After releasing his debut single “The Gift of Freedom” in May of earlier this year, Balbriggan local, Rían has established himself as a singer/ songwriter and recording artist. He featured in one of Ireland’s leading music magazines, Hot Press and was likened to Tracey Chapmans style with his debut track.

From a young age he has often taken the mic in local pubs to sing in front of an audience and has entered local talent shows and show cases. Having a massive vinyl collection, Rian has an interest in every genre from Country to Funk. He has also performed in Balbriggan’s first ever Pride Festival. After gaining attraction from radio nation-wide he was invited on to Dublin South FM, Lucan Fm and LMFM to promote his music.

Taking inspiration from giants like Anastacia, Aslan and Dolly Parton he pens songs from the heart of real situations that he has seen or lived through. This year his second single, a Christmas Charity single, “O’ Holy Night” was released on November 8th through online platforms. Already being booked on local radio stations he will begin to promote his holiday single early December. 2025 promises new material. Physical copies of the CD “O’ Holy Night” have been produced with a portion of the proceeds going to St. Francis Hospice Dublin. Pick up your copy in Golden Discs Drogheda or Golden Discs Swords now!

Entries are being sought for the inaugural “Fingal Sports Club Volunteer Awards” which aim to recognise and honour the huge community of volunteers who give their time to provide sport and physical activity opportunities across the County.

The Fingal Sports Office is hosting the gala event on Monday 27th January 2025, at the Carlton Hotel in Tyrrelstown, Dublin 15. It is estimated that some 450,000 people across Ireland volunteer in sports clubs every week, tirelessly giving their support to clubs and communities from dawn until dusk, and never seeking glory or reward for doing so.

Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Brian McDonagh, said: “I welcome the launch of these inaugural awards and look forward to seeing the nominations that pay tribute to those unsung heroes who are out there making a difference across the county. We have an amazing range of sporting clubs that are bringing communities together and encouraging people of all ages and abilities to participate in activities such as athletics, tennis, rugby, GAA, soccer and so many more. A key part of making this a success comes from all those inspirational volunteers who should be deservedly recognised for their dedication and hard work.”

Each sports club in Fingal can nominate a volunteer from within their ranks who they feel goes above and beyond in helping to make a real difference to others, and who demonstrates the very best of what being an invaluable team member means. After nominations are received, an independent jury panel will select those they feel are worthy of the accolade of sports volunteer of the year.

Volunteers are the very heart of our sports community in Fingal; their selfless contributions of time, energy, and passion play a vital role in sustaining a wide range of sports activities and help everyone from grassroots to elite professionals. Recognising and celebrating these volunteers is crucial to acknowledging their impact and inspiring continued support.

The closing date for nominations is 5pm on Tuesday 17th December 2024. Nominations can be made via: https://bit.ly/fingalsportsvolunteerofyear25.

This month, Fingal Volunteer Centre hosted a Dublin 15 Volunteer Expo during which people interested in volunteering chatted with their local charities. This public gathering in Blanchardstown Library, provided 12 not-for-profits organisations the chance to chat with the public about their missions and what volunteering with them looks like.

Set up in 2007, Fingal Volunteer Centre is an independent charity that promotes the value of volunteering. Events like the Expo offer an opportunity for individuals thinking of volunteering to meet directly with local organisations and have a quick chat about their roles, facilitating the first steps into their volunteer journey.

Everyone can be a volunteer. Most of the roles do not require any specific skills and when necessary, training is provided. Some roles do require specific knowledge and people who have experience in any area are valuable. Roles include befriending, administration, arts & crafts, event stewarding, fundraising, IT, mentoring and tutoring, board positions, coaching and many more.

