Donabate Portrane Dramatic Society is delighted to announce the upcoming performances of two short plays “Towpath” by Robert Iles and “Dead Man’s Bells” by Máebh de Brún from the 15th to the 17th of May 2025 (with two performances on the Saturday) in Donabate Parish Hall.
“Towpath” by Robert Iles is directed by Paul Keogh. This is a poignant one-act comedy about four women of mixed ages. Sitting by a canal with a fishing rod and a hip flask, a lone woman finds herself at the centre of a growing group of strangers, each with a tale to share and a problem to solve.
The cast of “Towpath”, in order of appearance, is Jill Murray as Anne, Marissa Magner as Chris, Joanne Moody as Pamela, and Emily McClenehan as Jenny.
“Dead Man’s Bells” by Máebh de Brún is directed by Aengus Gordon. This dark comedy is a gothic, rural tale of inheritance, rivalry, and misdeeds, unreliably told by three sisters. Written by Máebh de Brún, award winning Irish playwright, the play is laced with black humour and quick wit.
The cast of “Dead Man’s Bells”, is Christina Fahy as the Eldest Sister, Karen Parker as the Middle Sister, and Orlaith O’Halloran as the Youngest Sister.
Performances will be on in Donabate Parish Hall on the following dates and times: Thursday 15th May at 20:00, Friday 16th May at 20:00, Saturday 17th May matinée at 15:00 and Saturday 17th May at 20:00.
Tickets cost €12 per person and can be purchased online on TicketSource.eu or at the door.
Donabate Dramatic Society is also extending an invitation to all people in the community become a patron of the society and support the local arts. The annual fee for patronage is €60 per person and it includes two tickets for their biannual productions along with light refreshments.
If you want to become a member or a patron of DPDS do not hesitate to contact donabateportrane.drama@gmail.com.
And don’t forget to follow Donabate Portrane Dramatic Society on Facebook and Instagram!
In May & June the Parish Hall will be busy with many daily activities still taking place and some special events also. These take place around the daily activities or when they are suspended to facilitate one-off events!
May
As part of their great events, the Bleeding Pig Festival will be holding an Art Exhibition on Sunday 25th May 9am - 6pm, in the Parish Hall.
Donabate & Portrane Dramatic Society will be putting on one of their great plays from Thursday 15th to Sunday 18th May in the Parish Hall, (with rehearsals starting from Saturday 10th).
June
‘Music Fest’
This grew out of a request by FCC, namely Rafe Costigan, to the Parish Hall to have a special event ‘Festival in a Van’ take place in their grounds. (Other options were fully explored but not possible this year).
‘Music Makers’ were already booked to hold a Summer Session and ‘Peninsula Voices’ had sought to hold a charity event in the Parish Hall. Also as ‘Leithinis CCÉ’ regularly hold sessions in the Parish Hall, it made sense to combine them all together along with a few friends!
These will be small, focused events & adults, if attending with children, must keep an eye on them. So, save the days!
Friday 27th June - Evening
Peninsula Voices & Friends - under Áine & Tony, their musical directors - will organise a Charity Concert in aid of UNICEF, a most worthy cause.
Saturday 28th June - Afternoon
‘Music Makers’ will hold a special event for O/15 to play & perform under their leaders, Noel & Sean. ‘Leithinis CCÉ’ will then play a few Irish Traditional tunes. ‘Festival in a Van’ will finally take to their outdoor moving stage, with their own performers from outside the Parish & with some local guests joining them! It should be a great two days of music for a good cause & another chance to display some local talent. There can never be enough opportunities, especially for young people, to participate in Cultural events - eg music, singing, dance, drama, photography, art….!
School is over … so start the holidays with a bit of fun for all! Put the dates in your calendar now, on the phone & or at home.
More details with regards to attending & ticketing will be in the June edition.
July
Camps
1st Drama House Summer Camp from Monday 7th July - Friday 11th July & 2nd Drama House
Summer Camp: Monday 14th July - Friday 18th July
At present there are 2 Camps booked in for over the summer.
