At the time of writing the AAfA community are back to their full schedule of classes and activities. We have had a great continuing membership signed up for 2024 and most of our classes are full. If you are interested in a class – perhaps for the Autumn term - and there are a couple of spaces still available this term, you can sign up for them for the rest of this term at a pro rata price. This is a great way for newcomers in particular to see what is on offer and have taster sessions. Just text your name to the AAfA TEXT ONLY phone on 0868806808 with the message ‘I am interested in trying out a class’, and we will contact you to arrange it if possible. Existing members who are late to return can have the pro rata rate too of course. Our new Committee for this year is chaired by Carolyn Smith. We wish them well in all their roles and thank them for stepping up. Many hands make light work. The group have also been supporting the Memory Café morning that is being run by the Community Centre and happens on the last Wednesday of each month (dementia friendly). If you know of anyone who may appreciate this outlet and who would like to attend, the full details can be had at the Community Centre. One of our founding members, Peig McManus, has her book ‘I Will Be Good’ coming out in paperback this month and what a life she has led. Perhaps a first book for your summer reading! We wish her well with it.

The Through the Lens Photography Group had a busy year in 2023. The club hosted some very interesting and informative speakers during the year, who, following their talk set the members a task based on their subject, eg: portrait, landscape, flash. Then they returned to judge and critique our efforts, this proved to be a very positive exercise. Apart from our fortnightly meetings we held several field trips locally during the year but the most adventurous one was to Lambay Island in June. We were warmly welcomed on arrival, some hiked to the top of the hill to see the view and maybe see some wallabies, others concentrated on shore photography. We were then given a guided tour and history of the island, fascinating stuff. It was a great day and thoroughly enjoyed by all, and the BBQ on the boat on the way home rounded it off nicely. After the summer break we concentrated on production of the 2024 calendar and preparation for an exhibition held in the Parish Hall in November both of which were very successful. This year we were pleased to sponsor the local Tidy Towns committees again, a worthy group who works diligently to enhance our community. A first for the club in 2023 was our entering a national photography competition. We didn’t get any prizes, but the experience was a huge learning curve which I’m sure will benefit us in the future. Through the Lens Photography Group cater for all levels and experience in a friendly and supportive way. If you have a camera stashed away in a cupboard and would love to know how to use it then come and give us a try, you don’t even need a fancy camera, mobile phones are excellent and better than some cameras. We meet every second Tuesday in Donabate Golf Club and are open for membership. For any enquiries, please call Audrey on 0862144858, or Carolyn on 0879284307.

Fingal Fringe, as part of Tradfest 2024, was just brilliant for our community. Huge thanks to Martin Harte CEO of Tradfest Temple Bar and his team, and to Annemarie Farrelly, CE0 of FCC, and her extended team, including John Quinlivan and Declan Power. Traditional music is having a resurgence in Ireland. Since the start-up of Leithinis CCÉ five years ago and then with regular Traditional Music sessions in the pubs, it has definitely taken off on our Peninsula. For Tradfest Fingal, Fringe FCC and local businesses came together to support local talent which is in abundance in our area. On the Saturday night, Keeling’s had the ‘Hawthorn Door’ - three young men Ciarán MacGiolla Ruaidh, Eoin Ó Halpin, Shane Coll. They were joined by Ciarán’s sister Róisín, a beautiful singer of old Irish tunes. They do all the old Irish ballads and their own music. They were a truly great hit with all of the customers. On the Sunday night, the Brook Pub had Seán & Denis Collins, a father and son duo, performing. Sean is a superbly talented guitarist and song writer and his father a great flute player. Between them they raised the roof. A great night of traditional music continued with a group from Leithinis CCÉ & Brook Trad followed by the hugely acclaimed Éamonn Galldubh, Daire Bracken and Alan Burke. It is such a confidence boost for our young talented people to have opportunities to perform in public. The more places the better. So, along with pubs and clubs, the provision of dedicated places to play and practice is very important. Next year, Tradfest will, with a bit of tweaking - that is more of the same - be even bigger & better! Again thanks to those in Tradfest, FCC and our community who took a leap of faith and either helped or supported all of the events. See ye all next year!

Following a strongly attended public meeting organised by Duncan Smith TD in October
2023, the Donabate/Portrane Crossroads committee was formed. Its objective is to campaign for a purpose built arts, cultural, heritage and youth centre for current and future residents of the peninsula. The group has successfully lobbied Fingal County Councillors to adopt a motion in relation to the LAP objective on such a centre and has since met with FCC senior officials, “Our community leisure centre was opened in 2021, it is completely oversubscribed where groups cannot get spaces to meet or practice. With all the new housing developments, our population is set to double before 2029 so this situation is going to get much worse” says Ann Hogan, Chair of the committee. “We have over 30 active cultural related groups/classes with nowhere to go. Our youth population is 31% so it’s essential that we provide facilities specifically for young people that don’t revolve around sport. There is large contingent of non-sporty kids who have little or nothing to do on the peninsula”. DP Crossroads are now in the process of building a business case to support their proposal. As part of this they are gathering information from residents of Donabate Portrane seeking more details on what they would like to see in a cultural and youth facility. “We have had a good response to date but we would like to reach as many residents as possible. This is a great opportunity for people to tell us what they and their families need 2024.
Here is a link to the survey for your information surveymonkey.com/r/JYNDWHX

Donabate Parish Hall came into its own for Tradfest Fingal with two great concerts performed by Gerry ‘Banjo’ O’Connor accompanied by his son Fiach and Jim Murray. CEO of Tradfest, Martin Harte, visited the hall after many years and was taken by the refurbishment which enhanced the old-world charm and the new amazing acoustic panels. His skilled production team transformed the hall into a really cool performance space with a portable stage, the use of clever lighting and great sound. It shows the versatility of a good open space with a well-planned programme to serve the community needs. Martin went about bringing the world-famous banjo player, local man Gerry O’Connor, to perform. Banjo Gerry and friends played back-to-back concerts to two appreciative audiences with people travelling from, not just the four corners of Ireland, but also as far away as Norway and Germany. Thank you Tradfest FCC and the Parish Hall Committee and Office for our beautiful old-world Parish Hall and putting us on the map in a positive way!