Dublin 15 hosts over 100 not-for-profits organisations which focus on promoting positive mental health, supporting youth / the elderly / people with disabilities, taking environment & climate actions, encouraging sports, radio broadcasting and much more. Groups at the Expo represented this diversity of causes and roles: Avista, B.C.I.L., Blanchardstown Village Tidy Towns, Castleknock Tidy Town, Children for World Children, Cycling Ireland, Empower Local Development Company, Foroige, Home-Start Blanchardstown, Millennium Community Garden, and 92.5 Phoenix FM Radio.

On the night, we spoke with one of the local organisations that partners with Fingal Volunteer Centre to find volunteers. Empower Local Development Company is an organisation that offer free services in areas such as English lessons for beginners, quit smoking support, ‘Healthy Food Made Easy’, LGBTQ+ in-person support groups, and social prescribing plus much more. They serve people in Blanchardstown, Mulhuddart and Balbriggan. Empower rely on volunteers to be able to deliver conversational English classes and have opportunities on offer on ivol.ie regularly.

Louise from Empower told us the Expo helps them in several ways: it introduces potential volunteers to the organisation and its aims; it makes local people aware of Empower’s services. The Expo also provides helpful networking opportunities with other Dublin 15 groups. It really is a win-win for not-for-profits and volunteers alike.

Did you miss the event? That’s ok. Fingal Volunteer Centre is part of a nationwide network of 29 Volunteer Centres who share a website www.i-vol.ie. Here, you can search directly for hundreds of volunteer opportunities that may interest you.

If you would rather have a chat, you can ring or email the volunteer centre about the type of roles that would interest you. Or you can drop in at one of the “Fingal Volunteer Centre Library Pop-Ups” events happening in libraries across Fingal to meet with the team. Dates and times are listed on their website.
So, whether you are interested in once-off or regular volunteering, or part of an organisation that needs volunteers, Fingal Volunteer Centre is the place for you. www.volunteerfingal.ie 01 899 1921 or email info@volunteerfingal.ie for more

Fingal Volunteer Centre is delighted to announce that 3 nominees from Fingal County have been shortlisted for the 17th annual Volunteer Ireland Awards. Those shortlisted will be honoured at the national awards ceremony in Dublin in December, which celebrates the commitment and dedication of volunteers across Ireland.

With 33 nominees across 11 categories, the shortlist includes volunteers aged 20 right up to 75 and showcases the remarkable impact of volunteering across all sections of society.

Garry Wiley from Donabate Sea Scouts has been shortlisted in the Children and Youth category. Kids of all ages look to Garry to provide a safe and exciting environment to learn about outdoor skills and have a bit of fun! Garry is known to go out of his way to make parents and scouts, of any ability, feel confident and comfortable in scouting. There is hardly a weekend that he is not on camp, running or attending events or at training to keep improving on the high level of scouting he already delivers.

Deborah McArdle from Donabate/Portrane Special Olympics Club has been shortlisted in the Sports and Recreation category. Deborah has been with the club since its inception over 8 years ago. She recruited the volunteers needed to form the club and now is the Young Athlete Lead and Head Coach.

Donabate/Portrane club has opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities to participate in Basketball, Gymnastics and Athletics. Volunteering has brought Deborah all over the world from America to Abu Dhabi and most recently Berlin, and she is always encouraging athletes and volunteers to expand their horizons.

Children 4 World Children has been shortlisted in the Small Group category. Children 4 World Children is a group dedicated to the integration and experience of people from different cultures. The group hosts various events for culture sharing, including their Sports Across the World event that exposes young people to fun new ways to exercise and build community. They celebrate the music and dancing of cultures across the globe and this year’s Waka Waka Africa event highlighted the food and games important to different cultures in Africa, complete with hair braiding and beautiful traditional dress.

The Club has been busy the last few weeks. Along with regular training four members of the club participated in the ONAKAI National Kata Championships. Boasting competitors from all over Ireland, our club members did fantastic taking home three medals and title of National Kata Champion. Sophia Guildea, Amelia Miller, and Lilia Beaumont had a clean sweep in the Cadet Female Brown & Black Belt category with Lilia taking Bronze, Amelia taking Silver and Sophia taking the Gold and National Kata Champion title for the category. The girls train hard, and it is great to see these results coming through at National level. Also competing on the day was Harrison Beaumont who unfortunately got knocked out just before the medal rounds in his category Boys Under 12 Brown & Black Belt.

