The countdown is on for the third Lusk Summer Festival which takes place on Saturday the 22nd June! The organisers have a fantastic day lined up for the whole community, with great kid’s entertainment, music and entertainment all day long, vintage vehicle display, a huge selection of food to choose from, and an amazing market, bound to entice everyone.

“Immense gratitude to our sponsors Progressive Credit Union and to Fingal County Council for their continued support and sponsorship. Without their help, we simply would not be able to hold this great event,” the organisers stated while adding, “We would also like to thank our business donators and contributors, especially OLIVER, who so generously provide all our signs and posters. We look forward to seeing you all there!”

Meanwhile, the Lusk Action Group, comprised of representatives from key community groups including local public representatives, met with developers McGarrell Reilly last month for a presentation of revised plans for Lusk Village Quarter.

“Clarity was brought to some community issues and concerns. The original plans, including the area which encompasses Lusk Motor Factors cannot proceed as the business owners have chosen not to at present. Due to this, new plans had to be drawn up, with a smaller green space/plaza area and revised construction plans for restaurant/bar, creche and shops,” reads a statement from the group.

“These plans are now complete and planning permission will be lodged with Fingal County Council soon. It is anticipated that planning permission will not be granted until later in the year and that the building process will be 2 years. This unfortunately means that it will not be all complete for another 3 years. This appears to now be unavoidable,” they added.

McGarrell Reilly pointed to the projects that they have completed in Lusk, and the support that they have offered to local community groups, including the delivery of Soccer Club and playing facilities, construction of the ring road, improved design and connection of sewage system, sourcing school sites, building playgrounds and the delivery of functioning retail in the new Lusk Quarter development.

The members of Lusk ICA had a wonderful trip to Brussels on 17th April and were treated to a tour of the European Parliament while they were there. The ladies met up with members from Balbriggan ICA who also went on the trip, which was kindly organized by Lorraine Clifford-Lee.

The ladies were looked after very well by Darragh Gallagher and Wilfred King on their visit and Darragh brought them to the European Parliament where they were given a talk on all the MEPs and how the Parliament operates.

They also got the opportunity to try out the interactive floor map that takes visitors on a virtual tour around Europe, highlighting more than 100 stories on the diversity of the continent. The ladies also visited the very impressive parliamentary chamber building where we posed for photos.

Following some time for shopping and the many delicious Chocolate shops they relaxed and had dinner in the lively Irish bar Kitty O’Shea’s.

It was a brilliant experience enjoyed by all.

Bowling night in ALSAA
1st Roseanna Darby 2nd Deirdre Wilson 3rd Teresa Kilmurray who happily accepted their lovely prices. It was a Great night enjoyed by everyone organized by Deirdre.

Lusk ICA members had a great day out to see the wonderful Farmleigh House in the Phoenix park thanks to Eoghan Dockerell, and Maria Baird who helped to organize this outing.

There was also a remembrance for the families of Maura O’Neill and Kathleen Brown who recently passed away and were very active former members of Lusk ICA.

To celebrate 35 years in existence Lusk Heritage Group are organising a Social Evening in Lusk Round Towers GAA Hall on 10th May at 8.00 pm. They are planning an evening of talks, memories and fun to mark 35 years of recording the heritage of Lusk, through books, videos, their website containing more than 100 videos and 80 audio recordings, and their Facebook page which is constantly updating stories about Lusk and Fingal. All their book publications will be available on the night, including their latest book Lusk School, The Schools Collection Everyone is welcome to hear their stories and share your own memories.

We recently attended a tournament in Dublin which saw our younger students showing of their sparring skills, while not complete beginners the nerves still showed a little, but they overcame their fears to show exactly what they are capable of.

At Junsa, we believe that gradually introducing our students to the competition side of our Olympic sport is the key. Working alongside other clubs from Taekwondo Ireland we can run tournaments for all levels, from introductory level right up to international level athletes. Please have a look at our up-and-coming young athletes.

Club members were thrilled to hear the news that we are a step closer to having an 8 lane athletics track to train and compete on. After many years of working with Fingal County Council and our neighbouring sports clubs in Lusk we can see light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you to our club’s committee who have worked long and hard in pursuit of athletic facilities in Lusk. Congratulations to our recent Fit4Life group who graduated with the Windmill 5k at Garristown. Watch out for a new group starting in September. The club had over 60 athletes in action at the Windmill 10k which also included the truly wonderful Dublin 10k championships. It was a successful day with a huge haul of medals being won in age and team categories.

Dressed in colourful Disney characters as “YOUNG AT HEART” the Lusk ICA ladies walked with pride in the local St Patrick’s day festival parade. Thanks to Mary Hickey for facilitating us with refreshments beforehand., and Teresa Kilmurray as St Patrick performed her duties with dignity and posed for photo with Fr George. Our thanks too to Anne Bailey and Mary Shorthall who without complaint carried the Banner for us. Then to top it off, our President Rosanna Darby accepted the Fr Eoin McCrystal Cup.The weather brought out a great crowd to cheer us on and enjoyed the surprise treats and sweets we gave out to the small children. The ICA hosted the coffee morning again for daffodil day on 22nd March for The Irish Cancer Society in the Top Shop. Thanks to Antoinette Doran and her hard-working team between selling the daffodil buttons, the coffee morning and the Raffle and raised the incredible sum of €5,289.00. Well done again to everyone who supported this wonderful cause. On the 6th April Angela O’Brien, Caroline O Malley, Monica Kielty, Anne Smithers and Frances Devane enjoyed a relaxing craft day with Blanchardstown ICA. Trudy their President gave us a warm welcome with a lot of tasty baking. Lots of crafts going on with Felt, Patchwork, Decoupage, Embroidery and Ribbon stitching. Bromwin the ICA federation rep came and welcomed us. Jo Carroll ICA golf was played in Swords GC Roganstown, with winners: 1st Pauline Scully (Tallaght ICA) 2nd Mary Shorthall (Lusk) 3rd Pauline McGrath (Garristown) 6 played in very wet underfoot conditions.

