundamentals and worked with different JKS Ireland instructors to improve our techniques.We also covered kumite drills. These are important for competitions. We also hosted Brown & Black Belt training recently. Everyone who is hoping to take a Black belt grade attended and went through the grading examination syllabus and katas required for the exam.We welcome new members all the time.Our classes are as follows: Tigers (5yrs – 7yrs) Thursday 4pm & Saturday 10am. Juniors Tuesday 6pm and Thursday 5pm. Seniors Tuesday 7pm and Thursday 7pm. The first class to try out is free. Contact Dermot on 087-8073885 for details on how to join our club.Contact us on Facebook: JKS Swords Karate Club or on Instagram: jks_swords_karate_club

Our U8s camogie had a wonderful surprise on the last day in Gormanstown recently ….For their comraderie, team spirit, super smiles and great skills our little super stars were awarded the title ‘GORMANSTON U8 TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT.’ Their coaches and parents were absolutely so proud of them all. They will have a special little opportunity for medals, certs and photos with the plague very soon. Well done all involved and a special thank you to Siobhán McCann of the Fins Minor Camogie Team for coming along to encourage and support the girls.

Also the club is seeking young singers, dancers, musicians, actors or quiz buffs to represent us in some sections of the Dublin Scór na nÓg (Under 17s) competition which takes place on 26th March. Further info from Liam- 086 3814422

St Colmcilles GFC Nursery, “Cilles Cubs” are all back on the pitch, training every Saturday morning at 10.30Am in our grounds at Holybanks. Our nursery caters for all ages, 4years up to U12 years. If you are interested in introducing your children to Gaelic Games through a fun and games why not pop down on Saturday morning. All our mentors are fully trained and Garda vetted. We offer a great opportunity for children to become part of a local sports club, making new friends and to enjoy a great sport. We are also currently looking for new mentors to join our coaching team. Any training required will be provided along with garda vetting. For more info on training / coaching you can contact Cora 0833741305 or Aaron on 0863888944

Fine Gael’s new Local Area Representative for Swords, Luke Corkery, has called on Fingal County Council to prioritise the development of the Dublin Airport ‘Pathfinder’ project, which is set to link Swords to Dublin Airport as part of an improved Active Travel network for the town. Luke Corkery said, “The Dublin Airport Pathfinder project is hugely welcome and long overdue; one of 35 nationwide initiatives announced at the end of 2022 by the Department of Transport that are set to be delivered by local authorities. We in Swords need a cycle link to the Airport. This project will be transformative. The Airport is one of our biggest employers here in Swords and the vast majority of those employees commute to work on a daily basis. Many of them live less than 5km away from the Airport and could easily cycle there rather than depend on bus services or cars, but currently the infrastructure is simply not there. It’s quite dangerous to even attempt to cycle near the Airport. A cycle link to Swords will facilitate vastly improved connectivity, and this will be further complimented by the completion of the Airport and Swords routes under the Bus Connects scheme, as well as the eventual completion of Metro Link. The Pathfinder project will save Swords commuters time and money, with no need to wait for a bus or spend a fare. In addition to the obvious health benefits, this is a green initiative that offers an alternative to those who have no option but to drive.There is a huge opportunity here to provide a new option to Airport commuters, and we can’t afford to prolong this project. Now that €200,000 has been allocated to this specific project as part of the NTA’s Active Travel Allocations for 2023, I am calling on Fingal County Council to urgently identify a suitable route and finally develop an Active Travel link between Swords and the Airport. We need joined-up planning here. There is also a need to identify suitable parking spaces, free of charge, at the Airport. They need to be available in bulk, to cater for the expected demand”, he concluded.

As we leave February and migrate to March you can feel and see Spring is definitely in the air. Its that time of year when nature bursts back into life to pleasure our senses. Birds greet us with their wonderful dawn chorus, the evenings get longer, and Swords Tidy Towns spring into action. Projects that have been hibernating in their winter sleep are awoken as our volunteers crack on with our action plan. Swords Tidy Towns will once again participate in the St Patrick Day Parade this year as we have done for many years pre the Pandemic. As is our tradition we will be having a Pub Bucket Collection after the parade, your donations on the day are needed and are very much appreciated. All monies collected on the day will be pumped back into Swords to keep her looking beautiful. Your help, helps us to fund the enormous amount of work put in by our group over the year. Our Quiz Night in Peacocks Rivervalley was very well attended by our supporters making it a great success. The craic was mighty, a wonderful time was had by all. Our Quiz Master and volunteer Noel Cosgrave played a stormer keeping proceedings light hearted with his usual good humour and banter. I would like to take this opportunity to thank local business and individuals for their generous donations which contributed greatly to the success of the evening. New volunteers are always welcome, you can just turn up on the day, we meet each Saturday at 10.30am in the Colourtrend car park opposite Penny’s, hope to see you there.