We hosted a very successful coffee morning, organized by Antoinette Doran and her team in Murray’s Top Shop, and raised the great sum of €5,385 in aid of Irish Cancer Society.

We wish to thank everybody in the parish in particular Senator Lorraine Clifford Lee and Labour Councillor Mark Boland for their time, and all who generously contributed and supported this very important cause.

We Want to say thank you again to Debbie in Tesco of Rush for the generous donation of €582.00 from the blue tokens Community Fund. Many thanks to everyone who voted for us.

ongratulations to RoseAnna Darby, who has been voted in as president at our recent AGM and she wishes to thank her committee for all their hard work.

Last month, members from LAG met with bus provider, Go Ahead (which delivers the 33 and 33a bus services) to discuss the various issues that the members of the community have raised regarding these services.

Among some of the main points from the meeting include the following:

• Go Ahead services:

o Bus Timetable: Last July an additional 4am service from Skerries was added to the timetable. Go Ahead are now seeking to determine whether an additional 3am service would be feasible. A request was also made to reinstate the 8.10am service to Balbriggan. All decisions regarding the addition of buses are made by the National Transport Authority.

o Service Levels: Only 1.29% of services were cancelled last year. Punctuality is quite poor (at 67%) and there is a department dedicated to improving this. Next Generation AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location) will be rolled out from the end of this year which will give much more accuracy in terms of reliability, which should drive service improvements.

• Complaints: There is one centralised complaints system for bus services on all routes through the Transport for Ireland help centre. Tel. 0818 294015 or use online contact form available on https://www.transportforireland.ie/support. Please continue to raise any issues through either of these contact points as TFI relies on data to update services.

• Bus Connects: The controversial overhaul of existing bus services is due to be rolled out from September this year. It is estimated that the changes for this area will be introduced in September 2027. From then onwards, Dublin Bus will cease to serve this area; instead, Go Ahead will take over the full service. Also, buses serving this area will go as far as Swords and passengers will then have to disembark and get a further bus to the city centre. The existing 33x service will remain apart from a name change. LAG, like many other members of the community have serious concerns about these plans and we will be exploring ways to lobby the NTA to make changes over the coming weeks.

It’s not every day LSA members gather at the airport to welcome home a European Athletics medallist, but that’s just what happened on St Patrick’s Day when LSA’s Anna Gavigan arrived back in Dublin from the European Throwing Cup in Nicosia, Cyprus with a Silver medal for Under 23 Women’s Discus.

Anna was in good company and it was an added bonus for LSA to meet Olympian Nicola Tuthill who took Gold in the Women’s Under 23 Hammer, and Oisin Joyce who took Bronze in the Men’s Under 23 Javelin, at the event in Cyprus

Anna won her European Silver Medal with a massive new Personal Best throw of 53.91m. She is coached by Donabate resident Gerry Ronan. Anna joined LSA as a 10-year-old and she also coaches younger athletes at our Thursday sessions.

Our Under 20 athletes have been busy competing in the Schools Cross Country and the National Indoor Championships. As the focus moves to outdoor Track and Field, our Juvenile groups are taking advantage of the bright evenings and moving to different training venues around the peninsula.

Our club members were out on the Dublin roads at the end of March, providing valuable support for our Dublin City Half Marathon athletes, whilst other members travelled to Dundalk for a Half Marathon.

eanwhile our latest Couch to 5k group had a fun graduation. We’re very proud of their commitment and enthusiasm and looking forward to following their progress.

We will shortly announce details of the 2025 LSA Road Race, scheduled for November - follow us on social media for details.

Congratulations to all our athletes, coaches & supporters.

Socials: Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lambaysportsacademy - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lsadonabateportrane/ - https://lambaysportsathletics.ie/

Adult memberships queries: lambaysportsathletics@gmail.com - Little Athletics and Juvenile athletes (7-18): lsajuvenilereg@gmail.com

We at Donabate Portrane Special Olympics club would like to express our sincere gratitude to The Carriage and Wayne and Eithne Hand for their generous and wonderful support they have shown our club.

They, along with their very generous customers and community raised €4,000 for our club during their Christmas Day appeal where they supplied free hot drinks with all donations going to the club.

It was lovely to stop by recently in person, to thank them and of course to enjoy their hot coffee and treats. So, if you are around Tower Bay for a cliff walk, sea swim or a hot sauna we recommend you stop by The Carriage and enjoy one of their delicious treats and hot drinks!”

Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed has been very active over the past month and has plenty arranged for the coming months.

This is a busy time of year at our plots at Turvey Allotments where tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage and cucumbers need regular attention. Work parties were organised for clean-ups and rosters for daily watering.

Gerry and the Plonkers, the Men’s Shed music group, continue to play for community groups. They entertained enthusiastic audiences at two recent concerts for Memory Cafés, the first in Skerries GAA clubhouse and since then in Donabate Portrane Community Centre.

The Irish Men’s Shed Association, to which our shed is affiliated, is holding a large event in Newbridge Park in early June as part of Men’s Health Week. Our shed is honoured to have been asked to play a major role in helping to organise it and Gerry and the Plonkers will provide musical entertainment.

A course for members is being arranged on the correct use of the defibrillator that was bought with a HSE grant for the joint use of the Men’s Shed and the Sea Scouts. Hopefully, we’ll never have to use it, but if an emergency arises, it is vital that it is used properly.

All of this is alongside our regular weekly activities – exercise classes, croquet in Newbridge, music practice and not forgetting the all-important coffee mornings on Thursdays. So, if you or someone you know would like to join us, call our PRO, Jim, on 086-3694316.

Every year Bloomsday which celebrates - James Joyce - is held on the 16th June - this year that falls on a Monday - so the Pacers are doing a little walk around Dublin to view some of the Buildings & Places associated with the man himself!

We will take a look at his statue, then his school Belvedere College ….continue past some other places of interest then … stop by Davy Byrnes & what is now Kennedy’s. Fancy hat required for all weathers! Contact Carolyn 087 9284307 for further information or Des 087 7846813.

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.