In 2022 we held 11 events throughout the year from which a fantastic total amount of €7,602.49 was raised. We would like to thank all who supported us and all the volunteers for their work throughout the year. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Specsavers, Balbriggan for sponsoring the Santa Grotto in Millfield Shopping centre during November and December, of which a total of €1,119.95 was raised. Would you like to support our local Balbriggan/ North County Dublin Branch of Irish Guide Dogs this February? Why not attend the Balbriggan Feis being held in Clann Mhuire GAA Hall, Naul, Co. Dublin on the 11th and 12th February with musician Kevin Warren. Pre-registration through WeFeis is €5 or €8 per family (siblings only) and pre-registration is open on Monday 23rd January until Friday the 3rd of February. Or you can pay on the day for all dances with solos being €5 and Championships, confined and cup competitions being €10. A great time will be had and all proceeds go to our Balbriggan/ North County Dublin Branch of Irish Guide Dogs. You can also support us by using our ‘Tap to Donate’ machine in Specsavers, Millfield Shopping Centre, Balbriggan, where a tap of your card donates €3 to us. Since July 2022 we also have a new machine in Oakes Pharmacy, Skerries. This one is slightly different than Specsavers, as in it allows for a minimum donation of €2 by the tap of a phone but when you tap, it prompts you to open an app and select the amount you would like to donate.We are also involved in the current round of Community Fund at Tesco, Millfield Shopping Centre and we would appreciate if you would vote for us using your blue token. We appreciate all your support. If you are interested in volunteering with us please feel free to contact our Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch of Irish Guide Dogs
Phone/text: 085 7663107 - Email:GuideDogsBalbriggan@gmail.com or Find us on Facebook: Balbriggan Branch of Guide Dogs

In partnership with the UCC School of Law, The Glucksman Gallery commissioned seven Irish picture book authors to respond to different themes within the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Artists Mary Murphy, Róisín Hahessy, Niamh Sharkey, Peter Donnelly, Fatti Burke, Chris Haughton and Chris Judge created seven new illustrations focusing on family and identity, education, creativity and play, justice and the right to be heard, equality, climate change and the environment, and migrants and refugees. Fingal Libraries is delighted to host the Viewpoints art exhibition from January to June as it tours around each library, culminating on 10th June at Cruinniú na nÓg, Creative Ireland’s annual day of free creative activity for children and young adults. Viewpoints is part of the Art Library initiative, a loan collection of artworks for sharing to community hubs across Ireland, and is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland. The exhibition was launched in Malahide Library on Saturday 28th January at 11.00am and was a fun morning for all the family. Exhibition tour dates: - (28th January – 19th February - Malahide Library) - (20th February – 3rd March - Baldoyle Library) - (6th March – 19th March - Balbriggan Library) - (20th March – 2nd April - Rush Library) - (3rd April – 16th April - Donabate Library) - (17th April – 30th April Swords & Skerries Libraries) - (1st May – 14th May - Howth & Garristown Libraries ) - (15th May – 4th June - Blanchardstown Library) - (5th June – 10th June Cruinniú na nÓg 2023. A fun and interactive programme of creative workshops will take place for children and their families as the exhibition tours each library so watch out for more details!

Balbriggan Meals on Wheels is a local charity which has been serving the Balbriggan
community since its foundation in 1975.Balbriggan Meals on Wheels was established to provide meals for people who are ill, recovering from a serious illness, or for some reason are unable to provide meals for themselves. Balbriggan Meals Ltd still provides meals to the most vulnerable people in our community; they are people who are referred to us by Public Health Nurses and Social Workers. As well as cooking and delivering meals, we host a Dinner Club three mornings per week which provides an important social outlet to our clients. Balbriggan Meals on Wheels is an essential voluntary service that requires all the support it can get. The organisation depends heavily on fundraising and donations. As such, we would like to express their gratitude to all the local companies, organisations, clubs, individuals etc who have given donations in recent times; all donations are very much appreciated. Balbriggan Meals on Wheels can be contacted at Balbriggan Meals on Wheels, 14 Hampton Street, Balbriggan. Tel : 01 8416743 Email: mealsonwheelsbalbriggan@gmail.com. TO DONATE TO BALBRIGGAN MEALS ON WHEELS VISIT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE AND CLICK THE DONATE BUTTON:facebook.com/balbriggan.mealsonwheels/

