In spite of Covid restrictions in 2021, Lusk Community Council embarked on its biggest ever pro-ject on the 4th May with the reopening of construction, the construction of a new Cultural Centre in Lusk. This project is ongoing and we look forward to its completion in May 2022. The comple-tion of Lusk Vision 2030 Plan for Lusk was another pandemic milestone and January 2022 will see the first meeting of the Lusk Vision 2030 Implementation Team, a new cross community group to work on implementing a miriad of projects to improve our town. Let’s also recognise and cele-brate key improvements achieved in 2021. The Fingal County Council programmes delivered a new lighting system in the old graveyard; the restoration of the bandstand on the Green; upgrading the tennis courts in Orlynn Park; footpath upgrades on Church Road / Ministers Road, path and road improvements on Church Road, while Lidl delivered a new retail outlet for the town. These are all very visible improvements, however much work is undertaken that is less visible, the work of the Lusk 2020 Sports Committee being a case in point. The 2020 Sports Committee has contin-ued to work with Fingal County Council throughout 2021 to make further improvements to the phase one Recreational Hub in Lusk, while working to bring the phase two open space in charge from the developer to Fingal County Council. Once in charge the 2020 Sports Committee will be working with Fingal to develop the final Masterplan for the Recreational Hub, taking into account the needs of our schools, our sporting organisations and the public at large. This is the number one priority of the 2020 Sports Committee in 2022 and it will be another exciting project for Lusk.
2022 will be an important year for the next stages in the preparation of the Fingal Development Plan 2023-2029. Please engage in this process. Your input is important.

Lusk Community Council wants to recognise all the voluntary work undertaken by countless vol-unteers across the community, it is very important, as is the work of our Councillors, who seek to make improvements in our town and community. Thank you.

Recently Let’s Play Rush was launched with key events aimed at developing a playful culture in the town. The EU initiative sees an URBACT Transfer Network in Ireland sharing good practice in sustainable urban development between cities and towns, with Rush one of five towns learning best practice from lead city Cork on how to develop play and placemaking actions. As part of the initiative, Rush Library hosted Lego-building sessions for kids aged from 4 – 12 years. Led by Brick4Kidz, the outdoor play sessions paid tribute to the town’s pirate heritage. The event was organised with the help of Rush Community Council and Rush Tidy Towns. Rush Community Centre also sought to help the town’s senior citizens discover their creativity with painting sessions delivered by artist John Carpenter.The events were funded by Creative Ireland and organised by the Let’s Play Rush URBACT Local Group (ULG) whose members are drawn from the Council, Local Councillors, Rush Community Council, Rush Tidy Towns, Fingal LCDC, Fingal CYPSC and Healthy Ireland. Cllr Brian Dennehy, Chair of Rush ULG, said: “Our participation in this URBACT initiative will be a great opportunity to introduce and develop play and placemaking activities in the town. Rush ULG hopes to run a number of events and projects over the next year, bringing play to the fore for people of all ages in Rush and benefiting from the knowledge of our partners in the URBACT network.” Brendan O’Reilly, Chair of Rush Tidy Towns said: “We are very excited to be working with Rush Community Council and Fingal County Council in rolling out this URBACT initiative in Rush through a series of events and projects related to the Playful Paradigm. Our first two events on Saturday 20 November were a great success, with the youth and senior citizens of the town involved.”Aoife Sheridan, Senior Executive Officer, Economic, Enterprise, Tourism and Cultural Development Department, Fingal County Council, said: “The Council is excited to be involved in a second URBACT initiative, with Balbriggan already involved in the Iplace Network. These networks strengthen Fingal’s connections to Europe and provides the Council with an opportunity to learn best practice lessons from its partners. For more information on URBACT go to:urbact.eu/playful-paradigm-0

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’’.

