What wonderful weather we have just enjoyed, but now we must get down to the serious business of deciding what to do for the Autumn and Winter ahead! Active Age is here with great ideas and a brilliant Programme of classes to help you decide! For those new to the Peninsula Active Age for All (AAfA) was launched on the Donabate Portrane peninsula in 2015. It is a community organisation that provides social and recreational activities for those over 55 aimed at promoting health and wellbeing with an emphasis on enjoyment. New members are warmly welcomed. We run an extensive programme of classes from Sit and Get Fit, to Pilates and Yoga and Tai Chi and Stronger for Longer. With something for every level of fitness. We also provide language classes, Singing & Music and Drama. As part of our community work we offer some free activities - Croquet, Indoor Bowls, and Boules. Registration for all classes - paid and free - will start on the 5th of September and will continue on the 6th and 7th in Donabate/Portrane Community Centre. Details of dates, and times of classes and our programme is available on our website activeageforall.com. If you need any information about AAfA or our activities please email activeageforall@gmail.com Or Text only to 0868806808.

Wednesday September 14th

‘The Battle for Dublin, 1922’–Liz Gillis.

Wednesday September 28th

‘Sarah Cecilia Harrison, Dublin’s First Female Councillor’–Thomas Burke.
Both lectures will take place at 6 p.m. in the Conference Room of Dublin City Library & Archive, 144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2. Admission is free and all are welcome.

“The sea, that blue end of the world”…- Elizabeth Barrett Browning - Now in its third year, the Fingal Poetry Festival weekend will run from the 15-18th September following its launch at the Illumination of Floraville on Thursday, September 1st. The Festival celebrates the light that poetry brings to our lives and the sea, which is precious to all and in peril.The full programme is available on our website www.fingalpoetryfestival.comExpect to find poetry in unexpected places — on shop windows, pavements — and, colourfully illuminated and projected at Floraville, our lovely little park right in the heart of town beside the Library. The Festival weekend will have something for everyone — from an aerial dance spectacle to poetry walks through the High Woods of Ardgillan Castle and Red Island, lunchtime poetry readings, glittering evenings filled with live music and an especially commissioned film poem by Pat Boran. We hope to welcome the next generation of poets through exhibitions of local pupils’ poems in Fingal Libraries, a visit by Laureate na nÓg Áine Ní Ghlinn, a Family Poetry Fest, and other fun family-friendly events. If you would prefer to participate online, come along to our virtual ‘Night Sky’ or ‘An Dán ar Ardán’ poetry workshops! In a unique event on Saturday, the Deaf Poets’ Society will share their work, voiced by an interpreter — have a look at our website programme for a full list of ISL interpreted events. As ever, the Irish language is a pillar of the Festival. We would love to see you at our bilingual poetry readings, Comhrá & Craic, the Clinic Leaghair (Book Clinic),or the Seomra Open Mic on Sunday. Reaching out into the wider Fingal community, we will have three workshops in Fingal schools.Enda Coyle-Greene, Artistic Director, said “At our previous ‘live’ events, I’ve loved the reactions of our audiences, especially perhaps those people who mightn’t normally have considered poetry to be ‘their thing‘ (or could just be nursing a hangover from school and exams!) Our programme this year features a broad range of poets from Ireland and elsewhere, including Leontia Flynn, Michael O’Loughlin, Aifric Mac Aodha, Kate Miller, Dermot Bolger, and many more, so there should be a reading to suit everyone.”Fingal Poetry Festival is supported by the Arts Council Ireland, Foras na Gaeilge, Fingal CountyCouncil, Fingal Libraries, Leabhair Pháistí Éireann, Laureate na nÓg, Poetry Ireland, and RTÉ Supporting the Arts. Our international poetry competitions, The Fingal Poetry Prize and An Fiach Dubh – the Irish language prize, are sponsored by DHL International Forwrding and Progressive Credit Union, respectively. If you would like to volunteer at the Festival, send us an email at fingalpoetryfestival@gmail.com!

We are delighted to announce Roberto Bonello as the new Director of Underage Coaching for Glebe North FC. Roberto will be responsible for all aspects of coaching education for both underage Players and Coaches alike. Roberto has a wealth of coaching knowledge and experience that will only benefit our club going forward. Congratulations and best wishes Roberto.

We are delighted to announce Ian Murphy as Men’s team Captain for the new season.

Ian takes over from Conor Caldwell, who was at the helm for an incredible five seasons! This was Conor’s second stint as Captain, having previously captained the team in season 2009-2010. We want to thank Conor for his outstanding service to Balbriggan RFC. Conor isn’t going too far and will still be involved with the team as a player. Ian has an impressive record as a player. He has played with Balbriggan RFC since he was a youth. Ian has been ever-present on the men’s team and has more than 100 Caps playing senior rugby for Balbriggan RFC. Ian mainly plays at out-half and centre, but has also played in other positions including wing, full-back and wing-forward. We wish Ian well as he leads the team into the new season.