If you want to enquire about running a camp or workshops over the summer, please do so ASAP.
If you have any queries with regard to any of the information above please contact Parish Office in the mornings 01-8434574
As included in the last month’s issue, the Parish Office will be in touch with current users in early May re their requests from Sept 2025 - Aug 2026 which must be received back by mid June so that all can be worked on & put in place before end of June.
We wish you a lovely May, as our Summer begins!
We have now finished our Active Age for All Spring term activities and classes so ‘school’s out for summer’! Having said that some of the tutors will be running extra classes for a few weeks, I’m sure all their attendees will really appreciate that. I would like to thank all our tutors very much for the dedication and enthusiasm they bring to their classes, you are a brilliant bunch.
The AAfA Camera Club have been taking advantage of the good weather to get out and about. We explored the sights of Malahide; did a wildlife photo trip to the Dodder river in Rathfarnham where Mr Fox very kindly came out to pose for us, and enjoyed a morning in Howth harbour which included some street photography.
As the summer break is quite long we will endeavour to organise some trips and tours during it. We will also arrange one morning a week to meet up in the community centre cafe ( which by the way we are all delighted to have open again, it was badly missed) to keep in touch with all our AAfA friends.
Keep an eye open for our information day which will be on a Friday towards the end of August, in the meantime have a lovely summer and we look forward to seeing many of you in the Cuppa Cabana cafe.
The Health Service Executive has confirmed that plans are progressing on a new Primary Care Centre for Donabate with a preferred operator and site now selected.
Reacting to the HSE response, Cllr Corina Johnston said;” I refer to my ongoing representations along with other public representatives for the provision of a much needed Primary Care Centre in Donabate especially given the growing population. I am very pleased to have received the below response from the HSE to my recent representations on this matter.”
“The proposed Primary Care Centre will include accommodation for the following: Local GP Practice, Disability Day Services, Community Mental Health services, Primary Care Team services including: Nursing, Speech and Language Therapy -Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Psychology and Dietician Services.”
The HSE stated that there are a number of steps that must be taken before the facility can begin construction.
“Approval to proceed is currently being sought and if approved, the preferred operator will be notified which would allow for progression through the design and planning stages in 2025. The delivery of Primary Care Centres are subject to a number of external factors which are outside of our control such as statutory approvals, for example grant of planning permission, therefore the HSE are not in a position to provide the timeframe for when works could commence on this Primary Care Centre at this early stage of the project,” the HSE stated in response to Cllr Johnston’s query.
“I hope approval for this project to proceed is granted as soon as possible. I will continue to pursue this important matter and will keep you informed of developments,” she concluded.
Monday 19th May, between 3-6pm, you are invited to the Volunteer Expo at the Grand Hotel Malahide, which promises to be an informative, exciting and inspiring event.
Hosted by Fingal Volunteer Centre, the Volunteer Expo is a unique opportunity to explore volunteer roles with 30+ local / national charities and not-for-profit organisations throughout Fingal and North Dublin, which all rely on volunteers to help them make a difference in our communities.
Whether you’re new to volunteering or would like to try something different, this Expo is the perfect place to start. You will have the opportunity to speak directly with representatives from organisations about their various volunteer roles.
As an active volunteer himself, the Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Brian McDonagh will be visiting to show his support to volunteering.
There will be a wide variety of organisations ready to answer your questions. Among them, the Irish Cancer Society, Dog Trust, Mental Health Ireland, ALONE, Pieta, the Irish Red Cross, Meals on Wheels, RNLI, Age Action, Irish Girls Guides, Foróige, Howth & Sutton Autism Friendly, Portmarnock Integrated Arch Club, Skerries Community Association, and many more.
Visitors will also have the opportunity to learn and practice CPR with Malahide & Portmarnock Community First Responders.
The Malahide Lions Club will be raising public awareness on their ‘Message in a Bottle’ project aimed to encourage people to keep their medical information easily accessible.
Phoenix FM Community Radio will be doing an Outside Broadcast, speaking to volunteers and organisations about their experiences.
