Fingal County Council recently launched an ambitious strategy which it believes will be the blueprint for transforming the county into a beacon of tourism excellence that will make it a premier destination for both domestic and international visitors. Unveiling the tourism roadmap, Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Adrian Henchy, said: “Fingal is blessed with an array of natural wonders, rich heritage, and vibrant communities. From our stunning coastline to our charming villages, we offer a unique Irish experience that we are eager to share with the world. This new strategic framework will help increase opportunities, enhance the overall visitor experience and help to strengthen our position as a must-see destination.” Key to the strategy are three primary asset themes: - Natural Amenities and Heritage - Arts and Culture and Recreation and Leisure. These will be further augmented by the supporting asset themes of Hospitality, Food and Drink, and the festivals and events for which Fingal is already so well-known, including Flavours of Fingal, Howth Maritime and Seafood Festival, Malahide Castle Concerts, and more recently, TradFest. The strategy also recognises the crucial role of sustainable tourism in preserving the essence of Fingal for future generations. The approach emphasises responsible practices, prioritising the conservation of our environment, and the celebration of Fingal’s identity. 2024 is the first year of the strategy and will see a focus on delivering the collaborative structures required within the county as well as nationally and internationally to drive success. To that end, the Council will lead the development of a comprehensive marketing and promotional plan which showcases what distinguishes Fingal as a unique tourism destination. The Fingal Tourism Strategy 2024-2029 is now available.

Our Balbriggan/North County Dublin branch of Guide Dogs is looking for your old postage stamps and coins which can be turned into money! Recently, Tom O’Neill received €530 of old postage stamps and foreign coins and another supporter of the branch changed sterling coins into sterling notes which resulted in euro value of €160. As Tom has said, what some people might consider rubbish has now resulted in €690 for Guide Dogs. So please contact us if you have any old stamps or coins you would like to donate. A wonderful sum of €1,092.50 has also been raised by Specsavers in Millfield Shopping Centre, Balbriggan, who sponsored Santa’s Grotto in the lead up to Christmas, in aid of our Balbriggan/North County Dublin branch of Guide Dogs. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Brian Brodigan and everyone in Specsavers for their continued support. Did you have a chance to attend the Annual Feis in Naul GAA club which took place on Saturday the 10th and Sunday the 11th February? All proceeds went to the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. The Feis is a fantastic event which has brought in over €25,000 for our branch over the years. For that we say a massive thank you. We spoke about the fantastic puppy raiser, Anne Mulligan in our last article and we are pleased to let you know that Cosmo, puppy raised by Anne Mulligan began her advanced training as an Assistance Dog in early January. Best of luck to Cosmo and we will keep you updated with her progression. Are you looking for a new hobby this year? Well, this year Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind is hoping to launch a ‘Summer of Golf’ across the country. There have been great successes with the great Woodbrook Golf Club, and the great Portmarnock/Malahide Team who also have a brilliant annual Golf Event in their calendar. We are looking to make contact with all the local golf club/s to introduce yourself and to (hopefully) look at working with them to support the Guide Dogsin some way over the course of the year. If you would like to get involved for the Balbriggan/North County Dublin branch, please contact us. If you are interested in volunteering with us please feel free to contact us the Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind by phone/text: 085 7663107, by email: guidedogsbalbriggan@gmail.com or find us on Facebook: Balbriggan Branch of Guide Dogs

