Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed wishes our members and the wider community a happy and peaceful New Year. Despite the disruptions caused by Covid restrictions at the start of 2022, the Men’s Shed had a full, active and interesting year. We added to our regular weekly activities of exercise classes on Mondays and tea and chat gatherings on Thursdays with croquet at Newbridge House on Tuesdays, negotiated on our behalf by Active Age for All with Fingal County Council – a big thank you to both. Those working on our plots at Turvey Allotments, rented from Fingal County Council, had a very productive year with a bumper crop even better than previous years. We also resumed our occasional outings with visits to the Casino Model Railway Museum in Malahide in February, a guided tour of Newbridge House in March, the Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin in May, the Custom House Visitor Centre in June and the National Maritime Museum in Dun Laoghaire in July and most recently a pitch-and-putt outing to Deerpark in Howth in November. During 2022, we completed two long-standing projects delayed by Covid, both sponsored by grants from Fingal County Council. In February, we installed a storage shed beside the Scouts’ Den and in September we completed the awning at the rear of the Scouts’ Den. We rounded out the year with a Christmas dinner in Keeling’s, our first since 2019. A great night was had by all, great food, great music and songs but, most importantly, great company. If you wish to join us, please contact Jim on 086-3694316. We are always open to new members and new ideas on how we can expand our activities.

One of the most unusual names for a festival in Ireland has to be the Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival, which takes place on the peninsula of Donabate and Portrane every September.

It takes is name from a sea cave on what is known as Lady’s Walk on the cliffs that link Donabate and Portrane. After pondering a number options based on the name of other caves on the Lady’s Walk, with such glorious names as the Priest’s Hole, local historian Peadar Bates put forward the name for the festival.And the Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival goes from strength to strength. It started off in 2013 as a two-day event showcasing local artists and performers. Nine years later, it is now a 14-day event featuring national acts, performers and a short film festival. It also ties in with the Fingal County Council artists-in-residence scheme. The festival won ‘Fingal Community Group of the Year’ in 2015 and the Local Authorities’ Members’ Association awards in the arts and culture category in 2018.

As in most situations, Covid-19 disrupted the festival in 2020, but it roared back last year and in September this year.Preparations are already underway for the festival next September, and the next outing for the festival will be on March 5th 2023 when an event to celebrate International Women’s Day event is planned.

The weather was wet, grey and dismal as 14 stalwarts (not being put off by a drop of rain ! ) gathered at Donabate/Portrane Community Centre for a trip to Glasnevin Cemetery and Casino in Marino. On arrival at Glasnevin Cemetery we met our guide for the tour, Grainne. Our first stop was at the Daniel O’Connell crypt which is beneath the cemeterys’ most conspicuous architectural feature, a round tower, the tallest in Ireland. It was a fitting place as Grainne explained that Daniel O’Connell,’ The Liberator’, was the founder of the cemetery. It was opened in 1832 as a non-denominational graveyard, the first of its kind in Ireland, and is the final resting place of some 1.5 million people. Since the first burial on 22nd February 1832 the Glasnevin authorities have maintained a record of every single burial in the cemetery. We finished our tour at the grave of Michael Collins near the main building;. After a lovely lunch in the cafe we set off to our second destination of the day Casino in Marino. The Casino ( casino= small house, not a gambling establishment) was built as a summer or pleasure house for James Caulfield the 1st Earl of Charlmont and is all that remains of his 18th century demesne at Marino. All in all a very enjoyable day, the weather relented and both places were fascinating with excellent guides.Just a reminder that Registration for our Spring Term takes place on the 9th and 10th of January between 11.00 - 14.00 so come along and meet your friends and sign up for one of our classes. You have such a choice from Pilates to Singing and Art to Yoga, Tai Chi, Sit and Get Fit to Stronger for Longer. Our age profile is from 55 to 90 so I am sure you will find something to suit you. Reminder Our AGM will take place on the 17th of January at 11.00a.m. and we hope to have a speaker at it to talk about the Healthy Age Friendly Homes Programme. To finish we would like to wish all our members a happy and healthy 2023!

Corina Johnston, Labour Party Area Representative has questioned the relevance of The County Development and Local Area Plan given a recent planning decision by An Bord Pleánala. Johnston said; “The decision of An Bord Pleanala to grant planning permission for the controversial Corballis East SHD (Strategic Housing Development) in contravention of the County Development and Local Area Plan is a further indication of how irrelevant the County Development and Local Area Plans have become in the planning process within Fingal and indeed throughout the country. This controversial application has been objected to by the vast majority of people in Donabate, public representatives and Fingal County Council.” Johnston said; “In my own submission to the Board I raised the issues of densities, heights,mix and the impact on the highly sensitive landscape and also that the application is a material contravention of the current County Development Plan and the Donabate Local Area Plan. “ Johnston added; “In their decision the Board overruled their own inspector and the recommendations of the council’s planning department. The Board justified their decision based on National Policy and the fact that Donabate is “recognised as a Strategic Development Area”. The fact that it is designated as such is no justification for disregarding the existing character of the area. This land was zoned residential although controversially rezoned in 2003. “ Johnston continued; “While this application was under consideration by the Board local residents discovered an archeological monument (souterrain) on this site which had failed to be discovered during previous inspections and which could be seriously affected by this planning application. In response to representations from Duncan Smith TD and I the National Monuments Service confirmed that this monument will be included in the next review of the Record of Monuments and Places (RMP). Johnston concluded; “Although An Bord Pleánala have made this decision I am totally convinced that this is the wrong type of development on this site in Donabate for the reasons outlined and the potential implications on the recently discovered souterrain. Should this development proceed as per this permission the people of Donabate will become even more disillusioned with the planning process and realise the futility of public participation in the County Development and Area Plans.”

