Active Age for All held it’s AGM on Friday 17th January this year and we were very pleased with the attendance, many of whom stayed for a cuppa and a chat when the business was done. Active Age continues to go from strength to strength due in no small part to the vision of the first committee and the dedicated work of following committees. None of this would have been possible without these volunteers and the support and cooperation of the community centre management and staff, a big debt of gratitude to all. Many committee members past and present represent AAfA on various organisations and groups: Valerie Henderson (Donabate/Portrane Liaison Group), Mario Mc Cormack ( PPN), Louis Gunnigan ( Town Centre First), Carolyn Smith ( D/P Community Council), Peig McManus ( Forum for Older People), & Mary Farrell ( DPCC Board)). This year we are delighted to welcome on board Adriana Ganet as tutor for Spanish 2 (intermediate) on Monday mornings. We are also very pleased to have two past committee members returning to the committee, Mary Farrell and Carmel Carey; and welcome to first timer Ann O’Hanlon.

Active Age is now entering its 10th year, and we plan to continue growing and developing with the community of the peninsula.

Through the Lens has had another successful calendar sale with the 2025 issue. The club has produced a limited edition of 300 calendars for the past few years with the help of the local businesses who take advertising space in it. It started as a fund raiser for the club whilst also being able to sponsor a local group, it is also a good exercise for the members and a promotion for the club. All photos selected for inclusion must be related to the peninsula and may probably be an historical reference in years to come given the rapid changes afoot in the area.

This year we are proud to sponsor Foroige a local youth group based in the community centre. Foroige caters for 12- to 18-year-old teenagers and they meet every Friday from 7.30 to 9pm. There are table games as well as snooker and table tennis, and drinks and snacks are available on the night. They do trips such as to the Awesome Walls and take part in activities like the Foroige Dublin & National talent championship.

Contact for Foroige: Kevin Barnes 087-9580129 and contact for Through the Lens: Mary McKenna 087-2321852.

Work has commenced on the new Donabate Library which is scheduled to open by the end of this year.
The development of the new public library at Ballisk House is one of a number of projects being undertaken by Fingal County Council that will enhance the provision of community facilities in the Donabate area as envisaged under the Donabate Framework Plan and the Capital Programme agreed by the elected members of Fingal County Council last October.

The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Brian McDonagh, said: “I am delighted that the contractor is on site and work has begun on Donabate’s new library which, when opened, will offer so much more to the local community than just books. The move from its present location in the Community Centre will also free up significant space which can now be used by different groups on the Donabate peninsula.”

Fingal County Council acquired Ballisk House in 2022 following the decision of the Progressive Credit Union to close its Donabate branch which had been located in the premises. The land had originally been owned by the Council but was sold in 1995 to Donabate Credit Union to facilitate the building of Ballisk House.

Vision Contracting were appointed last December to carry out the refurbishment works on Ballisk House and went on site at the end of January to commence phase one of a two phase project. It is anticipated that the new library will open to the public by the end of this year.

Phase one will deliver a contemporary library with children’s and young adult areas on the ground floor of the building. The installation of wheelchair accessible lifts will provide access to the adult lending area and a library events space on the first floor. The new library will also be a ‘My Open Library’, which will give registered members access to the building beyond normal staffed hours.

Planning has begun for Phase Two of the project which will consider the addition of an extension to the building to further enhance library facilities.

March promises to be a busy time for Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed. Work on our allotment plots has already started in earnest for the next growing season and our weekly HSE-sponsored Healthy Eating classes with Suzanne continue.

Our music group, Gerry and the Plonkers are set to play three gigs during March. On Wednesday 12th, they play a St. Patrick’s themed as part of their monthly FREE concert in Donabate Parish Hall, which we hope will be be as successful as last month’s Valentine’s themed concert. Light refreshments will be provided and adults are welcome. They are also honored to be invited to play at a function in Blanchardstown for a women’s group and at this month’s Memory Café in our local Community Centre on 26th March.

At the end of February, Men’s Shed members had a fascinating guided tour of Kilmainham Gaol, covering many of the main historical events in Ireland from the late 18th century to the early 20th. A fuller report will be included in next month’s article.

Needless to say, our regular weekly activities continue - exercise classes, croquet, music practice and Thursday get-togethers.

