Nothing can stop our dynamic group of seniors who, through the pandemic, kept classes going online. Noticing that their weekly email that covered ideas about gardening, handy tips, and links to information that may have been of interest to members. Out of the approximately 200 members, we had 40 who did not have digital communication and this meant that they were not supported as other members were and when we started our Zoom exercise classes, they were not able to connect to them. We needed a solution to this isolation The ACORN project! We applied for a grant and were thrilled to receive it from the ‘Keep Well Campaign’ from Fingal Co Council and Age Friendly Fingal. With the help of this grant and the support of Donabate Portrane Community Centre we purchased 10 Acorn Tablets. The project is now running 4 x 3-month training courses where the AAfA member will have a loan of the ACORN tablet for three months. It is all about building people’s confidence and patience in classes. Staying connected to friends and family will be much easier. ACORN Tablets are simplified so that they are easier to use. Training has started in the local community centre with our first cohort of AAfA members and the classes are given by some of our members who have been specially trained to deliver the training and classes. If you live in the Donabate/Portrane area and would like to get involved in this project please contact us at DPCC where you can leave your name and phone number and we will get back to you about it. You can also text us your name and the word ‘computer’ to 086 8806 808. We would really like to offer this opportunity to as many people as possible.Active Age for All members would like to express our gratitude to Fingal County Council, Age Friendly Fingal, and DPCC for all their support with this Project. A Happy and Healthy New Year to you all !

Through the Lens photography club are happy to announce that their limited edition calendar for 2022 is now on sale! The calendar has enjoyed great popularity over the last few years; it makes an ideal gift to send to loved ones who live abroad, or indeed a welcome New Years present anywhere.The calendar is the clubs’ only fund-raising activity for the year .Given the present pandemic situation we fully understand that some people are reluctant to venture out too much, so if anyone would like to order a calendar we will gladly deliver. For orders please contact Carolyn Smith 0879284307. Also the Through the Lens AGM will be held in Donabate Golf Club on Monday 10th January at 7.30pm. The Through the Lens Photographic Group is open to anyone over 18, from beginners to more expert, who would like to join a group of like-minded people who enjoy photography. For more information call 085 2682266, or email info@throughthelens.ie. Club membership is €50/year, this includes pavilion membership and €20 bar credit. We cater for people 18 and up, and welcome all levels of skill and experience. We wish all our sponsors and supporters a very happy bright and healthy New Year.

Four businesses in the Fingal area are pedalling into the busy festive season with brand new eCargo bikes from Fingal County Council. These state of the art eCargo bikes are intended to replace the use of motor vehicles for local area deliveries. As part of its commitment to climate action and providing sustainable travel alternatives, Fingal County Council is providing the bikes free of charge to the businesses for 12 months.The initiative launched recently with delivery of the first two eCargo bikes to businesses in Malahide and Donabate with further launches happening next week in Rush and Blanchardstown. The bikes have been branded for each business and have been purchased by Fingal County Council. Maintenance of the bikes will be handled by Bleeper Bike for the duration of the pilot.David Storey, Director of Services for Environment, Climate Action and Active Travel, says throughout the next 12 months we will monitor how the bikes are used, what impact this switch to bike delivery has on how they do business and the impact on the environment compared to their usual delivery methods. We will also be getting regular feedback from the businesses themselves on how customers are responding.’ Amongst the businesses selected for the initial phase of the eCargo bike project are: The Village Garden Centre, Malahide, and the Altitude Coffee, Donabate.Hugh Cooney, CEO of Bleeper Bike, says he looks forward to building a picture of success as the bikes go into use. ‘Our eCargo bikes take advantage of the latest technology, they are lightweight and easy to manoeuvre so they are ideal for convenient local delivery. We will also gather data as they are used which will help us understand how the bike impacts the business and where and when they are best used. That data will help us plan for really successful adoption of eCargo delivery bikes.’

Balbriggan Cricket Club is a Senior Cricket club located in Balbriggan Town Park , Balbriggan. New playing members of all ages and abilities and pavilion members always welcome. The Club is based in the heart of Balbriggan and has 5 Senior Men’s teams , 2 Senior Women’s Teams , 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 or via balbriggancricketclub.com/contact/. Happy 2022 to all of you.

Can anyone provide a workspace for Akvile to complete a 2nd community mosaic? There may be a vacant shop or shed which someone local has and would allow her to use for just for 3 or 4 months. If you know of somewhere you can pm us or email balbriggantidytowns@gmail.com.

