Bravo Zulu to Néala Troop Ventures Kate, Niamh and Laura for being the very first crew to complete our Lighthouse Challenge! Clocking nearly 100 nautical miles the girls charted and sailed to each of our local lighthouses (Rockabill, Lambay, Howth, Bailey, Poolbeg, Kish) working together as a team, planning their expedition, managing their boat and navigating our coastal waters to complete a safe and successful passage. A fantastic display of teamwork and seamanship under various conditions. Well done girls.
By John Moore, Deputy Principal
Our Sixth Years had been great during the Covid lock downs in both 5th Year and 6th Year
To mark how well they did, we did a special Yearbook for them which we distributed only last week. We produced it late so that we could include their very special End of Year Graduation Ceremony. With the help of the Senior Prefects and a collosal amount of work, we managed to produce a top class year yearbook which of course, they thoroughly deserved. Attached is the actual yearbook, back page with all their names which as lists form some shapes – not all can see and the cover includes Vodafone -We are absolutely delighted to be Vodafone’s WiFi Centre of Excellence Pilot School for the rollout of their smart connect programme for the coming years.
While some of the covid restrictions are still in place , at Junsa we are still training outdoors while we have this fantastic weather. Our more experienced players are in preparation for international competition in August, if our travel restrictions allow it. At Junsa Taekwondo we always try to develop our students to their fullest potential, weather it’s Kyrougi ( fighting competition) Poomsae competition ( sets of Taekwondo moves which are judged in tournaments) or develop them into referees , coaches or train just for fun. There is something for everyone in Junsa Taekwondo.Junsa is always taking on new members young and old or past students are always welcome. Don’t hesitate to contact Master Stuart Russell on 087 7775202 or follow us on Facebook @ JunsaTaekwondo.
It was brilliant to see many of our athletes in competition action as the events came thick and fast across July. Between Dublin Graded meetings, Dublin Juvenile Championships and Leinster Athletics Track & Field Championships there was an opportunity for everyone to take part in their chosen events. There was a large medal haul for our athletes and it was clear to see the long lay off from competition has been put to good use. Thanks to our coaches and volunteers for there fantastic work and well done to all athletes who took part. The club also held a competition for U8 to U11 members on a very wet but fun night at the Hub
At Lusk United our players are central to all we do, so we thought we would let them have their say. We sent our trusty reporter off to a training session to ask some hard hitting questions. Meet our fantastic Under 10 boys.
Why do you like playing for Lusk United? The range of answers we got all centred around one key point… fun. This delighted us as our club ethos is work hard & have fun. Describe your team in one word. Interestingly we didn’t have a word repeated! Good, fantastic, great, class, amazing, best, professional, loud, brilliant and happiness all featured. Positive and reaffirming words. What makes a coach a good coach? A great question as what adults feel is a good coach perhaps doesn’t equate with what children feel. Our U10 boys felt a good coach makes football fun, explains well and is supportive. A coach who listens and helps with good training sessions. One who will tell you the truth, listen to the players and help out. A good coach is someone who tells you and teaches you what you need to improve. Each players’ response focused on having fun, identifying areas for improvement and learning how to improve, proving just how focused and tuned in these boys are. Now that we have peaked your interest, why not tune into our Facebook page to see more from our U 10 boys… Hear about the hardest game they ever played, their favourite footballer and their best memory at Lusk United so far. Meanwhile they will continue to try perfect the Rainbow flick, around the world, shooting on target and defending. Well done Under 10’s we loved hearing from you.
In other news we are delighted to see the completed remedial works to our ball stop nets at Rathmore Road. These works were partially funded by the Fingal County Council Sustainability Competition 2020 and the 2020 Community Enhancement Programme from the Depart of Rural and Community Development, Fingal County Council and the Local Community Development Committee The Executive Committee of Lusk United A.F.C. wish to thank those involved for making this happen.
The ongoing Lusk Community Cultural Centre is a major community re-development project for the town and it is the first step in creating new community facilities in the heart of medieval Lusk for the benefit of residents and visitors alike.
Following years of work on planning this project, May 2021 saw the beginning of the construction works and by June 2021 the foundations were being laid. Ongoing updates on the project can be found on Facebook, search “Lusk Community Cultural Centre”.
This unique project will become a new centre for Arts, Culture and Heritage and will be a springboard for marketing and promoting our town within the tourism sector and beyond.
Lusk Community Council is asking businesses, families and individuals to become a “Founding Friend” for the Cultural Centre and have your brand or name displayed in the building on the Founding Friend Sponsorship wall.By becoming a “Founding Friend” of the Cultural Centre, you can assist with making thisproject a reality for our town. All funds raised by the “Founding Friend” sponsorship will gotowards the community contribution required to fund the overall project. While the project is scheduled to be completed by May 2022, the “Founding Friend Sponsorship” will be open from 1st August to 30th September 2021. Full details are available on the Lusk Community Cultural Centre Facebook page or by emailing luskcommunity@yahoo.ie.
