The recent Lusk 4 mile was a huge success. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this and to the local community and sponsors for their support. Well done to our athletes that have competed in the National Juvenile Championships and good luck to those still to compete. We can now look forward to the outdoor season that is upon us and a welcome return to training on bright mornings and evenings. Best of luck to the large group from the club that have entered the Dublin 10k in Garristown on 7th April. We will be starting Monday night track sessions at ALSAA in April and all club members are welcome.
Our Weekly Lotto can be bought at .clubfunder.com/Clubs/Round Towers Lusk/lotto. The Lotto Draw takes place in the Club - Thursday @9pm. The Club would like to invite new members to play GAA – Please Get in Touch! Great Fun to be had! Check our website roundtowerslusk.ie Parents and Mentors – We need your help and support! We welcome your comments, ideas and or support that you can offer. Please get in touch through our online networks, club website and or Facebook. The Round Towers Lusk All Stars Programme is an initiative for children who ordinarily could not take part in team sports, due to having a disability or with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Our main objective is to assist the children with ball skills, exercise, fun and to promote the ethos of inclusion in our club and community. Please come along any Friday and give it a try or should you have any queries in relation to this, please contact Joe Sullivan on 085 8562381. Our U13 Girls welcomed St. Peters, Man O War GFC & Fingal Ravens GFC to Thomas Ashe Park for a series of challenge matches in recent months. There was an abundance of talent on display amongst all the girls. Thank you to all the girls and their mentors from all of the clubs for joining us. Regarding Adult Men’s Football: our retired members and friends evening in January of 2024 was a great success. We also held a celebration of hurling within the club. We unveiled our hurling Roll of Honour board stretching back as far as 1910. A huge thanks to the many contributors who made the event possible. A Lusk GAA Medal of 1915 has been discovered! A member came into possession of a 9ct gold medal some time ago which came to him in a batch of gold scrap from a jewellery trade customer. It is a 9ct gold medal won by Lusk GAA in 1915. It is a very beautiful medal and we do not like to see items like this scrapped as they are part of the GAA heritage.
In February a group of us had a great night when we attended the play in the Millbank Theatre, The Man Who Came To Dinner, brilliantly directed by Bernard Tonge. On International women’s day, 8 March, was hosted in the Cultural Centre, Jacinta Connolly held a wonderful workshop on “The Art of Spring flowers” We learned how to make Hanging artificial door reads, Daffodil and spring flower displays in lovely bowls and baskets. It was a very enjoyable morning spent together with the Women from Lusk Ladies Shed, and thanks for all the support we received from Cormac McDonagh Community Officer Fingal County Council. Grateful appreciation to 4 great local women who gave their valuable time in their presentations in the afternoon. A big thank you to our IWD speakers on the day, Pauline Compton, Niamh Fay, Sharyn Hayden and Funmi Idowu. All powerful voices from community, sport, enterprise and the world of digital. Sharyn Hayden, Skinny Batch, “Innovating Enterprise”, Funmi Idowu, RCCG, “Embracing Digital Women” -Niamh Fay - Phoenix of Ballyboughal Boxing Club, Irish Boxing Sports Champion, “Championing Sport” Congratulations to the members of our drama group who performed a very funny sketch, written by Anne Smithers on Grianan on Sunday 7th March. The cast was Angela O’Brien, Deirdre Wilson, Mary Hickey, Mary Bermingham and Maria Baird. They were all brilliant. The audience reaction was great and the Judges’ comments were very positive. Guild meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month at 3:30pm in the Lusk Scouts Den. Everybody is welcome.
The Lusk Action Group (LAG) held its Annual General Meeting on the 4th of March 2024, addressing various crucial matters. The agenda included selecting a new committee comprised of Chairlady Lynne Baker, Secretary Sarah McGealy, and Treasurer Alex Voronov. Our thanks to Former Chairman Colin Browne, who moved on to other functions in the community. Presenting on the day was a financial report, and the group acknowledged the passing of founding member Knel Deeb by planting a tree and installing a bench in his honour. Lusk Action Group reviewed actions from the previous year, outlining current plans and emphasizing the Lusk Vision 2030 and Town Regeneration plans. In the past year, LAG actively engaged with An Garda Siochana and Foroige to address community concerns, collaborated with McGarrell Reilly on issues related to the Lusk Village Quarter development, and continued discussions with FCC about open spaces handovers around the village. Notable initiatives by the group involved: The organizing of the Lusk Summer Festival, managing Christmas events, street lighting and Christmas carols, opposing the removal of allocated Creche facilities by the developers, appealing mobile mast placements in the village, addressing power cuts with the ESB. At the AGM, community members queried Lusk Village Quarters phasing and restaurant construction and the developer Mcgarrell Reilly’s plan of prioritizing housing over facilities. Suzanne Young briefed on Go Ahead meeting discussions around bus capacity, no-shows, and creating a QR code system for quick reporting. Colin and Lynne’s efforts in the Lusk Action Group were commended. Cathal suggested activities funding, awaiting FCC’s response. FCC’s land acquisition at Blakes Cross for traffic solutions was noted. Flooding remained problematic in the community. Looking ahead, LAG plans to campaign for the preservation of the green space in Orlynn Park, which FCC has earmarked for development, collaborate with the Lusk 2030 Vision Plans and Town Regeneration Committees, organize the Lusk Summer Festival 2024, continue discussions with authorities on town issues, and advocate for necessary facilities before further development. The group remains committed to community engagement and ongoing efforts to enhance the quality of life in Lusk. We are still looking for new members.
