Significant investment has been secured for Fingal projects at the most recent Dublin Rural LEADER Approvals Meeting. The Dublin Rural LEADER Local Action Group, which oversees the Programme in Dublin, approved €230,748.76 in funding for 5 new projects in Rural Dublin at its November Online Meeting. This brings the total number of projects approved during the LEADER Transition Programme to 15 since it began on April 1st, 2021, with a total value of €543,984.52. The approved projects are in the areas of Economic Development, Rural Environment and Social Inclusion. Fingal LEADER Partnership CEO, Eilish Harrington, welcomed the approval of the 5 projects. “All were excellent projects enhancing services in the rural towns and villages of Fingal. It’s great to see communities benefiting from LEADER funding to help develop and grow their amenities, especially during the difficult times we are all currently in. I would encourage more rural communities and businesses to contact LEADER to avail of the remaining funds during the next 14 months.” Amongst the projects approved for funding are: Balbriggan Meals on Wheels which is approved for €24,063.75 for an outdoor dining area which will be of enormous help to facilitate the provision of meals to their clients in a safe outdoor setting. Donabate Portrane Community Centre CLG which is approved for €24,354.00 for a feasibility study to capture the needs of existing groups that use the facilities to assist and guide them in expanding in line with community needs.Also St Maur’s GAA Club Rush which is approved for €89,154.58 to install rainwater harvesting and irrigation in St Maur’s GAA Club premises and for use on the pitches. The Project will reduce the demand on the public water supply and reduce the volume of water going into the public drainage system. Welcoming the latest funding announcement, the Mayor of Fingal, Cllr. Seána Ó Rodaigh said “I would like to thank the Local Action Group for its support of these Fingal Projects which will enable the continued development of sustainable communities in our rural areas’’.

Ten local social enterprises in Fingal including two from Balbriggan have been awarded over €37,000 in funding by the Department of Rural and Community Development to help them with their capital costs.The small grants were announced by Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD as part of a €1 million fund to support 247 Social Enterprises across Ireland. The Fingal Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) will be distributing the funding to the ten Fingal social enterprises on behalf of the Department.Social enterprises are businesses that work primarily to improve the lives of people. Their core objective is to achieve a social, societal, or environmental impact. Like other businesses, social enterprises pursue their objectives by trading in goods and services on an ongoing basis. Welcoming the announcement, Chief Executive of Fingal County Council AnnMarie Farrelly said: “Social Enterprises have a positive effect on society and play an important role within the local community. They are helping to develop solutions to some of Fingal’s most pressing social issues by creating jobs, tackling disadvantage and supporting community development “ The grants under this scheme will particularly benefit smaller or start-up social enterprises who do not have ready access to essential funding that can help them to upgrade or purchase additional equipment in order for them to help deliver services to those most in need.” Minister Humphreys said: “This funding will assist almost 250 Social Enterprises with specific costs in relation to their facilities. In some cases, it will cover the cost of fixing a leaky roof or putting in a new kitchen. The grants may be small in nature, but I know they will greatly assist Social Enterprises the length and breadth of the country who have continued to serve their communities through the Pandemic.”Balbriggan Community Childcare received €825 and Balbriggan Men’s Shed received €2,746.

Congratulations to the Fingallians Hurlers and Mentors on beating Erins Isle to win the Dublin Go Ahead Intermediate Hurling Championship recently with a scoreline of 1-18 to 0-10 points. It was an absolutely fantastic display of hurling throughout the game and it goes to show that all the hard work and early morning training sessions have paid off.

With all sport back in action, Swords Tennis Club has celebrated a return to the courts by being presented with a Tennis Ireland Bronze Clubmark Award. The Award aims to identify, develop, accredit and recognise high quality tennis clubs in Ireland and their contribution to the development of tennis in Ireland. Mayor of Fingal Cllr Seána Ó Rodaigh commented: “I would like to say a huge Comhghairdeas ó chroí libh to Swords Tennis Club on the Tennis Ireland Bronze Clubmark Award. The club committee and volunteers have put in a lot of time and hard work over the past number of months and years and this award celebrates that passion and dedication.”Presenting the Award, Shane Cook, President of Tennis Ireland said: “It was a great pleasure to present Swords Tennis Club with this accolade. Their enthusiasm and energy is infectious and shows how much the Club strives to be the best in its field.” Swords Tennis Club Chairperson Stephen Girvin commented: “What we thought might be an arduous task turned into one of the most rewarding club experiences. The process of putting together the requirements for the award, many of which we already had and guarded by former committee members, gave us a growing confidence in the way we were running the club.” Swords now takes its place amongst the other Tennis Ireland Clubmark accredited Fingal Tennis Clubs including Portmarnock Tennis Club, Donabate Portrane Tennis Club, Castleknock LTC, Sutton LTC, and Grove LTC. Tennis is a sport for life so if you are thinking of giving it a try, get in touch with the Fingal Tennis Development Officer to find out how you can get involved in your local area, Contact:tara.rdo@tennisireland.ie