For the visitors interested in volunteering their skills with organisations that have board vacancies, Boardmatch will be giving information on this particular type of volunteering that is critical to the running of organisations.
The landscape of volunteering has evolved significantly in recent years. You can find one-time opportunities like stewarding at Flavours of Fingal, monthly commitments like driving patients for the Irish Cancer Society, joining a charity’s board member, or more regular roles like befriending for an hour every week. There is something for everyone!
The Volunteer Expo will mark the beginning of National Volunteering Week which runs from the Monday 19th to Sunday 25th of May.
For more information visit the Fingal Volunteer Centre www.volunteerfingal.ie, email: info@ volunteerfingal.ie or call 01 8991921.
The rich heritage of Fingal’s textile industry is currently being celebrated with a new exhibition at Ardgillan Gallery inspired by unique embroidery and lace patterns that originated from the area nearly 250 years ago.
This project aims to preserve and celebrate Fingal’s rich textile manufacturing legacy through a collaborative arts and local heritage initiative. Our project involves a group of artists who are in the process of creating original artworks inspired by the area’s history, particularly a number of unique artefacts originating from the Smyth & Co. hosiery factory formerly based in Balbriggan.
These artefacts, a set of three unique embroidery and lace pattern sample catalogues, serve as direct witnesses to Balbriggan’s vibrant social history spanning two centuries. Between the 1780s and the 1980s the work and social life that revolved around the town’s textile factories dictated the pace of life. This still resonates in Balbriggan’s identity today, evoking memories and inspiring new artworks and enterprises.
The exhibition opened on Saturday 12th April with an engaging speech by the artist David Newton and it was very well attended. The exhibition will continue until Sunday 11th of May and there are a number of accompanying events taking place.
Pharmacies need to come on board en masse to deliver the free HRT that women need, a Fine Gael TD has said. Grace Boland, Fine Gael TD for Dublin Fingal West, said that while details of the free HRT scheme will come as a relief to women around the country, pharmacists may be reluctant to engage.
Deputy Boland said: “I am grateful to Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill for engaging with all stakeholders including the Irish Pharmacy Union to ensure this scheme was rolled out. Implementing the free HRT scheme announced by her predecessor was always a priority for the Minister since she took office.
“Minister Carroll MacNeill is committed to supporting each participating community pharmacy by paying them a €5 dispensing fee per HRT product dispensed to all eligible patients, including those existing patients under the GMS/DPS Schemes and for all other patients prescribed HRT (“private patients”) and a €1,000 once-off grant to every participating community pharmacy.
“The implementation of the scheme should focus on the women in need of this medication. The symptoms women encounter during perimenopause and menopause are varied and women’s lives are hugely impacted by these symptoms. We need to focus on why HRT is such an important medicinal regime for women and how it can positively impact their lives and make daily living more bearable.
“I would urge all pharmacies including those the Irish Pharmacy Union represent to engage with the scheme proposed today by the Minister. It is essential that women have the support of their local trusted pharmacist when embarking on any medication; in particular, if any changes are needed during their treatment. Women will no doubt contact their own pharmacies to encourage them to engage with the scheme so they can be provided with the free medication they are now entitled to.”
In what is believed to be a first in Ireland, Fingal County Council has launched an ambitious new project that aims to reimagine housing estates as thriving spaces for both people and wildlife.
To help deliver a vision for greener and more vibrant communities, the council is now inviting local resident associations to nominate their area for a biodiversity makeover. The aim is to help transform underused or uncared for areas within a housing area into biodiversity-friendly space, creating areas that are more welcoming for nature, more engaging for locals, and more attractive for residents and visitors alike.
Urban areas offer great opportunities for wildlife. However, it is not always clear how to create the ideal urban habitat for a wide range of species. To help breathe new life into our urban spaces, making them greener, more beautiful, and more connected to nature, Fingal wishes to undertake a biodiversity makeover of three housing estates across the county to identify the most cost-effective way to make a housing estate more biodiversity friendly.
