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.

It is that time of year again when Guide Dog Day is fast approaching. If you would like to support us, our Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch of Guide Dogs will be fundraising on Guide Dog Day, Friday the 23rd of May in Millfield Shopping Centre, Balbriggan where we will be selling merchandise along with holiday raffle tickets at €5 to potentially win a luxury holiday worth €5,000! We will also be fundraising on Saturday the 24th of May in Supervalu, Balbriggan where if you missed us on Friday, you could get your hands on our merchandise and those exciting raffle tickets at €5 each.

If you do not make it down to see us on either day, don’t worry there are more ways you can support our Branch. Did you know for example, that we placed a Q.R. code in Supervalu in Lusk of a large collection dog, so if you don’t have change to put into the large dog, you can scan the code using your phone and donate to the Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch of Guide Dogs as much or little as you like. We also have Q.R. codes on our large dogs in Balbriggan in Supervalu, Millfield Shopping Centre, Cuddles Pet Store located beside Millfield Shopping Centre. We also have them located in Skerries in Supervalu, The Framing Shop, McMeel’s Pharmacy and the Shore Line Hotel located in Donabate where you can simply tap your phone to donate to our Branch. We appreciate all your continued support and hope to see you on Guide Dog Day. Keep an eye on our social media pages for more information and events to come.
If volunteering is something you would like to do, you can contact the Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch of Guide Dogs by phone/text 0857663107, email: GuideDogsBalbriggan@gmail.com or find us on Facebook at Balbriggan Branch of Guide Dogs.

River Clean Up

Super job today and unprecedented. Marcus, Richard and Paul under the guidance of committee member Matt with support from adjacent site developers Barrymore and Meegans cleared 4 skips of rubbish from the river between Kenure Woods and the Skerries Road. 5 hours of hard graft walking the river in waders. The river is flowing freely this evening, and bear in mind, this flows into the North Beach. Thank you gents, and to Ger for the photos

Swift Boxes

Our first big biodiversity project of 2025 was completed today with the installation of 2 triple entry swift boxes at St. Catherine’s primary school. We would like to thank all who helped get this off the ground, our local volunteer Linda Mellon, who is part of the Fingal branch of BirdWatch Ireland, Mary Ryan, our friends in St Catherine’s primary school and Stephen for helping with the location choice and installation. Swifts are an endangered species and need all the help they can get. Did you know a swift will not land once between its migration from Africa to Ireland and vice versa?

Kenure Park Light

We are delighted to see the decorative lights going up at the entrance to Kenure Woods today. This was a bug bear of ours through personal experience, so we put a formal request into the lighting section in Fingal County Council last year citing health and safety concerns on a path which has so much footfall. The 38th Rush Scout Group also put their weight behind the request.

When Brazilian indie folk artist Jean Lone returned home after spending a year in Malahide, the area captured his heart so much that he decided to write and record a new song titled ‘Sweet Malahide’.
Based in Mossoró, Brazil, Jean’s new track blends warm acoustic textures with nostalgic storytelling, capturing the beauty and emotions tied to the place.

“The production, recording and mixing of the track were carried out in my home studio, and the cover of the single is a watercolour painting handmade by my partner, Bruna Medeiros, visually capturing the poetic essence of the song,” Jean explained.

To listen to Sweet Malahide please visit: https://onerpm.link/103214560540

The introduction of annual perpetual awards by the Club in 2024 marks a significant milestone in recognizing and honouring the outstanding contributions of its members. These awards not only celebrate individual achievements but also build a lasting legacy of excellence and community spirit within the club. Here’s a breakdown of the five distinct awards and the 2024 winners:

SylsCC Spirit Award: This award is presented to the member who has inspired and positively influenced others throughout the year. The 2024 recipient is Deirdre.

SylsCC Good Shepherd Award: Given to the ride leader who consistently goes above and beyond to support fellow cyclists. This year’s recipient is David.

SylsCC Leader of the Pack: Awarded to the member who has shown remarkable improvement in their performance over the year. The 2024 recipient is Seamus.

SylsCC Rookie of the Year: This award recognizes a first-year club member who has demonstrated exceptional enthusiasm for cycling. The winner for 2024 is Tracey.

SylsCC Community Award: Awarded to the member who has made a meaningful impact on the broader community. The 2024 recipient is Phillip.

At the Gala Awards Ceremony, each of these deserving members was presented with a silver salver to commemorate their achievements. The club is proud of their diverse accomplishments, which include significant personal feats like completing the Mallorca 312 and conquering the Australian Munda Biddi Trail, as well as contributions to the club’s social program, providing exceptional care during rides, and new members who embrace the club cycling and social ethos. The recognition of these achievements further strengthens the club’s sense of community and shared values.

This annual awards program will surely continue to inspire future members, creating a rich history of celebrated excellence over the coming decade.