Cllr Rob O’Donoghue tabled a motion at the February Area Committee seeking that provision be made to widen the footpath from the Rush Roundabout in Lusk to the Rush-Lusk Train Station. Residents have been vocal in their concerns that the footpath is narrow and dangerous to walk on and unsuitable for parents and children accessing the local childcare facility on Station Road. At the meeting O’Donoghue was informed that works on the delivery of the Rogerstown Estuary Masterplan are ongoing and the provision of a walking/cycling link between Lusk and Rogerstown Park via the Rush/Lusk Train Station is being pursued in association with the master planning process for the park in line with the Fingal Biodiversity Action Plan 2023 – 2030.The draft masterplan is currently being considered by the Environmental Protection Agency in the context of an Aftercare Plan for the park as it used to be a landfill. The EPA’s response will inform the next stages of the master planning process for Rogerstown Park and the walking/cycling link to Lusk. Fingal County Council is also currently seeking consent from the EPA to open Rogerstown Park to the public on Saturdays and Sunday hopefully in 2024.Commenting on the issue, Cllr O’Donoghue stated, ‘it is good news that the cycle/walkway link to Lusk is included in the Rogerstown Masterplan. The walk from Lusk to the station currently can be treacherous, particularly in the winter due to its narrow nature. This masterplan will give us scope to make the pathway safer for pedestrians and cyclists looking to access both to the station and the park. I look forward to to keeping the pressure on to have the Parks opening hours extended to a Sunday, and the response from the EPA, so we can finally look to upgrade the link to the train station for pedestrians and cyclists.’

Fingal County Council recently announced plans to build 18 houses on the green space in Orlynn Park. The site was zoned for residential development back in 1999. A campaign and motion to redesignate the area as Green Space in last year’s development plan failed. Under the Minister’s new Planning & Development Bill 2023 (Section 179A) this piece of land is exempt from the regular planning process which means that there is no opportunity for the public to make observations. We currently have nearly 500 houses under construction in the town with an existing population of 10,000, 3,300 under 17’s and are the fourth most densely populated town in Ireland. The facilities to support this population have not been provided. In a survey we conducted last year was stark reading with Lusk coming bottom of the list in every single category when compared to towns of similar sizes in the country.

Education, community facilities, sports facilities, medical, legal, supermarkets, shops, restaurants, bars, things to do, tourism, theatres, libraries, festivals, Lusk came last in every category. Communities need spaces for social interaction, cultural activities, and community gatherings to thrive. Insufficient facilities can lead to a decline in community engagement and cohesion. A town of 10,000 people without a single restaurant is an indictment of our local authorities’ poor planning. People in the community have been working hard for years to improve our town, the one barrier that we always meet is the lack of any space left. Mens shed, community gardens, basketball nets, farmers markets ( given our location as one of the biggest food producers in the country) to name but a few that cannot be accommodated.

In this context, the taking of this green space is nonsensical. Lusk Action Group will be opposing this in the strongest possible way. Our LAG AGM will take place on Monday 4th March at 7.30pm in the Cottage community centre. All are welcome to attend. If you are interested in joining our committee, please contact us at luskactiongroup@gmail.com

LSA Juvenile athletes did our club proud in the recent Dublin Indoor Championships, with superb performances and two Dublin titles amid a host of of personal bests from our participating athletes. Michelle Branigan opened the LSA medal table with a Bronze in the Under 19 400m. There was more excitement as Sinéad Farrell took Silver in the 1500m with a new Personal Best of 4:57. 83. This was soon followed by Éabha O’Farrell who set a Personal Best in the Under 18 400m heats, backed up by another Personal Best of 1:02.8 to take the gold in the final. Éabha went on to add a bronze medal to her collection with a third place finish in Under 18 High Jump! Suzie Linkiewicz brought the LSA medal tally to five with a Bronze in the Under 19 200m and a superb Gold in the U19 60m with a Personal Best of 7. 95s.Michelle, Sinéad, Éabha and Suzie now progress to the National Championships in April. Our youngest competitor, Kate Jones, continued to show great promise as she took on the full range of indoor run, jump and throw events in the Under 12 age group. We were also very proud to see Frank Richardson, Maria Sheridan, Lily Maher, Laoise Farrell, Leon Capocci, Mark Kelly, Daniel Minto, Leá Hubert and Francesca Marchanka represent LSA on the track, and Leá also take on High Jump. We look forward to seeing everyone progress as the Outdoor season approaches. We always welcome new members and volunteers. If you want to help please contact us anytime at lambaysportsathletics@gmail.com Little Athletics and Juvenile athletes (from age 7-18) please contact lsajuvenilereg@gmail.comKeep up to date on all the events by following LSA on our social media pages! Facebook - facebook.com/lambaysportsacademy Instagram instagram.com/lsadonabateportrane/ - twitter.com/LSARunning Please also visit our website lambaysportsathletics.ie/

Community Engagement: EggHeadz hosted Suicide or Survive (SOS) Wellness Workshop for adults. The free daylong event provided attendees with the knowledge, skills and tools to help them take charge of their own mental health. International Women’s Day (IWD 2024) – EggHeadz will celebrate ‘Women’s Mental Health, Well-being and Sport’ at our event on March 8th. All are very welcome to attend, so please register now or very soon online.

Activities, Events & Services: Youth Active Social Sessions - EggHeadz hosts weekly social sessions for young people that take place outdoors and are free to attend. Social runs take place on Sunday mornings 10am at Newbridge House, led by Jason Dignam. It’s free, fun and everyone is welcome.

Darkness Into Light – VOLUNTEERS and Save The Date. Donabate Portrane is now an official participant of Darkness Into Light for Pieta House. We are seeking volunteers, so please get in touch to help marshal on the day. This a truly uplifting event which takes place in communities nationwide on 11th May 2024. FREE Youth Counselling takes place every week. Contact Mairead on 086-329 6812 or by email eggheadzcounselling@gmail.com to book an appointment. Tween & Teen Workshops: Our ‘Tween Love and Kindness Workshop’ on 15th February (11 – 14 yrs) took place over midterm, 17 young people attended and enjoyed the afternoon. EggHeadz hosts a variety of workshops monthly for Tweens and Teens focused on relaxation, health and wellness. Workshops include jewellery making, kayaking, yoga, wellness workouts, crystal energy, pottery painting, nutrition, meditation and exam anxiety. NEW Website: We’re delighted to announce we have a NEWcalled Egghead website. Visit eggheadz.ie to learn all about us and everything we do.

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.