The Lusk Summer Festival 2023 took place on June 24th and was a huge success. with an estimated attendance of over 8000 people. Lusk Action Group is immensely grateful to the Lusk community, the organizing committee, Fingal County Council, and the Progressive Credit Union for their support. The recently released CSO report places the population of Lusk at nearly 11,000 and nearly 8,000 in the town itself. This has grown even since the census was taken. Responding to the continuous growth of the town, Declan Ryan, the new Town Regeneration Officer from Fingal County Council gave a presentation to 11 Community Pillars/Groups who are nominated representatives on the Lusk Vision 2030. The message from the presentation was to adopt a ‘Town Centre First’ approach policy for Lusk. The Town Centre First policy aims to create town centres that function as viable, vibrant and attractive locations for people to live, work and visit, while also functioning as the service(s), social, cultural and recreational hub for the local community.Further, it explains that the Town Centre First approach vision will be coordinated through policies, actions and cross-government support that puts the Town Centre of Lusk at the heart of decision-making through which funding will be leveraged to deliver on actions from the various pillars with representation from the Community. Some of the immediate challenges facing Lusk include lack of vibrancy in the town centres, dwindling employment opportunities, out of town/online shopping, poor pedestrian/cycling access, lack of parking, limited access to green spaces and no social amenities, especially for young people. However, the town is projected for various opportunities to look forward to in the Lusk Vision 2030, like climate change adaptation of the city, digital transformation & remote working, demographic change, experience-led blend of retail, and regeneration of public spaces for modern use. Every town is unique, with unique strengths, the Town Centre First policy creates the perfect platform for community ownership of Lusk. Please consider taking on active roles in the community Pillars of the Lusk Vision 2030.

Cllr Rob O’Donoghue has welcomed the inaugural meeting of the Community Pillar of the Town Centre First scheme in Lusk this month. The Town Centre First policy aims to create town centres that function as viable, vibrant and attractive locations for people to live, work and visit, while also functioning as the service, social, cultural and recreational hub for the local community. The Town Centre First scheme will build on the Lusk Vision 2030 document produced by Lusk Community Council to aid in the regeneration of public spaces, improve parking, access to amenities and green space and seek to improve the vibrancy of Lusk town centre. To facilitate this, a consultant will shortly be appointed to produce to add to the recommendations of the Lusk Vision 2030 across three pillar groups, the Community Pillar, the Business Pillar and the Public Realm Pillar. These documents, which will form a Lusk Town Plan, will allow Lusk to seek funding for funding under schemes such as the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund and the Town and Villages Scheme. The Community Pillar will have the objective to allow for the collaboration of Community groups in Lusk, with FCC to support the building of the structures and capacity to implement projects identified in the Lusk Town Plan.

Speaking at the inaugural meeting Cllr O’Donoghue stated, “There are 11 community groups, across all ages and demographics that have agreed to join the Community Pillar which I am proud to be the Chair of. There are many excellent community groups in the town whose goals are to bring improvements to Lusk and I am excited to see how this committee can contribute to the positive development of Lusk Town Centre.”

With the hot weather still beating down on our heads Junsa Taekwondo keeps on training but with a bit more rest time. It’s important during these hot summer days that we keep hydrated and we do. For us at Junsa we ensure that our students stay well hydrated by regular water breaks, and also we ensure training in mixed high and low intensity. Recently one of our long term students Conor who would have fought for Ireland from cadet to senior at European and World championships and still trains and helps coach at the club, tried his hand at an MMA tournament and won. Congratulations Conor! Please take a look at what we are up to at present!

It’s been all action for Lusk AC club members in the glorious June weather. There has been track & field competition, road and trail races as well as triathlons and adventure races. Many of our athletes are now following plans for 5k, 10k and upwards and training plans for the Autumn marathons have just begun. It’s now a well earned break for our juveniles and we will see you all In September. Good luck to all members competing, particularly in the Nationals. Have you been listening to the ‘Lusk AC Talks’ podcasts. They’ve been a real hit so far and the first 7 are live and available to listen to. Links are available on our Facebook page so we would encourage everyone to listen and like. Well done to our podcast team for their excellent work.

June bank holiday weekend saw another milestone day for Lusk with public access to the Clonrath Phase 2 section of the Lusk Recreational Hub being made available. Lusk Community Sports Group have been working with Fingal County Council for many years to deliver the transfer of this key green strategic infrastructure for our full community to use and enjoy. These lands are now in the Council’s ownership, with parklands (e.g., biodiversity areas) and associated facilities (e.g., an enclosed children’s playground) now open to the public. Separately, the Council has commissioned assessments of the suitability of the site for development as a Sports Hub. The results of these assessments will inform the (Part 8) planning process for the future development of Lusk Recreational Hub, in tandem with our own master plan for the area – i.e: multi-sport community focussed facilities that can be used all year around.