Donabate Presbyterian Church are having their annual Easter egg hunt in Newbridge Demesne on Saturday 30 March at 10:30am. This is a free event, and everyone is welcome. Last year we hid/distributed thousands of eggs. We hope to do the same this year. See you there.

As part of TradFest 2024, St. Patrick’s RC Church in Donabate hosted the world premiere of ‘Ocean Child’, a specially commissioned musical composition based on the tragedy of the ill-fated Tayleur, which sunk off the coast of Lambay in 1854 with the loss of nearly 400 lives.

Martin Harte, CEO of Tradfest, and FCC collaborated to bring about this beautiful musical composition by Belfast man Neil Jordan and the famed actor Stephen Rea, also a Belfast man living in our midst, did a wonderful, emotive narration on the story of the ‘Ocean Child’.

Our magnificent old church was the perfect setting for such a sad story to be told. It had the gravitas, beauty and calm that was perfect for such an event. Martin’s team transformed the church with stage setting and lighting to create the perfect atmosphere. Thanks to Fr. Pat and the Parish Office and all who contributed to the occasion.

The links with the community are strong. The Irish for Portrane, Port Reachrann, means the Port of Lambay and some people from the island eventually found their way to the Peninsula. Local lore has it that the rescued Ocean Child was handed by a survivor, possibly a Frenchman, to Jane Dockrell, who swaddled him in her shawl and brought him to her family home near Knockbane, the highest point on the Island. Sometime later, the a pastor from Dublin, persuaded them to part with the child as his grandmother had been located in England. Later in life, Jane Dockrell married Charles Smart and came to live in the Burrow, Portrane where she passed on this story to her descendants.

It is important to remember and thank the people many from Fingal, including Donabate and Portrane, who kept the story alive - authors like Peadar Bates, Edward Bourke and Cormac Lowth; divers like Jerry Byrne, Billy Crowley, Laddie De Jong, Myles Dockrell, Paul Fogarty, Tony Morelli, Tom Shakespeare and Ronnie Warren; and boatmen like Liam Butterly and Simon Hoare. Sadly, some are no longer alive, but some are still with us to tell the tale. Our beautiful church, with its stunning Harry Clarke windows, is always our home for all our religious occasions but it’s also a place to have the very best of historical and heritage events.

After another successful festival in September, the Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival committee have taken a well-earned rest but are now busy preparing for the Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival 2024, from Thursday 12th to Sunday 22nd of September. The festival will feature all the usual favourites, along with some new and exciting events, with something to please all age groups and all cultural appetites. Keep an eye on the Bleeding Pig Facebook and Instagram pages closer to the date for more information. For now, the Bleeding Pig people are busy making arrangements to celebrate International Women’s Day. This year, the celebrations will be on Sunday 3rd March, from 12.30pm until 4.00pm in the Donabate- Portrane Community Centre. This year, the event will focus on a sustainable environment and community, and will feature, among others, workshops about Sustainable Fashion, and Beekeeping and Pollination, Climate Ambassadors from An Taisce, and more. This event is a free celebration of women, no booking is required, and everyone is welcome to drop into the Community Centre and enjoy the celebrations. On Thursday March 7th, the Bleeding Pig Festival will screen a feature film for International Women’s Day. The film, “Driving Madeleine” will be shown in the Parish Hall. Check out the Bleeding Pig Facebook page for more details and information about this event. The Bleeding Pig Festival committee are always seeking new recruits. If you would be interested in getting involved in the festival, which has become one of the local annual highlights, please contact any of the committee members. On behalf of the Bleeding Pig Festival committee, we wish you a happy International Women’s Day, and Happy Easter

CCÉ Leithinis members were delighted to perform at a TradFest fringe event in The Brook Pub, Portrane on the 28th January. Our regular traditional Irish music slow session for Leithinis members, led by Erin, continued every second Friday evening in Donabate Parish Hall. The adult session took place in Keeling’s Pub, Donabate on Friday 26th (photo below) and the regular Trad Session for experienced musicians continued on the first Tuesday of the month in the Brook Pub in Portrane. Our new term of classes in Traditional Irish Music for adults and children (7+) in Banjo, Bodhrán, Button Accordion, Concertina, Fiddle, Mandolin, Flute and Tin Whistle commenced on January 22nd in Donabate Portrane Educate Together National School. The Leithinis Committee would like to wish all our members a very enjoyable St. Patrick’s Festival.

February was a busy month for Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed. Work on our plots at Turvey Allotments, preparing for the new growing season, started in earnest. Our HSE-sponsored Healthy Eating course continued on Wednesdays, along with our exercise classes on Mondays, our music practice sessions on Wednesdays and our regular Thursday morning get-togethers. We had a fascinating tour of Newbridge House, arranged by Jane with Michael as our guide and a big thanks to Emma for the photographs. We even had the pleasure of meeting with some of the Cobbe family, who regaled us with stories of the history of the house and the family. Our music group, Gerry and the Plonkers, played a free concert in Donabate Parish Hall, as part of the two-day event “Tayleur Tragedy Talks and Tales”, adding a selection of sea-faring songs to their normal repertoire specially for the occasion. If you, or someone you know, are interested in joining the Men’s Shed, please call Jim, our PRO, on 086-3694316. We always welcome new members.