Last month, we had a meeting with An Garda Siochana and Foroige, to discuss issues of concern in Lusk. We would like to thank the community for their feedback regarding this. We discussed the growing need for more visible Garda presence, better and clearer opening hours of the Garda Station, the growing drugs issue in the town, concerns regarding break-ins and car theft, speeding issues, anti-social behaviour, especially at weekends, and vandalism, among other issues. The Gardaí share our concerns and we await further information from them regarding actions to be taken. They continue to advise the community to dial 999 if there are concerns. This ensures that all issues are linked to the Garda PULSE system, thereby creating essential data as regards the volume of issues in the town. This is the one thing that will ensure more Gardai in the future. To put this simply, if it is not reported officially, then it did not officially happen, and then nothing can be officially done about it. Reporting issues is essential to getting what we need in Lusk. We would like to extend our immense gratitude to The Progressive Credit Union for their sponsorship of Lusk Summer Festival. Last month we received an amazing €8000 from them, which makes running this great event so much easier for Lusk Action Group. Don’t forget to keep the day in your diary! Saturday 24th June. We have a fantastic music line up, a bigger and better children’s entertainment section, our Market stalls, food galore and much more! We are all looking forward to it. We are also delighted to see the new Ladies Shed up and running successfully. They meet in The Cultural Centre Mondays 10am till 12pm and Wednesdays 7 till 8pm. Wishing them every success! The first official community tree planting day happened last month and we would like to thank the tree sub-committee from the 2030 group, Fingal County Council, and the whole community for making this happen. Approximately 700 saplings were planted, the first of 2030 trees that will be planted as part of the Lusk Vision 2030 plan.

A Happy Easter to all our members and friends at home and around the world.

At Junsa we have been busy preparing our students for tournaments at home and in Europe. Taekwondo Ireland have been running development training sessions and competitions for our young and up and coming athletes which Junsa has been attending. These development competitions are very important as this gives our younger students the opportunity to set some of their goals and improve there competition skills. We are also preparing our more advanced fighters for European events. We strive to meet everyone’s expectations and help fulfil our students goals.

The events have been coming thick and fast this year and by the middle of March it seems like most of the club had taken part in at least one Indoor competition or road race. Younger members of the club had a fantastic 5 days of Indoor Juvenile competition at the National Indoor Arena while our Junior, Seniors and Masters were at the same venue for the Leinster Indoor Championships. There was a huge medal haul for the club which is the icing on the cake after a hard winter of training.
The Lusk 4 mile gets bigger and better with each year and this time even the weather was on our side. 660 completed the 4 mile with over 200 also taking part in the Thomas Ashe Dash. Many thanks to all who volunteered at the event and to all the sponsors and local community for their support. The club had great participation in two Road races on Sunday 12th March with 60 of our athletes in action. The Windmill 10k (Men’s Dublin 10k Championship) in Garristown and the Bohermeen Half Marathon in Co Meath saw some brilliant running by our long distance men and women. We look forward to a summer of continued success and enjoyment.

by Aidan Arnold

This unusual picture was taken at Rogerstown Estuary, Newhaggard, Lusk, in the early 1900s, on the land running along the river from Blake’s Cross to what was Balleally Landfill and is now known as Rogerstown Park.The big man with the beard is Nathaniel Hone and the other gentleman is his Brother Herbert who owned about 600 acres there until it was taken over by the Land Commission in 1935 and divided up between local farmers. Nathaniel Hone “the Younger” (Dublin, 1831 – 1917) was a well known member of a wealthy landed family and the great grand-nephew of another famous artist, Nathaniel Hone (“the Elder”), who lived from 1718 to 1784. Nathaniel the younger married Magdalen Jameson of the family of distillers in 1872. He studied art in Paris and was primarily recognised for his landscape paintings. He lived on the family estate in Malahide where he created hundreds of watercolour drawings of the sea and sands. In 1892 he helped to set up the Malahide Golf Club. Following his death in 1917, his wife gave approximately 500 oil paintings and nearly 900 of his watercolours to the National Gallery of Ireland.

Love Lusk is an initiative of Lusk Community Network. The website www.lovelusk.ie shares information on services, clubs and organisations, it promotes Lusk as a place to live, work and play and it provides support to all within Lusk. As part of this, we have a page on the website dedicated to grants. The grants are listed in sections. At the top of the webpage which is called lovelusk.ie/home/community-grants/, a summary of all the current grants is provided and for a quick reminder, closing dates, if applicable. Grants with a specified closing date are listed in the second section. The information supplied on these grants is set out in a set format – the name of the grant and the grant provider is given, followed by the closing date. A brief description or aim of the grant is supplied. Finally, a link to the website where the application must be completed is provided, in distinctive black writing. Fingal County Council provide grants to different sectors at different times and have dedicated email addresses with whom to make contact with. This information is also contained in the second section. If you contact these specific email addresses, any information on grants will be sent directly to the email address provided as soon as the grants have been announced. We recommended that each club has two email addresses registered with Fingal County Council, so that any communication issued is not missed. The third section deals with funding that is ongoing. To make this easier to navigate, funding relating to businesses, clubs and organisations are in one sub-section whereas grants relating to houses are provided in the other sub-section. This ongoing section has details of LEADER funding, funding that is available for a hugh array of groups, including businesses. The fourth section deals with EU funding and any ongoing supports available. As you can see, this grants page provides a very wide range of information across all sectors. We hope you find this page beneficial, regardless of whether you represent a business, club or organisation within Lusk. Check out our website www.lovelusk.ie, our Facebook & Instagram pages - iLove