So, if you or someone close to you would like to join us, call our PRO, Jim, on 086-3694316 or just drop in to Donabate Sea Scouts’ Den on Portrane Road between 11am and 1pm on Thursday mornings.

The Balbriggan Chain of Survival is a programme managing multiple projects for emergency volunteer responders within the community of Balbriggan. The purpose of each project is to reduce avoidable fatalities.

CRITICAL Balbriggan Community Responders is a project that is now separately run and managed by the esteemed charity CRITICAL https://criticalcharity.ie/. Volunteers from Balbriggan have undergone online training, Garda vetting and are now in the process of their practical training with a vision of launching mid-2025. As a CRITICAL Balbriggan Community Responder, we will be an extension to the National Ambulance Service, and will be actively responding to emergency dispatch calls for heath attack, cardiac arrest, stroke and choking incidents.

According to the Irish Heart Foundation, over 70% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur at the home. The COMMUNITY HEARTS project is in partnership with Smart Medical and Re-turn as a national pilot for residential defibrillators being installed, enabling residents to be within 3-5 minutes, or, 400-500 metres of their closest accessible defibrillator. The overall ambition of the project is to have 24/7 AED coverage for 95% of Balbriggan’s population.

Orange Bins are placed all across Balbriggan to collect returnable bottles and cans to raise the required funds for the COMMUNITY HEARTS project. In addition to residential defibrillator instalations, an installation has been carried out at Bracken Cabs, open 24/7 to the public, and an ideal location with both residential and commercial activity being 24/7 in that area. Westbrook Grove, Clonard Street, Tara Court residential installations are complete, with Clonard Court, Tara Cove, and many more estates in the planning. Planning is in place to install a 24/7 defibrillator at the Balbriggan Court House, and to support Balbriggan 34th/161st Scouts with their installation at Market Green.

Orange Bins are placed all across Balbriggan, from the Rugby Club, through the town at The Lark Concert Hall, Glebe North Football Club, the Senior Citizens Hall, St. Peter’s and Paul’s Primary School, to the other side of the community at Balbriggan Football Club.

There are hundreds of residents collecting and donating their bottles and cans for the cause. To support national pilot for residential defibrillators a Go Fund Me Campaign has been setup to run 5km daily to bring awareness to the Balbriggan Chain of Survival programme.

To date, there’s been 432 daily 5km runs in a row, over 60 contributors and €1,816 raised which as supported the purchase of the first four defibrillator and cabinets. For details of the Go Fund Me click here https://gofund.me/917253f0

There are several ongoing projects within the programme, to find out more, please check out our social pages BalbrigganCOS or contact BalbrigganCOS@gmail.com”

To celebrate Brigid’s bank holiday the wonderful community of Balbriggan gathered for a spectacular, illuminated procession through the streets of the town.

To celebrate the St Brigid’s bank holiday in February 2025, Balbriggan held a spectacular, illuminated procession through the streets of the town and onto the beach. Balbriggan is one of Europe’s most diverse towns and is expanding into a vibrant hub of creative expression and life.

Performers from Luxe Landscape Theatre Company were joined by community groups at the Lark Concert Hall.

Accompanied by an ethereal soundtrack, they carried lanterns together from the Lark, gathering the community at George’s Square and in a powerful and emotive performance, spread Brigid’s light on a processional journey down Mill Street to a celebration on the beach. This family-friendly event celebrates the return of Spring with a celebration of light, hope, and the coming together of this wonderful and beautifully diverse community.

This breathtaking procession was developed through a collaboration between Creative Fingal, Fingal County Council, Our Balbriggan, Community Wellness, Luxe Landscape Theatre, and the entire Balbriggan community. It demonstrates how the Creative Ireland Programme delivers through collaboration and partnership to promote understanding and appreciation of the value of creativity in all its forms. It remains a wonderful and unique opportunity to celebrate community and creativity and to mark the celebration of Lá Fhéile Bríde, St Brigid’s Day.

