Next talk - ‘The Story of Cricket in Fingal’

Balbriggan and District Historical Society are delighted to welcome you to another year of activities from the Society. Our first talk will take place on Wednesday March 29th at 8pm the Bracken Court Hotel. We are delighted to welcome Jim Bennett for a talk titled ‘The Story of Cricket in Fingal’, the subject of his recent book. Cricket is hugely popular in the North County and this tradition goes back to the 1820’s when it was played for entertainment at great houses, such as Ardgillan. Clubs including Balbriggan began to be founded later in the 19th century and Jim’s talk will tell this fascinating story with particular emphasis on Balbriggan. Jack Bennett is a native of Portlaoise and was educated at St Mary’s CBS Portlaoise and then attended St. Patrick’s Training College Drumcondra. His first teaching post was in Balbriggan but he spent the rest of his teaching career at St Colmcilles BNS Swords. He became Principal of the school in 1980 and retired in 2015. For many hears he has been involved in cricket administration in The Hills CC. Cricket Leinster, Cricket Ireland and in 2022 he was elected President of Cricket Leinster. We think this talk will be hugely popular.We will be collecting membership for 2023 on the night too. Membership is €15 individual, €20 family or €10 senior. That covers our 6 talks - March, April, May, August, September, October. But anyone can attend an individual talk for €5. For all information see balbrigganhistory.com or follow us on Social Media.

Balbriggan Meals on Wheels is delighted that our Pop-up-Shop is returning every Friday morning from Friday 24th March from 10am to 1pm.The Pop up Shop will be open at Balbriggan Meals on Wheels, 14 Hampton Street, Balbriggan with plenty of bargains available.We will also be serving Teas and Coffees, so you can enjoy a cuppa after you browse for some bargains. At just €2 for a cuppa it’s the best bargain tea and coffee in town! We look forward to seeing you there. All money raised at the Pop up Shop goes towards Balbriggan Meals on Wheels work in our community.

If you want to help us make a difference join us any Saturday @ 10.30am at Moylaragh playground or 11am on the main beach or join our garden group for mid week activities. Also we received this notification from Fingal County Council which may be of interest: Batteries contain precious mined metals such as Zinc, Iron, Manganese, Mercury, Lithium and Cadmium, and it’s really important to recycle them as part of a sustainable circular economy. You can recycle household batteries at all Fingal Libraries and Community Centres and at the two main offices County Hall Swords and Civic offices Blanchardstown. The recycling centres at Estuary Swords and Coolmine accept small household and larger batteries. ERP run this battery collection initiative with Barretstown, which is a not-for-profit camp for children with cancer and other serious illnesses. So why not recycle your batteries at the local Library (see the poster)

We have returned to our regular training session after the Christmas and New Year break.
Our first event of the year was to host JKS Ireland Brown & Black Belt training alongside
Open Squad training. 43 students from all over Ireland trained for 2 hours covering a wealth
of knowledge from Dermot Sensei.We are looking forward to several other competitions and seminars this year and the highlight will be when we host our World Chief Instructor, Kagawa Shihan 9 th Dan JKS, in May for a weekend seminar.Congratulations to Mehert Gebremichael and Faye Devine Riley who have won Student of the Month. Both Merhert and Faye train on a regular basis, participate well in class and arevery interested in learning more karate. Well done both!

We take new members (Children, Young People & Adults) throughout the year. Contact
Dermot on 087-8073885 for details on how to join. Contact us on Facebook: JKS Swords
Karate Club or on Instagram: @jks_swords_karate_club

The Club undertook Top sparring recently in Ratoath Golden Gloves club in preparation for the upcoming Dublin and Under 18’s championships.Thank you to Ratoath and East Meath BC for the top rounds.

Every day, every week and for the last 40+ years, Swords Meals on Wheels have been delivering hot meals to whoever needs them in the greater Swords area. Currently the number of meals delivered daily is in the region of 90/95 meals. Each day there are seven individual runs covering all areas of Swords and the immediate locality. We have nearly 60 active volunteer drivers involved who collect and deliver these meals, but not just deliver, they also will ensure everyone is safe and has anything they need. Without these volunteers it would be impossible to provide this essential service. And then you have Joan, organising lists, meals and donations, she starts at 7.30 each morning ensuring that volunteer drivers are available to cover all runs and have latest information on who needs meals and whatever else is required and arises throughout the day and sometimes at weekends. As well as delivering to people in their homes we do also provide meals to some homeless in the area. We were out all over Christmas ensuring everyone who for whatever reason had a hot meal and a visit. A very important part of our ethos is that all meals are free to whoever needs them. Swords Meals on Wheels is possibly the last service of this type countrywide that doesn’t charge and we never will. Nobody in Swords Meals on wheels is paid; all are volunteers and will continue to be. We get terrific support from a number of local factories and facilities in the area and without them and all our brilliant volunteer drivers and supporters we would be unable to continue. We are seeing increasing demand for our service and we do need more local businesses to come on board to support us with excess meals from their canteens. We do foresee our daily numbers increasing to 100+ in the coming year. We were delighted to be chosen in FCC Lord Mayor’s awards last year for our work during the Covid emergency.

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.