Jamie Painter Divisional Director of Portakabin Ireland, recently led his team to visit the DPCC centre. DPCC marked the occasion by signing a three-year contract with Portakabin for a standalone Portakabin Building that will allow DPCC service many additional activities and groups in our forward programmes.‘ We are always pressed for space said Sandra Mathews the acting General Manager of the centre and this favourable lease increases our capacities and our service flexibility.

On Monday, 12th September the Mayors of South Dublin and Fingal County Councils, the Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and the Lord Mayor of Dublin City Council officially launched Dublin Climate Action Week in the Round Tower Visitor Centre, Clondalkin. Dublin Climate Action Week ran until Saturday, 17th September. It offered a range of online and in-person events which aimed to inform citizens, increase awareness and highlighted the need for urgent climate action by all sectors of society. From climate festivals to film screenings, biodiversity walks to webinars and talks on a range of interesting climate topics, there was something for everyone. Events highlighted how both systemic change and individual action is required to tackle the climate crisis. Now in its second year, Dublin Climate Action Week was organised and delivered by the partnership of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, South Dublin County Council, Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council, Codema – Dublin’s Energy Agency and the Dublin Climate Action Regional Office (CARO).Through the ongoing implementation of Climate Change Action Plans, the Dublin Local Authorities are collaborating closely to deliver climate action, working to reduce our impact and are committed to leading by example in tackling this global issue. Well-coordinated regional and local climate action is critical to meeting our national and international climate targets and goals, and through our engagement with members of the public, local authorities are in a unique position to highlight the need for climate action, to communities across Dublin. The Mayors of the four Dublin Local Authorities jointly stated: ‘‘Climate Change continues to impact the Dublin Region, but we are working together to reach our climate targets. We organised Dublin’s second Climate Action Week to showcase our ongoing progress to the people of Dublin and elsewhere. Building on the success of last year we’ve launched another exciting programme of events across a range of themes.Each of us has a valuable contribution to make, it counts if we are all Taking Action, Together!”

The recent announcement that the long-awaited MetroLink project will become a reality has been welcomed by Fingal County Council, who believe that the rail project will bring an economic boost to the County and help provide much needed transport infrastructure for one of the fastest growing regions in Ireland. The planned Metrolink route will link locations including Swords and Dublin Airport to the city centre, with trains planned to operate every three minutes during peak periods once the line initially opens. Once fully operational it is anticipated that the network could be capable of carrying up to 20,000 passengers per hour in each direction. Serving major population centres as well as key business and employment points in Fingal, the multi-billion euro project is set to transform North Dublin and unlock new residential and economic lands for the Dublin Region.

Mayor of Fingal Cllr Howard Mahony said: “This is something which has been over 20 years in the making, so it is fantastic news to hear that this is finally going to move forward. “Fingal will be become one of the greatest beneficiaries once it begins service, particularly as the population here is one of the fastest growing in the country and there is huge demand for fast and reliable transport connections for the people who live and work here. What’s more, Metrolink will deliver tremendous gains for the environment and help reduce carbon emissions.” AnnMarie Farrelly, Chief Executive of Fingal said: “The Council has worked hard over many years to ensure that Fingal is Metrolink ready, so today’s announcement that it is set to progress is welcome news.“Having Metrolink servicing new and existing communities right along the M1 corridor from the city centre through to Swords will support the sustainable development of the Dublin Region unlocking the residential and economic potential of North Dublin.” Given its location, Fingal provides the most daily commuters into Dublin City with 28,641 making the journeys from their homes in Fingal while around 17,000 make the journey in the opposite direction to their place of work.

Last month Tesco Express in Ridgewood, Swords, Co. Dublin graciously donated €167 from the Tesco Community Fund to our Balbriggan/North County Dublin branch and we would like to thank the staff for this and the community for their votes. If you are not familiar, the Tesco Community Fund launched in 2014 and is a platform through which each Tesco store can provide financial donations to good causes within the local community. You can now nominate your favourite or a community group or good cause via the Tesco online application form: https://forms1.thrive-platform.com/tesco/community_fund_application. Since its introduction, Tesco has donated over €6 million to over 21,000 local community projects nationwide. This has made such a positive difference in communities up and down the country and we want to thank everyone who has voted for us in the past and continues to do so. With Halloween just around the corner, darker evenings approaching and no doubt loud fireworks in the lead up to it, here are some tips to keep your dogs/Guide Dogs/Assistance dogs safe and comfortable this October. Eoin Slattery, Technical Training Manager for the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind says “Our advice is to keep their dogs away from the front door and windows, play music and background noise to help them to keep calm. Many good pet stores sell products which help to relieve stress and induce calmness.” Some other tips include, keeping your dogs indoors as much as possible after dark, ensure you bring them for a walk during school hours or at meal times to minimise the exposure and tire the dog out so they will be more relaxed and sleep through the evening. Do not scold or fuss over a nervous dog as this can exacerbate the situation and reinforce the behaviour. We wish you all a safe and happy Halloween and remember, no tricks and no treats for your dog as chocolate is not safe for dogs. If you would like to volunteer for your Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch, you can of course contact us on Facebook, by email at GuideDogsBalbriggan@gmail.com or by mobile on 085 766 3107.

