At the end of October young people from Really Cool Adventure, a Balbriggan-based youth organisation, travelled to the coastal town of Ünye, on Türkiye’s Black Sea, to take part in an inspiring Junior Model United Nations (JMUN) project — co-funded by the European Union through Erasmus+.
The project was hosted by Prof. Dr. Necmettin Polvan İlköğretim Okulu school, together with partners from Ireland, Türkiye, Greece, and Romania. Throughout the week, young delegates stepped into the shoes of world leaders to debate the urgent global issue of climate change. They represented different countries, searched for practical solutions, and learned how diplomacy and teamwork can shape a better future. The group also met the Mayor of Ünye, Hüseyin Tavlı, to discuss how young people can take an active role in politics and climate action.
The event went far beyond formal debate — it was a vivid intercultural experience. Participants joined creative workshops, shared national traditions, and spent a day at a local Turkish school to see how education works in another country. They also explored the beauty of northern Türkiye, from Ordu’s panoramic views of the Black Sea to Amasya’s ancient tombs, apples, and the romantic legend of Ferhat and Şirin.
For many, the experience was truly transformative:
Nikola Brykala shared: “I made great friends and discovered confidence I didn’t know I had. Erasmus is way better than a normal holiday!”
Julia Gruba added: “The memories I made here are unforgettable — this trip has genuinely been one of the best.”
Project coordinator Marzena Stronska said: “Watching our young people speak with such confidence and curiosity makes us incredibly proud. This project shows them that their voices matter, and that they can lead positive change.”
The JMUN project in Ünye once again proved that Really Cool Adventure is more than a youth group — it’s a gateway for young people from Balbriggan and surrounding areas to learn, travel, and grow as global citizens.
To join our next Really Cool Adventure follow @ReallyCoolAdventure on Facebook and Instagram.
2025 was a very special year for Balbriggan Meals on Wheels as we marked the 50th anniversary of our foundation and 1st January 2026 will mark 50 years since the very first meals were delivered.
As we approach the end of this special year, Balbriggan Meals on Wheels would like to thank most sincerely, all those who supported the service throughout 2025. Huge thanks to all our volunteers and staff who enabled us to continue providing meals throughout the year. Thank you also to all those in the Balbriggan community who supported us in any way.
Balbriggan Meals on Wheels is looking forward to continuing to provide meals for those in need in our community throughout 2026. We would like to wish all our service users and supporters all the very best wishes for Christmas and hope 2026 will be a great year for everyone.
Balbriggan Meals on Wheels, 14 Hampton Street, Balbriggan.
Tel : 01 8416743
Email: mealsonwheelsbalbriggan@gmail.com
The Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch of Guide Dogs has been busy over the last few months in the lead up to Christmas. Our branch attended the Balbriggan Pumpkin Patch over the bank holiday in October and raised a fantastic €484.79 over the weekend. Our Branch also had a fantastic coffee morning at Skinny Batch Bakery in Lusk on the 4th November where coffees were flowing a plenty and a great time was had by all with some delicious cakes which made it all the better. We are delighted to have raised €284.70 on the day. A big thank you to everyone who visited us at both the pumpkin patch and Skinny Batch Bakery and of course, Skinny Batch Bakery owner Sharyn Hayden and her team for supporting us.
In November our Branch and volunteers attended SuperValu Balbriggan on Friday 13th, Saturday 14th and Millfield Shopping Centre, Balbriggan on the 28th and 29th November with our merchandise stand selling 2026 calendars, car raffle tickets and Christmas cards to name a few items! If you would like to get your hands on any of these items, please make sure to follow us on social media to find out where we’re going to be next.
Our last fundraiser of the year is on December 5th Friday in the strand bar rush 11 am to 5 pm
Xmas Cards, 2026 calendars, Merchandise and car raffle tickets costing €5 each will be available
Finally, we want to say a big thank you to all our volunteers and supporters throughout 2025. We appreciate every single one of you and thank you for all your support. Wishing you and all yours a Merry Christmas and a happy new year!
You can contact Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch of Irish Guide Dogs by phone/text 0857663107, email: GuideDogsBalbriggan@gmail.com or find us on Facebook at Balbriggan Branch of Guide Dogs.
Councillors have approved Fingal County Council’s budget of €433 million for 2026 which will sustain and enhance the quality of services being delivered as well as increasing funding for infrastructure projects across the county.
The 2026 budget is an 11.4% increase on last year and means the Council’s budget has more than doubled over the past 10 years from €214m in 2016. The Council is now spending €1,311 per person living in the county.
