Fingal County Council has launched the public consultation stage of the proposed policy on play provision for the young people of Fingal. Titled, “Space for Play – A Play Policy for Fingal”, the policy developed by the Council’s Parks & Green Infrastructure Division aims to provide a framework for the provision of safe, accessible, inclusive, natural and engaging play spaces for all children & adolescents up to the age of 17. The purpose of the consultation process is to provide an opportunity, to all interested parties, to examine the proposed guiding principles of play provision, how play sits within the planning framework and the objectives of the policy and to make comments or suggest changes as appropriate. Providing excellent play facilities for all the children of Fingal and visitors to the County, is a priority for the Council. Fingal County Council currently manages a network of play spaces on Council managed land ranging from playgrounds of various scales in local and regional parks, to Multi Use Games Areas and skate parks. The Play Policy will provide the basis on which the current and future play provision throughout the County will be developed to the highest quality in line with international best practice.The draft Play Policy document has been prepared in the context of the Council’s Open Space Strategy, “Keeping it Green”; the Fingal Development Plan, 2017-2023; the UN Convention on Human Rights; the National Play Policy – Ready Steady Play and the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion, 2007-2016. The council values submissions and feedback on the proposed Policy to ensure the document best reflects the needs of the community it is intended to serve. The draft Policy is available to view and make submissions on through the Council’s Online Consultation Portal from 15th July until the 6th August 2021.

A Fingal Skills Strategy Implementation Group has been set-up to deliver the objectives of the Fingal Skills Strategy, which was published in 2019.The Group is chaired by Siobhan Kinsella, former President of both Chambers Ireland and Fingal Chamber and a director at the Noel Recruitment Group. Ms Kinsella was also Chairperson of the Fingal Skills Strategy Advisory Group which originally produced the Fingal Skills Strategy, the first of its kind in Ireland.The Implementation Group brings together representatives from education and training providers, employers and industry, government agencies and Fingal County Council to ensure that Fingal has the right skills for the future.The Implementation Group is starting to implement the recommendations of the Fingal Skills Strategy, taking a fresh approach in light of the post-Covid-19 environment, and will support and actively promote on-going engagement between enterprise and industry and education and training providers, as well as Fingal County Council.The Group will seek to ensure education and training provision aligns with industry needs and that there is a pathway to skills acquisition so that skills are offered in a complementary manner with minimal duplication. Its mandate includes regularly reviewing emerging and future skills needs within the county.The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Seána Ó Rodaigh, said: “As we start to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to be aware of the skills needed within our Labour force has never been greater and it’s great to see the Implementation Group up and running and actively looking at aligning the provision of courses by educational institutions with the demands of industry.” The Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly, said: “As the local authority with the youngest population in Ireland, Fingal is looking to embed our Skills Strategy amongst industry and academia because the report showed a skills gap across all sectors which we need to close to ensure Fingal remains a primary location to invest, or grow a business, in.” The group is meeting quarterly and at its second meeting, which was held recently, there were presentations from Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Educational Training Board, Fingal Chamber Skillnet and LinkedIn on the services they offer.

Momentum 2021 is a one-off, outdoor, community arts and heritage festival in the two towns of Rush and Lusk over one wonderful August weekend: Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th. At the heart of the festival is a series of outdoor dramatic performances, written and performed by local writers on The Green Belt Arts Project, which was set up by theatre artist Declan Gorman in August 2020, as part of Fingal County Council’s “Infrastructure II” Public Art: Co-Productions programme. The Green Belt involved 14 people meeting at weekly Zoom workshops, exploring the heritage of the area, and experimenting with creative writing and drama online, all during the various Lockdowns. Highlights of the festival include the Green Belt trilogy “Home, Land and Sea” which takes place at sites from Kenure Demesne to Drumanagh promontory; guided “walkabouts” in both towns, where audiences will meet characters from past and present Fingal; an exhibition of photos and videos of Lusk in times gone by; a play to be staged on a football pitch featuring the story of the great Rush sporting hero, Con Martin; an Early Years Arts enclosure in Lusk, hosted by Acting Up; as well as workshops for older children. In the evenings, there will be informal music and chat in the local outdoor dining and hospitality settings.Most of the events are free or for very modest ticket costs and most are family friendly. Booking will be essential as numbers will be restricted in line with Covid best practice standards. But there will be something for everyone.Momentum 2021 is a voluntary initiative intended to support, entertain and engage the communities of Lusk and Rush with marvellous small-scale but big-vision arts activity, as we get familiar with our streets and our neighbours old and new after a year of seclusion and difficult challenges. It is a celebration of the complex heritage of this unique region of North County Dublin.