The Lusk Mens walk and talk group meet at the Hub car park at 7:00pm every Monday for their weekly walk. This is open to all men and it’s an opportunity just get out of the house, have a nice walk, clear the head and have a chat if you wish. You can do it as a once off or every week, no joining necessary, just turn up. This group is organised by Ciaran Russell, so if you want to introduce yourself to him and before long you will find you have made new friends. So why not let any friends or neighbours know about it as new members are alaways welcome

Happy New year! We look back at Lusk’s progress and look forward to changes in the coming year. In LAG’s 2020 online community survey, and in the comprehensive Lusk Vision 2030 survey, it was abundantly clear that there is a huge need for facilities and activities for our young people. We conducted a Youth survey in 2021, from which we gained a clear picture of the needs of our young people. We will use this information to help us to bring to life plans for our youth. This will be in line with the Lusk Vision 2030 plan. LAG have had ongoing engagement with Fingal Co Co regarding the programme of works. During the year, we saw road and path improvements, new fencing on the tennis courts, bandstand renovation, new traffic lights and new benches on the ring road among others. It was the largest amount ever spent on Lusk in the programme. We have listened to the community’s feedback on required improvements, and we have requested the majority of these for next year. The support of our committee member, Cllr Rob O’Donoghue makes this happen with far more ease. We have been busy planning a pilot Lusk Summer Festival, so watch this space! We have been planning our biodiversity garden through the year and had a great bunch of volunteers clearing the site in early Autumn. We met with delays due to access issues, however we are hoping to move on with this project quickly. We submitted a comprehensive document to the Fingal Development Plan and we raised almost €3000 for our Christmas lights, thanks to your generosity, and we have enjoyed them throughout the festive season! We are delighted to be part of the Lusk Vision 2030 Implementation Group and we look forward to working with other groups in the community to bring the vision to life. Foroige Youth Club is back up and running in the Carnegie Library on Friday nights from 7 till 9. It is fantastically run, and it really needs to be supported. Get in touch with us on 0863017842.

Lusk ICA held their Christmas Market last month. There was a great selection of stalls both inside and outside the Scout Den. We had some lovely food and craft stalls and everyone had a great time. Thanks to everyone who supported the market, it was a wonderful way to start the Christmas festivities. Wishing you all a very Happy New Year.

St Pats recently added the Dublin Intermediate and Junior 3 Chanpionship titles to their long and illustrous history. Congratulations to both squads and teams, their coaches, management and mentors.

Corina Johnston, Labour Party local representative is calling on Fingal County Council to carry out resurfacing works at the car park in the Ballymastone sports grounds and to include the upgrading of this car park in the Ballymastone Recreational Hub project. Johnston said; “Duncan SmithTD, Cllr Rob O’ Donoghue and I have been in ongoing contact with Fingal County Council regarding the condition of the car park in the Ballymastone Sports Grounds, the home of St Pats GAA and St.Itas AFC Soccer club. Earlier this year in response to representations from club members and parents of juveniles, we secured a commitment from Fingal County Council that they would carry out remedial work on the surface of the carpark. This was carried out in May, however it has deteriorated further in recent months and could now be classified as a health and safety risk for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists alike.”Johnston continued; “In response to our recent request for a permanent solution we have received the following disturbing response from the Council. “ The car park is of a temporary nature and there are no plans to carry out any further works this year. It is the responsibility of the various Clubs to liaise with parents attending the grounds, and request that they take due care and attention in accessing the sports pitches. Any further remedial works to the car park will be looked at in the context of other priorities in 2022. Fingal County Council have also stated that this car park does not form part of the Ballymastone Recreational Hub. “ Johnston added, Given the facilities that will be available Ballymastone will have the capacity to attract county and national events. I am appalled that Fingal County Council approved the recreational hub without including the long established car park.“ Corina Johnston concluded; “if this decision is not overturned it will ultimately result in a new “overflow car park” along the Distributor Road. This road was never intended for this purpose and would be a health and safety issue.“

A few years ago an ad hoc Tourism Group comprising people with backgrounds in business, tourism, culture, history & recreation etc in Donabate Portrane, came together and initiated the making of a new Tourism Heritage map of the area.There had been one produced some 25years earlier by some of the same people, through the Community Council with Leader Funding. This group became aware that recent maps of other areas in Fingal had been produced and it was time for a new one of our area. They contacted the Tourism Officer in FCC & local representatives and set about working together, producing a number of drafts to arrive at a suitable map. During these Covid times, this very attractive map was finished and published. It is very welcome in highlighting our beautiful & unique peninsula. Well done to all concerned!

Looking back on the Peninsula Pacers first year, even though we really only got going in the early summer due to the restrictions of the pandemic, we managed to pack in a good variety of walks. There were walks from 12km to 5km, some themed as in the Find a Follie in St Annes Park, some rural some urban, we even managed to find a leprechaun whisperer! We look forward to more explorations and discoveries in the New Year when the weather improves and the days brighten. New members are always welcome and if you would like any information please contact: Carolyn Smith, 0879284307, or carolyns@live.ie