The other Community Council strategic project for the town is Lusk Vision 2030. The Lusk Vision 2030 report is currently being finalised by the independent consultants and it is planned that the report will be launched during the last week in August. Details of the launch will be available by mid-August and the September Lusk Local will include a full report.
“Lusk Tidy Town Committee have been busy planting up flower tubs, watering and generally keeping Lusk Tidy despite all the building development. Thank you for your support. “Keep Lusk Tidy. It’s that time of the year again when the National Tidy Town Judges will be out inspecting Lusk. We at Lusk Tidy Towns rely on the community to do their bit by keeping Lusk Tidy and Litter Free and to do all those little jobs that need doing that show a “Pride of Place” Pat Kelly
Cllr. Brian Dennehy has welcomed the progress of the installation of measures that will provide new Health and Safety protection items alongside the Bride stream on the Lusk Ring Road. Cllr Dennehy pursued the issue at the BALBRIGGAN/RUSH-LUSK/SWORDS Area meeting after raising it initially several months earlier and a number of times since at both meetings and with FCC officials individually and was very happy to see the protection measures he requested advance from the contract awarded stage to installation.
“The issue was first brought to my attention when several residents raised concerns initially about potential incidents due to the close proximity of the new playground to an unprotected stream and later separately an incident of a child falling into the stream was reported to me”. After initially requesting Fingal County Council carry out a safety assessment on the area the following works were announced at the monthly meeting. A contract had been awarded for installation of a 1.2m solid round bar metal fence along the stream parallel with the adjacent path. In addition to the new fence new pedestrian access gates also be to be included. Installation dates were to be agreed when COVID-19 works restrictions were lifted, and contractors will be free to schedule work which was a frustration that delayed the delivery of the project. Cllr Dennehy stated “ the new works will go a long way to help enhance the facilities installed by Fingal County Council on the Ring Road, Lusk and allow parents and grandparents alike to relax and enjoy the facilities safe in the full knowledge that the safety of their children is being attended to as a priority.” Thanks are due to Fingal County Council Operations Department and in particular Mr Paul Smyth Senior Executive Officer on his advice and time given to this to very important safety issue for the residents of Lusk and his overall help in getting the issue sorted out.
We are happy to see more bins in problem litter areas around the town. This came from our continued engagement with Fingal County Council and Cllr Robert O’ Donoghue’s representations on our behalf. Monthly litter picks continue to be organised by Wille McGee, so keep an eye out on our Facebook page and other community Facebook pages for details on how to get involved. We are also asking everyoneto Adopt a Patch. You can choose an area close to where you live to keep tidy and litter free. Litter picking packs are available from FCC. Email them at BalSwoOpArea@fingal.ie (nb: not accessible through this medium). Power cuts continue to be a big issue for households and especially for local businesses. LAG are engaging with our public representatives regarding this. We continue to receive a similar response from ESB Networks to that of a year ago, which we do not feel is adequate. We will continue to drive this as an issue of concern, on behalf of the community.We are very pleased that LAG has secured funding from Fingal County Council for a community “St. McCullin’s Bee Garden;. We hope to begin this project in September.The delays in the handover of the sports field and common areas of The Forge to Fingal County Council continue. Our public representatives are assisting in expediting this process. In the meantime, the developers have agreed to properly maintain the sports field until the handover process is complete. We have raised concerns regarding the dangerous state of the playground which remains locked and unmaintained and which encourages anti-social behaviour. Enjoy the rest of the Summer days! All in LAG
At a recent Area Committee Meeting Cllr O’Donoghue inquired on plans for the future use of 6.4 hectare of Council owned Lusk Bypass. The lands which were acquired by Dublin City Council in 1975 were at one stage proposed to house the Fingal Sports Complex to host a number of sporting events and groups, including the now defunct soccer club Sporting Fingal. However, as of 2012 there have been no plans to progress the project.In their response to O’Donoghue’s motion Fingal County Council while asserting they have no proposals for the land currently, the future use of the lands could be considered in the context of the new Development Plan.O’Donoghue stated: ‘It is important that with the high volumes of residential development that have taken place in Lusk, indeed Lusk between the censes in 2002 and 2016, has increased its population by 217%, the largest percentage growth in all large towns in the North County in this time, that a balance is found to provide enhanced public spaces and community infrastructure to improve the quality of life for all residents of Lusk.’ He continued: ‘With this in mind any future use of this land needs to be kept for Community Infrastructure, to provide much needed recreational facilities for current residents. My fear is that with pressure coming from the Department to build housing at all costs, that pressure may come to target this site which should be for community facilities. It’s my intention to submit a motion to the Development Plan, to have this land earmarked for Community Infrastructure.’