Momentum 2021 is supported by Fingal County Council under the Infrastructure 2 Co-Productions and Creative Fingal programmes and is undertaken in partnership with a range of community and voluntary groups in Lusk and Rush, Co. Dublin, including Rush Dramatic Society; Lusk Heritage Group; Power Drama School; Acting Up Early Years Arts and Declan Gorman Arts & Events. We are grateful to Lusk Athletic Club, Lusk Action Group, Rush Tourism and many volunteer individuals for support as the big weekend approaches!

For further updates please follow us on Facebook: Momentum2021fingal/Facebook Or email Declan on declangorman@yahoo.co.uk

Mayor of Fingal Councillor Seána Ó Rodaigh joined Fingal arts office at Newbridge House for a special evening to celebrate new contemporary arts programme Guest New Considerations of Familiar Settings curated by Marysia Wieckiewicz-Carroll.The programme invites contemporary curators to engage with the historic collections at the house as cared for by collections curator Cathal Dowd Smith.The curator of the first Guest exhibition Marysia Wieckiewicz-Carroll spoke of her inspiration to join women of the past to the present having been inspired by the interiors biggest influence Lady Betty Cobbe. Lady Cobbe, in her role as the woman of the house in the 18th Century, concentrated on collecting and commissioning mainly Irish artisans and makers while the tastes of the time were largely international.The exhibition New Considerations of Familiar Settings features 11 women & gender minority artists whose work is located throughout the house all telling deeply personal stories about place,memory,myth, monument and materiality. Eamonn Maxwell collections advisor to the Arts Council spoke at the event on the importance of supporting artist through collections and reminded us that as the old & new choices are juxtaposed by the Guest programme - All Art was once Contemporary.Mayor of Fingal Councillor Seána Ó Rodaigh said “I commend the Guest programme which has the potential to animate the collections for our generation through the introduction of contemporary artists and Historic houses such as Newbridge provide a wonderful setting and visitor experience and are a valuable asset to the county.” Guests on the special event evening included artists Barbara,Niamh O’Malley, Niamh McCann, Eithne Jordan, Liliane Puthod, Louise Meade all welcomed the opportunity to meet again in person and see their work situated in this beautiful and historic location.The public art co-ordinator with Fingal County Council’s Arts office Caroline Cowley reiterated to the attendees that the exhibition can be visited as part of the tours of Newbridge House and will continue daily until the 19th of September and will open to the public again free of charge for Culture Night 2021

We are delighted to hear that Puppy in Training ‘Yarrow’ is doing very well on his Advanced Training as an Assistance Dog. His trainer expects he will be matched shortly to begin training with one of the parents of the child he will be assisting late August or early September. A week later ‘Yarrow’ will go to his new home where his trainer will assist the family in adapting to life with ‘Yarrow’. Good boy ‘Yarrow’. ‘Zabbie’ is a canine blood donor. Sometimes dogs need a blood transfusion, same as humans. To become a canine blood donor a dog must be in general good health, have up to date vaccinations, be aged between 1 and 9 years old and weigh between sixteen to twenty-seven kilos or more, without being overweight. ‘Zabbie’, puppy raised by volunteer Anne Mulligan, is also part of the breeding programme. She became a canine blood donor for Gilabbey Veterinary Hospital in Cork, the official veterinary surgery for Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. Well done, ‘Zabbie’.Congratulations to our two new Ambassador Dogs, ‘Maisie’ and ‘Casper’, from Skerries who qualified recently. Owners Nessa and Padraic will bring them to local fundraising events to meet you, so please keep an eye out for them. They will wear an Irish Guide Dogs Ambassador Dog jacket or a reflective lead sleeve so you can easily identify them. ‘Adel’, puppy in training, is 6 months old now. She continues to grow in confidence every day. Good girl ‘Adel’. Following on from the success of our Tap to Donate machine in Specsavers, Millfield Shopping Centre, Balbriggan, and with assistance from Brian Brodigan, Manager, we are delighted that Specsavers are rolling out our Tap to Donate machines in their branches both in Dublin and nationwide. This is wonderful news as Specsavers have 22 branches in Dublin and over 50 nationwide. On 10th July Specsavers in Ashbourne and Navan launched their machines. Now there are more Specsavers locations where you can Tap to Donate €3. Contact us by phone/text: 085 7663107. Email guidedogsbalbriggan@gmail.com. Or on our Facebook page at Balbriggan.Branch.of.Guide.Dogs

As the National Tidy Towns Competition Finals draws closer, Swords Tidy Towns members have been very active readying our town for this year’s judging. We would put out a request and kindly ask residents to be extra vigilant over the next couple of months regarding litter as we strive to win our first gold medal. Judging usually takes place in June, July and August each year and the results are announced at the National Awards Ceremony in September.Volunteers have been out practically every day, planting, weeding, creating, removing graffiti, litter picking etc. Recently we completed a beautiful Frontliners Commemorative Garden to celebrate those who manned the pumps during the pandemic. Doctors, Nurses, Ambulance Crews, Police Officers, Fire Brigade Crews, Shop Workers, Home Care Workers to name a few, it’s thanks to their courage we were all kept safe and fed.Our fundraising efforts during this pandemic have been severely curtailed as I am sure you all appreciate. Swords Tidy Towns are putting out a request to local business or individuals who are of a mind to make a donation towards our running costs. If you require our banking details or if you wish to make a cash or cheque donation, please contact Ken Duffy on 0866008313.