Balbriggan Tidy Towns, which saw a very impressive 12-point jump in last year’s adjudication, is launching its ‘Adopt-a-Patch’ initiative a community scheme aimed at further improving the area.. The Balbriggan SuperValu Tidy Towns adjudication report for 2022 praised the local committee for its work in improving the appearance of the town, its level of volunteerism, partnerships with other community groups and its commitment to biodiversity. Balbriggan Tidy Towns has now identified thirty-two locations where volunteers can ‘Adopt-a-Patch’ and take on the care of an open area. Tasks will include litter removal, dealing with graffiti, weeding, planting and other light works. Residents can sign-up when Balbriggan Tidy Towns Committee launches its ‘Adopt-a-Patch’ scheme at the local SuperValu on Saturday, January 21 and at Millfield Shopping Centre on Saturday February 11, between 1.00pm and 3.00pm on both days. “After our success in 2022 we hope existing volunteers will continue their wonderful work keeping Balbriggan litter free, but we would love to welcome new people through our Adopt-a-Patch scheme,” said Balbriggan Tidy Town Secretary, Terry O’Reilly. “Larger areas can be divided between a number of volunteers, or a group, and can be cleaned at a time which suits. “Gloves, bags and a picker can be provided, and Fingal County Council will collect bags from convenient points. “The scheme can work very successfully amongst individuals, families and groups adopting stretches of roadway, lanes, parts of the local beach, bottle banks and litter blackspots. “Those who would like to work differently can join our Saturday Clean Team, Gardening Group, Climate Club, Biodiversity Group or Arts Group. “It would be wonderful to continue Balbriggan’s great progress in the SuperValu Tidy Towns competition and further improve the local environment for all who live in or visit our beautiful seaside town.”Residents can also get in touch with the Balbriggan Tidy Towns Committee through balbriggantidytowns@gmail.com or through its Facebook page or Facebook Messenger. Its annual general meeting takes place in the Bracken Court Hotel on Thursday, February 16 at 7.30pm. Local residents wishing to become involved are welcome. Balbriggan Tidy Towns meet every Saturday at 11.00am on the Front Beach and all are welcome.

Looking back at 2022, we had a busy and almost normal year at Swords Karate Club since the Covid Pandemic hit. We hosted members of JKS Ireland from all over Ireland at the National Brown & Black Belt training sessions in April, May, September & November. We also hosted National Squad training sessions. Several members of the club were presented with their Dan grade certificates from Japan: Conor Kinsella, Szymon Kupiec, Brian Horgan and Conor Glennon received their 1st Dan certificates, while Mark Girvin received his 2nd Dan certificate and Vincent Clarke received his 4th Dan certificate. Members of the club attended 3 competitions, topping the medal table in both JKS Inter-Club competitions in June and Oct and we did well also in the Kanazawa Cup in November in Tallaght. We had several seminars for members this year. In the Spring, members attended the Online International Seminar from Japan. In June we hosted Makita Sensei from Japan and Jesper Sensei from Denmark for our Spring/Summer Seminars. These were the first in person seminars with visiting instructors since the pandemic began. In October we hosted Kagawa Shihan 9th Dan JKS. We were privileged to have JKS Ireland members from around the country join us in this world class seminar. We held two club gradings , in early July and mid-December, where club members showed off what they have been studying during the year and all members who took the grading examinations progressed to their next belt. Perhaps the biggest event this year was moving after 11 years from Seatown Business Campus to Applewood Community Centre as our new home. We have settled well with regular training sessions on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. We are looking forward to 2023 with all the regular training, special seminars and training sessions and competitions it will bring. 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

BY Liam O Culbáird

Isn’t it funny how quick the time goes by when you are having fun! That is certainly the case at Fingallians GAA as we enter our 139th year of serving the people of Swords and surrounding areas. Lawless Memorial Park serves as a safe, welcoming and supportive environment for the sport stars of the future. In 2022 our membership passed the 2,000 mark. Our club is proving more popular than ever and we are now one of the largest community groups in Fingal. This is due to the brilliant support of our players, parents, mentors, volunteers, staff and the many others that contribute. Special thanks must also go to our sponsors that support the various teams and are central to our ongoing success. Isn’t it funny how quick the time goes by when you are having fun! That is certainly the case at Fingallians GAA as we enter our 139th year of serving the people of Swords and surrounding areas. Lawless Memorial Park serves as a safe, welcoming and supportive environment for the sport stars of the future. In 2022 our membership passed the 2,000 mark. Recently we opened the new all weather training facility at our grounds. The new all weather surface will mean additional space for training during winter months when grass is unusable. The new facility was made possible through a capital sports grant in addition to fundraising by Fingallians. The official opening was carried out by Minister Darragh O’Brien and Minister of State Jack Chambers. Many Fingallians members were present for the opening including 6 time All-Ireland winner Paul Flynn. Photos were taken by Fingallians member Noel Delaney. Our club is proving more popular than ever and we are now one of the largest community groups in Fingal. This is due to the brilliant support of our players, parents, mentors, volunteers, staff and the many others that contribute. Special thanks must also go to our sponsors that support the various teams and are central to our ongoing success. As we look towards 2023, our major concern is that we do not have enough playing space. We have over 77 teams taking to the field each week for games. Add training sessions to this and you see how stretched our resources are. Regardless of this we look forward to welcoming new players to Fingallians in 2023. We wish all our friends and supporters the very best of success in the new year and we hope to see you at the sideline soon. Athbhliain faoi shéan is faoi mhaise daoibh.