We were privileged to host Yamaguchi Sensei 7th Dan JKS for a two-day seminar recently. Yamaguchi Sensei is one of the top Instructors in the JKS and he did not disappoint over the two days. On the Friday evening members of JKS Swords along with JKS members from around the country gathered to train in the Fingal Liam Rodgers Community Centre with this dynamic Instructor. Taking the attendees through kihon, kumite and kata, Yamaguchi Sensei inspired everyone with his fantastic karate and superb instruction.

On Saturday morning in Applewood Community Centre Yamaguchi Sensei delivered a stunning 3-hour seminar for the participants. He covered Heian Katas and Bassai Dai for junior members and then the kata Suishu for the senior grades. Over 70 JKS Ireland members were in attendance on the Saturday and JKS Swords was proud to host the event in their home club.

Next on the calendar is a 1-day visit from Watanabe Sensei, JKS Honbu Dojo Instructor. A seasoned competitor and very capable instructor, it promises to be an excellent Seminar.

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

The 16th Annual Valley walk took place on Saturday 12th October in River Valley, Swords to raise funds for Cancer research. The walk has grown from 30 walkers in the first year to 140 yesterday!

People come from far and wide every year meeting at Peacocks pub car park in River Valley for registration and refreshments provided by Fyffes and the local Daybreak shop. Very quickly the scene became a sea of yellow with the walkers’ Irish Cancer Society t-shirts as they started the 5km walk around the lovely park and woods.

Following more refreshments consisting of Keoghs crisp, Supervalu bars, sweets etc on the Brackenstown road, along with the catch ups and chats, the walkers made their way back by the “Jacko” and finish back upstairs in Peacock’s where they enjoyed much needed coffee and beautiful scones, all donated by Peacock’s.

The walk organiser, Margaret Harris explained, “My A team of ladies continued to sell raffle tickets, and at one stage the queue stretched across the room. We had 43 raffle prizes donated by local businesses in River Valley, Boroimhe and Swords and some walkers donated lovely prizes also. Katie from Irish Cancer Society Research spoke about the latest developments in Cancer research. We finished off with a few words from myself and a hotly anticipated mega raffle. The Microphone etc was kindly set up by Chris Power. This event is very much a community event with our local councillors supporting it every year. Hopefully we can get to do it all again next year.

By Mike Power

Hallowe’en really means ‘the eve of the hallowed (‘holy) Saints Day (November 1st). The ancient Celts in Swords also had a holiday ‘Samhain’ at this time of year celebrating the end of harvest and the beginning of Winter. This feast-day was then adopted by the early Christian church here, becoming the traditional time for lots of spooky fun as we know it today.

For much of it’s long life, Swords served a largely agricultural hinterland and many of the local traditions associated with this time of year such as ceasing to pick blackberries (angry spirits); putting out food for roaming spirits; wearing straw hats and lighting bonfires, are all connected with farming.

I can’t do any better in describing Sword’s ancient spooky ‘atmospherics’ of Hallowe’en, than quoting a piece from my forthcoming book ‘Swords: History and Heritage Community Guide’. This imagined historical scene happens up at Killeek to the west of Swords, beside the river Ward there. Killeek is a place with an ancient pagan heritage.