Fingal County Council has welcomed the news that all eight applications from Fingal to the Community Monuments Fund have been successful with a total of €270,000 awarded including Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD, has announced the approval of 139 project grants across all 31 Local Authorities for a wide range of archaeological heritage projects under the Department’s Community Monuments Fund. First established in 2020, the fund was increased from just over €1 million last year to €4.2 million in 2021. The full list of projects awarded in Fingal is: Castleknock Castle works - €70,000.00 - Kilsallaghan Graveyard works €36,189.00 - Burial site, Windmill Lands, Swords works - €33,948.00 - St Columbas Towers, Swords survey - €26,610.00 - Malahide Abbey survey €24,600.00 - Rush Tower House survey €24,600.00 - Lanistown Castle, Donabate and St Marnock’s Church Portmarnock -€24,600.00 - Portrane-Donabate Peninsula Heritage Audit & Interpretation Plan - €29,520.00. ‘I am absolutely delighted that all eight applications from Fingal to the Community Monuments Fund have been successful, securing just over €270,000 in funding for the preservation of our important archaeological sites’ said Fingal Chief Executive AnnMarie Farrelly

Fingal County Council has urged local residents and stakeholders to get involved in the Sustainable Swords placemaking project which is focused on the regeneration and compact, sustainable development of the town.The ambition of Sustainable Swords is to provide a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design and management of new development and spaces, as well as the protection and enhancement of existing assets in order to achieve better quality places as the physical setting for life in Swords.Two surveys have now opened as part of the consultation process and local residents, businesses and interested stakeholders are urged to get involved.More details on the project and the surveys can be found at www.fingal.ie/sustainableswords or alternatively on consult.fingal.ie/en/surveys.(nb: not accessible through this medium). The aim of Sustainable Swords is to identify a co-ordinated range of ‘pipeline’ projects for which future funding can be sought.Key objectives are to:Enhance the identity of the town centre through the: development of Swords Civic Centre and Cultural Centre; the on-going implementation of the conservation plan for Swords Castle; and the delivery of an enhanced accessible child-friendly public realm including new public nodes in Swords Town Centre.Facilitate the creation of a new street /pedestrian walkway fronting the river walk to the west of Main Street opening up these ‘backlands’ and support co-ordinated infill development on key strategic sites along Main Street and North Street.Promote core recreational and amenity spaces, utilising in particular Ward River Valley Park, Swords Cultural Quarter including Town Park, Ward River Walk west of Main Street area.Explore the potential of establishing a Swords Business Improvement District (BID).Expand upon the recommendations in the Swords section of the South Fingal Transport Study and develop a multi-modal transport strategy for Swords.Measures to enable regeneration of lands within the study area to ensure rejuvenation of the town centre and to enable activation of land for compact development.Establish a prioritised, programmed and impactful package of measures and projects.The Sustainable Swords strategy, which will include detail on a range of transformational projects, will be published in early 2022 so take part in the surveys now!

St. Vincent de Paul are an approved housing body. St Benedicts Conference is a group of SVP volunteers responsible for St Benedicts Housing Scheme in Malahide. We currently have 45 social housing units purpose built for older people located on Estuary Road, Malahide. We also have a community centre that is normally used to host events and activities for our tenants.These activities have obviously been postponed due to the ongoing covid-19 situation.Thankfully recently , we were finally able to safely host an outdoor coffee morning.We used this opportunity to catch up and inform our tenants of a new gardening initiative.In Feb 2021, we applied to Fingal Chamber for funding for our ‘Promoting Mental Wellbeing through Gardening’ Project.The idea for this project stemmed from the ongoing covid19 restrictions. We were concerned that our tenants were becoming increasingly isolated. So the aim of this project is to encourage our tenants to get outside and engage in some gardening. Gardening resources can be expensive, especially for those in our tenant group so our project would develop a communal group of gardening tools/equipment for all to use. We were successful with our application and Fingal Chamber awarded us a sum of money to purchase this equipment. We have purchased a small number of items so far which has been included in the attached photos. We also have an annual gardening competition, not everyone takes part as they do not have the resources so we would encourage more involvement.Winners of the competition win a gardening voucher and a small trophy.