Many parents cannot access childcare facilities in Lusk. In many cases, families are on waiting lists of up to 12 months or longer. More capacity is needed. Parents should not have to travel significant distances to find a creche or afterschool facility for their child. Childcare costs are a significant financial commitment for families. I’ve met parents all over Lusk that are paying significantly more in childcare costs than in other parts of the country. While recent investment in Core Funding (paid directly to childcare providers) and the increase in the National Childcare Scheme subsidy rate is welcome, fees remain far too high. From speaking with childcare providers in Fingal, it is clear there’s a recruitment and retention crisis in this sector. Many owners say the struggle to find staff has impacted on the quality of service they can provide. Recent surveys published show that childcare staff are actively looking to change careers, citing low pay (and having to work unpaid overtime). What I’ve done so far to help parents in Lusk:
This past month at Junsa has been busy in our preparation for our upcoming local competition. There will be clubs from all over Dublin and the surrounding areas. This tournament will be a decider to see if some of our players will travel abroad to compete for Junsa. If their performances are good, then they could make the next step to international competition. We have also been focusing on our under 6’s age group, teaching them the basic fundamentals of Taekwondo and hand, foot and eye coordination, skills that will stand to them in life.
The club had without doubt its biggest ever travelling numbers at the end of January when over 90 took part in the Raheny 5 mile. This was followed in February by great participation at the Trim 10 mile, Dungarvan 10 mile and the Donadea 50k. The latter was also the occasion of Peter Doyle’s 100th marathon. It was fitting that he crossed the line with another member of the 100 club , Eddie Hamilton. Daniel O’Brien has been in fine form with multiple podium finishes in recent cross country races. Our 40 day 6am runs started in February so why not join us for a few of the early morning 5k’s this month. Finally, we’re looking forward to the annual Lusk 4 mile on Sunday 3rd March at 3pm. Thanks to all who have been working on the preparations and to those helping out on the day.
The recent weeks have proven to be yet another busy time for our ladies with lots of activities: Nollaig Ña mBan -We thoroughly enjoyed a lovely Nollaig Ña mBan night out in the Shoreline Hotel. We also had a brilliant night bowling in ALSAA and congratulations to one of the winners our own Mary Hickey. Also, recently our Lusk ICA drama ladies did us proud in the recent ICA Wicklow Federation 68th Drama Festival. The adjudicator Alan Howley was very kind to us and our play “Dinner ladies”. Congratulations to Angela O Brien who received a meritorious award. Thanks to Mary Hagan Director, Alma Farrell stage Manager, and Caroline O’Malley on the music and all who helped backstage. Regarding our Swimming ladies, a big thank you to Mary Hickey for the “fascinating dinner evening” on the 10th of February which she hosted for the swimming ladies - who all wore their colourful fascinators and brought along their delightful desserts. We will be back swimming again in May to join the brave ladies who swim most weeks, in Rush and hopefully welcome new members to join us for 2024. Oh and not forgetting our recent Chow Mein and laughter nigher with a superb Chinese meal hosted by Maria Baird following our success in the drama. Our future plans are very exciting too. Plans are in place for Lusk ICA to take part in Fingal County Council’s. International Women’s Day in the Lusk Cultural Centre on 8th March. We are all looking forward our invitation to Farmleigh House and Estate which is being organized by Eoghan Dockrell of Fine Gael. In April, 20 of our ladies will travel for 2 nights to the European Parliament in Brussels which is being organized by Senator Lorraine Clifford Lee together with Darragh Gallagher, assistant to Barry Andrew’s MEP.
On January 21st the Lusk Ladies Shed took part in the ICA Wicklow Federation Drama Festival with a comedic sketch written by Anne Quane titled ‘Pilgrimage to Knock’. Tracy O’Mahony and Catherine Hogan played the parts of ‘Mary’ and ‘Bridie’, two faithfully religious women endeavouring on their yearly trip to Knock Shrine, County Mayo. Sandra Conlan and Mary Bermingham played the part of ‘Shelly’ and ‘Denise’, two brazen women who believe they are going to watch a Chippendale performance. Samya Berridjdal acts as the Travel Agent working in the agency where all the ladies arrive into to venture on their trip, and to her shock they have completely different ideas of what the trip to Knock will entail. The comedic sketch won a meritorious award for the script writer Anne Quane and the Lusk Ladies Shed performers won an award for ‘Best Costumes’. Special thanks to Director Anne Smithers and prompter Leona Donagher for their support in ensuring the ladies’ successful performance.
Cllr Brian Dennehy has welcomed the FCC strategic land acquisition at Blakes Cross. He said, “At the February full council meeting of Fingal County Council under item 19A it was agreed that Fingal County Council take possession of 12.32 acres adjacent to Blakes Cross. The land acquisition is very welcome, and it is an action I had requested FCC to carry out due to the strategic positioning of the site along with the potential to carry out the badly needed road upgrades required at the junction.
The positive potential the site offers is both seismic and potentially life changing to the commuters who use the junction daily. A firm of consultants, Roughan and O’Donovan consulting engineers have recently been appointed to provide engineering, planning and environmental services for the Blakes Cross Junction Upgrade, to provide a safer junction layout that caters for both motorised traffic and active travel modes of transport such as walking and cycling.
This will also include the areas along the R132 encompassed by the Road Safety Audit carried out in 2022. The acquisition of the land is very timely considering the appoint of the Consultants and the new acquisition will allow the area required to carry out the major upgrade required by giving safety to the residents of Lusk, Rush and Skerries as they transverse the junction on their commute as well as providing further safety to residents of traveling north to the Rural villages including Ballyboughal and Oldtown. In time this acquisition will be seen as one of the key and most important actions carried out in the north county area by Fingal County Council in order to bring safety measures to the enormous volume of commuters who pass through the extremely dangerous junction on a regular basis.”