Just look at what she has achieved with her first mosaic! The amazing mosaic pictred below was, created by local artist, Akvile Simanskiene and has recently been installed at the end of Convent Lane. Akvile and her team have managed to create this stunning piece by making each individual tile from broken crockery and other reclaimed pieces. The intricacy of the workmanship and the precision needed is impressive. A really creative upcycling project. Thank you Akvile and all your team for this lovely gift and to #ourbalbriggan for the funding and support. The response to Akvile’s art work has been phenomenal so let’s help her get the next one done.

Fingal County Council Arts Office partnered with Word’s Ireland to provide professional development opportunities to support Fingal writers through the Word’s Ireland National Mentoring Programme. Four local writers, Niamh Donnelly, Mark Kielty, Shauna Smullen and Lisa Walsh have been selected by Words Ireland to receive professional literary mentoring over the next eight months from an acclaimed Irish writer of their choice.Niamh Donnelly is a writer from Dublin. Her fiction has been published in The Irish Times, The Ogham Stone, The Dublin Review, and elsewhere. She is also an arts journalist and was shortlisted for Critic of the Year at the 2019 Newsbrands Ireland Journalism Awards. She is currently working on a novel, provisionally titled Onboarding. Her writing focuses on any varied themes such as ambition, and also disillusion and cultural change.Mark Kielty is a Dublin based author who has already been published in four anthologies with his writing group, Cupán Fae. In 2021, he published his first short comic in Turning Roads: Irish Folklore Stories with Limit Break Comics. He writes mostly fantasy along with sci-fi, and superhero stories. When he’s not writing, he’s playing hurling or volunteering as a basketball coach with the Special Olympics. Also He is also currently working very hard on writing his first ever full length novel. Shauna Smullen is the co-editor of The Liminal Review. She is working on a collection of short stories about the effects of physical and emotional trauma on the body. Her intriguing and very interesting work has most recently was piblished and appeared in The Madrigal and also This is Not Where I Belong.Last but not least is Lisa Walsh is an emerging working class writer from Ballymun, now living in Santry. She began writing as a participant on the Write On course facilitated by Colm Keegan, in the Axis, Ballymun in 2013 at the age of 43. Most recently, she has completed the Stinging Fly’s six-month fiction workshop 2020, as run, in association with the Irish Writers Centre. Lisa is a playwright and is in the process of developing and furthering her skills as a novel and short story writer, creating new writing based on both her experiences growing up in Ballymun and as a professionally qualified social worker.

A new cross-border partnership established to foster economic growth along the key strategic route between Dublin and Belfast has announced its inaugural political leadership team who will help drive employment opportunities, address barriers impacting trade and encourage the delivery of better transport infrastructure.Cllr Pete Byrne from Newry, Mourne and Down District Council in Northern Ireland was elected as Chair of the Dublin Belfast Economic Corridor (DBEC) Oversight Board, a body made up of councillors from the eight local authorities along the corridor. Mayor of Fingal Cllr Seána Ó Rodaigh was named Deputy Chair.Speaking at DBEC’s first Oversight Board meeting, Deputy Chair Cllr Seána Ó Rodaigh said: “Alongside the obvious social and economic benefits of closer cross border collaboration in order to develop the corridor, what we are looking to help drive is greater inward investment, the boosting of trade opportunities for local businesses, increased production in key sectors and higher employment. This will be increasing important as the population along the corridor continues to grow.”Welcoming the new appointments, Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly said: “Since DBEC was launched earlier this year there has been a great deal of cooperation and collaboration going on between councils to ensure we can capitalise on the support this initiative has received from all levels of Government. Fingal is in a strong position to benefit from the joint effort to drive this key economic corridor forward, and we are working to identify new opportunities which can help boost connectivity, enable innovation, generate jobs and foster greater socio-economic growth.” New DBEC Chair Cllr Pete Byrne said: “We have a real opportunity through the work of DBEC to deliver jobs and sustainable growth along what is a major economic pipeline for the whole of the island. There is a rich and diverse range of sectors and a large number of businesses which we can help to grow, be it in Agri-Food, financial services, tourism, high tech manufacturing or construction.”