2024 kicked in when we returned to training on 2nd January. Christmas break and goodies long forgotten, all classes resumed in the first week of the New Year and all trained well. We hosted our first event of the new year on 7th January – hosting the JKS National Brown & Belt training session as well as the JKS Open Squad Session, welcoming our friends from around the country to Swords. 2024 will be a busy year with these events being held monthly to help raise funds to send our students who have been selected to represent Ireland at the World Karate Championships in Japan this July. As part of our fundraising efforts, we will be holding a Race Night Fundraiser on Saturday 17th February 2024 in Graingers. The Manor Inn, Swords, Co. Dublin. It promises to be an exciting night with 10 races, raffle and auction. All members of the community are invited to attend and have a good night out while at the same time supporting the local kids selected for Japan 2024. We have Toyama Sensei from the JKS Japan Headquarters visiting us at the end of January. He is a truly phenomenal technician, with superb karate skills and we hope to have a very enjoyable training session with him. He is one of three Japanese instructors we will have visiting us this year, with Kagawa Shihan visiting in May and Yamaguchi Sensei visiting in October. We are looking forward to an exciting fun packed 2024. The Club is looking always for new members (Children, Young People & Adults). Contact Dermot on 087-8073885 for details on how to join. You can also contact us on Facebook: JKS Swords Karate Club or on Instagram: or indeed @jks_swords_karate_club.

What a wonderful organisation Swords Women’s Shed is proving to be in our community. Their mission is to unite and empower women within the community through creative craft and socialisation. Recently the Women’s Shed organised an amazing chakra healing from Ciara Robinson reiki master. It proved to be an enlightening and amazing night thanks so much to Ciara. She has also promised she will be back again for a further session. After the stress of Christmas and the New Year, the lovely peaceful energy was needed for our ‘rejuvenating January ‘ We hope you are all starting to unwind from 2023 and the Women’s Shed are half way through theirr monthly programme and very soon will welcome Marion , a life coach motivational speaker , and positive mindset coach so everyone is looking forward to that.

2024 has arrived and with it it brings new challenges for our hard-working volunteers. For those readers who are unaware, Swords Tidy Towns in 2023 missed out by only one point in achieving our very first Gold Medal, in 2024 we will endeavour through our hard work to bring home the Gold. We rely on you the public to play your part in our ongoing battle against street litter, it is you through your diligence that we will get over the line and achieve that elusive Gold Medal, team work. We have come a long way in twenty years. It has been a fantastic journey with many ups and downs. But that long journey led us to six Silver Medals in a row plus many other accolades, that alone in itself is an achievement we are all proud of. When you see our dedicated teams out and about stop and chat. Tell them how proud you are of how well your town is looking, a kind word and a smile goes a long way, and they cost nothing. We look forward again this year to working closely with the various departments within Fingal County Council, especially the Operations Dept with whom we have worked with on many projects over the years. We are always on the lookout for new volunteers. All you need do is email us at swordstidytowns@gmail.com or just turn up on a Saturday at 10.15am in the car park of Colour trend Paint Shop opposite the Garda station on Main St.

The new Swords Surgery Hub will provide nearly an acre (3910m2) of Surgery and medical rooms in an existing building -at Unit 1 at Swords Business Campus said Cllr Tom O’Leary. The Surgery Hub will be operated under the governance of Beaumont Hospital. Swords Surgery Hub Comprises of: 4 Operating Theatres (with 28 associated service rooms) an Endoscopy unit with 16 Bays/Beds, 11 Reception Beds, 4 Exam Rooms, 6 Treatment Rooms, 2 Procedure Rooms, Anaesthetic Room, Café/Shop The “Swords Surgery Centre” will serve the medical needs of a growing and aging population of 160,000 residents in Swords, Balbriggan, Skerries Rush, Lusk, Donabate, Malahide and Portmarnock and rural Villages of Fingal, said Cllr Tom O’Leary. Cllr O’Leary continued, “Full Planning Permission was granted on the 8th of December 2023, and the tender process is complete. Work on a “turnkey medical fit-out” of the existing building will get underway shortly. The Swords Surgical Hub will likely be open Monday to Friday from 7am to 8pm running two surgical sessions per day in each theatre, with each session lasting four hours in length and with a 30-minute turnaround time between each session, similar to the successful Reeves Day Surgery Centre (RDSC) at Tallaght University Hospital opened in 2020. So the question is: What Procedures Might be carried out at a Swords Surgery Day Hub?