It has been a very busy and fruitful 2021 for Swords Tidy Towns considering the country is going through a major pandemic. We worked on and completed our Frontline Workers Commemorative Garden. We linked up with both Fingal and Swords Community Colleges to accommodate 23 of their TY students each Saturday for a 20-week period. We were finalists in this year’s Pakman National Awards, our mural on the Brackenstown Road is on its way to completion. Swords Tidy Towns linked up with the Swords Woodland Association on a 3000-tree planting project. The Rock Garden on the Rathbeale Road which is a collaboration between ourselves and Fingal County Council achieved yet another Green Flag Award. The icing on the cake for us was winning yet again a Silver Medal in the National Tidy Towns Competition making it four in a row, maybe Gold next year, fingers crossed.Swords Tidy Towns are very grateful for all the financial support received through the year from local business, without whose generosity we would have had to cut back on our projects. Thanks must also go to Fingal County Council and the various Dept Heads who have worked with us and who have provided us with their expertise when needed. A big thanks to our local Public Representatives for always being there for us. Finally, to you the wonderful Joe Public who have at all times been complimentary to our members when out working on our streets and for doing the same on our Facebook and Twitter pages. It is the support we get from all of you that feeds us, uplifts us and empowers us to do better things. To all the aforementioned, the volunteers of Swords Tidy Towns wish you all A Very Happy Covid Free Christmas and New Year.

Cllr Darragh Butler said recently that, “ MetroLink has been in the news quite a lot in recent days and weeks and unlike the national media and many other commentators, I would like to take the positives out of what was announced. The good news is that the planning application should go in next year, 2022, better late than never and depending on permission being granted, if work could then potentially start by 2025 with a delivery as early as 2031, that would be as good as we could hope for at this stage and I’d do cartwheels down Swords Main Street if this could be delivered as media reports back in October were saying 2034 or later. The positive news is that MetroLink remains a committed part of the National Development Plan and I will continue to work as hard as I can to get this project back on track and delivered as soon as possible. In terms of COP26 and getting to net zero carbon omissions and achieving the 1.5C temperature goal set, MetroLink and other large scale transport projects are vital as part of these solutions, to get traffic off our roads and to make public transport more attractive to commuters.”

Councillor Darragh Butler, Eilish Monaghan (Cousin), Councillor Brigid Manton and Councillor Cathal Boland attended the unveiling of a plaque on Sunday 7th November 2021 at Prosper Fingal School, Swords to honour Pte. Matthew Farrell who lost his life in the service of peace at Niemba, Congo on 8th November 1960. Prosper Fingal School, Swords.

In 1960, a civil war broke out in the former Belgian Congo. The United Nations intervened and an international force of army peacekeepers were sent there. This force included a contingent of Irish Army troops. On 8 November 1960, a patrol consisting of 11 members of the 33rd Battalion of the Irish Army, was ambushed by the local secessionist Baluba tribesmen. 8 of the patrol were killed, some clubbed to death and three survived by hiding in the bush. 1 was killed the following day, and 2 survivors were found later that day. Those who died at the spot were: Lt Kevin Gleeson from Terenure; Sgt Hugh Gaynor, Leixlip; Cpl Peter Kelly, Templeogue; Cpl Liam Dougan, Cabra; Pte Matthew Farrell from Swords; Pte Thomas Fennel, Donnycarney; Pte Gerard Killeen, Rathmines and Pte Michael McGuinn from Carlow were posthumously awarded medals in 1998.The two survivors were Trooper Thomas Kenny and Private Joseph Fitzpatrick.

The news that Riot Games, the developer and publisher best known for League of Legends, has chosen a location in Swords for its new Remote Broadcast and Content Production Centre has been welcomed by Fingal County Council. Announcing that the new digital broadcast and production facilities will open in Airside Retail Park by January 2022, the decision by Riot Games to expand their operations means over 120 new jobs will be created locally. Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly said: “This is a fantastic win for Fingal. It helps highlight the fact that we are well placed to attract international business and reaffirms our ambitions to provide sustainable economic growth and opportunities across the county. Our team have worked hard to secure this as a viable option for Riot Games as they look to expand their global esports capacity, so we are thrilled that they have chosen Swords as the first of three facilities that they will establish around the world as part of their follow-the-sun model.”

St Sylvester’s U12’s boys have just completed a cracking season. Having received the support of new jerseys courtesy of Joe Duffy BMW at the start of the season, they represented Syls with pride and determination. All four football teams and all three hurling teams finished the season in the top half of their respective leagues. They proved more than a match for all that their opponents ( and Covid ) could throw at them. Certainly, one of the highlights will be the boys who went unbeaten all season and were TOP of their Football A division group. The boys enter the Christmas break having earned a well deserved break, and we look forward to what the future holds for them all.

By MARK HENRY

If you follow the headlines, you could be forgiven for thinking that things in Ireland in 2021 are worse than ever. In fact, we live longer than ever before, we have never been healthier or better educated, we earn five times more than our grandparents did, our personal freedoms exceed those of any previous generation, and the lives of women and children have been transformed for the better. At a time when some good news is welcome, this uplifting book tells our national story through facts and stats, placing Ireland under the microscope to chart 100 undeniable achievements of the past 100 years.When the State was formed, Ireland was one of the most poverty-stricken nations in Europe. Now ithas the second-highest standard of living in the world. While there is still more to be done, ‘In Fact’ illustrates that Ireland, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than you might think.This is an ideal Christmas gift from a local authorMark Henry has spent a lifetime analysing trends and what drives them. He trained as a psychologist and led the research and strategy functions of Irish technology companies before turning to do the same for the tourism sector. Having spent the past two decades telling people all over the world what a great country Ireland is, he is passionate about sharing the incredible progress we have made.

www.markhenry.ie.
For further details contact Fiona Murphy at Gill Books: 086 8389611