The new budget will see increases in some income streams that have not experienced rises for some years despite the Council’s expenditure more than doubling.
Commercial Rates, which amount to 40% of the overall income for 2026, will see an increase of 4% in the Annual Rateable Valuation to 0.1868. The Housing budget has increased by €24m to €159.8m and while funding for housing grants has increased by €2.5m to €9.4m while the Council’s contribution to the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive has increased by €1.25m to €5.3m.
There is an increase of €3.5m in the Operations budget which will include extra spending on road maintenance, public lighting, parks, playgrounds, recycling centres, harbours, public conveniences and burial grounds. The budget also provides for an additional €500,000 allocation to the annual programme of works with the full €3.08m works programme being brought to each Area Committee in January for approval by councillors.
An additional €600,000 has been provided towards the funding requirement for the delivery of a swimming pool in Balbriggan. The sports budget also includes sports capital grants of €975,000.
An extra €430,000 has been allocated for the development of arts in the County while there is an increase of €588,000 for events, tourism promotion and heritage properties. The Community budget includes an additional €590,000. This will provide additional funding for community grants as well as funding for the operation of the new community centre in Baldoyle.
Fingal’s contribution to the running of the Dublin Fire Service will be €27.3m, an increase of €1.5m on 2025, with the remainder of the €139m it will cost to fund the service in 2026 being covered by contributions from the other three Dublin local authorities.
At the Council meeting in July councillors voted to reduce the rate of Local Property Tax by 5% for 2026 while in October they approved a three-year Capital programme containing over three hundred projects worth €1.43billion.
The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Tom O’Leary, said: “This record budget of €433m is the equivalent of the Council spending €1,311 for every person living in the county. Along with our €1.43billion Capital Programme, the budget is reflective of the huge amount of investment required to keep pace with Fingal’s growing population. We have to keep supplying services, building houses, and delivering infrastructure because we want to build a county that is meeting the needs of its residents.”
Whilst walking around Swords recently a passerby asked, “Do you have the time?”. Once a common question but something seldom heard since we evolved to grow that appendage known as the smart phone. The random encounter with the time seeker got me thinking about how much daily life has changed since we Baby Boomers (1946 – 1964) cast a youthful shadow upon the earth. Not everyone had a watch and those who did had to wind them on a regular basis. The local phone box was our digital hub. To use the facility, the speed of an Olympian runner and the cunning of a wise old fox were mandatory in order to reach its door before a certain neighbour. Should she cross the finish line before you, a battle of the irresistible force and immovable object ensued, as she attempted to break the world record for the longest phone call in history. We didn’t get a landline till the early nineties. Years earlier when my father was in hospital, I rang to enquire how he was doing. Instead of the stock reply “As well as can be expected”, a helpful nurse put him on to me. As he had never heard my voice on the phone before, it took all my diplomatic skills to convince him I wasn’t an imposter.
Today shopping is a leisure activity. Back then it was a necessary chore to replenish the basics. Before self-service, we queued at a high counter and timidly asked the shopkeeper (some could be grumpy and hadn’t the customer is always right) for what we wanted. Food hygiene was not in their vocabulary, as cooked and uncooked meats were cut on the same slicer. School lunches are in the news at the moment. Our mothers sent us forth with jam or soggy tomato sandwiches accompanied by a Tupperware beaker of milk to wash them down. We didn’t carry designer water bottles (that other modern day appendage) and survived drinking water of dubious quality water from the roadside pump. We learned to write with a nib pen and ink, and became highly skilled in the art of ducking - a crucial skill to avoid the incoming blackboard duster on a collision course for our heads.
Perhaps the real answer to the passerby is -A very different time!
The 18th Annual Valley Walk in aid of Irish Cancer Society took place on Saturday and within just a few days over €8,000 was already raised!
People come from far and wide every year meeting at Peacocks pub car park in River Valley for registration and refreshments, and the scene quickly became a sea of yellow with the walkers’ Irish Cancer Society t-shirts as they started the 5km walk around the lovely park and woods.
The total raised so far since 2008 is 130 thousand. Further details are available from Margaret Harris on 087 221 3605.
By Ken Duffy
Swords Tidy Towns have been up and running for over twenty years now, in that time the face of Swords has changed dramatically. This change is due in no small part to the hard work put in by our volunteers over that twenty-year period who contributed their time and energy to that change. Many volunteers have passed through our doors in that time and many the long-time friendships blossomed.
