By Brian Madden

In 1979 Junior Chamber (Esmond Reilly, Finbar Holland and others), the Chamber of Commerce (Rory McDevitt) and Malahide Community Council (Nora Owen and John Cleary) saw the need for a local newspaper to cover all aspects of life in Malahide. It would create community awareness and report on the activities of the many clubs, associations and societies in the area. In jointly launching Malahide News they could hardly have realised that it would last for twelve years, produce 88 issues, and become an important record of the social and historical story of Malahide. In 1981 the Community Council assumed overall responsibility for the publication and set up a sub-committee of highly committed and talented volunteers, including John and Phil Barry, Jim Duignan, Michael Howard, Tom Potts, Senan Keating, Tim Hickey and others. Advertising by local firms was critically important to the paper, as it was free to the public. Deliveries to about 3,000 households were made each month in addition to supplies to local shops. Working to a tight schedule, all the latest news, sporting events, school activities, tidy towns, planning issues, festivals and more were given coverage. Professional photographs by John Barry enlivened most of the stories. Christmas 1990 saw the final issue of Malahide News. Source: Malahide Lions Club

The Parents Association of Malahide Community School are holding their annual Plant Sale on the first weekend in May. The times of the floral event are as follows : Friday 10th - 3pm to 6pm - Saturday 11th - 10am to 5.30pm & Sunday 12th - 11am to 3pm.

It will take place in the school canteen and there will be lots of colourful flowers, window boxes, hanging baskets and more for sale. Everyone is welcome so please come along and support this fundraising event. All profits will be spent by the PA to improve the school facilities and support the students in various ways. We hope to see you there.

Ireland’s national weekend of street parties and community celebrations takes place 25th and 26th May 2024 especially in Malahide. Annually there are more Street Feast participants than Electric Picnic attendees! From city slickers to countryside dwellers, everyone’s invited to the feast. Whether you’ve got a front yard, a street corner, or just a spot to gather, Street Feast knows no bounds. President Michael D. Higgins said: “We must all by now realise the importance of community, inclusion, creativity and togetherness - all values that require support and a conscious effort of care, protection and solidarity. Initiatives such as Street Feast provide exactly that type of opportunity.” Street Feast will be held over two days instead of one for the first time meaning a full weekend of celebrations. Over 1,250 communities across Ireland will share food and enjoy some conversation and camaraderie this summer – any excuse to connect with people in your neighbourhood. So let’s get planning. Organisers say that no matter what kind of place you live in, everyone is invited to participate and host gatherings. It doesn’t matter if you live in an apartment or house, all you need is a space to bring people together. Street Feast has had parties organised in front gardens, on streets and greens, in car parks, laneways, local parks and community centres.

Founder of Street Feast and Neighbourhood Network CEO, Sam Bishop, said: “For 14 years, Street Feast has been all about bringing folks together over food, fun, and fellowship. And the stats speak for themselves: 97% feel the neighbourly love post-feast, and a whopping 98% say their sense of belonging gets a boost. That’s the magic of community “ Sam added: “97% feel their neighbourhood is friendlier since hosting Street Feast and 98% say their sense of belonging has increased since Street Feast. That’s what it’s all about. Running it over two days instead of one will give people more opportunity to celebrate together.”

Register at StreetFeast.ie today and don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to bring your community together and celebrate. Once registered you’ll receive a FREE Street Feast party pack, complete with bunting, posters, invites and a brilliant DIY guide.

Malahide Musical & Dramatic Society proudly presents Neil Simon’s Award Winning Comedy ‘California Suite’. Written in 1976, the play is a four-part humorous confection showcasing four couples, from New York, Philadelphia, London and Chicago, who travel to Los Angeles at different times during the same year and share the Beverly Hills’ hotel suite, with separate but hilarious antics occurring for each of them. All of our couples bring their own baggage, a mix of problems, anxieties and comical marital dilemmas. Directed by Lynda O’Neill following the success of her production of ‘Little Women’ last September, ‘California Suite’ takes place in Malahide Community School from May 8th-11th - tickets available now!

Courtesy of Michael Ingoldsby and Malahide Historical Society

Thanks to Malahide native Michael Ingoldsby who grew up in a house facing the Green, we have a vivid account of when the circuses came to the Green in Malahide, as they did several times each summer up to the early 1980s.

“The visit of the circus was heralded by the arrival of the advance agent’s caravan drawn by three horses in a row. The advance agent visited all the shops in the town and soon coloured posters hung in every shop window announcing the visit of the circus in seven day’s time and promising that we would see the most amazing feats performed by some exotically named man or woman who was the only person in the world to perform such a feat. We children counted the days until the circus would arrive.

Then at long last the great day arrived. Even though it was early there were children on The Green patiently waiting to get the first glimpse of the cavalcade as it turned the corner and came down New St. Other children who wanted to be the first to see it waited on the Railway Bridge. Then we heard the noise of horses’ hooves in the distance and gradually it got louder until the first horse-drawn wagon turned down New St. to be followed by what seemed an unending line of horse-drawn caravans. And then the lorries pulling equipment and heavier caravans followed. One by one they went up onto The Green and found their place. Soon some 50 to 60 horses brown/white, black/white were grazing contentedly. We watched the feverish activity as the Big Top was raised. If the tide was full in the horses were frequently driven into the sea for a wash.