Congratulations to former Glebe Player Hannah Healy, awarded tonight as WNL U17 player of the year. Hannah was also named U15 FAI International player of the year just two days ago.
Well done young lady, what an incredible achievement, very well deserved.

A very special Christmas Exhibition & Gift Fair event was held in Ardgillan Castle at the beginning of December. Our pictures courtesy of the wonderful Balbriggan based photographer Thaina Whelan depict the ladies in black of the marvellous Balbriggan Gospel Choir and the superb handiwork of the craftswoman and gift stall owner Anne Howard. Thank you very much Thaina and to view more of her photographs go to her website photosbythaina.com.

A fascinating community art project which beautifully captures Balbriggan through the eyes of its people was launched in the town on December 16.Visual artist and art educator Alison O’Grady collected memories and stories from people connected to Balbriggan and created one large illustration across 60 canvases which locals could then paint. “My concept was to collect memories and stories from people connected to Balbriggan and create one large illustration across 60 canvases called Ár mBaile, which locals could then paint,” said Alison. The result is a stunning labour of love through which locals reflect their pride of place. It is set to further boost Balbriggan’s growing reputation as a centre for the arts. The project has been funded by Fingal County Council’s Our Balbriggan Placemaking Fund, established to make the town an even better place to live, work, visit and do business. Alison, who created a mural in the town in 2021, set out to create a visual art form which captured the spirit of the north Dublin seaside town. She said, “ The final illustration is a montage of places and landmarks in Balbriggan, some buildings and structures are long since gone. Our Balbriggan (the town’s rejuvenation programme led by Fingal County Council) provided me with a vacant space at 2-4 Dublin Street in the town. I created a pop-up art studio and utilised the space to sketch out the composition and set to work on drawing the illustration across 60 canvases. Then I opened the space to the public last summer so they could come along, choose a canvas, and paint it in their own personal way. Each day, people turned up to paint. It was wonderful; grandparents, parents, children, families and their friends dropped by the studio to check out the project and participate. The stories and memories kept flowing throughout the two weeks the pop-up art studio was open. It was fantastic to see so many people across the generations involved in creating an artistic representation of their town.” Alison was previously commissioned to create an illustration to accompany the words of local Olympic athlete Andrew Coscoran that “Balbriggan is class” which were painted on the Our Balbriggan Hub at Georges Square.

Happy New Year from everyone at Balbriggan Meals on Wheels. Towards the end of 2022 we held a number of events and would like to thank everyone who helped out. We held a very successful Open Evening as part of Fingal Inclusion Week in late November. A very enjoyable evening was had by all. We held a very successful Fundraising Raffle and thank you to our prize sponsors, volunteer ticket sellers and those who bought the tickets .Our Christmas Fair was back up and running as normal and was a great day. Thank you to all who supported our Food Drive in Tesco allowing us to prepare hampers for distribution to our clients. Balbriggan Meals on Wheels is looking forward to continuing to provide meals for those in need in our community throughout 2023. To contact us please do so at Balbriggan Meals on Wheels, 14 Hampton Street, Balbriggan. Or alternatively contact us by phone at Tel : 01 8416743. or Email: mealsonwheelsbalbriggan@gmail.com.

2022 was a great year where we finally got back to normality, which also meant fundraising with the general public. It was great to meet people, hear their stories and all the ways the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind changes lives. We had multiple events throughout the year and we want to thank everyone who supported our Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch of Guide dogs and all the volunteers who helped out, thanks to them our branch managed to raise a fantastic €32,453.32 as of the middle of November 2022! At our weekend of fundraising in Millfield Shopping Centre, Balbriggan on the 11th and 12th November, we managed to raise €1,556.74! We also had a very busy and successful few weeks of fundraising in the lead up to Christmas and we are so grateful to everyone who donated and helped out. We are excited for all the events coming up this year! In 2022 we said goodbye to some and welcomed others. Puppy in training Adel went off to Cork and is now an assistance dog and getting on fantastically with her family in County Kildare. Volunteer Adele Halpin welcomed puppy in training Voldee who is showing great signs of confidence and volunteer Anne Mulligan welcomed lovely Cosmo, a puppy in training, just before Christmas and we look forward to sharing more updates on her as the year progresses, along with volunteer Jade McCormack who was matched with Guide Dog, Winter and Andy Green of our Balbriggan/North County Dublin branch who was matched with his Guide Dog, Ollie. Finally, we just want to say thank you again for the continued support from you all and we hope you had a lovely Christmas and wish you a wonderful New Year!

If you would like to volunteer for our Balbriggan\North County Dublin Branch of Guide Dogs, you can contact us via phone: 085 7663107, email: GuideDogsBalbriggan@gmail.com or on Facebook: Balbriggan Branch of Guide Dogs.

Fingal County Council’s Sports Office were delighted to hold the Exercise: Energise “Come and Try” Multi-Sports Day recently for the first time since 2019. Deputy Mayor of Fingal Councillor Cathal Boland and Director of Housing and Community Robert Burns were in attendance at the National Indoor Athletics Arena in Abbottstown to see over 300 teenage girls from eight secondary schools from across Fingal take part in the day. The participants got to try out twelve different fun sports activities ranging from Frisbee Golf, Olympic Handball, Basketball, Uni-hoc, High and Long Jump and Tug O War. The girls are all participants in this school year’s Sports office’s Exercise: Energise Programme which had a record thirteen Fingal Secondary Schools taking part in the initiative this year. The Programme is aimed at girls aged 12-15 years who are not involved in sport or physical activity and has been running for over ten years with financial support from Sports Ireland’s Women in Sport funding stream and from the Fingal Sports Office.