There were great scenes – and lots of great football – at Balscadden FC Girls U14s tournament which took place on Sunday 28th August in Ringcommons Sports Centre Balscadden, Stamullen, Raheny United, Skerries Town, East Meath, Lusk United ,Kilmore Celtic and Kilkenny FC took part in the competition which ran from early morning until the afternoon.It was the first time the tournament was held and a highly successful day was enjoyed by all..Kilkenny FC won the tournament, beating hosts Balscadden in a cracking final. Former Republic of Ireland international Olivia O’Toole presented all the players with their medals. “It was a fantastic day and we’re delighted with how everything went,” said Balscadden manager Michael Holohan. “We’re always looking for girls and boys to come out to the club to play with us so hopefully this will help us attract more young players.“It was great to see the players show their quality, and we’d like to thank Ringcommons Sports Centre for all their help too.”

Balbriggan has a Senior Cricket club located in Balbriggan Town Park , Balbriggan. New playing members of all ages and abilities and pavilion members always welcome.Balbriggan Cricket Club is based in the heart of Balbriggan and has 5 Senior Men’s teams, A Senior Women’s Team, 2 Social cricket teams and a big underage section of boys and girls teams for all ages.The Men’s and Women’s Adult Senior teams range from Premier league level down to the lowest league so if you are interested in joining you can be sure we will have a team that suits your playing level. We have excellent facilities with top class wickets and nets and you will find people practising most days of the week. The underage set up in Balbriggan is thriving , our ground and nets is a hive of activity every day from April to Sept in Balbriggan Town Park when underage coaching and Practice takes place. Kids from 5 years up can come along and experience cricket and will learn how to play the game with our experienced coaches. We also go to the local schools to teach kids the basics of the game during Jan, Feb and March To enquire about membership or training call or text 0860644238. Congratulations to our 2nds who secured promotion recently to the highest ever league we’ve been in after a very hard fought victory against Civil Service. Well done guys and girl, you had some super performances all year.

The weather may not have played ball with us, recently but it was great to see the return of the Beachy Cup to Balbriggan after a three year Covid induced absence. This Leinster North East competition, named in memory of John Beachy McCreanor took place at Balbriggan RFC. Teams from Ardee, Ashbourne, Balbriggan, Boyne, Navan and Ratoath took part. Despite the heavy rain the day was a great success. Balbriggan won the Beachy Cup, Boyne won the shield and Ashbourne won the bowl. The competition was played in great spirit with old friendships renewed. Thanks to Beachy’s family, Tanya and daughters Kasey and Iona who were on hand, with Kasey and Iona making the presentations.Thanks to our North East referees who officiated over all the matches that took place. Thanks also to Area President, David Rowland from Ratoath and Chairman of the Leinster Junior Committee, Pat Carolan from Wicklow who were also present. Finally, a special thanks to North East Hon Sec Cathal Myles for all his work in organising the Beachy Cup this year. It simply would not have happened without all his efforts. Here are some photos from the day including the traditional North East Group photo of all the players and match officials.

Well done to all three Fingal groups in the 2022 Pride of Place Competition which took place on September 13th & 14th. Our very own Balbriggan Men’s Shed have been selected. Also Oldtown Community Council and Mountview Community & Youth Centre in Dublin 15. Each group represented Fingal County Council in three different categories for the judging team to adjudicate. This year, Balbriggan Men’s Shed competed in a new category which highlights the best in Community Wellbeing and what better group to represent us than these men,.Well done to all concerned with the Men’s Shed.

HSE Foróige Youth Health Initiative aims to enable young people who need and deserve access to good quality youth work to get it, through educational and developmental programmes. We are looking for volunteers to help run Foroige Clubs across Balbriggan.Volunteers will receive full support and training from Foroige. Help make a difference to the young people’s lives living in your community. Contact Lorraine on 0860123078.

For our next talk on October 26th in the Bracken Court Hotel Balbriggan and District Historical Society are delighted welcome Cllr Grainne Maguire who will speak about the fascinating history of Balbriggan Dramatic Society and we will also have short presentations from the local history students from Lorreto Secondary school who were winners in a competition the Society is proud to sponsor.In August Colm Timmins gave a very interesting and informative talk on Genealogy and Balbriggan How to trace your own family and advised on the records to check.Some sites of interest are registers.nli.ie buriedinfingal.ie .genealogy.irelandcemetaryrecords.com or the Thoms Directories. We also joined with other Historical Societies to celebrate Heritage Week with the Heritage Network event in Malahide where Anne Collins spoke about the fantastic source that is the 1930s Schools Collection which can be searched on duchas.ie. In September we commemorated the centenary of An Garda Síochána with an event in the Bracken Court hotel which included a talk by Jim Herlihy. For further information see balbrigganhistory.com.