We have a fabulous line-up of music, with The Redeemed Christian Church of God, The Tenter Quartet, Doppler Effect, Ebanz and Guests, Ella Clarke, Max Turner and Friends, Medlife Crises, Eva Campbell, and, of course, Lusk’s own DJ Joe! So, bring your picnic blankets and enjoy the vibe!

We have a massive market this year again, so you will be sure to pick up something to suit you, from jewellery to clothes, to crafts of all sorts. The kids will be well entertained this year again, with loads of activities, and we will have Lusk Ravens doing hoop shoots, the GAA with a pop-up ball wall, and Lusk United doing penalty shoot-outs. Lusk Scouting Group will be with us this year with activities too! And we have Zumba and yoga classes too!

For those with children who need some quiet time, Lusk Autism Friendly Town are there with their beautiful calm space for the day.

We are excited to have Fingal Mobile Library at the festival this year, and they will be providing even more entertainment with a magic show during the day!

We have a plenty of food vans, with a tasty range of food available for the day, and you can have a wander and see what vintage cars are on view.

We always need volunteers for the day, so get in touch at volunteers@lusksummerfestival.ie You only have to give three hours of your time, and you still get to enjoy the atmosphere!

Of course, none of this would be possible without the continued support of Progressive Credit Union and Fingal County Council, for which we are hugely grateful. We are also so grateful to our business donators, and this year we also have support from IMRO, for our musicians.

We can’t wait! Lusk Summer Festival is what community is all about. See you there!

Under the guidance of Kieran Troy from Myriam Tours, seven of us joined the excursion of 7 nights to northern Italy to the 4 star Spa International Terme Hotel in the Abano near the province of Padua.

First day we went by coach to the port and took a boat, in glorious sunshine to the picturesque Island of Burano. This is the most colourful island in the Venetian lagoon and is famous for lace making and pretty, colourful houses

Next day we visited the province of Treviso, a medieval city with beautiful palaces and squares and historical churches.

Then back to our hotel in Abano to enjoy lovely spa waters of the hot swimming pools and jacuzzi. Nearby there was a beautiful pedestrian walkway with lots of art, jewellery leather and dress shops.

On Sunday we travelled to Padua, St. Anthony’s Basilica, it is one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Italy to visit, where the Franciscan St. Anthony from Lisbon, is buried.

On Monday we went on a trip to the magnificent city of Venice, and saw St Mark’s square and basilica, the Rialto bridge, the Bridge of Sighs, and enjoyed hilariously trips on the Gondolas.

Monthly meetings are held on the first Thursday of every month in the Lusk Scouts Den at 8:15 PM. New members are welcome.

Freedom FM, the online radio station dedicated to the music of the 90s and noughties, is thrilled to announce its launch on the DAB+ digital radio platform. This expansion allows listeners in Lusk, Rush and surrounding areas of north county Dublin to enjoy the station’s nostalgic mix of chart-toppers, dance anthems, R&B classics, and rock favourites in crystal-clear digital quality.

Reestablished as an online station in August 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdowns, a former Dublin based pirate radio station from the 1990s Freedom FM quickly gained a dedicated following. The station’s online success led to temporary licensed FM broadcasts across major Irish cities, including Dublin, Cork, Limerick, and Galway each year since 2021. Now, with its transition to DAB+, Freedom FM is set to reach Lusk and Rush for the first time.

Freedom FM recently secured a content licence from the broadcast regulator Coimisiún na Meán which allowed it join the new DAB+ digital radio platform, as part of a trail service operated by Fáilte DAB and licensed by the communications regulator COMREG.

From humble beginnings as a pirate station in suburbs of Dublin in 1995, the station has evolved to reflect its geographical reach with presenters hailing from across the island, yet retaining that fun and youthful presentation style.

Freedom FM will be reliving the 90s and noughties with a mixture of Pop, R‘nB, Dance and Rock music as well as specialist music shows around the clock during it’s time on the DAB+ digital radio network. The station will continue its online broadcasts too via www.freedomfm.ie , on smart speakers, and through it’s free online app available on the App Store or the Google Play Store.

We hosted a very successful coffee morning, organized by Antoinette Doran and her team in Murray’s Top Shop, and raised the great sum of €5,385 in aid of Irish Cancer Society.

We wish to thank everybody in the parish in particular Senator Lorraine Clifford Lee and Labour Councillor Mark Boland for their time, and all who generously contributed and supported this very important cause.

We Want to say thank you again to Debbie in Tesco of Rush for the generous donation of €582.00 from the blue tokens Community Fund. Many thanks to everyone who voted for us.

ongratulations to RoseAnna Darby, who has been voted in as president at our recent AGM and she wishes to thank her committee for all their hard work.

Last month, members from LAG met with bus provider, Go Ahead (which delivers the 33 and 33a bus services) to discuss the various issues that the members of the community have raised regarding these services.

Among some of the main points from the meeting include the following:

• Go Ahead services:

o Bus Timetable: Last July an additional 4am service from Skerries was added to the timetable. Go Ahead are now seeking to determine whether an additional 3am service would be feasible. A request was also made to reinstate the 8.10am service to Balbriggan. All decisions regarding the addition of buses are made by the National Transport Authority.

o Service Levels: Only 1.29% of services were cancelled last year. Punctuality is quite poor (at 67%) and there is a department dedicated to improving this. Next Generation AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location) will be rolled out from the end of this year which will give much more accuracy in terms of reliability, which should drive service improvements.

• Complaints: There is one centralised complaints system for bus services on all routes through the Transport for Ireland help centre. Tel. 0818 294015 or use online contact form available on https://www.transportforireland.ie/support. Please continue to raise any issues through either of these contact points as TFI relies on data to update services.