Swords Surgery Hub is for patients that need elective surgery under general or local anaesthesia or sedation and are scheduled to go home on the same day following their procedure. General Surgery – Otolaryngology - which is Ear, Nose and Throat - Orthopaedics - PlasticSurgery - Ophthalmology - Gastroenterology - Urology - and Pain Medicine - Gynaecology - Vascular surgery (peripheral surgery). The new hub at Swords is modelled on the very successful “Reeves Day Surgery Centre” at Tallaght University Hospital (opened in 2020) which has substantially reduced waiting times for day-case procedures. - Transport - Serviced by High Frequency Bus Routes - 41C, 41x, 43, 500, 503,505,506X,507. - 180 Car Parking spaces - 330m from the proposed Estuary Metro Link Station. I am hopeful of real progress on “Swords Primary Care Centre” project soon,” said Cllr Tom O’Leary.

By John Moore Deputy Principal.

We were delighted to be the first school to be featured on RTE’s Operation Transformation which aired on Wednesday. Ms. Rachel Flynn and her Transition Year Home Economics students featured and cooked a healthy and delicious Tofu Pad Thai dish. The girls spoke really well and did a fantastic job cooking the dish. Our new Home Economics kitchen, recently opened by celebrity chef, Donal Skehan, looked great as did the new St. Mary’s aprons. Everyone did St. Mary’s proud! Attached are behind-the-scenes photos of the filming process which took place in December. Also, we would like to remind you that our Transition Year students are continuing to run Free Log On Learn classes for Senior Citizens on Tuesdays from 11 am to 12.10 pm. Senior Citizens are welcome to drop in for a tea/coffee and then brush up or learn new IT skills whether on your phone, computer or tablet. Absolute beginners welcome. Learn about emails, social media, buying online, booking flights, WhatsApp etc.For further details, contact Joey Ryan at 01 832 5591 or email him at j.ryan@stmarysbaldoyle.org

Malahide is a coastal town situated on the east of Fingal County. It is a busy town that is a sought-after residential location due to its beach location, Malahide Marina, Malahide Castle Demesne and views overlooking Broadmeadow Estuary. Natural biodiversity features in Malahide include the Gaybrook Stream which is bordered by woodland habitat, Caves Marsh wetland and Dublin Bay. Man made biodiversity features include Malahide Demesne which has important woodland and semi natural grassland habitats. Embryonic sand dunes are forming along Malahide beach and Robswall Park supports hedgerows and meadows. Internationally protected Light bellied Brent Geese (Branta bernicla hrota) feed on grasslands in Robswalls Park each year. The Tidy Towns group in Malahide is very active and involved in biodiversity initiatives locally. It has already implemented many useful biodiversity actions and identified a number of locations that should to be conserved and interpreted. The primary aim of Tidy Towns Malahide is of course to enhance the appearance of Malahide making the town a more attractive place to live work and do business in. Currently the Tidy Towns volunteers meet every Saturday morning at 10.30am in the car park at Malahide Train Station.

Based on the cult classic John Water’s film of the same name, Cry-Baby the Musical is a rebellious teen comedy musical that, as book writer Mark O’Donnell said, is “edgier than Grease, funnier than West Side Story” and full of rockabilly tunes that keep the audience dancing in their seats. The delinquent Drapes and the squeaky-clean Squares can’t see eye to eye on anything. But when Drapes leader Cry-Baby and Square member Allison meet at the Anti-Polio Picnic, their star-crossed love story begins to blossom. Allison longs to shake off her Square identity and join Cry-Baby’s rock n’ roll lifestyle. With rock rhythms and dancing delinquents, Cry-Baby the Musical brings the 1950’s to life with a rockabilly good time. This fantastic musical will be on stage at Malahide Community School from the 13th until the 17th of February. Tickets are on sale now so don’t miss it.

Get ready for an unforgettable weekend at the many ParkRun Ireland locations in Fingal County Council! Lace up your running shoes or take a leisurely stroll with our amazing Walk at Parkrun participants. No matter your pace, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

Register now at //parkrun.ie and be part of the action-packed fitness event supported by Sport Ireland. Join our vibrant community and connect with like-minded individuals who share your passion for an active lifestyle. Get inspired, make new friends, and conquer personal milestones together. Don’t miss out on the excitement!