Following a question to the Council management from Cllr Rob O’Donoghue there was welcome news on the progress on the development of the sports hub in Lusk. Following environmental screening of aspects of the proposed Recreational Hub on Rathmore Road in Lusk it is necessary to undertake a survey and impact assessment work over the winter months. Once these works are complete, it is the Councils plan to submit proposals for approval to An Bord Pleanála in quarter two of 2024. The Question: posed by Cllr O’Donoghue asked: ““To ask the Chief Executive to provide an update on the environmental assessments taking place at the Lusk Sports Hub, when do the Council expect to have the assessments completed and if feasible, inform the Committee of which planning application route will be pursued next in order to deliver the proposed sporting amenities at Lusk Sports Hub?” In their reply the Council said, “Further to environmental screening of aspects of the proposed Rathmore Recreational Hub in Lusk it is necessary to undertake further survey and impact assessment work over the winter months. The Council is now planning to submit the proposals for the Recreational Hub for approval to An Bord Pleanála in Q2 of 2024.” Councillor O’Donoghue stated ‘following many years of hard work by the clubs and community stakeholders on the recreational hub project, we are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. The provision of the much-needed facilities for the people of Lusk at the Hub has moved forward with a timeline given for the seeking of planning permission. I am happy to continue to champion this project and keep the pressure on at Council level.’ In other Council news following several questions and motions over the last year requesting that the R127, from New Haggard to Blakes Cross to be resurfaced to aid cyclists and motorists, the section of the road has been assessed and will be considered for inclusion in the Regional Roads Capital Programme in 2024. The actual Question asked by Councillor R. O’Donoghue was “ To ask the Chief Executive if consideration can be given to evaluating the road from Blake’s Cross to Newhaggard, Lusk for resurfacing in the forthcoming Programme of Works?” The Reply from the Council Engineer was, “This section of road in question has been assessed and will be considered for inclusion in the Regional Roads Capital Programme 2024.”

November was another exciting month for LSA. After a fun Halloween themed training session on the Hockey Pitch, many of our Juvenile members joined our adult group at the Donabate Park Run to support our Marathon participants ahead of their big day. We celebrated a superb club effort at the Dublin Marathon - runners, coaches and supporters alike! LSA members Sinead Kiernan and Willie Cahill also won Dublin Marathon Championship medals in their respective age groups. Other club members took on Marathons as far afield as New York and Athens. We were very proud to see our Juvenile Athletes compete in the Dublin Cross Country Championships in Santry. Mark Kelly, Under 13 and Kate Jones, Under 11 were the sole LSA representatives in their races. We had a girls Under 9 team competing, with five girls taking on the muddy 800m distance. Under 9 team captain Clodagh Goggins was a superb Silver medallist. Clodagh qualifies to compete in the National Cross Country Championships in Navan in December, representing both LSA and the Dublin Country and Regional Teams. Good luck Clodagh! Our club is run by volunteers. We always welcome new members and volunteers. If you would like to get involved please contact us - details below: Adult memberships queries please contact lambaysportsathletics@gmail.com

Little Athletics and Juvenile athletes (from age 7-18) please contact us on our email at
lsajuvenilereg@gmail.com.Why not keep up to date on all the events by following Lambay Sports and Athletics Club on our social media pages! Our Facebook page is called facebook.com/lambaysportsacademy. Instagram instagram.com/lsadonabateportrane/ Twitter twitter.com/LSARunning Please also visit our website lambaysportsathletics.ie/

