The community of Lusk awoke to a surprising development recently, as two communications
masts sprung up seemingly overnight at the Dublin Road and Skerries Road roundabouts. These unannounced installations raised eyebrows and concerns among the community who value our heritage town. Lusk Action Group have submitted appeals to An Bord Pleanála in challenge of both licence approvals. We believe that these masts have been inappropriately positioned in the context of our heritage town and have concerns regarding the potential health and environmental impacts that these structures may have. Masts such as these have sprung up in other areas of the country, using a piece of legislations which does not requires public consultation. Simultaneously, the town has been grappling with inconsistencies in bus services of the buses 33X, 33, and 33A. These services have been at the centre of complaints, with delays and instances of passengers, particularly young people, being left stranded by drivers. This has left many members, and particularly parents, frustrated and calling for improvements in the services. Public transportation is an essential lifeline for many Lusk residents, enabling them to access employment, education, and essential services in the neighbouring areas. Therefore, when the bus services experience disruptions, it directly impacts the daily lives of the people in this community. When it comes to changes that affect the town, there is rightly an expected level of consultation and transparency from the authorities. Lusk Action Group has lodged a submission to the National Transport Authority (NTA), based on feedback from the community, to seek effective and long-lasting solutions to these issues as our population increases. We are in consultation with our local elected representatives to advance these concerns with the NTA, Dublin Bus and Go Ahead. Lusk heritage is what makes it a truly unique and cherished place to call home. The sudden appearance of communication masts without consultation and the ongoing bus service issues have understandably rattled many community members. Lusk Action Group is working by advocating for the community interests and seeking answers to these pressing issues.

Cllr Rob O’Donoghue has welcomed progress regarding the timeline for the provision of amenities at the Lusk Sports Hub. Responding to his motion seeking the next steps in the provision of amenities at the Hub Fingal County Council informed the chamber that a planning application for development of Rathmore Park is in development by the Council. The proposed layout of sporting facilities in the Hub which has been developed with the stakeholders of the Lusk 2020 group which includes, Round Towers GAA, Lusk Athletics, Lusk Utd, The Lusk Community College, Rush and Lusk Educate Together and the Lusk Community Council is ongoing and will strongly feed into the final design that will seek planning permission. The next step in the process is one in which work is ongoing on the environmental assessment of the proposals for facilities at the Hub and the results of these assessments will then inform the timeline for the submission of the planning permission at the site. Speaking to his motion concerning a timeline for provision of facilities at the Hub, Cllr O’Donoghue stated, ‘with the transfer of the lands and playground in the north of the Hub during the summer, I can finally see the start of the endgame with bringing the Hub project to fruition. This will provide facilities including pitches and a running track that are desperately needed by the clubs in the town to develop their ever-growing memberships. It has been a long road to get to this point and the organisations in the Lusk 2020 group deserve credit for sticking to the process and engaging with each other and FCC to get the project to where we will be able to apply for planning permission for these much-needed amenities.’

In other Hub news, the Council are to carry out ground improvements in the open area at the North of the Hub and are in the process of procuring new goal posts which are projected to be erected by November.

While our short break is finished, in the background Junsa has been planning our upcoming training sessions and competition calendar for the new season. We are also in preparation for taking on new students of all ages. At Junsa we have specific classes for different age groups of all abilities, from the 5 - to 50 year olds who want something new for fitness, discipline ,to become a black belt or to compete at local or international level Junsa Taekwondo can cater for everyone . If you are interested in an Olympic sport or marital art please contact Stuart on 087 7775202 or on Facebook Junsa Taekwondo.

Welcome back to training for all juvenile athletes. Our Little Athletics (6-8 years) will train indoors Lusk NS from Tuesday 5th September. The Cross Country season is back underway and Lusk AC will host the first event of the season for Dublin Athletics on Sunday 17th September. Come along and watch a great day of running. Well done to all our athletics who have taken part in competitions and events over the summer. Congratulations to our Men’s team who competed in the Club League final at Tullamore. Well done to our young coaches for putting on a great week for our Summer Camp. If you haven’t heard our club podcast yet then it’s definitely worth a listen. There are 8 episodes currently available with more in the pipeline.

Best of luck to all our CLG Chloigthithe Lusca teams in their Championship matches in the 2023 season. All support is welcome at our fixtures. Details on dates, venues and times of home fixtures can be viewed on our website at roundtowerslusk.ie

Nursery - All new member’s welcome - Commencing 3rd September 2023
Club planning programme – We need your help and support. Our club planning programme and workshop will take place on the 16th of September 2023.- All members and friends in the community are welcome to attend.- Opportunities to share your thoughts and views on the future club plans.- Please logon to our website roundtowerslusk.ie. We also want to say a Very special thank you: A very special thank you to all Retired and Senior members of the Round Towers Lusk community for attending our special night and get together at the club for light refreshments and a wonderful special music session with the fabulous Andrea and Friends!

