Malahide Portmarnock Educate Together Secondary School (MPETSS) is delighted to announce that the first phase of its permanent build has commenced in recent weeks.Now in its 3rd year, MPETSS first opened its doors to 1st year students on 27th August 2018 at temporary accommodation in Swords Enterprise Park, on the Feltrim Road, Drinan (K67 W9Y8). Limited space has seen classes being restricted to two per year group however, this year, they have been granted the opportunity to open a third class. The school is set to grow to over 190 students in 2021/22 academic year and the new permanent school building, when completed, will accommodate over 1000 secondary school students from the area by the year 2028/29.Plans for the new school include : A Technology Suite that includes separate provision for Technical Graphics, Technology Wood, Metalwork /Engineering Room, Technology and Design, Communication Graphics.-A Home Economics Suite that includes two kitchens and a Dress and Design room - Six Science Laboratories - Multimedia Learning Lab - Two storey Library - Two Music and Drama Rooms - An Art and Design Suite - Physical Education suite that includes a modern gym and a Fitness Suite and external courts - ICT enabled classrooms - Courtyard that includes school garden project and sensory garden, leisure facilities and learning sites - Internal Social Areas for Students, also with a canteen and space for school productions - and a purpose built centre for the needs of children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).MPETSS Principal is Aoife Kelly-Gibson. “We are very excited to learn that our permanent build is due to begin. Ms Kelly-Gibson said and added, “Student applications for 21/22 1st year and additional enquiries from new residents moving to the Malahide area were the highest seen this year in all local schools. Completion of the new build will bring additional capacity & facilities which will allow us grow our student base exponentially to meet the demand in our catchment.” Information on MPETSS can be found at their website. Applications for 1styear 21/22 are now closed as places are filled. Applications for 1st year 22/23 will open in October 2021.

While still we are still training online and keeping our skills up to date, we are looking forward to the restrictions easing and beginning to train safely outside.It will be the first time since Christmas that we have trained together face to face.Here is just a few photos of our guys training online and one or two from the past. We hope everyone is keeping safe and hope to see you all soon.

It has been brilliant to see all of our members return to group training in recent weeks. The sports hub was back to being a hive of activity on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Well done to all that were following individual 5k and 10k training plans over the last few months. There were some fantastic times recorded in recent Virtual races particular in the Portmarnock Road to Beach 5k with Sheila Bourke finishing 2nd. Best of luck to all members that have just commenced Half Marathon or Marathon training plans.

It’s been a quiet few months in the club so we were delighted to welcome back our Juvenile and Senior teams to Round Towers recently.There was great excitement in Thomas Ashe Park also with the return of our Nursery with a fantastic turnout on our first morning back after lockdown. We have also launched our online lotto which will take place every Thursday at 9.00pm

Fingal County Council’s Affordable Housing Scheme at Dun Emer in Lusk took a major step forward today when the first sod was turned on the construction site by the Mayor of Fingal, Cllr David Healy; the Deputy Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Robert O’Donoghue; and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, TD.The Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly, and the Chief Executive of Ó Cualann Cohousing Alliance, Hugh Brennan, were also present at the ceremony which signals the next phase of the 51 home project. Construction on 39 affordable homes and 12 social homes will commence in a couple of weeks. Prices will start from €166,000 for the two-bedroom apartments; from €206,000 for the three-bedroom duplexes; from €250,000 for the three-bedroom terraced; and from €258,000 for the three-bedroom semi-detached homes.The Application Portal opened on May 4 and there has been a steady stream of applications for the affordable homes. The allocation process will be based on the Scheme of Priority with each application being processed on the basis of its eligibility.Applications for the Dun Emer Affordable Home Purchase Scheme can be made via https://affordablehousing.fingal.ie and an explanatory video outlining the application process is available at http://www.fingal.ie/affordablehousing (NB: websites not accessible through this medium)The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr David Healy, said: “Affordable housing is an important element in Fingal’s efforts to tackle the housing crisis and ensure that the housing needs of our communities are met. The application figures show clearly there is a demand for affordable housing.”The Deputy Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Robert O’Donoghue, who is also Chair of the Housing Strategic Policy Committee, said: “The scheme contributes to Fingal County Council’s aim to create and sustain communities with a healthy mix of tenure and housing types gives people a realistic opportunity to own their own home.”Hugh Brennan, CEO Ó Cualann Cohousing Alliance, said: “Ó Cualann Cohousing Alliance welcomes the opportunity to work with Fingal County Council on this important scheme and we do not underestimate the challenges of delivering 39 top quality affordable homes and 12 social homes for the people of Fingal during a pandemic. We are confident that with the continued support from Fingal County Council and all the stakeholders we will do just that, and, in under two years, there will be a thriving community in Dun Emer, Lusk, County Dublin.