A line of torches led from the river to the sacred ash grove. It was Samhain for the tribe, their world poised between light and dark.. The soft light from a full moon glistened on the beads of frost on the ancient ash tree. A rhythmical, hypnotic chant came from the lines of people waiting to enter the sacred grove. Nearby a clutch of half wild dogs snarled over a wild boar’s head. From the river the Ollamh (Teacher) of the tribe brought a , cup full of water made from holly wood, holding it high in front of him, his pupils walking respectfully behind. The clothes he wore were dyed purple from berry dyes and his cloak draped him from head to toe. On his head he wore a wreath made from oak branches, the magic tree, the antlers from a buck doe on his head. When he entered the grove, a profound hush came on the people nearby. Entering the grove, the Ollamh sprinkled the water on the roots of the ash, a charm to ensure a good harvest in the coming year, and to placate Carnonos, the antler god. The chanting now began again, ringing around the valley’s flanks, louder and more fiercely. Triumphal fires were lit. In the people Hope was born again.

Christmas Jumper Swap
Following on from the huge success of last year’s Christmas Jumper Swap it will return this year on Saturday 23rd November in Rush Community Centre. The premise is the same as last year, bring a preloved jumper to the event to drop off for someone else to enjoy, and pick a new one to wear for this year’s Christmas season. Details are on the flyer.

Circular Economy in Action
Thank you to everybody who came along to our three big events mid-October in Rush Community Centre. We had a seed and plant swap, a clothes repair cafe and a small household item recycling event where we filled three large wheelie bins. Thanks to Anna McGuire for excellent guidance in the clothes repair cafe and Mary Ryan for her tips at the Seed and Plant swap. Anna is planning another repair café on Saturday 23rd November, details on the flyer.

Bird Watching Rogerstown
Thank you to everybody who turned up to our Bird Watching event at Rogerstown in October. The conditions were perfect, and we certainly saw a huge variety of birds on the mud of the Estuary under the excellent guidance of Linda Mellon from the Fingal branch of BirdWatch Ireland. Keep an eye on the Rush

The future of Knockdrommin House remains uncertain after it was revealed at the Rush&Lusk October Area Committee meeting that the property has now been withdrawn from the market.

During the meeting, the Council stated that they had submitted an offer to the Vendors in January this year but it was not accepted, and it had been understood that the sale had been agreed with another bidder, however the Council was then informed the sale is now not proceeding and that the property has been withdrawn from the market.

Cllr Rob O’Donoghue tabled a question in regard to the potential acquisition by the Council of the circa 30 acres of land at the Knockdromin House site on the Rush to Lusk Road at the October Area Committee Meeting in FCC.

“I am well aware that there has been attempts to change the zoning on the Knockdrommin site in the last two development plans, twice it has been rejected by planners and councillors, given its relative isolation it was not considered to be sound or sustainable planning. If I need to, come the next plan, I intend to lead the charge, again, on maintaining the current zoning on the site.

“Only the Council have the necessary resources and expertise to really develop the site in the communities interest. I would implore the management to have another look at the site should it come to market again, particularly as the alternative bidder decided not to go through with the purchase. Acquiring the lands would go some way to softening the loss of Kenure House to the town of Rush nearly 50 years ago,” he added.

Every year the Christmas Lights Committee, which is a sub-committee of Rush Community Council, work extremely hard to raise the funds necessary to pay for putting up and taking down the wonderful display of Christmas lights on main street and also organise the switching on of the Christmas lights event which this year will take place in Echlin Court on 30th November.

The Christmas Lights Committee have launched a GoFundMe page which can be accessed using the QR Code.Chairperson of the Christmas Light Committee Pat Sweetman explained, “We’ve already had some very generous donations from the community but we really need the people and businesses of Rush to dig deep and to help us to meet the target to fund the Christmas lights for this year. We know that things are more expensive all around, but it would be great if everyone could support the efforts to light up Rush at Christmas.”

It takes seconds to donate to the GoFundMe page using the QR code and there will be a street collection and raffles before the big day itself.

Rush Christmas Lights Committee are organising a spectacular event on 30th November for the switching on of the lights as their Chairperson explained, “We have groups of local musicians performing, there will be mince pies and Christmas treats and who knows maybe even a visit from the big man himself.”