The makeover will cover the open spaces and front gardens of those residents interested in making their own gardens more biodiversity friendly. The species groups being targeted are breeding birds, bats, amphibians and insects. Biodiversity improvement measures include meadows, tree and scrub planting, ponds and wetlands, log piles, bird and bat boxes, no pesticide use and pollinator friendly garden planting.
Once the three housing estates are selected, a landscape architect will work with the local residents to re-design their open space and an ecologist will carry out a baseline survey to see what wildlife is there at the moment. The design is to be done over the summer months and we hope to carry out the improvement works in early autumn.
The ecologist will be monitoring the wildlife in the housing estate over the five years of the project to see which measures have the most beneficial impact on wildlife. The Council wants to involve the residents in the monitoring so that they too can get a good understanding what wildlife lives on their doorstep.
Resident Associations can learn more about the concept and find application details via: https://fingal.live/2p9czpmx. The deadline for submitting applications is 2nd May 2025. Any queries regarding this initiative can also be sent to biodiversity@fingal.ie.
A new €10m six-lane 25 metre public swimming pool is to be built in Balbriggan, Fingal County Council has announced. The new facility will be built at Castlelands, one kilometre south of the town.
The project has now moved to preliminary design and planning stages. It is expected the project will be ready to go to planning by the end of this year and, subject to funding, construction could commence by the end of 2026.
The new facility will incorporate a changing village, reception area with café and a viewing gallery. It will be located south of the area’s Link Road, directly opposite the site of a proposed new school. An integrated design team led by UK-based company ReCreation has developed preliminary plans.
The provision of a public swimming pool was a key ask of the survey by Balbriggan.ie in 2019, aimed at shaping an order of priorities to transform the town. The findings subsequently shaped Fingal County Council’s ongoing €54-57million Our Balbriggan Rejuvenation Programme.
In 2024, a study which reached out to local teens also highlighted the need for a public swimming pool in Balbriggan. Dr David Begg, Chairperson of the Our Balbriggan Leadership Group, which oversees Fingal County Council’s Our Balbriggan Rejuvenation Programme, warmly welcomed the announcement.
He said the swimming pool would have a profound and positive social impact on Balbriggan. “As we know, Balbriggan is home to one of the youngest, fastest growing and most diverse populations in Ireland. There is an unmatched determination across the community of Balbriggan to build a bright future for the area and this initiative will assist in doing just that.
According to AnnMarie Farrelly, Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, the long planned facility will prove hugely significant.
“Fingal County Council has long been aware of the need for a public swimming pool in Balbriggan. We will plan well to deliver a very significant facility for the people of the town and surrounding areas.
“The announcement is another significant milestone in our ambition to redevelop Balbriggan and represents further significant investment in the town by Fingal County Council. It makes perfect sense for any new swimming pool in Fingal to be located in Balbriggan, given its ever growing young population.”
Balbriggan Summerfest is returning once again this year from 27th May to 1st June 2025 with a packed programme of events for all the family. Running since 2009, Balbriggan Summerfest has grown into a vibrant community event that brings together residents, local groups, organisations and visitors to celebrate what Balbriggan has to offer. From live music, carnival fun, family-friendly events, sports and seaside traditions, the festival showcases the wonderful spirit of the community.
Balbriggan Summerfest has always been about people, neighbours, families, local clubs, organisations and volunteers coming together to create memories for everyone. It gives local people a platform to showcase their talents in music, art, craft, food and sports. The Balbriggan Summerfest Committee make every effort to keep everything local, reflecting the many cultures, traditions and talents that make the town such a vibrant and welcoming place. By celebrating what is unique about Balbriggan, the festival creates community pride and encourages people to take part by getting involved or just simply enjoying the festivities.
With the current regeneration projects happening across the town, the festival location has changed to Bremore Castle which means that some of the festival favourites such as the Duck Derby have had to be put on hold. However, over the week, the community and visitors can enjoy a varied line up of events such as the Summerfest 5k, charity football match, fireworks display, Bremore Castle tours, Blessing of the Boats, live music, carnival, vibrant food and craft market and much more.Our festival is not just about events, it is about bringing together the community, making memories and highlighting all that is great about our town.