At this months Area Committee meeting Lusk was officially chosen as the first town in Fingal to be selected for the Town Centre First project. Town Centre First 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. Cllr O’Donoghue welcomed this development and stated, ‘there has been a lot of work in the last two years with the Luck Community Councils production of the ‘Lusk for Life – Vision 2030’ document and the 2030 committee which looks at improving the liveability for people in Lusk, the Town Centre First project will adapt and expand on the research already completed to drive change in the town. The Town Centre First Project will consist of three pillars which the project will focus on, (1.) Community, (2). Business & Economy and (3.) The Public Realm. The local community will work closely with officials from Fingal County Council and outside stakeholders to improve all three areas. O’Donoghue continued, ‘Irish towns are facing significant challenges that require a coordinated and comprehensive response. This is a beginning of a process that has the potential to provide much needed facilities and develop a truly integrated heart in the town for Lusk and I look forward to engaging with the community and other stakeholders in the coming months.’

The first sod has been turned on a new development in Fingal which will see the delivery of much needed affordable and social housing in one of Ireland’s fastest growing regions. Situated in the coastal town of Rush, the Hayestown development will consist of 62 homes, comprising a mix of 2- and 3-bedroom properties. Joining Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Howard Mahony for the ground breaking ceremony was the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD, the Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly and local Councillors. The new housing – on a site approximately six acres in size - will be a welcome addition for those looking to have an opportunity to purchase their own home. Once completed, there will be 38 three-bedroom houses, 10 two-bedroom houses, seven three-bedroom duplexes and seven two-bedroom apartments on offer.The mixed tenure Hayestown development will be made up of 80% affordable housing and 20% social housing.To allow for less energy demand on the power grid, the homes will be built to ensure high energy performance standards are met. That will incorporate technologies such as ground source heat pumps that will help reduce energy bills. The development will also make the most of its natural surrounds by incorporating a riparian zone around a stream, with trees featuring to help form a beautiful open public space. Some €3.9m in government funding has been made available for the development under the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF), which will allow for the construction of 52 affordable homes as part of the project. The AHF is a subsidy which is available to local authorities such as Fingal County Council to help with housing development costs. It enables local authorities to make affordable homes available to purchase or rent at prices and rents below market rates. The homes available at the new development will be advertised on the Council’s website in the coming months, with construction expected to be completed in the first half of 2024.

We announced some very good news for Lusk at our AGM in March. This came following our Lusk
Vision 2030 meeting the previous week. The new Town Centre First officer in Fingal County Council has been appointed to Lusk. We will be now engaging with FCC on a monthly basis, in a structure similar to “Our Balbriggan”. Balbriggan has received Millions of Euro in funding for various projects under this structure and it has proven to be very successful. There will be 3 “pillar” groups, which will consist of a member of FCC and members of our own 2030 committee and chaired by a Councillor. The pillars will be community, business and public realm. The business pillar will be formed with members of the business community and will be chaired by Cllr Brian Dennehy, Cllr Rob O’Donoghue will chair community and Cllr Cathal Boland will chair public realm. There will be a steering group, with FCC executives and a representative from the 2030 group. After what has been a very lengthy process, we will finally be in a very positive position, able to drive forward our Lusk Vision 2030 plan, with the huge benefit of having regular engagement with FCC, better forward planning and excellent access to funding streams. Conor Doyle has stepped away from our LAG committee to focus on other commitments. We wouldlike to thank him for his contribution and hard work over the past three years and we wish him the very best. Veronica Gibson is replaced by Alexander Voronov as treasurer. We would like to thank Veronica for her hard work and support over the last 2 years. She will remain on our LAG committee.FCC have implemented road changes, including pedestrian lights, path changes, speed bumps and bollards on the Rathmore Road. We would like to thank RALET and the parents committee for their work in the delivery of these “Safe Routes to School” changes. This has made a huge difference to road safety in this area. If you would like to request AGM minutes, email us at luskactiongroup@gmail.com.

The Lusk Mens walk and talk group meet at the Hub car park at 7:00pm every Monday for their weekly walk. This is open to all men and it’s an opportunity just get out of the house, have a nice walk, clear the head and have a chat if you wish. You can do it as a once off or every week, no joining necessary, just turn up. This group is organised by Ciaran Russell, so if you want to introduce yourself to him and before long you will find you have made new friends. So why not let any friends or neighbours know about it as new members are alaways welcome

Lusk Tidy Towns have recently Thank said a big thank you to Fingal County Council for the beautiful display of flowers on the Rathmore Road. They are a delight to behold and really bring colour to the area. Members of Lusk Tidy Towns are producing a book for the archives of ‘Past and Present’ Lusk, further details on this later in the year. Wishing everyone a very Happy Easter. Pat Kelly and Lusk Tidy Towns.