Fingal Libraries is delighted to announce that Balbriggan Library has been awarded a Library of Sanctuary by Places of Sanctuary Ireland, making Fingal the first local authority in Dublin to receive this award.
Following the submission of an extensive portfolio, Balbriggan Library was recognised for the consistent and innovative work that goes into making the library a champion for inclusion and welcome. The award is particularly special as it means it becomes the first public library in Dublin to receive such a status.
At the award ceremony Deputy Mayor of Fingal, Cllr. JK Onwumereh remarked: “The ethnically diverse population of Balbriggan makes the local Library an ideal candidate for such a prestigious award. They have created a community of welcome for all, whether they be migrants, Ukrainians coming into the county, or any type of marginalised groups living in the town”.

Dr. Veronica Crosbie from Places of Sanctuary Ireland presented the Library of Sanctuary award to the Deputy Mayor and the staff at Balbriggan Library at a celebration which took place in Ireland’s youngest town. Among the attendees were local agencies such as Cairde Balbriggan, Balbriggan Integration Forum, Le Cheile Day Hospital, Our Balbriggan, the Association of Ukrainians in Ireland, and the students of Bremore Educate Together Secondary School.

Dr. Veronica Crosbie commented: “Balbriggan Library demonstrates a commitment to supporting refugees and international protection applicants. We are delighted to include the library in our growing network of places working hard to combat racism and foster inclusive communities where everyone can flourish.”

Betty Boardman, County Librarian of Fingal Libraries added: “This award is testament to the hard work and enthusiasm displayed by the staff at Balbriggan Library. Fingal Libraries strive to strengthen and support communities by providing a dynamic, inclusive, and responsive library service. I would like to take this opportunity to personally congratulate them on this wonderful achievement.”
Places of Sanctuary Ireland complemented Balbriggan Library on their “brilliant and very attractive portfolio”.

Discover more about Places of Sanctuary Ireland: https://ireland.cityofsanctuary.org/about

We had some interesting events recently in the Club. We hosted Japanese Instructor Daisuke Watanabe Sensei from the JKS Headquarters for a Kumite Seminar recently. We had a fantastic session training with him. He has a totally different level of kumite with unbelievable speed and power. His Kumite never fails to disappoint, and we were all inspired by his teaching and kumite expertise.

Students from the club travelled to Tallaght to participate in the SKIF Ireland Murakami Shield Open Championships. This was a National competition with karate clubs from all over Ireland in attendance.
We had some novices who were taking part in their first competition and although they did not win any medals, they gained valuable competition experience on the mats and made the club proud with their participation.

Our more experienced students did take home some medals on the day. Sandra Iliasz took a bronze medal in her kata event while Tom Horgan and Tommy Keegan took bronze medals in their kumite events. Harrison Beaumont did the double, taking bronze in both his kata and kumite categories while Sophia Guildea, hot on the heels of her recent ONAKAI National Kata Champion win, took silver in both her kata and kumite events. Amelia Miller and Lilia Beaumont just missed out on the medal rounds in very tough kata and kumite categories. All in all, however, the results were very good for the club at this event.
We focus now on preparing for our end of term Belt Grading examinations where hopefully all members will progress to a new coloured karate belt and level. After this we wind down for the Christmas break. We would like to thank all our students, families, friends and community for supporting us throughout the year and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous 2025.

Our Club is always looking for new members (Children, Young People & Adults). Contact Dermot on 087-8073885 for details on how to join our club. You can also contact us on Facebook: JKS Swords Karate Club or on Instagram: @jks_swords_karate_club

Sword’s BC boxer, Shay O’ Dowd, recently competed at the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) World Youth Championships in Budva, Montenegro, returning home with a much-coveted bronze medal. The World Youth Championships pits the best 17/18-year-old talent from around the globe against each other and is attended by all the world’s top boxing federations.

O’Dowd a three – time Irish champion and seventeen years old, was drawn in the last sixteen of the championship against a tough Puerto Rican southpaw. O’Dowd started fast, stunning his opponent early, giving him two standing eight counts before the referee waved the fight off. Next O’Dowd faced an experienced Georgian slugger who was also a European medallist. The fight was an all-action affair and declared by the Irish online boxing media as fight of the tournament with both boxers sharing multiple standing eight counts and the Swords star sustaining a hand injury in the second round and falling behind on the score cards. O’Dowd came out swinging in the final round, stopping his opponent with a superb display of technical boxing and bravery to the delight of the Irish support and Irish boxing fraternity watching at home. Unfortunately, O’Dowd was declared unfit to box by the tournament doctors due to his hand injury so had to withdraw from the tournament and settle for a valued bronze medal.
Swords BC head coach David Byrne spoke about his boxer’s achievement “A world medal is massive for our club. Shay has blasted his way into Irish boxing history and proven himself as a world class athlete and I’m sure he will go all the way to the top in the sport”.

Next up for O’Dowd is the National Under 18 in January which is also a qualification for the European championships.

The foundation stone for the new Cultural Centre within the Swords Cultural Quarter was laid today by the Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Brian McDonagh, and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien.