Dear Resident,

My name is Eoghan Dockrell and I will contest next year’s local elections to Fingal County Council as the Fine Gael candidate for your area. As part of Senator Regina Doherty’s team, I work with community groups and residents of Donabate, Portrane and Lusk on a daily basis. In the months ahead, I hope to meet you to convince you of my commitment to represent our area on Fingal County Council. However, I appreciate how busy people are. I am therefore taking this opportunity to introduce myself; to give you an overview of my priorities and to share my contact details with you should you wish to raise any issues with me by phone or email (or if you’d like to arrange a meeting). I know that North County Dublin is a brilliant place to grow up and live. However, we all know that as the population has increased in recent decades, not enough consideration has been given about the impact on our close-knit communities. Our local authority, Fingal County Council, is one of the best resourced local authorities in the country; yet there is still a significant lack of social, cultural and sporting facilities in our area. The development of our area should involve more than just building homes. It should be about nurturing our communities as the population increases so that people feel connected. If elected, I will be a strong advocate on Fingal County Council calling for social, cultural and sporting infrastructure in Fingal to be prioritised. I want to be a fresh voice on the Council, fighting for increased spending on infrastructure in Donabate, Portrane and Lusk, and I hope to earn your trust and support in the months ahead. I will be dropping a leaflet in the coming weeks which will set out my priorities in detail (including the urgent need for quality childcare facilities, more affordable housing and better transportation links). If you have any issues that you would like to discuss with me or if I can be of any assistance to you or your family, please contact me at 087 618 3774 or at: eoghandockrellfg@gmail.com. Yours sincerely, Eoghan Dockrell.

As part of Fingal Inclusion Week AAfA were delighted to join DPCC in hosting a Dementia Friendly Coffee Morning. We had a great attendance for a most interesting talk by Geraldine Mc Graffery from the Alzheimer’s Society on Dementia and the services that are available.

Citizens Information also gave a short presentation outlining the entitlement for over 65s. We hope to have a longer presentation from them in the New Year. This was followed by lunch and music from the Caintóirí and Gerry & The Men’s Shed Plonkers who enticed our ladies to show their jiving skills as they rocked the room. It was a very pleasant and informative morning! Thank you very much indeed to all who participated!

We are looking forward to our next event which is our very popular annual Christmas Carol Concert with our singing group Na Caintoiri. This will take place on the12th of December at 11.00 a.m. with mince pies and mulled wine to follow. By popular demand they will be joined by The Men’s Shed Plonkers who will rock us into the Christmas spirit. We will have our usual Monster Raffle and a collection for St Francis Hospice. So please come and support this very worthy cause. Wishing you all a very Healthy and Happy Christmas and we will see you all in the New Year!

The musical narrative of ‘OCEAN CHILD’, is composed by Neil Martin, and is wrought from the tragic sinking of the RMS Tayleur off Lambay Island on January 21st, 1854. This is the world premiere of this newly commissioned work and it will be performed in St Patrick’s Church Donabate for the very first time ever on Sunday 28th January 2024. In this suite, a spoken narrative, drawn from contemporaneous newspaper reports and witness accounts, marries with an original score embracing string quartet, uilleann pipes, harp, flute and concertina. The performers include the world-famous actor Stephen Rea, The West Ocean String Quartet, Louise and Michelle Mulcahy. It was Commissioned by Templebar Trad Fest and made possible through the generosity of Fingal County Council. Remember the time and date: The Concert is at 6pm on the Sunday January 28th in St Patrick’s Church Donabate, tickets on sale Thursday November 16th on tradfest.com

The Peninsula Pacers recently headed to Deerpark Woods in Virginia Co Cavan for a 6/7km medium length walk through the woods around the Park Hotel & beside Lake Ramor. It was a beautiful, interesting walk with all the colours of autumn. The day began with rain but soon cleared and was bright & sunny. We did a car share & it only took just over one hour to the start of the walk - toilets available in supermarket in the town - free parking in this area & at the lake - coffee truck at the lake also. We ate late lunch in the Riverside Hotel - which was delicious & very well priced! Our next walk is on Saturday 6th January 2024! to Carlingford. This was the walk that had been planned before the poor people of that area were flooded, we hope they will be able to rebuild their lovely village. Further details from Carolyn Smith 087 9284307 or Des Carthy 087 7846813. We wish you a Happy Christmas & a Healthy and Fit! New Year.

As reported last month, Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed had a fascinating visit to Leinster House in October, arranged for us by Senator Clifford-Lee. Our guide, Fidelma, related the history of the building from its use as a townhouse for the Fitzgerald family to its acquisition by the state for use as the seat of the Oireachtas and explained the rules and working of both houses of the Oireachtas. In November, the Men’s Shed continued its visits of historical buildings with a tour of Dublin’s GPO, where our guide, Caitríona, told us about the details of the use of the GPO as the headquarters for the 1916 Rising and we watched a short film which graphically presented the rising from the reading of the proclamation to the execution of its leaders. In early December, the Men’s Shed will be holding its annual Christmas dinner for its members. And speaking of Christmas, Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed wishes all its members and the wider Donabate Portrane community who have supported our activities over the year a very happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year. Anyone who is interested in joining us, please contact our PRO, Jim, on 0863694316.

