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.

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