Cllr Cathal Boland said recently, “The confirmation by Minister Simon Harris TD that Swords will be the location for the new €50m Fingal College of Further Education is to be welcomed. This College is long overdue for the North County. It will fill the 3rd level gap and give opportunity to all in the area. A skilled workforce will assist greatly in attracting high level employment to our area. It will cater for 1,000 full time students and 5,000 more through part-time, online and blended learning. Now we need the commitment to deliver on the announcement and ensure it does not stall like Metro.”

“Failte Isteach Christmas Party was a great success. Thank you to all volunteers, students and staff at Holywell Community Centre, Swords, after 14 weeks of teaching conversational English, to people from all over the world. The group enjoyed Christmas cake, mince pies and refreshments to celebrate. Class resumes January 9th 2023. All are welcome”

By Ken Duffy

2022 has been a very busy and successful year for Swords Tidy Towns. We completed our butterfly Mural on the hoarding at Swords Garda Station and have started another one due for completion early in 2023 (details to follow). We also distributed a multitude of Leaf Cages in strategic areas around Swords which we will benefit from in 2023. We had a successful Halloween Bucket Collection at Swords Castle, a big thank you to everyone who contributed for their generosity on the night. Further new planters were put in place at the Garda Station at a blind spot to prevent possible accidents occurring. Digging, planting and mulching works were completed outside Colaiste Choilm school, (worth taking the time to have a look).

Swords Tidy Towns took part in a protest outside FCC offices with other concerned groups to prevent the rezoning of lands. Motion 535 wasn’t passed, the protest succeeded in saving the Rivervalley, Ridgewood and Knocksedan greenbelts from being rezoned. We once again in 2022 linked up with the TY students of St Finnian’s and Fingal Community Colleges to help them achieve their Irish Presidents Awards. STT received a Certificate of Appreciation at this years 2022 Mayors Awards and shared the Fingal Horticultural Society’s overall winners Trophy with FCC which showed the high regard that is held for our group. We achieved yet another Green Flag for our Rock Garden Park on the Rathbeale Road, this is a great place to sit and unwind to watch the world go by. We retained our Silver Medal status in the 2022 National Tidy Towns Competition, making it five in a row for our hard working volunteers. The landscaping works at our Welcome To Swords sign entering Swords from Ashbourne was completed, a great job was done by our partners FCC, a special thank you to Aileen O’Connor. We linked up with MSD Biotech in Swords on three projects, many thanks to them for reaching out and connecting with us. If you wish to keep up to date on what Swords Tidy Towns volunteers are doing, please go to our Facebook page and give us a like. If you wish to volunteer or make a donation we can be contacted at swordstidytowns@gmail.com

It’s been a very busy time in St. Mary’s Secondary School, Baldoyle. Here are some of the highlights. Junior Cycle results: After over a two month wait, the Junior Cycle results arrived in St. Mary’s in late November. Transition Year students gathered in the Canteen awaiting for the Principal, Dr. Edel Greene, to arrive at 10 am. Despite the wait, there was still a strong feeling of anticipation and excitement as students were called up individually to collect the envelope with their results enclosed. Cries of joy were common as students opened their envelopes. The results were exceptional and we are absolutely delighted with everyone. All the students were then photographed and students then visited classes to tell teachers about the results they had achieved. We are very proud of them all.

Irish Badminton Open: Our Transition Years took part in the prestigious Irish Badminton Open where they were line judges. The event was held in Sport Ireland’s National Sports Centre in Abbotstown. The girls had been preparing to be line judges for five to six weeks and were ready to make all those important calls when required. It’s a tournament that carries Olympic and world ranking points so the pressure was on. Everything went well and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves as regardless of helping out, it’s a great event to attend. The girls were also delighted to meet the Taoiseach, Micheal Martin TD who dropped in to see the event. The Mayor of Fingal, Howard Mahony and the Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, Ann Marie Farrelly also dropped in. It was also great to see John Treacy, Ireland’s Olympic silver medallist and two time World Cross Country Champion. Some of the teachers were more than delighted to have a photo taken with him. A Happy New Year to all our students, their families and you all!