What an amazing achievement for our club, 3 young athletes selected to represent Ireland at the Under 21s and Cadet European Championships In Estonia. Robbie will fight in Under 21s while Nicole and Tosia will fight In the cadets. Our thanks to everyone for sticking with us over the hard times of Covid and everything is starting to look a bit brighter. Junsa is always welcoming new members , so if you want to train for fitness, fun or become an aspiring athlete you are welcome to try your hand or should I say foot ! at our great martial art and sport.
The club were delighted to hold a Half Marathon for members during August. Starting with a lap of the Hub, the route took in Quickpenny, Hedgestown and Wimbletown before returning to the Hub via the ring road. There was a nice mixture of experienced athletes who were running as part of their Marathon training plans and newer members who in some cases were completing their first Half Marathon. Well done to all who took part or helped out with organising or water drops. All groups are scheduled to return to training in early September. Places for new members are available by contacting us through our facebook page or email to Luskathleticclub.ie
Our highly successful Cúl Camps 2021 took place in Thomas Ashe Park recently with 125 children aged between 6 and 12 years taking part.The children had an eventful week, with the weather on our side thankfully. A big thank you to all our coaches for ensuring everyone had a thoroughly enjoyable week playing camogie, hurling, football and a couple of spontaneous waterfights!! It was great to see all our young members back playing and training with their friends once again after a difficult year.Our Online Lotto draw takes place live on Facebook every Thursday at 9.00pm. Tickets can be purchased online at www.klubfunder.com.The lotto is an important fundraiser for the club and we appreciate all the support.
After 2 years as Lusk Utd Chairman, Ciaran Russell, stood down from his position at the recent AGM in July. Ciaran has been involved in the club for most of his life as a player, coach and committee member. Indeed, Ciaran has spent the best part of a decade on the committee in various roles always giving 100% commitment and bringing a rare skill set that will be a great loss to the committee and the club. The impact Ciaran made as Chairman should not be underrated and he leaves the club in good stead as we come through one of the toughest periods in the club’s and the country’s history. Ciaran has overseen the first club survey, the development of a club strategy, a restructuring of the committee and a very successful girls only academy at which Ciaran was a coach.The Russell name is synonymous with Lusk and with Lusk Utd; Ciaran’s contribution will go a long way to cementing his name in the history of the club and we as a club would like to thank him for all his efforts. We wish him the best for the future, and we hope to see Ciaran back on the sidelines at games or even on the training pitches again in the future. We are also now recruiting for our U16 Girls, U 19 Girls, U 14 boys and U 19 Boys teams and we are delighted to have received an allocation of €25,453 towrds clb machinery under the Sports Capital Grant
Lusk Community Council launched the final ‘Lusk Vision 2030: Lusk for Life’ Strategic Plan via
Virtual Public Information Meeting recently. Following months of independent research, analysis and listening to the people, Lusk Community Council is pleased to launch the final ‘Lusk Vision 2030: Lusk for Life’ Strategic Plan. A virtual public meeting was held online at 7pm on Thursday 26th August to launch the final Strategic Plan. The Plan presents a vision for how Lusk can develop with the best interests of the current and future citizens to the fore.‘Lusk Vision 2030: Lusk for Life’ is a unique community-led action plan for Lusk town commissioned by Lusk Community Council in late 2020, and undertaken by consultants AP+E architects in collaboration with Miriam Delaney and Tara Kennedy. The team listened to public concerns, designed strategies for future development, and provided action plans and recommendations for how proposals can be achieved by the community. The level of engagement from clubs, community groups, stakeholders and individuals demonstrated the huge appetite for positive change in the town. Key messages highlighted the need for better facilities for teenagers and children in Lusk, a need to expand and improve community facilities, build social cohesion, and a desire for an attractive and accessible town centre with retail, employment and recreation opportunities for residents.The report contains an overview ‘Lusk Vision 2030: Lusk for life’ map, which identifies and proposes key design projects. The design projects are accompanied by ‘action plans’ which set out the means to deliver results. The design strategies and proposals are positive, feasible and achievable, and aim for the best possible future for the citizens of Lusk. Finally, the report contains recommendations for action to mobilise community participation and political support in order to achieve success.Lusk Community Council looks forward to working with community stakeholders to implement the Lusk Vision 2030 Plan and recommendations over coming years.