Donabate Parish Hall is almost 220 years old. For the first 100 years it was the Catholic Church, then the new red brick Catholic Church, St Patrick’s was built opposite and the Parish Hall became a community hall just 120 years ago. Since then a number of dedicated volunteers have assisted in the day to day running of the hall as caretakers of the building & the grounds. In the past, about 50 years ago there were the two Gavin sisters, Kathleen & Bridget who ably looked after the day to day running of the hall.Some of the most recent caretakers who work or have worked tirelessly for the Parish Hall and by extension for the community include, Martin Naughton from Portrane & Vincent Kearns from Donabate As the oldest working hall in the Dublin area, so many people have been involved with its running & caretaking. If you have old photographs or information of the Parish Hall & the centre of Donabate and or of any people who may have been caretakers etc please contact Parish Office.The Parish Hall wish all of their users a Happy & Healthy Christmas and look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.

Our regular Traditional Irish Music Slow Session for Leithinis members, led by Erin, continued every second Friday evening in Donabate Parish Hall (shown in photo) and has become very popular with new members. The regular Fast Sessions for experienced musicians continued on the first Tuesday of the month in the Brook Pub in Portrane (shown in photo). This event is attracting musicians from all over the North County. The Leithinis AGM took place on November 13th and we were glad to welcome Mary Whelan from the Dublin County Board. Leithinis members, both adults and children, played a number of music sets at the annual Winter Fete in Donabate Portrane Educate Together National School which was very well received. The Leithinis Christmas Slow Session for members takes place on the 15th December. Our last music lessons before Christmas are on the 11th December and resume on the 8th January. The Leithinis Committee would like to wish Nollaig Shona to all our members.

Labour party local area representative Corina Johnston said recently that she and her party are monitoring the proposed travel infrastructure for Donanabte. She said, “As the population of Donabate is projected to grow to over 20,000 over the next 10 years it is imperative that the necessary infrastructure be prioritised and delivered. The Council received the following update at a recent meeting: “FCC recently appointed consultants for a number of schemes on the Donabate-Portrane Peninsula: (1.) Phase 2 of the Donabate Distributor Road project to improve access to Donabate and Portrane from the M1-Lissenhall Interchange for all road users especially pedestrians and cyclists; (2.) Active Travel Routes to increase local connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists. (3.) Traffic study to examine efficiencies and safety issues at the M1 Lissenhall Interchange. (4.) A new greenway scheme alongside the existing Donabate Distributor Road. Preliminary design work is commencing on these schemes with further progress expected in subsequent years. Johnston went on to say “ A Works contract for the Broadmeadow Way Greenway have been finalised with other elements being procured and tendered shortly. Tender for the Pill River Bridge Kilcrea junction section of the greenway will go to tender in early 2024. -A tender process is underway to appoint a works contractor on the Donabate Pedestrian Bridge linking new residential developments at Corballis East and West with Donabate Train Station,Donabate Village and Newbridge Demesne. Work to commence early in 2024. -A CPO is under consideration by An Bord Pleanala for the Portrane Road Enhancement scheme from Carrs Mill to the National Schools. The tender process is completed for the Turvey Avenue Enhancement scheme where no footpath currently exists on Turvey Avenue with works to commence in the coming weeks. -The design report for walking and cycling infrastructure on R126 from the end of the Donabate Distributor Road to Seaview Park Portrane have been prepared. Subject to land take agreements and environmental screening, it is intended to proceed to planning in 2024. -Consultation and route option design continues on the Fingal Coastal Way and the Donabate Urban Framework Plan will be progressed by the Planning & Strategic Infrastructure Department.”
Corina Johnston added, “It is my firm belief that vital infrastructure should be delivered either prior to or in tandem with development in our towns and villages. While I welcome the necessary design and planning work that has been carried out it will be of no benefit to the people of Donabate if they are not delivered. We in the Labour party intend to pursue these matters.”