The 4th May saw the opening up of construction again and after months of delay, enabled our con-tractor Pat Fitzgerald Construction to commence work on the Lusk Community Cultural Centre. Step one was to secure the site and start clearing it up. After many years of dereliction, cleaning up was a major task however for residents near by, this was very welcome. Nearby residents have lived with anti social behavior on the site for decades, so the removal of the old out buildings meant that this anti social opportunity was also being removed. Today we are back to the original front wall and gable walls that we are to preserve. The Cottage frontage is a key feature on Church Road and bringing it back to its former glory is the key objective.Over recent months, Lusk Com-munity Council has been working on new brand ideas for the Cultural Centre. In line with the branding of the Cottage Community Centre, Nicole Kearney, designed the new Cultural Centre branding. On the 14th May, we were delighted to welcome Minister Darragh O’Brien and AnnMa-rie Farrelly, CEO of Fingal County Council to launch the new branding in the company of Coun-cillors Boland, O’Donoghue and Dennehy.

“Lusk Tidy Town Committee have been busy over the past few weeks, tidying up banks, cutting back hedging, digging flower beds and planting shrubs and wildflowers. Over the years it has been my good fortune to have worked with people of energy and enthusiasm who have helped make our village of Lusk an attractive place in which to live. Thank you Pat Kelly”

May 12th saw the completion of the submissions for the Fingal Development Plan 2023-2029. Thank you to everyone who made a submission. Some were some very strong, not least the Lusk Vision 2030 document from consultants AP&E, which is worth a read on the Fingal County Council consultation portal consult.fingal.ie.

The Love Lusk website was launched last month by Lusk Community Network. We would like to congratulate them on a fantastic job and a great initiative for Lusk. If you are a business owner, get in touch with them to be included on the website as they would like to ensure all groups, clubs and businesses are given a presence, making it a one stop shop for all things Lusk! Check out the website lovelusk.ie.There has been great An Taisce community litter picking activity arranged by Willie McGee over the last number of weeks. Have a look out for the next spring clean date on our Facebook page and join us! We would like to thank Willie for all his efforts.Fingal County Council have agreed to provide funding for extra Christmas lights; however, we need to raise €2400 of our own before we receive the €2000 from FCC. We plan to start a fundraiser in September so keep a lookout.We are very pleased to see that the berm (soil subsidence) on Station Road has been cut back, making the pathway much safer for pedestrians. Many thanks to Cllr Rob O’Donoghue for his representations.Planning permission has been granted for 84 houses on Rathmore Road, with 30 conditions that must be met.We await the lowering of the footpath opposite Butterflies Montessori, which has been delayed due to Covid restrictions. As extra funding has been made available nationally for the provision of bins, we have requested an onsite meeting with FCC to discuss problem litter areas and receive commitment to increase bin numbers. Enjoy the Summer fro all of us in Lusk Action Group.

Cllr Rob O’Donoghue has warmly welcomed the intention for provision of night classes in Lusk Community College. O’Donoghue stated, ‘Following inquiries regarding the proposal for night class at Lusk Community College, I was delighted to receive the news that the secondary school is to run night classes at the school in the future.’The question of night classes was discussed at length by the Board of Management. The Board was of the opinion that the introduction of such a programme would be of great benefit to the school and the local community.The idea fits well with the Boards wish that the school be a centre for learning for the entire community.It is the Boards intention that planning for adult classes at the college will commence shortly, with the hope of developing a programme in place for the 2021/2022 school year with support from the Dublin & Dún Laoghaire Education & Training Board. O’Donoghue continued, ‘night classes are a great initiative from a from a school that is continuously hitting high standards, they will enrich the whole community and I would like to commend the strong and dedicated leadership of the Board and the Principal.’

May brought us at Donabate Portrane Special Olympics Club the best news ever; with an ease in Covid restrictions and thanks to hard work by our safety committee we have returned to ‘live’ sessions on Saturdays.I don’t know who was more excited, our volunteers, the parents or the athletes!Despite the rain, and thanks to the covered yard area in DPETNS, we welcomed our young athletes and parents back in pods of fifteen, and it was a privilege to see the smiles as they saw their friends face to face for the first time in so long.We are all sure they could all tell we adults were smiling under our masks as we marvel at how much they have all grown up over the last 15 months.We thought it might be difficult to run our sessions within the restrictions, but as always our superstars adapted to the challenge and were soon running, hopping, skipping, balancing.Playground games are a great hit; with the children enjoying their turn at being “it” and calling the shots in Red Rover and What’s the time Mister Wolf. While activities were under way in Donabate, one of our parent volunteers, Maedhbh, took on her first marathon to raise funds for Down Syndrome Dublin and our club. Our club followed her progress with some of our families going along to support Maedhbh on her route. We are all very proud and grateful to Maedhbh who raised over €3500. Local Athletics Club, LSA are great supporters of our club and will help us with the launch of our athletics programme as soon as we are able.We are delighted that they have chosen us as their charity partner for their first official event this summer to celebrate their 10th anniversary.Thank you LSA.