By Ken Duffy

We trust everyone had a joyous festive season as we look forward to the new year ahead. The Swords Tidy Towns team took a well-earned Christmas break, we had a very enjoyable night at our Xmas Party in Peacocks, pictures were posted on our Facebook page. Yep, the crew worked very hard all through 2022 and have come back rejuvenated after spending Xmas with family and friends. Our team will continue on the hard work this year in an effort to retain our National Silver Medal status, hopefully it turns to gold. You, the residents of Swords can play a big part in helping us to achieve this by disposing of your litter responsibly, which we know most do. Another way to help is by educating family and friends as to the benefits to both physical and mental health a colourful clean Swords can be to all. When our planters are full of colour and life, and our streets are clear of graffiti and litter, it’s a wonderful place to take a leisurely stroll and smell the aroma of coffee wafting from our many wonderful cafes and bars, Swords Tidy Towns are always very welcoming to all new volunteers, if you have been contemplating doing some volunteering work this year, please drop us a line. You can always contact us on our email address at swordstidytowns@gmail.com or by phoning Ken on 0866008313. STT is a very diverse multicultural group, we even won a national award for our inclusiveness, an award of which we are all very proud. Oh and please support our fundraiser upstairs in Peacocks , River Valley on Feb 9 at 7.30pm

Contractors have moved on site recently to commence the next phase in Fingal County Council’s development of the Swords Cultural Quarter, the refurbishment of the Carnegie Free Library on North Street. The Council have appointed Kelbuild Ltd as main contractors to carry out the refurbishment and conservation works at the building including the construction of a new two-storey extension to the side of the building to facilitate new services and improve universal access. The works are expected to be completed by the end of this year. The project is within the Swords Cultural Quarter and will provide workspaces and a creative hub with flexibility for a range of community and arts activities including rehearsal and performance uses. The works to Carnegie Free Library will cost €1.5m and is being partially funded through a grant issued under the European Regional Development Fund for the Swords Cultural Quarter. The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Howard Mahony, said: “The Swords Cultural Quarter is a flagship project for Fingal County Council and it is great to see work on part of it commence. When complete the Carnegie Free Library project will bring vibrancy and urban regeneration not only to North Street but also to the surrounding urban centre of Swords and will complement the other works planned for this area.” The original Carnegie Free Library building dates from 1908 and is owned by Fingal County Council and recorded as a Protected Structure. Councillors approved planning for the project in September 2021.The Local Studies and Archives section of Fingal County Council’s Libraries Department, which was located in the Carnegie Free Library, has already been relocated to an adjacent building on North Street.

One Voice Singers - Swords, the new community singing group based in St Colmcille’s GAA are starting back on January 10th from 7.30pm-9pm. New members are welcome to come down and sing! The group welcomes adults of all nationalities, bringing people together with a special emphasis on community integration, diversity, and respect. It’s a great chance to meet new people and learn new songs, promising to be plenty of laughs, entertaining and above all fun. If you would like to sing your heart out, please register online at eventbrite.com/e/one-town-one-voice-singers-swords-tickets-486869137697 or come along to St. Colmcille’s GAA in Swords on Tuesday 10th January 2023 at 7.30pm. For more information contact Jacinta at community@fingal.ie The One Voice Singers are supported by Fingal Community Development Office and the One Town One Voice initiative. More information at onetownonevoice.ie.

The St Sylvester’s GAA Clubhouse in Malahide village has been recently renovated & available for booking. It’s spacious function room is the perfect choice for your next party or function of numbers up to 250 people. Our newly refurbished bar upstairs, perfect for any party! We provide excellent service and facilities for many special events such as: Christenings, Communions, Confirmations, Birthday Parties, Weddings, Club nights, Christmas nights, pre-debs party. The function room is fully equipped with a seating plan of choice, full bar & a dance floor. We can also provide a DJ, a Wine/Champagne reception, a great menu of food and room decoration as requested. The function room is open to members and non-members. To enquire, please contact: Dave Potts 086 7263191 or Lisa Murphy tel:085 222 6982.

Well done to L-R): Brian Waugh, Billy Stanbridge, Jamie Fagan-Carr, and Noah Tyrrell, who took to the field recently against North Midland as part of the Leinster Metro U16s. Unfortunately, the results didn’t go their way with a 32-21 loss, but a strong performance from everyone involved. Well done to both Brian and Billy on their tries today for the team. Everyone in Malahide RFC wishes all the best for these young players in the future.