Following on from the recent Rush to Lusk Cycle Route Feasibility Study, Cllr O’Donoghue has called for the fast tracking of the of the implementation of the Study’s findings to connect Lusk to the train station. Fingal County Council’s (FCC) overall objective is to deliver a high-quality, safe and attractive pedestrian/cycle network within and between the towns of Rush and Lusk, and improve connectivity to the local Rush/Lusk train station and to a number of schools and tourist attractions in the area. Councillor O’Donoghue stated ‘The pathway from Lusk to the station is narrow and dangerous. The berm periodically encroaches on the path making space for pedestrians even more narrow. Many Lusk residents cycle and walk from the town to the station, the current road and footpath make it difficult to make for this journey to be made safely. I am calling for the expedition of plans for the construction of the proposed cycle track and walkway from Lusk to the Station, which will also link the town to Rogerstown Park and the proposed Fingal Coastal Way.’ He continued, ‘In the larger picture, this will also take cars off the road, reducing carbon emissions and traffic congestion on the Station Road, encourage fitness and active living while also making commuting to the station safer for cyclists and walkers. I am confident that there will be good news in the near future regarding the installation of this key piece of infrastructure between Lusk and the train station.’
Donabate Parish Hall hope to have resumed activities if Covid restrictions allowed, or as soon as possible. There are a number of times & spaces available for renting in the newly refurbished hall & ancillary rooms; so if you are interested in further information, please email Bernie with your details and request to the Parish Office email address at stpatricksrcdonabate@gmail.com as soon as possible and she will get back to you. In the meantime stay safe & well.
Our first ever summer camp for children took placer this summer. We hoped to give our young LSA members and other members of the community an opportunity to experience a range of athletics disciplines without having to travel outside the Donabate/Portrane peninsula. It was fitting that Ballymastone GAA Grounds was the venue for the first two days of the camp, where St Pat’s GAA club generously gave us their pitches, storage and clubhouse. Ballymastone could be called the spiritual home of Donabate, since this was the location of the first Community Games that led to the formation of the club in 2011. We made full use of all the space in Ballymastone with six different activity stations. Children and teenagers from age 6 up tried out Throws: (Shot put, Turbo Javelin and Discus); Jumps: (High Jump and Long Jump) Sprints and Middle Distance, as well as fun games, yoga, obstacle course and tug of war. We are hugely grateful to our 30+ volunteer coaches and helpers who gave their time and shared their experience, energy and enthusiasm with our 85 participants. Apart from being great fun, this was also a wonderful opportunity for many of our club members to meet for the first time.As we have gradually returned to competition, LSA members from our juvenile and adult sections have had great success competing. Anna Gavigan was selected to represent Ireland at the under 18 International Team Match in Franconville Paris. Anna secured a 2nd Place finish in Discus with a new PB of 43.33m. Anna and her coach Gerry Ronan continue to go from strength to strength; shortly after her international appearance, Anna went on to become the National Champion Discus U18.September will see a return to training for all our members. Our Masters Track and Field team take on the National Masters Championship on September 5th in Tullamore. Note that our next C25K will start September 7th and finish on October 30th for a Halloween run. If you’re interested in joining our C25K, email lambaysportsatheltics@gmail.com.
10 members travelled on the 12th August to visit these centres. While sun was on the forecast, the rain happened too – but reports from all agree it did not dampen their day out. Being able to eat inside was really quite a novelty too! The Interpretative Centre has lots of lovely walks and a café and is well worth the day out – but do book ahead online. It is free but they need to know numbers for each self-guided tour. Flexibus operates in the Navan, Louth and Fingal areas and has been offering free trips to older members from these communities during the summer.As AAfA members who registered in July know, all classes so far are fully booked. The only problem is that we have not received the go-ahead from government for August and we hope that by the time you are reading this, we will have started again. If not, we will wonder what the vaccination bonus really is for us…
We still owe money to some… we still have quite a few members who were with us in 2020 when we had to shut down classes. Many members are carrying a small credit balance with us and we would encourage you to make contact and renew your membership card by just using some of your balance. If you want to do this, please do email us on activeageforall@gmail.com or text the AAfA mobile 086 8806808 and let us know. Don’t forget that your new card will give you discounts in the usual suppliers.If you are new to the area or new to retirement – you just need to be 55+ - you can call in to DPCC and collect an AAfA New Member form and fill it out and leave it for us, or email us at the address above and we email a form out to you. We can make contact and will do our best to include you in classes as soon as possible.
We were all saddened to hear of the death of Kiernan Hughes, our friend and member of Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed. Although we had seen little of Kiernan over the past eighteen months due to his underlying health condition and the risk of Covid-19, a couple of members had kept contact with him by phone. We all fondly remember his wit, his stories and his repertoire of Frank Sinatra songs with which he often entertained us at our get-togethers. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
On a lighter note, members of Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed have been busy at our plots at Turvey Allotments. The decking, funded by a grant from Fingal County Council, is taking shape and will be finished soon. We’ve had a very successful year, with a bumper crop of potatoes, tomatoes and onions, as members learn more about the art and science of horticulture. Or maybe it was just a good year for the veggies! As Covid-19 restrictions ease, we are welcoming new members. If you wish to join us, please call Jim on 086-3694316.