The multi-purpose Cultural Centre will contain a new County Library and a 165-seat theatre along with an art gallery, arts spaces, a maker space and a café. Significant upgrade works will be carried out on North Street to create an enhanced public realm creating a link between the Cultural Centre and Swords Castle.
Enabling works, which began on site in April 2023, concluded in July and the building contractor, Duggan Brothers (Contractors) Ltd, moved in last August. The Cultural Centre is scheduled to open in the first half of 2027. Duggan Brothers will also construct 36 new homes on Seatown Road as part of the overall development.

The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Brian McDonagh, said: “This is another important milestone in the journey towards providing a cultural centre, based in our county town, that will be for all the people of Fingal. It is one of the major pieces of community infrastructure within Fingal County Council’s Capital Programme and will help to cater for our growing population.”

The Council received a grant of €3m towards the new County Library from the Department of Rural and Community Development and will meet the balance of the costs of the Cultural Centre from its own resources.

The Swords Cultural Centre has been designed by award-winning architects O’Donnell and Tuomey. Their previous work includes the Central European University in Budapest, the Glucksman Gallery at University College Cork and the Lyric Theatre in Belfast.

The Swords Cultural Quarter project is one of 16 contained in the Sustainable Swords Strategy which is a key part of Fingal County Council’s plan to ensure that, as Swords continues to expand, the town grows sustainably and provides a quality of life befitting the county’s capital.

For more information on the Swords Cultural Quarter project go to www.fingal.ie/swordsculturalquarter.

Twenty years ago, in 2004 Swords Tidy Towns was formed in response to the IBAL report of 2003 when Swords was designated a litter black spot, one of the dirtiest Towns in Ireland.

Our goal from the beginning was to make the town of Swords once again a town we could all be proud of. We believe our volunteers over the years have achieved that, Swords is looking fantastic, the many hours of hard work over the years is a testament to that. Of course, our goal would not have been obtainable without the ongoing support of Fingal County Council and local business for which we are grateful.

Finally, we have achieved our goal and just reward for our hard work, Swords Tidy Towns were awarded its first National Gold Medal after six National Silver Medals in a row in this year’s National Tidy Towns Competition. We were also highly commended in the Circular Economy section, a testament to all our hard-working volunteers whose dedication and resilience has led to this momentous day, take a bow everyone.

We celebrated our success in the Whiskey Room of the Old Schoolhouse where we were treated like royalty.

A celebratory cake was baked by our very talented volunteer Georgy Hughes who was sure we would win, many thanks Georgy. A massive thank you to Willie and the staff for taking such wonderful care of us as always and making it such a memorable occasion.

Thrive Swords hosted a Five Ways to Wellbeing community workshop to celebrate Mental Health Month this October. The event took place on Thursday 24th October in the Carnegie Court Hotel, Swords and was attended by members of the local community as well as representatives of local groups, services providers and local authority.

The Five Ways to Wellbeing is an evidence-based training offered by Mental Health Ireland to encourage everyone to take actions to maintain and improve personal and mental wellbeing by incorporating principles of Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning, and Give into daily life. The workshop was delivered by members of Thrive Swords who shared their experiences and insights regarding each of the Five Ways segments.

Adam Konopka, Thrive Swords member said: “I thought the workshop worked really well because there was a true sense of it being for the community, by the community with members of the community giving presentations on the Five Ways to fellow members of the community.”

Speaking at the event Caroline Brogan, Mental Health Ireland Development Officer and Lead for Thrive Ireland said: “I was delighted to lead the ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing’ workshop today with the dedicated volunteers from Thrive Swords. This event highlighted the importance of the simple actions we can all take to support not only our own mental health and wellbeing but also that of our entire community.”
Thrive is a community-led movement to create happier and healthier communities by conducting projects and events aiming at improving mental health and wellbeing. Thrive Swords is an initiative of Mental Health Ireland and is supported by Fingal County Council. Membership in Thrive Swords is open to all individuals, organisations, groups and service providers from public and private sectors who are interested in mental health and wellbeing, and everyone is invited to join.

For further information please contact caroline@mentalhealthireland.ie or visit Thrive Ireland – Mental Health Ireland

Our Foróige young people who took part in a community spirit award. They undertook this project wanting to raise money for SVP. They created their brand which promotes sustainability and self-care while also raising awareness for the work SVP do in the community. They made homemade soy wax candles out of refurbished jars and teacups from SVP. they raised almost €140 for SVP and we can’t thank the community of Rush enough for supporting them on the day!

We’d like to say a huge thank you to Jim and Jean Doyne and their team of helpers (with a special mention to Harriet Byrne for all her wonderful baking), and also to all the staff and patrons of The Harbour Bar in Rush.

For over 20 years now, they have held a fundraiser for a Christmas hamper raffle, selling tickets in The Harbour Bar and all around Rush. They recently visited us at the lifeboat station with friends and family and presented us with a cheque for €2,330. Incredible support for their local lifeboat.

A big thank you to St. Maurs. GAA for their very generous donation towards this years Christmas Lights. There’s still time to donate, every little helps

We were delighted to be able to present copies of the Rush Bygone Days book to 38th Rush Scout Group and Rush Senior Citizens Nifty Over 50 at their inclusion