Congratulations to our youngsters on winning the Fingal 6-a-side u14 indoor cricket competition yesterday with three wins from three, held in Gormanston Park. Thanks to Brían O’Rouke and all at Fingal County Council Sports Office for organising a great event.

Congratulations to Alma Atagamen, Shannon Campbell and Makia Carey who represented AB on the Leinster North East team versus Leinster Metro recently. It was a very tightly contested game with both teams taking the lead at various points in the game. Well done to Makia Carey on her NE debut, she was solid in the scrum and carried well in the loose. Balbriggan player Alma Atagamen proved to be unstoppable in the 2nd row with a hat-trick of tries. Shannon Campbell who, we are very proud to say, was team Captain on the day, converted one of the tries. The final score ended at 29 v 29. Skye Healy also of AB was unable to play today due to illness but we look forward to seeing her at the next match. Well done to all the players and coaches for providing a very enjoyable and competitive match. We would also like to remind you to join us for our Christmas party night ..Happy Christmas Everyone!!

The Senior Ladies team are Leinster Champion for the first time ever for the club. Our pictures show the jubilant team immediately after winning and later some of the senior ladies brought the Leinster trophy to visit our Club President Dinny O’Leary. The players, management and Committee of the club wish to say a big thank you to all of the supporters who travelled once again, we really appreciate it as always.

Balbriggan Roadrunners are a local running club set up almost six years ago with the aim of helping people interested in running and walking at whatever level, meet similar people and provide motivation and support within the community.The intention of the Balbriggan Roadrunners is to get people together for the health, social and motivational benefits of running with a group. There are no membership fees – the club is non-profit, self-funded and is run totally on a voluntary basis. We are an inclusive club and our members are representative of the diversity of Balbriggan and we have runners from all parts of this community and as well as surrounding communities. We are registered as a club with the Fingal Sports Council.We meet 3 or 4 times a week and have about 250 members who turn up regularly to our scheduled runs as well as over 1300 people following us on Facebook. Runners range from beginners to very experienced, running various distances from 5km, 10km and upwards, a few have even run several marathons. In 2016 we launched our “Couch to Roadrunners” group which focuses on getting people out running from the very beginning and support them right up to whatever distance and level of runner then want to become. This group is mentored by other group members who have all started as beginners and want to “pay it forward” and help others beginners achieve their goals. One of the most adventurous is the Sliabh Liag Challenge in Donegal next May see the poster for details We also have a sister club called Balbriggan and District Athletics (Senior) which is registered with Athletics Ireland and takes the opportunity to enter national championships and progress runners interested in entering competitive events..

We at Balbriggan Historical Society had a wonderful evening recently as Grainne Maguire shared memories of 75 years of Balbriggan Dramatic Society. It was fantastic to have members from the first production in 1947 joining us on the night and Grainne presented Eoghan O’Callaghan and Dermot Reynolds with framed programmes from the historic event. She slso had an exhibition of old photographs. We were also delighted to welcome 3 students from Loreto Secondary school Noshien Aktar, Deborah Emeh and Rebecca Lawrence to share presentations on The Grand Palace Thailand and Balbriggan Harbour and Lighthouse.

Remember us would like to wish all our families. Staff and Volunteers a very happy Christmas and a happy new year. We would also like to wish all our grantors and all who have supported us during 2022 a very happy Christmas and a million thanks to all for their generosity to our charity.