Did you know that Irish equality legislation gives Guide Dog and Assistance Dog owners the right to access businesses and services without discrimination which includes access to all forms of public transport, including bus, train, tram, taxi, plane or ferry. Also, all forms of hospitality accommodation including hotels, Airbnbs, hostels or holiday rental properties establishments that provide food, including cafes, restaurants, pubs, delis and supermarkets.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of which Ireland is a signatory, articles 19,20,29 and 30 on accessibility and participation place an obligation on public and private service providers to be inclusive and the lack of access experienced by Guide Dog and Assistance Dog owners is a clear breach of their human rights under the Convention. You can show your support for access rights by displaying the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind Access window sticker in recognition of Guide and Assistance Dog owners.

You can order your FREE sticker from access@guidedogs.ie. At present in North County Dublin there are several Businesses showing support by displaying the access sticker, including Millfield Shopping Centre, Cuddles Pet Store Millfield, Dempseys Bar-Lounge Balbriggan and McMeel’s Pharmacy, Skerries. Let us know if you want an access sticker and we will get it to you for display.

Are you looking for ways to support your local Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch of Guide Dogs? Well recently we placed a large collection dog in the Shoreline Hotel, Donabate. This large collection dog has a QR code on it, so if you don’t have change you can now use your phone to scan the Q.R. code and donate to the Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch of Guide Dogs. A big thank you to Andy O’Neill of the Central Lounge in Balbriggan for making the connection for our Branch and to the hotel manager, Brendan for his support.

You can contact Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch of Irish Guide Dogs by phone/text
0857663107, email: GuideDogsBalbriggan@gmail.com or find us on Facebook at Balbriggan
Branch of Guide Dogs.

We kicked off 2025 with lots of new coloured belts following our Winter Grading Examinations. All students are now working on the next steps of their skills development to improve their karate basics and are learning their new Kata which will be needed for the next examination.

We also had our traditional invitational class with our students’ parents. Parents come along and tried karate beside their child and had lots of fun. It gives Parents a great idea of what their children are learning and, in some cases, encourages a Parent to join our club to learn Karate for themselves.

We hosted JKS Ireland Instructor training and Open Squad Training session recently. These proved to be very enjoyable sessions with the next ones planned for February.

We are proud to announce that we are the host club for the JKS Ireland Open Championship 2025 which will be held in February 2025. Planning and organising is underway and their will be a wide range of events to cater for beginners, novices, and more advanced students. The Championship is open to Shotokan clubs nationally and we hare hoping for a good turnout.

We are looking forward to a full and busy schedule for 2025. Along with our regular classes, we will have Competitions, Squad training sessions and visits from Japanese Karate Instructors to help us in our training. We also have the European Karate Championships to look forward to in September 2025
Our membership is growing but we are still looking for new members to join us (Children, Young People & Adults). Contact Dermot on 087-8073885 for details on how to join. You can also contact us on Facebook: JKS Swords Karate Club or on Instagram: @jks_swords_karate_club

Article by Ken Duffy

Feb 2025 - We are now into the second month of 2025 and its all systems go, but to date, 2024 has been Swords Tidy Towns most successful year. We celebrated twenty years as a voluntary group, and we won our first National Tidy Towns Competition Gold Medal.

I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of our Executive Committee to extend a big thank you to all our wonderful hard-working volunteers over the past twenty years who contributed, we would not have got here without you.

We would also like to thank Fingal County Council for their unwavering support on our journey to the gold medal and our locally elected representatives.

The support we receive from large and small local business both financially and with feet on the ground helping with projects, is as always, very much appreciated.

The many weekly messages of encouragement we receive from our 4000 Facebook followers is a great boost to our dedicated volunteers and much appreciated by them, keep them coming.

The members of Swords Tidy Towns would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Very Happy Belated New Year.

This picture was taken at the the annual get together of Swords Meals on Wheels volunteers in the Atrium of the FCC offices in Swords, who were joined by most of the local councillors (Dean Mulligan, Darragh Butler, Darren Jack Kelly, Joe Newman and John Smyth)were in attendance along with local TD Ann Graves…. We also had the Deputy Lord Mayor Cllr. JK Onwumereh who gave a very inspiring speech in support of the work of Swords Meals on Wheels.

Swords Meals on Wheels were out every day over Christmas and have delivered in excess of 25,000 meals over the past year all over the greater Swords area, they are currently delivering in excess of 100 meals daily… a special thanks to Councillor Joe Newman for all his work in helping to organise and support for this event.