Continuing our promotion of the Sustainable Development Goals SDG is “Good Health & Well-Being”. It is well known that volunteering is good for people’s mental health, and the feeling of satisfaction associated with being part of a group of volunteers who have achieved a combined goal is very gratifying. In Rush Tidy Towns we have a wonderful group of volunteers who do a huge amount of work for the benefit of our town. You too can get involved by sending your phone number to tidytownsrush@gmail.com and we can add you to the volunteer WhatsApp group.
Rush Tidy Towns also run the Let’s Play Rush initiative in conjunction with Fingal County Council, Rush Scouts & Rush Community Council. This involves putting on a series of free play events for families in Rush at Easter, Summer and Halloween. This encourages people to get involved in the community in addition to being active.
You can always join our committee in 2025 as well, see flyer for details. This allows you to play an active role in the community and having a voice on the things that matter.
OLIO is a free app connecting neighbours with each other, and volunteers with local businesses, so that surplus food can be shared, not thrown away. OLIO have continued their work locally collecting surplus food from Tesco Rush and uploading onto the OLIO App and through the App many people have contributed to preventing so much food from being wasted by requesting the items they like. Thank you to all the App users for continuously supporting OLIO throughout the year. The stats on what has been achieved locally in Rush are contained below. Why not download the App yourself and begin saving food from going to waste? Check the app every Thursday at 20:30 to see what is available to collect in Rush!
Huge congratulations to our U16 Girls Basketball team who came out on top as the best team in Ireland when they were crowned All Ireland Champions, U16 Division A after a thrilling final against St Mary’s, Mallow in the National Basketball Arena, Tallaght yesterday.
The girls were amazing throughout the game and held a strong St Mary’s team to a 41-33 win.
Special word of thanks to their Head Coach, Christian McDonnell who has worked so hard for the girls. Christian is a former MCS Student who also won some All-Ireland medals in school!
We could not be prouder of the girls for their achievement!
To read a full write-up of the match from Basketball Ireland and a gallery of photos taken by our Malahide CS’s roving photographer, Dan Clohessy (6th Year) visit www.ireland.basketball.com.
The Malahide Lions Club held its annual Christmas appeal over the weekend of 13th and 14th December last. The appeal was strongly supported by the people of Malahide and raised the impressive sum of just over €10,000. This was immediately used to provide food vouchers for local families and individuals in need. The large amount raised will enable the Malahide Lions Club to continue their support for families and individuals in need into the leaner New Year period.
Malahide Lions Club are incredibly grateful for the continuing generosity of the community in donating to our annual Christmas appeal. It may have been a cold weekend but the warmth and generosity of the people of Malahide kept the Lions going during the appeal.
Many thanks also to the members of the CORus choir who braved the conditions and joined the Lions at the Diamond on Saturday to sing seasonal favourites which brought a very festive feel to the village and provided such great entertainment for the crowd.
Malahide Musical & Dramatic Society are proud to present Urinetown The Musical! This will run from Tuesday 18th February to Saturday 22nd February 2025, nightly @ 7.30pm.
Urinetown is a wickedly funny, fast-paced, and surprisingly intelligent comedic romp. In the not-so-distant future, a terrible water shortage and 20-year drought has led to a government ban on private toilets and a proliferation of paid public toilets, owned and operated by a single megalomaniac company: the Urine Good Company. If the poor don’t obey the strict laws prohibiting free urination, they’ll be sent to the dreaded and mysterious “Urinetown.” After too long under the heel of the malevolent Caldwell B. Cladwell, the poor stage a revolt, led by a brave young hero, fighting tooth and nail for the freedom to pee “wherever you like, whenever you like, for as long as you like, and with whomever you like.”
Tickets available here - malahidemusical.com/tickets
A warm welcome to the new members that have joined the club in recent weeks. Some have already been in race action wearing the club colours. It was great to see a good turnout at a wet and muddy St Anne’s park for the Dublin Master’s Cross Country.
The Lusk 4 mile is only a few weeks away so if you’re not helping out on the day make sure that you’ve purchased your race entry as the event sold out last year. It’s on Sunday 2nd March at 3pm.
There’s great news on our athletics facilities. We are delighted to announce that Lusk AC has received notification from Bord Pleanala on the decision to grant planning permission for the Sports Hub development; including an 8 lane athletics track. All going to plan this should be constructed and open in 2026.
Following our hectic couple of weeks in December and a lovely Christmas and New Year, things were much calmer this month of January
At our last guild meeting instead of a Kris Kindle We had a Donation Box and which raised €265, this was passed on by our President Rosanna Darby to Focus Ireland for the Homeless which they gratefully acknowledged.
On the 6th we celebrated the Nollaig Na mBan. Maria O’Sullivan organized a delicious evening meal in the lovely Village Hotel in Bettystown, we were driven home safely in the hands of Damien McKenna.
The best of luck to the Lusk Drama members who are taking part in the ICA Wicklow Federation Drama Festival on 18th January.
Bravo to our sea swimmers Monica Kilby and Pauline Flynn who continue to take a refreshing winter sea dip in Rush and Skerries.
However, many of us prefer the enjoyment of Aqua Aerobics with trainer Margaret Farrell in warmer waters of (smaller) ALSAA sports pool, returning again weekly on Thursday 18th January at 11.45am and is an open session.
A food drive took place on Sunday 12th in the Lusk Soccer Club All donations of unopened sweets, biscuits etc were welcomed and passed to Vincent De Paul.
