Malahide Library is delighted to be starting a new book club in September. The club is called “Bibliofiles” and will be an informal, lively one-hour meeting once per month to discuss a chosen title in the popular/literary fiction genre, starting with Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life.

The construction of Lakeside Memorial Park, a new 24-acre cemetery in Portmarnock is moving at a steady pace and is expected to open in mid to late 2025.

The Minister for Housing, Local Government, and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, visited the construction site recevntly, marking a significant milestone in the development of this innovative project which will redefine the traditional cemetery experience in Ireland.

”Lakeside Memorial Park is a forward-thinking initiative that honours our heritage while addressing the evolving needs of our community. This project not only provides a peaceful resting place but will also integrate beautifully with the natural backdrop of St. Marnock’s Church. This project reflects the founders, Niall, and Henry’s dedication to delivering respectful and dignified burial options while enhancing our local heritage and providing an open amenity for all to avail of,” Minister O’Brien said.

The unique project, developed by founders, Niall O’Connor, and Henry Wildgust, will provide an array of distinguished burial choices - traditional and large family plots, niches in stately columbarium walls, and large in-ground ash plots, all within a beautifully landscaped 25-acre park (which is slightly larger than St. Stephen’s Green). The park is “designed to celebrate life” and will include the planting of approximately 1,200 trees, the creation of a large lake, café, children’s play area, and many beautiful walks and peaceful places for quiet reflection and remembrance. Once complete, Lakeside Memorial Park will be a fantastic addition and wonderful amenity for the local area.

For more information on Lakeside Memorial Park, please visit www.lakesidememorialpark.ie

Junsa Taekwondo recently attended a Taekwondo event and training session run by Taekwondo Ireland to congratulate and send on his way to Paris, Jack Woolley - our two time Olympian.

This time Jack had the opportunity to meet the young and upcoming taekwondo talent in Ireland as the last time he attended the games it was during Covid. It was a fantastic day and very inspiring for the students and coaches alike, as Jack displayed some of his kicking skills his coach Robert Taaffe explained how they got to such a level in Taekwondo.

Meanwhile on the Poomsae front Junsa’s Ellen attended the national Poomsae squad training with the intention of competing in October’s Korean ambassador cup here in Dublin.

We are looking forward to welcoming all juveniles back to training on Tuesday 3rd September after the summer break. New members are welcome and our latest Fit4Life and Fit4Youth groups will commence on Tuesday 17th September. The autumn marathons are almost upon us so the long runs are getting longer for those who have signed up for one. Good luck to all our athletes who have races coming up and well done to all who have competed in the Race Series, Graded meetings or any other events over the summer. We held the Man O War Round 7k race in mid August. Thanks to all who took part and to everyone who helped to make it another successful event.

Lusk local Katie Seaver may be only 16, but the budding novelist has already stepped into the literary world after publishing her first ever book: The Melancholia of the Grotesque.

The book is a gothic horror short story collection centred around women killing people, eating people, and losing sense of reality. These stories are atmospheric, woefully written pieces on solitude, girlhood, existentialism, derealisation and misery. They detail the journeys of different women, all isolated and miserable in their own ways as they navigate the utter horrors that occur both in their bodies and in their minds.

Described on www.goodreads.com, as ‘The Melancholia of the Grotesque explores philosophical ideas about identity and women’s place in the world, while detailing gruesome scenes of body horror and excruciating feelings of solitude. This collection contains 20 short stories written by Irish author Katie Seaver, with influences such as Bram Stoker, Franz Kafka, Edgar Allen Poe, Mary Shelley, Albert Camus, Julia Armfield, Sayaka Murata, Mieko Kawakami, Vladimir Nabokov, Simone de Beauvoir, Junji Ito, Clarice Lispector and Oscar Wilde.

“I feel my soul slipping away from the only vessel I possess that connects me to this world. I am living in a hell of my own making, forced to relive my own lonesome life forever.”

The Melancholia of the Grotesque is available for download on amazon.com and on goodreads.com.

Lusk Athletic Club has been chosen winners of the Dublin County award in this year’s Texaco Support for Sport initiative with the club receiving €5,000 to help fund 100m of tartan track to allow juvenile athletes to train in all-weather.

Lusk AC is a growing club with a wide and varied membership base of over 750 adult and youth athletes, participating in all athletic disciplines. From ‘Little Athletics’ sessions and ‘Fit4Life’ programmes, all the way to senior competitive events and ‘Masters’ programmes, the club prides itself on providing something for everyone.

Congratulating the winners on what he termed ‘the invaluable contribution that sports clubs make to the heart of community life in Ireland’, James Twohig, Director of Ireland Operations, Valero Energy (Ireland) Limited praised the unstinting work of club officials and volunteers, stating that “since its inception, in excess of €500,000 has been distributed to a variety of more than 100 sports clubs under the Texaco Support for Sport initiative”.

