The AAfA AGM was held on the 27th January by Zoom and we are delighted to say that we have our new Committee in place for the next year. In the Chairperson’s welcome it was clear that the past 2 years have been very challenging due to ‘you know what’! The Committee showed great resilience and patience and keep up their spirits even when we reached the 3rd round of the ‘you know what’. Thankfully things began to look up at the end of last summer and, because of the incredibly high vaccination rate in our age profile, we did manage to run our classes from September until Christmas and that was wonderful for everyone concerned. We have not heard of a single outbreak that was linked to classes. Thank you everyone for playing your part.

With Omicron’s arrival, and due to the predicted peak for during January, we have delayed our start until early this month. If you have missed our registration days for classes, don’t panic – you can just text us on 086 8806808 with your name and we can arrange to get all set up for you. Equally, you can email us on activeageforall@gmail.com and we will get back to you to make your arrangements. Look out for notices in DPCC for additional registration days that will be added (if necessary).

The Through the Lens Photographic Club are pleased to report a very successful 2022 calendar sale last December. As we had done the previous year we sponsored the local St Vincent de Paul committee again this year and are delighted to have been able to contribute €1000 to this very worthy cause. The theme for the calendar has always been on local scenes and events, and as the years go by this could provide some historical reference in our rapidly expanding community. We know that a lot of these calendars are sent away to family and friends abroad, so it’s nice to think that pictures of our peninsula are gracing walls around the globe!

Donabate Portrane Community & Leisure Centre are in the process of conducting a study to assess the feasibility of extending our facilities. As part of the process we would like to gauge Local Residents and those who use the centres views. We would be grateful if you could take approximately 10 minutes of your time to complete the survey. Your views will help shape future enhancements to the centre. To take this survey please scan the QR code below with the camera on your phone or check it out on our facebook page.

It is never too late and you’re never too old ! Our picture shows our member Wendy Geary (99) enjoying a horse ride on Calvin, a perfect horse gentleman, on a lovely sunny morning in Corballis in January. All thanks to Henry Smith and Lisa Dandy of Corballis Farm Trekking for organising this for Wendy, she was absolutely thrilled to be on horseback again after so many years and thoroughly enjoyed herself. In fact she’s now in training for an outing on her 100th birthday in April !

Donabate Library Opening hours: Monday & Wednesday 1.15pm – 8.00pmTuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday 9.45am – 1.00pm & 1.45pm – 5.00pm
Yoga for Health & Wellbeing w/Erica via Zoom (6 weeks): - Fridays @ 9:30am starting Jan 14/21/28th & Feb 4/11/18th. Please Join us and you can register in advance for this course by contacting us at the library on:
.us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0qcOqhpjwvGNwq_TGDHThrt_tNHJnQiFUr

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. or Personal Growth & Goal Setting w/ Life Coach, Michelle O’Flaherty via Zoom (4Weeks): Tuesdays @7pm 1st,8,15,22nd of Feb. )Give yourself the time and space to pause, reflect, reset and relaunch in 2022.This course was created by certified Life Coach, Michelle O’Flaherty, to enable you to discover what’s truly important to you, set exciting goals, overcome the limiting beliefs that stand in your way and take action to begin living the life you desire and deserve. During the course, you will: (1.) Gain more clarity: Reflect on where you are now. Discover what is truly important to you. Get clear on your values.(2.) Grow in confidence: If nothing was standing in your way, who would you want to become? Uncover and eliminate the limiting beliefs that have been holding you back. (3.) Set goals that excite you: Set goals in all areas of your life and break them into achievable steps.(4.) Reconfigure your habits: Learn strategies to integrate new, positive habits into your daily routine and make them stick.(5.) Create a vision board for 2022: Design your ideal year and stay focused on achieving your goals.You have one life. You owe it to yourself to make it the best that it can be.Each participant will receive a printable workbook to support and guide them through the course.Link for participants to register for the course: http://ow.ly/IP4850HqGcE.

Very recently we hosted yet another memorable night at Balbriggan RFC as the U18 North East girls played in their first ever competitive match. Their opponents were the Metro U18s, in the Sarah Robinson Cup and the North East girls came out on top 40 v 14. Well done to both teams, who provided superb entertainment to a large crowd of supporters on a cold and crisp night.

Well done to our AB girls, Alma, Shannon, Cliodhna, Molly, Naoise, Skye and their North East team-mates.