2021 was another difficult year, however through your help and support your local branch has raised €25,620.98 (end November). Facebook fundraiser by Balbriggan Feis organisers, members, dancers and supporters raised €966.25. Other Facebook fundraisers brought in €449. The #100K challenge for Guide Dog Day raised €6,520. Thankfully in November, we were able to get out into the community. SuperValu Balbriggan, on the 5th & 6th November was our first event. We had our new SumUp machine which allowed payments through credit cards and laser. Through your generosity €1,763 was raised. Next it was Millfield Shopping Centre, on the 12th & 13th November, when €1,693 was raised. We were nominated in the Tesco Community fund and received a cheque for €343. Thank you, Tesco and Lisa. Santa’s Grotto returned to Millfield Shopping Centre, in association with Specsavers. Donations from everyone who visited Santa are still coming in. On the 5th and 12th December, we participated in the Bremore Castle Food and Craft Village Christmas event. Money raised will be advised in next month’s piece. A massive ‘Thank you’ to all our volunteers and to everyone who supported us. Our counter boxes and large collection dogs located around Balbriggan, Skerries, Rush, Lusk and other North Co Dublin towns brought in €8,636.88. In February the new Tap to Donate €3 machine arrived in Specsavers and has raised €1,167. Thanks to Brian Brodigan, Specsavers Balbriggan, the Tap to Donate €3 machines have been rolled out through other Specsavers locations and all are doing well. Puppy in training Adel will celebrate her 1st birthday on the 29th January. Guide Dog owner Andy, who’s guide dog Nico retired during 2021, has qualified with a new guide dog Yorkie. Yorkie is a brother of Yarrow who Anne Mulligan puppy raised. We look forward to hearing more about this new partnership during the year. Everyone in your local branch wishes you all a safe and happy 2022 and we hope to see you throughout the year. Events will be posted online at facebook.com/Balbriggan.Branch.of.Guide.Dogs

Training at St. Mary’s Baton Twirlers returned in mid September and ran for approximately 10 weeks and we welcomed back many of our athletes and some new ones too.The focus for this period was primarily on improving personal fitness and worked on solo dance and freestyle routines.It was great to see everyone and get back to some normality.However, it was with heavy hearts that the coaches made a decision to have our last session for 2021 on Wed 24th Nov. We wanted our athletes to have a joyful end to their year, and so everyone wore their Christmas jumpers or pjs and we had our annual Christmas raffle. Many thanks to all the parents for their support.Each athlete got a selection box before they went home.We wish all our members and their families a very Happy and Safe Christmas and New Year. All going well we will return to training in January 2022. For more information about St. Marys Baton Twirlers please message our Facebook page or text 086 3270636.

Episode 5 Louise Mulcahy

Fingal County Council’s Arts Office presents ‘Once Upon A Sound at THE HIDE SCULPTURE’ Episode 5 featuring Louise Mulcahy.‘Once Upon A Sound at THE HIDE SCULPTURE’ sees acclaimed broadcaster Donal Dineen take us on a deep exploration of music in the company of some of the finest music makers in the land. Together they will tell the story of their sound, the songs, the instruments and their connection to them. In each series they will perform at THE HIDE SCULPTURE, a sculpture by artist Garrett Phelan that invites contemplation and deep listening. It is located along the Rogerstown Estuary, North County Dublin and home to a diverse population of resident and migrating birds that have chosen this place as their home. Once Upon a Sound at THE HIDE SCULPTURE is delighted to present Episode 5 – Louise Mulcahy. Donal Dineen describes the series and introduces Louise saying “The whole intention behind the Once Upon A Sound series is to get a look inside that special space which exists between a musician and their instrument. This is where the magic happens and each instalment thus far has brought us closer to the alchemy.In Episode Five we finally get to examine in detail the singular magic of the Uilleann Pipes with master piper Louise Mulcahy who was born into a musical family in Abbeyfeale, County Limerick.A veteran of several highly acclaimed albums and a multi award-winner, Louise’s repertoire is as broad and discerning as her instrumental virtuosity.The Council are delighted to present these episodes of ‘Once Upon A Sound at THE HIDE SCULPTURE’ with Donal Dineen who represents integrity and seriousness to his core audience, many of whom have developed their musical knowledge with him over many years. Donal is a consistent in his commitment to connect, understand and introduce to new perspectives on music to audiences for over two decades. ‘Once Upon a Sound at THE HIDE SCULPTURE’ featuring Louise Mulcahy can be viewed at vimeo.com/652500500 and will be available to view on Fingal Arts Vimeo and thehideproject.com where you can also catch up on the series so far with stunning performances by Liam Ó Maonlaí Anna Mieke, Niwel Tsumbu & Cormac Begley.