As we approach year end, Balbriggan Meals on Wheels would like to thank, most sincerely, all those who supported the service throughout 2022. Huge thanks to all the volunteers and staff who enabled Meals on Wheels to continue providing meals throughout the year.In the run up to Christmas Balbriggan Meals on Wheels is seeking donations to help with the continuation of their service. You can help by making a monetary donation through the Balbriggan Meals on Wheels Facebook page or you can send your donation to Balbriggan Meals on Wheels, 14 Hampton Street, Balbriggan. You can also assist in the annual Food Drive in order to prepare hampers of food and essential items for distribution within the wider Balbriggan community. Donations of non-perishable foods and essential hygiene items can be brought to Balbriggan Meals on Wheels from Monday to Saturday from 9am to 1pm.Balbriggan Meals on Wheels is looking forward to continuing to provide meals for those in need in our community throughout 2023. They would like to wish all their service users and supporters all the very best wishes for Christmas and hope 2023 will be a great year for everyone. Balbriggan Meals on Wheels, 14 Hampton Street, Balbriggan.

Tel : 01 8416743 or Email: mealsonwheelsbalbriggan@gmail.com

On Saturday October 8th, St Colmcilles Gaelic for Mother and Others hosted their Blitz in aid of St Francis Hospice. Many teams were invited, 7 of them took St Colmcilles up on the offer, St Finians, Fingal Ravens, Na Dubh Ghall, Erins Isle, O Dwyers and Starlights. Over 100 women took to the pitch throughout the day, where each team played 3 matches each. All our referees volunteered their time and for this we are appreciate greatly.Friday night the preparation started where all the St Colmcilles ladies gathered and arranged all the spot prizes which were donated by local businesses and got the hall set up. O’ Dwyers from Balbriggan were voted Team of the Tournament by the referees. Each team donated to the Hospice and there was a raffle after the games to help raise further money for the hospice. Raising just under €3000 we would like to thank everyone involved in this great event.St Colmcilles G4M&O are always looking for new players, even if you’ve never kicked a football before, this LGFA initiative is a great way for women to meet up and have a laugh while getting exercise and learning a new skill. Contact Marian on 0876819540

We were privileged to host the head of JKS Worldwide, Kagawa Shihan 9th Dan JKS, recently for a training seminar. Over 4 hours, Kagawa Shihan gave masterful karate instruction in kihon, kata and kumite. Over 100 JKS members from across Ireland attended Applewood Community Centre to take part. The attendees ranged in age from 6 to over 60 years and Kagawa Shihan was mindful to cater to everyone who was training. We hope to have him visit next year again. It is great to offer our students the opportunity to train which such a high calibre Karateka. Congratulations are in order for three students who were presented with their Dan Diplomas by Kagawa Shihan at the seminar. Brian Horgan and Conor Glennon received their 1st Dan Diplomas, while Vincent Clarke received his 4th Dan Diploma. All of these karateka were dedicated in their training to achieve their Dan grades through tough examinations. Regular training continues weekly in Applewood Community Centre. All classes are enjoying being back to a regular schedule after the summer break and are working towards the next event which is the 2nd JKS Inter Club Competition which will be held in Tallaght.We hope to have some medal winners on the day.We take new members (Children, Young People & Adults) all through 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 Ken Duffy

This year we have once again linked up with the Transition Year students from both Fingal and St Finnian’s Community Colleges. We linked up with the students as community work is one part they must undertake to achieve their Gaisce Awards. Recently Swords Tidy Towns have had enquires from other Tidy Towns asking how they should go about involving Transition Year students in their areas. It is a great initiative which we have embraced wholeheartedly, the students are a joy to work with, youth and age working harmoniously together, it bodes well for the future. We wish other Tidy Towns success and good luck in their efforts to link up with their TY students. Swords Tidy Towns await with bated breath the results of this year’s National Tidy Towns competition, a lot of hard work has been put in this year. We have been successful the past four years achieving a National Silver Medal on each occasion. It would be nice if a gold was awarded to us this year, it would be a fair reflection on the hard work and dedication put in over many years by our volunteers. The early nights are upon us, so Swords Tidy Towns have cancelled their usual Wednesday night clean ups. We now only meet on a Saturday morning at 10am in the car park of Colourtrend opposite the Central SC, we are very grateful to Colourtrend management for facilitating us. We can be contacted at our email address swordstidytowns@gmail.com