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

Music and song were in the air on Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th November at The Lark, in Balbriggan, as many local school choirs performed in the Fingal Festival of Schools’ Voices. Schools from Lusk, Rush, Loughshinny and Balbriggan were joined by the The Lark’s own resident school The Irish Institute of Music & Song who played traditional Irish music on the harp.

The festival has its originated in 2017 as St. Catherine’s Choral Festival in Rush, so it was fitting that on Tuesday 5th November both the St Catherine’s School Choir and the Ukulele Orchestra performed several songs at the venue. During the evening the audience heard renditions of many popular songs by acts as The Rolling Stones, Coldplay and the Pixies. Additionally, two schools performed songs by Oasis – no doubt reflecting the recent revival in interest since the announcement of their reunion tour. The good news was that two different songs were chosen, Live Forever and Wonderwall!

Rush Musical Society Concert at St Catherine’s National School

Later the same week, with barely time to rest their voices, the St Catherine’s School Choir and Ukulele Orchestra performed again on Friday 8th November in the St Catherine’s School Hall with The Rush Musical Society. The audience were delighted with performances by all three groups, including songs from the 1970s, 80s and 90s performed by the Rush Musical Society.

The highlight of the evening was the collaborative performance when the adults’ and children’s voices joined forces to perform Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Vaults of Heaven.

Let’s Play Halloween

Despite the weather, we had a large turnout at our Let’s Play Rush Spooktacular event today in Kenure Park. Thank you to all the performers and volunteers who made a huge effort to make the event a success. Thank you to Fingal County Council and Creative Ireland for the funding and thank you to the Mayor of Fingal Brian McDonagh for paying us a visit. Special thanks to the 38th Rush Scout Group who allowed us use all of the facilities in the scout den for the day.

Rush Tidy Town Calendar 2025

Our Rush Tidy Towns 2025 Calendar has gone to print. Congratulations and thank you to all the photographers whose photos will feature on one of the 12 months. We will be announcing a launch day very soon, from which time the calendars should be on sale in several shops around the town. The price stays at €10 and it makes a great Christmas present. Please remember this is an important annual fundraiser for Rush Tidy Towns. We would also like to sincerely thank four local sponsors for contributing to the printing costs, they are Bird of Paradise, P&N Butterly, Kilbush Nurseries & WBD Farm Machinery.

Volunteer Work

Some of the jobs done around the town recently by volunteers and resident groups. Sheena painted the fence at the Old Mill opposite Spout Road and Paul led a team in Golden Ridge and did a great job edging. Well done all

Work on the 6km off-road walking and cycling greenway route at the Broadmeadow Estuary will be built jointly by Fingal County Council and the National Transport Authority (NTA) and facilitated by Irish Rail. A spectacular 280 metres long bridge crossing the Broadmeadow Estuary on the Malahide Railway Viaduct is set to become an iconic feature along the Fingal coastline.

The Greenway will travel from Malahide Castle to Newbridge House through varied and scenic landscapes including demesne and parklands, estuarine landscapes, rural farmlands and village environments with the coastline a constant companion on the journey. It will become a destination greenway for local residents, tourists and day trippers while also playing a role in the developing network of sustainable transport routes in Fingal.

With the Baldoyle to Portmarnock Greenway complete, the Broadmeadow Greenway along with the proposed Fingal Coastal Way and Sutton to Malahide Pedestrian and Cycle Scheme, a high quality, safe cycling route along Fingal’s coastline will be provided from Sutton to Balbriggan.

The construction of the Broadmeadow Way Greenway, adjacent to a live railway and within an estuary that is designated as a Special Protection Area (SPA) and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) presents a unique set of technical and environmental challenges which must be managed carefully. Due to environmental sensitivity, works in the estuary can only take place from May to September each year.
Enabling works will begin shortly to accommodate the construction of the bridge across the weir. The contract for the construction of this bridge has been awarded to Jons Civil Engineering and work is due to begin in May.

Malahide has taken another top award at the annual Super Valu Tidy Towns awards and when they visited, the judges were heavily impressed with the overall presentation of the village and the local Tidy Towns committee’s vision for the village in years to come.

Speaking about the village in their report, the judges commented: “Malahide has long been a lovely place to live and to visit with a handsome stretch of coastline and the wonderful Malahide Castle at its doorstep. The village centre is packed with an eclectic selection of independent boutiques, coffee houses and restaurants. Like most other villages and towns in Ireland, the suburbs are expanding with the construction of housing developments and this provides not only opportunities but challenges in terms of ensuring the village retains its heritage, it’s green spaces and it’s unique character.”

The judging panel was also very complimentary of the Malahide Tidy Towns committee adding, “You have a great committee and support of many volunteers in the community including newly arrived residents and visitors to our shores. This is an excellent sign of inclusivity and a whole village working together.

Your support from local businesses and agencies is excellent. The forming of sub-committees to carry our specific tasks is a good and efficient way of delegating projects and this is clearly working as evidenced by the excellent results seen on adjudication day.”