Situated in the picturesque village of Malahide in North County Dublin, Malahide United currently field approximately 60 schoolboy/girl and senior teams. With over 1,200 registered players we are one of the largest clubs in Ireland. Our home ground is Gannon Park, which comprises of two 11-a-side pitches, one 7/9-a-side pitch, one 11-a-side floodlit all-weather pitch and one 5-a-side/warm up floodlit all-weather pitch, floodlit warm up area with full clubhouse facilities, Gym (members) and Coffee Shop. We also have three 11-a-side and two 7/9-a-side pitches in Malahide Castle and one 11-a-side pitch and one 5-aside pitch in Robswall Park, which is accessible from Gannon Park. By following an ethos of encouragement, equality and participation we provide an environment to enable all players to develop their potential. As a club we are investing a considerable amount of time and resources in developing our coaching programme for both players and managers. Welcome to the Malahide United AFC Web Site. Situated in the picturesque village of Malahide in North County Dublin, we currently field approximately 60 schoolboy/girl and senior teams. With over 1,200 registered players we are one of the largest clubs in Ireland. Our home ground is Gannon Park, which comprises of two 11-a-side pitches, one 7/9-a-side pitch, one 11-a-side floodlit all-weather pitch and one 5-a-side/warm up floodlit all-weather pitch, floodlit warm up area with full clubhouse facilities, Gym (members) and Coffee Shop. We also have three 11-a-side and two 7/9-a-side pitches in Malahide Castle and one 11-a-side pitch and one 5-aside pitch in Robswall Park, which is accessible from Gannon Park. By following an ethos of encouragement, equality and participation we provide an environment to enable all players to develop their potential. As a club we are investing a considerable amount of time and resources in developing our coaching programme for both players and managers. We would love you to be part of our team! We promise, you’ll get more out of it than you’ll put in! Help nurture the futures stars of tomorrow in the best facility in the country! New volunteers and coaches are always welcome. Want to get involved? Give Alan a shout on +353 (87) 240 4664 and he’ll be delighted to help.

The Master Mariner competition is an annual seamanship event for Ventures & Rover Scouts.
It is supported and sponsored by the Irish Institute of Master Mariners.The 2023 Master Mariner Competition will be held on Sunday 5th March at the National Maritime College of Ireland, Cork Harbour. Hosted by 9th Port (Malahide) and 1st Port (Ringsend) Sea Scouts. Here are the forthcoming details of the competition programme for 2023 - 4th March – Competitors Experience Day. Venue - Irish Naval Headquarters, Haulbowline Island, Cork Harbour. Meet and greet with the examiners and fellow competitors alongside experience some of the facilities and operations of the Irish Naval Service. (This day is optional). Competition Day - 5th March – Master Mariner Competition. National Maritime College of Ireland, Cork Harbour. Competitors move between checkpoints and meet different examiners. At each checkpoint they run through the topic, using practical tests and tools as much as possible. It is not only for Sea Scouts? It is organised by Sea Scout groups but members of all Scouting Ireland groups may attend. Non-Sea Scouts have won the event in the past.

Recently Junsa Taekwondo held there bi annual club grading. The club gradings are the highlight of our calendar. The grading is where our students get to display their skills, of technical ability, sparring skills, knowledge of Taekwondo, fitness and the traditional aspects of Taekwondo. Each grading is to progress our students and between each one the students learn new aspects of Taekwondo plus new skills and moves. It’s all about progression and building confidence and self esteem at Junsa. Please take a look at these photographs of our recent gradings. A very happy new year to all our students, supports and our Taekwondo friends around the world. Junsa Taekwondo is always accepting new students both experienced and completely beginners of all ages. Please contact Master Stuart Russell or follow us on Facebook @ Junsa Taekwondo

Lusk AC had an actioned packed start to the New Year with multiple events taking place in early January. The annual Tom Brennan 5k kicked off the year on 1st January and then a week later it was over to Abbotstown for the first round of the National Indoor League. It was with great pride that the club entered two teams at this event for the first time since reforming in 2009. There were PB performances from Ross Moore, Max Lara and Daniel O’Brien and no doubt the whole team gained valuable experience from the event. A few miles away in St Anne’s park, Raheny another 23 club members were taking part in the Dublin Master’s Cross Country. Weather conditions were ideal although cross country is never easy and our athletes all performed admirably, fighting for every place. The weekend of Jan 13th & 14th was also full of action starting with Matt Bush taking part in the attritional Art O’Neill challenge which involved 60km of road and open mountain starting in Dublin Castle and finishing in Glenmalure, Wicklow. As Matt was completing his overnight challenge, 5 of the club were starting a half marathon in Donadea Forest. We also had athletes competing well again in the National Indoor arena at the Junior & U23 championship as well as club members officiating. We would like to welcome all of our new members to the club and for those of you who haven’t taken that step yet it’s not too late. We have a Fit4Life forever group which will continue all year with opportunities to achieve many goals. As always it will be fun, easy running designed for complete beginners or those returning to fitness. We also have a Fit4Youth group aimed at teenagers. Both groups train at 7pm on Tuesday & Thursday at The Hub, Rathmore Road. Register at Luskathleticclub.ie. Finally, the Lusk 4 mile takes place on Sunday 5th March. Don’t forget to sign up or volunteer.

(FOR THOSE WHO BOUGHT A CALENDAR)
It has come to our attention that there are three printing errors in the Rush Tidy Towns calendar.
Good Friday should read Friday the 7th of April, not Friday the 14th, Easter Monday should read Monday the 10th.of April, not Monday the 17th and, October Bank Holiday should read Monday the 30th of October, not Tuesday the 31st of October. Sincere apologies for these misprints and we hope this doesn’t inconvenience anybody. Meanwhile the hard work of keeping the Rush community tidy continued recently. RTT are delighted to see the new big belly bins finally arriving in Rush this week. There will be 14 in total and we will also get bins at the new locations which are on popular walking routes. These are higher capacity so should cope with a lot more litter which will be great for weekends and the summer period in particular. Thank you Fingal County Council. Also as ever the wonderful volunteers have been out litter picking in recent days and a great job done at the entrance to Tesco by them as these pictures show.