A town is much more than bricks and mortar, it’s the community that thrives within, they are its heart and soul, they breathe life into it, they give it it’s character. It is their willingness to volunteer and contribute to the betterment of their community that pushes our town forward.
Swords has come a long way since it was designated a litter black spot in 2003, today it is a 2024 national Gold Medal winner. This speaks volumes about the commitment of our Swords Tidy Towns volunteers, and the many other community volunteer organisations who strive to do their best for Swords.
Swords Tidy Towns waits with bated breath for this year’s National Tidy Towns medal results, did we or did we not once again achieve Gold Medal status. All we can do, is keep our fingers crossed.
Swords Tidy Towns offers a friendly welcome to new volunteers, a nice cuppa with biscuits and a chat after each Saturday morning work. We are very well taken care of by Willie and his wonderful team at the Old Schoolhouse.
We meet each Saturday at 10am in the car park of Cove & Co previously known as Colourtrend which is opposite the Swords Garda Station, we would love to see you there, just turn up. If you require any further info contact me Ken Duffy Chairperson on 086-6008313
On Tuesday morning 4th of November in skinny batch Coffee Shop Lusk a fundraising coffee morning will be held to raise money for the Balbriggan\North County Dublin Branch of Irish guide Dogs for the blind.
Running from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm, there will be guide dogs Xmas cards, 2026 calendars for sale and a car raffle ticket costing euro5 each to win a Ford Puma later in the year
All money raised goes for the training of guide dogs for blind people and assistance dogs for children with Autism. All involved in this fundraiser are total volunteers and we wish to thank Sharyn Hayden of Skinny Batch Food Ltd Lusk and her team for organizing this lovely event.
Should any reader of this article wish to volunteer with the branch or indeed become a puppy raiser from the readership of this article please contact us on below details. We can never have enough volunteers and without puppy raisers no guide or assistance dog can be trained. We need you.
More details on www.guidedogs.ie To contact our branch of guide dogs’ email guidedogsbalbriggan@gmail.com or call 085-7663107.
Tom O’Neill, guide dog owner and co-chair of the branch
On Friday the 10th of October Rush Tidy Towns held their 2025 Volunteer of the year awards at a lavish ceremony at Rush Golf Club. Fingal Mayor Tom O Leary was the guest of honour and he presented all the awards to the deserving recipients culminating with the announcement of Neil McKeown as Volunteer of the Year. Other award winners included project of the year which went to Carl Jones and Chris Rooney for their Vintage Pump refurbishment project, and the Clean Coasts award which went to Paul Moore and Richard Spenser for their river cleaning pursuits. In all 9 awards were presented to 16 different volunteers. The awards meal was kindly sponsored by Rush Community Council.
Commenting on the occasion, Brendan O’Reilly, Chairperson of Rush Tidy Towns said, “it is very important we recognise the dedication and commitment displayed by so many loyal volunteers, as they are the lifeblood of our group, and without them the committee would not get though a fraction of the work done for the betterment of the town which we are all so proud of”
If you would like to become a volunteer and be involved in the community, please contact tidytownsrush@gmail.com for more information.
Xmas Jumper Swap
Rush Tidy Towns are delighted to announce the annual Christmas Jumper Swap held in Rush Community Centre. This is your opportunity to bring your preloved jumpers and swap them for a different one for the festive seasons. See flyer for further detail.
The magic of Christmas is returning to Rush! Join us on Saturday, 29th November 2025, from 4–6pm in Echlin Court for the Rush Christmas Lights Switch-On — a festive celebration that marks the true beginning of the holiday season in our town.
This much-loved annual event brings our whole community together for an evening of sparkle, song, and smiles. Expect joyful music, plenty of festive treats, and a special visit from Santa himself as we light up Rush for Christmas 2025! Families, friends, and neighbours are all invited to gather in Echlin Court and share in the warm, welcoming spirit that makes Rush so special at this time of year.
But we need your help to Keep Rush Lit. Each year, it becomes more challenging to raise the funds needed to power, maintain and safely install our beautiful Christmas lights. These lights don’t just brighten up the streets — they brighten up hearts, bringing festive cheer to residents, visitors, and local businesses alike.
The truth is, without enough donations, we won’t be able to put up the lights this year. We know times are tough, but every contribution - big or small - truly makes a difference. Your generosity keeps the spirit of Christmas shining bright across our town.
So, mark your calendars, wrap up warm, and bring your Christmas spirit to Echlin Court on November 29th. Let’s make this year’s light switch-on the brightest one yet — and help us Keep Rush Lit!