Overseeing the judging process was Texaco Support for Sport ambassador, former Irish rugby international and well-known broadcaster, Donncha O’Callaghan. Describing the North Dublin club as ‘a very worthy winner’, he went on to add: “For such a young club to have already established so many athletes, coaches and, most importantly, volunteers, is very impressive and shows just how important Lusk Athletic Club is to its community. Their energy and enthusiasm leap off the page and I’m looking forward to seeing future Irish Olympians emerge from Lusk Athletic Club.”

Entries for the 2025 Texaco Support for Sport initiative will open in the Autumn for all clubs, including those whose application may have been unsuccessful previously.

What a great day we had at the Fingal Vintage picnic in Swords Castle dancing to Gerry & De Plonkers and Ronan Collins and his band who played all our favorite songs.

It’s our summer break now but our members keep in touch and meet up every Monday for lunch and a chat in the Belfrey & Co Cafe and Shop.

We remember the family of Millie McGuinness a former member of Lusk ICA, who sadly passed away recently.

The Black Raven Pipe Band from Lusk travelled to Glasgow in Scotland to compete in the World Pipe Band Championship in mid-August.

The Raven’s competition season started in May of this year and competed and won the Leinster Championships, United Kingdom Championships, East of Ireland Championships, All Ireland Championships, Ulster Championships, Heart O’ Down Championships Newcastle Co. Down, leaving the band travelling to Glasgow full of confidence.

With an early start on the Saturday morning the Band were in the competition park at 8am to prepare for their heat at 10am. At 1pm it was announced that the band had qualified for the final which was around 3pm. The band played their best performance of the year and then the agonising wait for the results began. It is worthwhile to mention that in the qualifying round there are four adjudicators and all gave the band first place. Furthermore, in the final al four adjudicators gave the band fist place. That’s eight different adjudicators giving the band first place, such was the quality of their performance.

At approximately 7pm it was announced that Black Raven Pipe Band were World Champions overall as band and World Drumming Champions and so the celebrations began late into the night.

The band’s home coming parade took place on Monday 19th August through the streets of Lusk in front of hundreds of people and that gave them a tremendous reception. The band treated the crowd to selections of their music including their competition selection.

The band was founded in 1910 by the late Thomas Ashe and local man John Rooney and has been active ever since. They have competed in sixteen World Pipe Championships, and this is the first time they won the World Championships.

Black Raven welcome new members and in particular young people who wish to learn the art of piping and drumming and can be contacted at blackravepipeband@gmail.com

There is something for everyone in LSA and we always welcome new members. We have a wide variety of adult groups ranging from social runners, to 5k, marathon, Masters track and Field and beyond. We now have over 420 members, more than half of whom are adults.

We had a fabulous summer camp in July, thanks to our volunteers. Our adult groups and older juveniles continued training and competing throughout the summer; our younger juveniles and Little Athletics will return to training in September.

A record number of LSA athletes qualified for the National Juvenile Championships in Tullamore in July. They gained valuable experience and won two medals, with Under 19 athletes Suzie Linkiewicz and Michelle Branigan winning bronze in the100m sprint and Javelin, respectively.

Our women’s Track and Field team had a great National League: first of all they qualified for the Division One final at the start of July, and then went on to place fourth in the final in late July.

There was more track and field action in August with Sinead Farrell winning bronze in the 5000m and Anna Gavigan winning gold in Discus at the National U20 and U23 Championships. James Keegan had some great track races in the Dublin Graded race series whilst Reuben Capocci notched up his first mountain race win. Credit is due to the athletes, their parents and all the volunteers who work hard to support them, with special thanks to Gerry Ronan for his expert coaching.

Our Masters women had wonderful performances in the National Masters Championships in August with a Gold in the 4 x 100m relay and Silver in the 4 x 400m relay, both the over 40s age category.

After the excitement of watching Team Ireland in Paris we hope to welcome new members (and their parents) to our Little Athletics and Juvenile sections. Our club is run entirely by volunteers, and we aim to be a club for all the community. To find out more please visit our social pages.

Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed has had a busy Summer. Their “inaugural golf classic” was held at Bellewstown Golf Club in early August. Work at their plots at Turvey Allotments has kept several members very busy, with new screen doors being fitted to the polytunnel in addition to the usual seasonal activity. Their music group, Gerry & the Plonkers played at Fingal County Council Vintage Picnic at the end of July and at the Turvey Allotment’s family day in late August.

Autumn promises to be just as busy. Gerry and the Plonkers will play free concerts at Donabate Parish Hall from 12:30 to 14:00 on Wednesdays 16th October, 13th November and 4th December, with light refreshments provided. An outings to the Croke Park Museum and Skyline Walk is being arranged for September. The Men’s Shed will also be partaking in the Boules Launch on Monday 9th September at Newbridge House.

All of this is in addition to our weekly exercise classes, our croquet on Tuesday at Newbridge, our music jam sessions on Wednesday and our tea-and-chat get-together on Thursdays.
So if you’d like to join us, please call Jim on 086-3694316.