Many members again enjoyed the monthly Ramblers night which is held on the 2nd Tuesday in the month in Murrays Lounge Bar.
Deirdre Wilson has started up a walking group again which commenced on 7th January. Meeting at Murrays at 10am. This to continue daily at the same time, everybody is welcome to join.
4 lovely Dundee cakes were entered for the annual ICA Federation Gempack Competition On 15th February, they were judged by Alma Farrell and Pauline Flynn - Frances Devane’s cake was chosen to go through to Federation level.
Planning permission has been approved for the proposed Recreational Sports Hub at Rathmore Park, Lusk by An Bord Pleanála.
The Lusk sports group (Lusk Sports CLG) look forward to working closely with the Fingal County Council project team on the next phase of the project, Tender Stage, with the aim of the project going to construction in Spring/Summer 2025.
A big thanks to everyone that has made this significant project milestone possible, particularly all our community volunteers that keep persevering with the project over the last 10+ years, our public representatives and the Fingal County Council project team.
Feel free to share this good news story with family & friends, a key day for the project & we look forward to delivering this community amenity for the benefit of Lusk & its hinterland.
Lusk Community Sports Group / Lusk Sports (CLG)
LSA saw 2024 close with record membership of over 500 adult and juvenile athletes. We aim to be a club for all the community, from age 8 and upwards, in a variety of athletics disciplines. So whether you’re starting out in your athletics journey, or you are a seasoned competitor, we would love to have you join us. We have adult groups for a range of abilities and interests.
Our full Juvenile athletics training program resumed last month as athletes returned to regular sessions preparing for the upcoming indoor season. Membership fees are now due for all of our returning athletes and we look forward to working with your child in 2025.
Our weekly Juvenile training sessions are as follows: - Monday:- S&C DPCC - athletes born 2014 (Under 12 & up)Thursday: - Thursday training at DPCC Astro Pitch 6-7 pm: 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 7-8 pm: 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 & Fit for Youth.
Friday - National Indoor Arena 6-7:15pm Development group training at NIA - Under 12 and up
Saturday - XC group training Meeting @ 2:30 pm at Newbridge Demesne - Under 12 and up
Indoor competition kicks off with the Dublin Championships and Spraoi Games which will be held throughout January and February at the National Indoor Arena (NIA), Abbottstown.
Details of all upcoming competitions were circulated by our competition secretary through our Club social media parent groups. If your child wishes to join our club please contact our Juvenile Registrar, Jennifer Tanner @ lsajuvenilereg@gmail.com. (please note there may be waiting lists in place for some groups.
We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all of our Program Managers, coaches and volunteers who continue to work with our Juvenile section and make it the great success it is.
Adult memberships queries: lambaysportsathletics@gmail.com. Little Athletics and Juvenile athletes (7-18) :lsajuvenilereg@gmail.com
As part of launch events for Tradfest 2025 members of Leithinis CCÉ were invited to attended a recording of RTÉ Radio 1’s Céilí House in Donabate Parish Hall on January 9th.
The event was hosted by esteemed presenter Kieran Hanrahan, with guests Gerry O’Connor, Mike Hanrahan, Bernadette NicGabhann and Karan Casey supported by Dáire Ó Maoldeirg and Muireann Ní Mhaoldeirg and Leithinis Teachers Sadhb NicArtáin (Fiddle) and Iarlaith MacArtáin (Banjo & Mandolin). The show was broadcast on Jan. 11th, you can listen back to the show on the RTE Radio Website at https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/11686968/
day.
Kieran Hanrahan of Céilí House was presented with a painting from Fingal to honour his long involvement with Tradfest & Irish traditional music.
It was a great day for Donabate in having this event come to us in the Parish Hall. Thank you Martin Harte of Tradfest & all the team from Rte & the Parish Hall Committee.
As a reminder, the new term for traditional Irish music lessons with Leithinis starts back on Monday, January 20th. More details at https://leithinis.com/ We welcome all ages and stages. It’s a great way to meet new people and learn or relearn an instrument in a very relaxed setting.
Labour Councillor Corina Johnston has expressed her concern that commuters on the Northern Rail Line will not see a significant increase in seating on new Dart+ trains that are to come online in 2026.
“Along with Duncan Smith TD we have been raising this important issue on a regular basis at National level. From Ministerial Statements and Press releases especially before the recent GE, expectation was given to the public that the delivery of Dart + Trains on the Northern Line would provide an improvement for commuters in respect of frequency and capacity of service which would be forthcoming from the beginning of 2026 (especially from Donabate which is last Station before the Dart at Malahide). From the replies received to my specific questions submitted to Irish Rail it is apparent that there will be no significant increase in capacity on the Northern Line at peak hours for a number of years.”
Replying to Cllr Johnston’s query on current capacity, and the expected increase with the new hybrid Dart trains, Irish Rail stated, ‘The current 4 car commuter train has a seated capacity of 185, 2 wheelchairs and a standing capacity of 444 so a total of 629 passengers. The new hybrid DART 5 car train has a seated capacity of 208 and 2 wheelchairs and a standing capacity of 428 and 2 bicycle storage areas so a total of 636 passengers.’
Cllr Johnston stated that alternatives will need to be found to accommodate the increasing population in the area serviced by the Norther Commuter Rail Line. “It is obvious that further extensions of the direct bus services will be required to meet the demand for access to the city centre for workers along this line. Duncan and I intend to pursue this matter with the relevant authorities at national level as we cannot wait for an incident to occur due to overcrowding before action is taken,” she added.