Our Sunday morning Softball Cricket returns on the 23rd of January in Castlelands Community Centre at 10am These Sessions are ideal for a child to try a new sport , are open to boys and girls aged 5-11 will be run by our team of qualified and experienced coaches. The sessions will run for 8 weeks in 2 blocks of 4 weeks and will be €20 for each block of 4 weeks. Block 1 will be on Feb 6th and Feb 13th Text 0860644238 to reserve a place or places for Block 1. Places are limited to 30 and will fill up quick !!!

Advance works for a new €8.5m Pedestrian and Cycle Route along the Harry Reynolds Road in Balbriggan began recently. Fingal County Council had appointed a contractor to carry out advance works along the 2km route. The advance works contract includes tree planting and tree clearing work along the length of the intended Cycle Route.These works are being carried out at this time to optimise the growth potential of new trees planted and to also ensure that tree removal works are completed before the start of the bird nesting season on March 1.The completion of the advance works will also ensure a quicker start to the main construction phase once the contract is awarded.The main works contract is due to commence in August 2022 with an estimated 12 month duration and further consultation will be undertaken with the community for those works in due course.After consultation with local Councillors, Balbriggan Community Council, Balbriggan Tidy Towns, and other stakeholders, Fingal County Council revised its advanced works plan. It has agreed that 304 new trees and additional hedgerow will be planted along and adjacent to the route in order to compensate for the 130 trees which will be removed to accommodate construction of the new cycle lanes. During the advance works phase, 174 new trees and hedgerow are being planted in several areas along the route including the R132 intersection on southern end of the route, Moylaragh and Ashfield.The remainder of the trees will be planted alongside the new cycle lanes during the main construction phase.These cycle lanes will facilitate safe travel by bike and scooter to schools, shops and businesses in the local area.

Maria Butterly will launch her new song ‘HERO’ produced by Bill Shanley and recorded in the world famous Windmill Lane Recording Studios in Naul this month. This song touches on an important and hot topic hitting young teens today-bullying. There is an interesting Story behind Maria’s new single ‘HERO’.It is a story of a young teen being called names in school, who dreams up a fictional hero character that represents the inner strength within us all, which allows us to confront and overcome the challenges presented to us whether internal or external. And addresses anti-social behaviour, bullying, and the challenges young students can be faced with in their world! Music has the power to connect with people and this new single from Maria ‘HERO’ is another example of that. A lot of my songs are inspired from true stories, some my own and some of others like this one. It’s radio friendly and the story is a good talking point!…. Not so long ago, I received a handwritten letter from an LMFM listener who was on the verge of taking his own life at 1am in the morning, until he heard my song ‘ANGEL’ being played on LMFM radio, he said the words of the song lifted him and brought him comfort and most of all ‘Hope’ that night and stopped him from doing the unthinkable. He is still with us today!

LAUNCH GIG: Friday 11th February, 2022.
Venue: Seamus Ennis Arts Centre,
Naul, Co Dublin.
Tickets are limited! €16 Available from TSEAC.i or mariabutterly.com

Community and voluntary groups in Fingal are invited to apply for funding under the 2022 Community Activities Fund.The Community Activities Fund (CAF) is a once-off fund that provides grants to assist community and voluntary groups with facilities upgrades, equipment purchase and running costs. The CAF is funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development with Fingal allocated €301,042 in funding for groups across the county. The CAF is administered by Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) in each Local Authority area. It is part of the wider Community Enhancement Programme, which has funded over 8,000 projects in urban and rural communities throughout Ireland since first being launched in 2018. Applications are now being sought from community and voluntary groups in Fingal for grants up to a maximum of €15,000 with a closing date for applications of Friday, February 18, 2022 at 6:00 pm. Commenting on the announcement, AnnMarie Farrelly, Chief Executive of Fingal County Council said: “The work of the community and voluntary sector is highly valued by Fingal County Council.The Community Activities Fund will assist community groups with the valuable work they do within our communities. I would advise community groups to examine the CAF and avail of the opportunity to apply for funding if it is relevant to their activities.” Declan Ryan, Chief Officer of the Fingal Local Community Development Committee added: “The Community Activities Fund comes from within the Community Enhancement Programme group of funds. These funds have been availed of widely by community groups in Fingal in recent years, which has resulted in valuable funding being distributed to groups in disadvantaged areas in particular. The new CAF has the added benefit of allowing applications for both capital costs and operating costs. This added flexibility is very welcome. The Fingal LCDC looks forward to supporting the delivery of this scheme.” Full details on the 2022 Community Activities Fund and how to apply online can be accessed at submit.link/Ch.