With only weeks to go until polling day, I want to take this opportunity to set out the areas I will focus on if fortunate enough to represent Lusk on Fingal County Council. I would be very grateful for your support on June 7th. If elected, I would work full time for the people of Lusk and always be responsive should you need assistance with any matter. In summary, I want: Better Local Amenities - One of my core ambitions is to have better dining facilities in Lusk and more inclusive indoor community spaces that cater for people of all ages (including youth clubs and our own Men’s Shed and ICA group). Better local amenities would benefit all residents of Lusk and would only involve a relatively modest capital investment from our well-resourced local authority. Better Development - Lusk needs more balanced development, and if elected I will fight hard as a councillor for better ways to build our community. This will include ensuring that planning applications for housing developments should only be approved when there is adequate community infrastructure included (and this community infrastructure should be built in tandem with houses, not after houses are built). Large scale housing developments must include childcare, retail and dining facilities. Better Connectivity - My priority is to do more to improve our roads, footpaths, and green spaces to ensure they are protected and maintained to a highest standard. The capability within Fingal County Council is there and I will push hard to put in place an ambitious programme of work to upgrade some of our roads and footpaths. For example, a footpath on Minister’s Road linking Dun Emer (and Lusk village) to the R132 is badly needed. Similarly, the Blake’s Cross junction must be upgraded now that the Council has committed to doing so. If I have your support, I will work hard for you and bring new energy to Fingal County Council.

Last month, Fingal County Council announced the long-awaited plans for the sports and recreational hub. This comes after more than ten years of work and commitment by the Lusk Sports Group (previously known as Lusk Sports 2020) We would like to thank them for their patience, hard work and dedication over this time. A meeting was held to discuss final concerns with FCC, and planning permission was lodged by FCC to An Bord Pleanála for the all-weather soccer pitch and four lane running track. Members of the public will be able to submit observations at a cost of €200. Works are hoped to commence on the project next year. In April, a meeting was held between key community groups and developers McGarrell Reilly. The agenda covered the progress and plans for completing the Lusk Village Quarter, a vital component of our community’s growth and enhancement. Key aspects such as establishing a creche, pub/restaurant, public square, and additional retail spaces were addressed. These amenities are essential for our growing population. McGarrell Reilly wished to highlight their own contributions, including the Soccer Clubhouse and playing Facilities, Rathmore Park (the hub), Ring Road development and the Design and Connection of an improved Lusk Sewage System. Additionally, they highlighted efforts to source school sites, establish playgrounds, and progress on the Village Quarter, all integral to enhancing the quality of life in Lusk. Lusk Action Group highlighted their many concerns regarding the delays in the delivery of amenities in Lusk Village Quarter. For further information on this, please see our Facebook page. Plans are well underway for Lusk Summer Festival which will take place on Saturday 22 nd June in Orlynn Park Green. We are looking for new members for our organising committee. Get in touch with us at hello@lusksummerfestival.ie We will be meeting with Go Ahead this month. Please contact us with any issues you have with the 33A service, including as much detail and information as you can about the issue. luskactiongroup@gmail.com Lusk Action Group are looking for new members. Get in touch with us at the above email address.

“Lusk Twinning Association are delighted to celebrate their 30th anniversary marking when Lusk as a village was twinned with the town of Thorigne-Fouillard in Britanny. After some preliminary research and groundwork that started in 1991 the Twinning process was made official on 2nd May,1993 with the first visit of our Breton friends coming to Lusk. We take turns visiting each other on alternate years. When we visit we stay with a host family and experience their culture, this is reciprocated when they come to us. We are always accompanied by our own musicians who travel along with Irish dancers. By unique coincidence the town of Thorigne-Fouillard has a traditional music group called the Luskies and a choir called Eire D’large. We have had many wonderful evenings enjoying musical exchanges and performing together. We look forward to the arrival of our friends and continuing our friendship for many more years.”

Cllr Rob O’Donoghue enthusiastically greeted the briefing in the March Area Committee of the planning permission and timeline for provision of sporting facilities at the Lusk Sports Hub in Rathmore Park. Facilities proposed in the planning application for the hub include a new all-weather floodlit training area measuring 74m x 28m (suitable for GAA Go Games Activity) including ball wall (20m x 5m), all-weather floodlit soccer sized pitch measuring 100m x 64m, all weather floodlit 8 lane running track, additional bicycle & car parking spaces (30no. each), a Teen Space, pollinator friendly species & trees and other works including fencing incl. ball stop, storage/changing facilities, drinking water fountain and park furniture. The timeline for the provision of these sporting facilities will be then finalisation of reports, drawings and documents in March and to lodge the planning application with An Bord Pleanala in April of 2024. Should planning be granted procurement of works will being post the decision from An Bord Pleanala. Speaking at the Committee, Cllr O’Donoghue thanked the Lusk Sports Group for their work over the past decade to get the project ready for planning application. He stated ‘an immense amount of work has gone into getting the hub ready by the Clubs and Community Organisations over the last ten years, countless volunteer hours have already been given by all stakeholder groups on the Lusk Sports Groups and they should be really proud of sticking the course to date as the proposed facilities at the Lusk Hub will be second to none. This is a great news story for Lusk, the facilities are critically needed and this will be a flagship project for both Lusk and Fingal that I hope to champion over the coming years.”