Details on dates, venues and times of home fixtures can be viewed on our website.
Nursery - ALL NEW MEMBER’S WELCOME!!

In June - 2 special guests dropped by our U10s girls for a chat and some pictures. Our own Lile Tully and Niamh Bush of St. Maurs. GAA , both members of the Leinster winning u16 Dublin team with their latest bit of silverware.The team was delighted to welcome both players down to TAP.

Next up the Dubs will face Cork in the All Ireland semi final on July 5th. The venue is TBC

Round Towers Adult Mens football proudly sponsored by Local Solicitors, Liam Fitzgerald, thank you for your continued support. All home games have a new Barista Bandstand with coffee and refreshments on offer. Please do visit our GAA Round Towers Lusk club website to explore many social events and the O’Neills shop.

Entertainment – The TAP Bar in the GAA club in Lusk has got some fantastic events coming over the monthand would be delighted to see you there and enjoy some Live music. - 1 st July 2023 – The Odd Couple – All the best music starts after 8.30pm. Stay posted on Facebook on upcoming events. 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 linktr.ee/roundtowerlusk or call in and check our club bar for a refreshment also open for bookings including family events and parties

The message this month from Lusk Tidy Towns Association is: It’s that time of year again when the National Tidy Towns Judges will be out and about judging our towns and villages. Lusk is no exception and much work is ongoing. Wildflower seeds have been sewn in Trayen Hill and our flower tubs have been filled and attended to despite the dry weather we had been experiencing in June. Insurance is a necessary and considerable cost and also there is a vast amount of expansion in the ongoing work in progress in Lusk. Thank you to Fingal County Council for the beautiful tubs on the square and the ongoing maintenance in the park areas.

The Lusk Recreational Hub Phase 2: Phase two opened to the public in June. The Council has commissioned an assessment of the suitability of the site for further development. The results of these assessments will be used in the planning process for the development of a proposed Rathmore Recreational Sports Hub This will be a significant win for the community as local groups continue to advocate for more social amenities for Lusk which has a population the size of towns such as Mallow in County Cork. LAG would like to acknowledge the Lusk 2020 group and its Chairman Leo McKittrick who are behind this initiative and look forward to at last seeing some progress.

The Forge Estate in Lusk, its playground and associated green spaces: It is anticipated that a small number of outstanding works will be completed by the developer within the next few weeks, in tandem with the completion of the legal taking in Charge Process by Fingal County Council. This has been long overdue and we would urge both parties to ensure this is done as a matter of urgency.

Update on new Restaurant/Bar for Lusk. A bar and restaurant is in the plans for the new town centre however building of this eagerly awaited facility has not yet commenced. The developers, McGarell Reilly’s, have said they are waiting on a tenant to take on the lease before they start. The plans for new public plaza, village green and playground. appear to have been put back by at least five years, we are seeking clarification from them on the progress for this.

New bin at the Bandstand: LAG has been in touch with the council drawing attention to the bin at the Bandstand off St MacCullin’s Church on Chapel Road. The location adjacent to this historic bandstand is inappropriate and we have received many complaints from the community regarding it.

Cllr Rob O’Donoghue has welcomed the opening of the new parkland and playground located at the North of the Lusk Sports Hub. The lands were taken in charge by Fingal County Council in early June and opened to the public. The facility will have an official opening with the Mayor in attendance in the coming weeks. Additionally, the Council have commissioned assessments for the suitability of the site for continued development of the transferred lands as a Sports Hub. The results of these assessments should be available in the near future and will be used to inform the planning process for the development of sporting infrastructure at the Hub.

Cllr O’Donoghue commented, “I warmly greet the transfer of the parklands and playground to the Council. I have visited the site on a number of occasions since it has opened and the playground is consistently in use by children and parents in the area. Now that we have the lands in Council possession, we can really start to look at the development of sporting facilities in the Hub. The clubs and community groups that have come together under the Lusk 2020 committee have been pushing for this handover for some time and I would like to thank them for the innumerable hours they have put in as representatives of their organisations to date. Their discussions and commitment on the 2020 committee will provide not just Lusk but Fingal with state-of-the-art sporting facilities for the coming years”

The weather is getting warmer and the Taekwondo training is heating up too.

At Junsa we recently took part in all Dublin tournament held in Baldoyle and run by our national governing body Taekwondo Ireland. We are also looking forward to the 2nd Lusk Festival and preparations are under way for some of our students to take part in international competitions abroad.Contact Master Stuart on 087 7775202 or follow us on Facebook @ Junsa Taekwondo for more details on training times and class locations.