Our Women’s Team had a brilliant win last night , there was a little bit of history as Skipper Lara Maritz became the first Balbriggan Women’s player to score a century with a spectacular 108 Not Out , Lara was backed up ably by her sister Tess who was 23 not out at the end , it was an excellent team performance with our young bowlers getting valuable experience and everyone backing each other in the field. The team spirit in coach Chuka Uba’s squad is fantastic and evident in the team pics.

Did you know that all services from Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind are free of charge. However, it costs €5m a year to run the charity and €53,000 to breed, train and care for one Guide Dog during its working lifetime.85% of the funding comes from fundraising, corporate partners and gifts in Wills.It takes 2 years to train a dog and a working dog will generally retire around the age of 10. Currently there are, 184 working Guide Dog Partnerships, 213 working Assistance Dog Partnerships.We are happy to provide some puppy in training updates. Voldee has been in Stamullen with Adele Halpin for two months and is settling well. Adele says Voldee attended his first dance show recently and the music and dancers didn’t faze him. He’s showing great signs of confidence. Adel, who is in Cork, is progressing very well in her training as an Assistance Dog and will hopefully be graduating at the end of August of early September.Andy Green of our Balbriggan/North County Dublin branch’s Guide Dog Ollie recently graduated and Andy said that, “He is a joy to have and as Guide Dogs go he is a pleasure to work and has like my previous dogs enhanced my life in the best possible way. It’s great to be out and about with a working dog again and to feel confident in getting around the place again. So if you see us be sure to stop and say hello to the chaos that is Ollie and I.”

Our Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch will be in Bremore Castle Food and Craft Village on Sunday the 4 th September from 10am – 4pm. Make sure to pop over and say hello. We currently have a large collection dog in storage that is looking for a new home with plenty of footfall to get it filled up. Please contact our Balbriggan/North County Dublin branch if you have any ideas. If you would like to volunteer, you can also contact us on Facebook, by email at GuideDogsBalbriggan@gmail.com or by mobile on 085 766 3107.

The Write Time Festival is taking place this September in Balbriggan Library. Would you like to know more about writing short stories? If so we have a 4 week online course called Crafting Short Stories starting on Tuesday the 6th of September.

Please book on Eventbrite: Crafting Short Stories with Fiona O’Rourke

Online 4-week Course, 12 participants

Booking via Eventbrite:www.eventbrite.ie/e/391076017897

Week 1: Tuesday 6th September, 7 - 8.30 pm (Online via zoom)

Week 2: Tuesday 13th September, 7 - 8.30 pm (Online via zoom)

Week 3: Tuesday 20th September, 7 - 8.30 pm (Online via zoom)

Week 4: Tuesday 27th September, 7 - 8.30 pm (Online via zoom)

Want to explore the short story form? Get reading, get talking, get writing! This practical 4-week course explores one published short story per session. The story will be circulated beforehand for in-class discussion on elements of the craft. Each session will include guided writing exercises inspired by the featured story to help writers generate new prose in the short form.

Please note that participants must be able to attend all 4 sessions.Also, by signing up, participants agree to their email address being shared with the course facilitator, Fiona O’Rourke, as she will circulate the reading material in advance.

Fiona O’Rourke, M.Phil. Creative Writing (Trinity College Dublin) Fiona is an author and facilitator whose short stories have been broadcast for radio and published and translated in journals and anthologies. She was a winner in the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair and runs a writing collective, eXpress Writing Community. She facilitates writing courses and mentorships with the Irish Writers Centre, libraries, and festivals.

Join Balbriggan and District Historical Society on September 28th in the Bracken Court Hotel at 8pm for a talk by Jim Herlihy on the Irish police force An Garda Siochána who are celebrating 100 years this year.We were delighted to return to in person talks this year and meet up again with old friends of the Society. The Balbriggan & District Historical Society Committee are pictured at our March talk Irish National Foresters - St Molaga Branch, No.315 (Balbriggan) 1897-1942 “ by Jim Walsh We enjoyed an excellent presentation in April from Declan Brady on Frank Lawless, 1870-1922: Fingal’s Revolutionary Politician Our May talk was on the Building of Balbriggan Harbour by Rory McKenna and Rory shared his knowledge again along with Jim Walsh Brian Howley and Bernie Kelly at our Historical Walk as part of the Balbriggan Summerfest and again during Heritage Week as part of the Balbriggan Beach Activity Festival. Our August talk was on Genealogy and tracing your family history with Colm Timmons. Find out more about our Society at balbrigganhistory.com

Another great week of fun in our summer camps. It was great to see such hurling and camogie skills on display. Thanks to all our coaches, helpers and Naoise & Donagh for organising. Don’t forget kids and adults of all ages are always very welcome to join our club and play a part in our exciting future.