A special thank you also to all that organised the event in our Adult Men’s Committee! Please come along to our next Traditional Evening Music Night or stay in touch to find out more upcoming events. Recently we have had some massive achievements in Round Towers Lusk. Our Round Towers Lusk combine Feile team wer crowned Division 7 Camogie Feile Champions and went on to win the double in the Football League. Both Ross O Donoghue and Rory Kerrigan played for Dublin U15 v Westmeath in Portlaoise. - Lotto – Our Weekly Lotto is in excess of €11,450. This is a crucial fundraiser for the club and you can play at:klubfunder.com/Clubs/Round_Towers_Lusk/lotto Draw in Club Thursday @9pm linktr.ee/roundtowerlusk. -Seachtain na Gaeilge –Please do visit our GAA Round Towers Lusk club website on the below web address to explore many social events and the O’Neill’s shop.- Entertainment – The TAP Bar in GAA club in Lusk has got some fantastic events coming over the month and would be delighted to see you there and enjoy some Live music.

TRAD Night – Second last - Tuesday every month 28 th September great music night session in the TAP Bar Enjoy GAA matches and other sports event with light refreshment on large screen in TAP BAR. Outdoor seating area available. Please visit our website on https://linktr.ee/roundtowerlusk or call in and check our club bar for a refreshment also open for bookings including family events and parties!

The official opening of Lusk Community Cultural Centre by Minister Heather Humphreys on 25th July was a landmark event for Lusk Community Council and for the town of Lusk. The official opening was the culmination of a project that the Community Council had worked on for two decades. There are many more major projects destined for our town over the coming decade, including recreation, community and public realm facilities. We need to ensure that these plans are all embedded in the Town Plan, which will be an update of Lusk Vision 2030, over coming months.

Every year our community is expanding as new families come to live in our town. Your input to this plan will be important and we hope you take the opportunity to engage in the community, business and public realm pillars that will be convened in September and October.Lusk Community Council is currently working on developing a Master plan for phase 2 of the Cultural Centre site. The master plan is being developed as a 3D model which will help to illustrate how this strategic site can be developed for the long term benefit of our town. The Community Council will undertake public consultation on these plans in September at the Cultural Centre and we look forward to getting your views on these plans.

ICA members who competed in the Dublin Heat of the ICA Pitch and Putt Competition and Congratulations to two of the Lusk Guild members Mary Shortall and Teresa Kilmurray. Also our Lusk ICA President Rosanna Darby attended the official opening of the Cultural Centre with Heather Humphries, Minister for Protection, Rural and Community Development.

Trojan work around the village is ongoing and the committee deserve great praise despite all the current building work, laying of pipes and road works. Thank you to everyone who put out hanging baskets and window boxes and presented their premises in the best possible manner. Delighted to note the new sign for “Balrothery Union Graveyard” has been replaced. Also Lusk Heritage Group have issued a reminder that on Friday 8th September Lusk Heritage Group are hosting another “Story Telling Night” in Murrays on the Square. It promises to be a great night of stories, poetry and reminisces as well as a chance to meet old friends and get together. It all starts at 8.00 pm. Get there on time because we expect a full house

The Black Raven Pipe Band Lusk recently competed in the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow. The Lusk based Band have had a very successful season so far this year with second places in both the UK Championships and All Ireland Championships. The band are always open to accept new members both learners and experienced who are made most welcome. Si if you want to give it a go….why not contact them ? The band practices on Mondays and Wednesdays in the Old School.

Most organisations shy away from grant applications as they can be very time consuming. With a few simple steps, they can be made easier. Set up a sub-committee dedicated to grant applications, made up of two to work together and the treasurer to provide all the necessary financial information. The full committee should set out plans, that include both capital and revenue expenditure. Capital expenditure is money spent on acquiring or maintaining fixed assets, such as buildings, fixtures, fittings, machinery or office equipment. Revenue expenditure is money spent on expenses, usually within one year, such as electricity, insurance, small repairs, etc. Capital expenditure will, in almost all cases, involve getting quotations from different firms, with a minimum of two quotations required for each item of expenditure. If different specifications have a bearing on the cost, get two quotations for the top specification and two for the lower specification. Store all quotes received and copies of previous years’ expenses in pdf format, using Dropbox or similar, which is accessible by the sub-committee members. Have a bank of pre-prepared information saved, such as a paragraph which gives details of when your organisation was formed, the purpose of the organisation and committee members as to their work experience and their volunteering history.

Only proceed to applying if all of the conditions of the terms of the grant can be met. Most applications are now completed online. Agree a log-in user name and password between the sub-committee members. Take a note of the closing date for receipt of applications and set your closing date to 2 days prior to that date. Read all the questions and complete as many questions that you can as you read. Some questions may need the input from both committee members. If the form says that there is a maximum word count, make sure your paragraph is below that word count. If you think two questions have the same answer, re-read both questions as it is unlikely that the reader wants to read the same information twice. Double check that you have uploaded all requested documents and answered every question before submitting. Print a copy of your application, in most cases this is only available after you have submitted it. Don’t take it personally if you are not successful. Dust yourself off and apply for the next one.