The pump on The Green worked overtime as buckets of water were filled and carried by eager children hoping for a free pass. We went to the matinee as our mother deemed the night show to be too late for us. That night my brother and myself stayed by the bedroom window straining to hear the band and to make out what was happening in the dark on The Green. Invariably sleep overcame us and we were lifted into bed by my father. When we awoke the following morning the circus had gone and what a feeling of loss seemed to pervade the place”.

We are grateful to Michael for sharing his memories with us and for sending us his nostalgic photographs of the scene as it was in the 50s and 60s..

Kevin Rowan D.G.L.

On a recent trip to Australia and while passing through Perth I had the opportunity to visit two Sea Scout Groups. The first Group nestled along the River Swan, the 1st Fremantle Sea Scout Group. The group hosts Joey (Beavers) Scouts, Cub Scouts, Scouts , Ventures , and Rovers. Scouting in Australia have the same program we have in Ireland. The evening programme I visited was with the Cub Scouts. The sections programme for the evening was to visit HMAS PERTH (1) Memorial site. A short walk along the River brought us to the site. Here the Cubs were engaged by custodians of the site. The HMAS Perth (1) was sunk during WW11 in 1942 by the Japanese with heavy losses. The evening concluded with a question and answer session by the Cubs. Further up the river and few days later I was invited to make a Sea Scout visit to the Ist Pelican Sea Scout Group of Perth. The group was established in 1913. They also have Joey Scouts , Cub Scouts , Scouts , Venture, and Rovers. The Saturday afternoon programme was to take place on the water. A inter watch sailing regatta took place in a 3 crew dinghy sailing boat known as a Pacer. A 3.8m. sloop rigged Craft. Here also I met Barbara de la Hunty and her crew of Scouters. Barbara back in November ‘23 took a Zoom call at our National Sea Scout Conference presenting a flavour of their Scouting down under which I also got to witness first hand. I wish to express my sincere thanks to both groups for their hospitality.

Well done to our wonderful Tidy Towns group with over 1,000 trees planted in 8 days up at Robs Wall at the start of April. Amazing what a team can do! Also Malcolm did some beautiful creative planting in the village recently. Remember the Tidy Towns always need more volunteers so if you are interested, they meet every Saturday at 10.30am at the front entrance to the Malahide Train Station. Newcomers always welcome.

We recently attended a tournament in Dublin which saw our younger students showing of their sparring skills, while not complete beginners the nerves still showed a little, but they overcame their fears to show exactly what they are capable of.

At Junsa, we believe that gradually introducing our students to the competition side of our Olympic sport is the key. Working alongside other clubs from Taekwondo Ireland we can run tournaments for all levels, from introductory level right up to international level athletes. Please have a look at our up-and-coming young athletes.

Club members were thrilled to hear the news that we are a step closer to having an 8 lane athletics track to train and compete on. After many years of working with Fingal County Council and our neighbouring sports clubs in Lusk we can see light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you to our club’s committee who have worked long and hard in pursuit of athletic facilities in Lusk. Congratulations to our recent Fit4Life group who graduated with the Windmill 5k at Garristown. Watch out for a new group starting in September. The club had over 60 athletes in action at the Windmill 10k which also included the truly wonderful Dublin 10k championships. It was a successful day with a huge haul of medals being won in age and team categories.

Dressed in colourful Disney characters as “YOUNG AT HEART” the Lusk ICA ladies walked with pride in the local St Patrick’s day festival parade. Thanks to Mary Hickey for facilitating us with refreshments beforehand., and Teresa Kilmurray as St Patrick performed her duties with dignity and posed for photo with Fr George. Our thanks too to Anne Bailey and Mary Shorthall who without complaint carried the Banner for us. Then to top it off, our President Rosanna Darby accepted the Fr Eoin McCrystal Cup.The weather brought out a great crowd to cheer us on and enjoyed the surprise treats and sweets we gave out to the small children. The ICA hosted the coffee morning again for daffodil day on 22nd March for The Irish Cancer Society in the Top Shop. Thanks to Antoinette Doran and her hard-working team between selling the daffodil buttons, the coffee morning and the Raffle and raised the incredible sum of €5,289.00. Well done again to everyone who supported this wonderful cause. On the 6th April Angela O’Brien, Caroline O Malley, Monica Kielty, Anne Smithers and Frances Devane enjoyed a relaxing craft day with Blanchardstown ICA. Trudy their President gave us a warm welcome with a lot of tasty baking. Lots of crafts going on with Felt, Patchwork, Decoupage, Embroidery and Ribbon stitching. Bromwin the ICA federation rep came and welcomed us. Jo Carroll ICA golf was played in Swords GC Roganstown, with winners: 1st Pauline Scully (Tallaght ICA) 2nd Mary Shorthall (Lusk) 3rd Pauline McGrath (Garristown) 6 played in very wet underfoot conditions.