• Bus Connects: The controversial overhaul of existing bus services is due to be rolled out from September this year. It is estimated that the changes for this area will be introduced in September 2027. From then onwards, Dublin Bus will cease to serve this area; instead, Go Ahead will take over the full service. Also, buses serving this area will go as far as Swords and passengers will then have to disembark and get a further bus to the city centre. The existing 33x service will remain apart from a name change. LAG, like many other members of the community have serious concerns about these plans and we will be exploring ways to lobby the NTA to make changes over the coming weeks.

The Lusk 4 mile road race took place in early March and was a huge success with over 1,000 entries for the 4 mile as well as hundreds more for the Thomas Ashe Dash. Many thanks to all sponsors , club members and the local community who helped in any way.

The men’s race was won by John Travers of Donore Harriers in a time of 18:43 with Annemarie McGlynn of Letterkenny AC winning the women’s race in a new course record of 20:30. The Lusk AC winners were Conor McGuirk and Emma Przymusinska.

There was also success for the club in the recent Leinster Indoor Championships and Nationals. Club members continue to clock up the miles with Half Marathons in Lisbon and Marathons in Brescia, Italy as well as events closer to home. The 40-day 6am 5k challenge started on 5th March and is open to everyone in the community from Lusk NS each morning.

Local man Ian Cortina is currently in training to run a 130km ultramarathon in under 24 hours at the Waterville Trail Running Festival in Waterville, County Kerry on May 3rd, in aid of Fingal Additional Needs.
The challenge is very personal to Ian who explained, “My mother sadly passed away on 7th May 2024 from complications of dementia. A cruel, vicious disease for which there is no cure. One of the last things I promised to her was to complete an endurance event and try to fundraise for a worthwhile cause. The Waterville 130km ultramarathon is held close to the anniversary of her passing, which I feel is a prominent event to aim for and commemorate her memory.”

“As a parent to a child with additional needs, initiatives such as Fingal Additional Needs are invaluable and do so much good for local children and young people who I believe ALL have the right to thrive and grow with equal support and opportunities in life and their local communities,” he added.

The race begins at 4pm on Saturday 3rd May and Ian will have 24 hours to finish the race by running 3 laps, continuously across the Kerry Way. Cut off times are 8 hours per lap - so a 4pm start with the first cut-off at 12 midnight. The second lap cut-off is 16 hours (8am Sunday) and the final lap is to be finished before 4pm on Sunday 4th May.

Fingal Additional Needs offers afterschool programs, camps, and sports activities designed to create safe, fun, and structured environments where kids can thrive, while giving families much-needed support.
“By chucking a few bob in to my fundraiser, you will be helping to cover the cost of equipment, rental spaces, and materials that make their sessions engaging and so beneficial. Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my fundraiser. I hope you can help me by donating whatever you can. Simply click the Donate button above. All donations are processed securely,” Ian added.

You can find more information about the race here: https://www.runwtf.com/130km and to donate please go to https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/wtf130

LAG held its annual general meeting on 11 March in the Cottage Community Centre. The AGM was well represented by members of the community and local political representatives, TDs: Robert O’Donoghue and Grace Boland, Councillors: Eoghan Dockrell, Corina Johnston, Cathal Boland and Mark Boland and Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee.

LAG would like to thank everyone who attended for their participation. If there are members in the community who would like to get involved in whatever capacity you can to help make a positive difference to our community, please do contact us: luskactiongroup@gmail.com

LAG also had its first committee meeting to commence preparing the next summer festival scheduled to take place on 21 June. The Committee would also very much welcome new members to join the committee to help organise the event. It would also like to invite local businesses to get involved in sponsoring this year’s festival. Contact details for both: lusksummerfestival@gmail.com

A meeting of the Town Centre First Team took place on 13 February. It was agreed that individual community groups within Lusk will commence work to implement some of the individual projects contained within the Lusk town plan, Lusk for Life. As work progresses, we will publish more details of these over the coming months.

In the meantime, full details of the town plan are available on the following Fingal County Council webpage: https://www.fingal.ie/news/lusk-town-centre-first-plan-launched

Hexahydrocannabinol, known as HHC, is a man-made drug chemically similar to the active ingredient in cannabis, THC. It is a new cannabis substitute that can cause severe psychosis, and its harms have led to an “explosion” of addiction presentations in Ireland, according to the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland. HHC is already illegal in a number of countries including the UK, France, Germany, Poland (while legislation to ban this is being currently being drafted in Ireland).

We have received information that HHC vapes are easily available to minors in Lusk. This has been reported to the HSE. Given the dangers involved, we are sharing this information to help build awareness.

We enjoyed a very interesting talk from our local Solicitor Liam Fitzgerald, who attended our recent Guild meeting giving us a very interesting talk on the importance of drawing up a Will and a power of attorney among other topics.

Caroline O Malley and Rosanna Darby had a lovely time in the Cultural Centre to celebrate International Women’s Day, a really nice morning with talks by Patricia Langton and Dr Taaffe.

The Lusk ICA Drama ladies did us proud and enjoyed taking part in the ICA Drama Competition, which was held on 9th March in An Grianan, the play “The Big Surprise” was written and directed Anne Smithers.
Frances Devane from Lusk, was proud and honoured to be presented with the 1st prize by the National President Mary Darcy, (out of 25 entries), in the ICA National final of the Dundee Cake Competition, held in An Grianan on 10th March and sponsored by Gempac Food.

The ladies meet everyday Monday to Friday at 10 AM for a brisk walk, and everybody’s welcome.

The Lusk ICA Guild meet on the First Thursday of every month in the Scouts Den (after beavers)at 8:15 PM and we would be delighted to welcome new members to come along.