Bravo Zulu to Néala Troop Ventures Kate, Niamh and Laura for being the very first crew to complete our Lighthouse Challenge! Clocking nearly 100 nautical miles the girls charted and sailed to each of our local lighthouses (Rockabill, Lambay, Howth, Bailey, Poolbeg, Kish) working together as a team, planning their expedition, managing their boat and navigating our coastal waters to complete a safe and successful passage. A fantastic display of teamwork and seamanship under various conditions. Well done girls.

By John Moore, Deputy Principal

Our Sixth Years had been great during the Covid lock downs in both 5th Year and 6th Year

To mark how well they did, we did a special Yearbook for them which we distributed only last week. We produced it late so that we could include their very special End of Year Graduation Ceremony. With the help of the Senior Prefects and a collosal amount of work, we managed to produce a top class year yearbook which of course, they thoroughly deserved. Attached is the actual yearbook, back page with all their names which as lists form some shapes – not all can see and the cover includes Vodafone -We are absolutely delighted to be Vodafone’s WiFi Centre of Excellence Pilot School for the rollout of their smart connect programme for the coming years.

St. Vincent de Paul are an approved housing body. St Benedicts Conference is a group of SVP volunteers responsible for St Benedicts Housing Scheme in Malahide. We currently have 45 social housing units purpose built for older people located on Estuary Road, Malahide. We also have a community centre that is normally used to host events and activities for our tenants.These activities have obviously been postponed due to the ongoing covid-19 situation.Thankfully recently , we were finally able to safely host an outdoor coffee morning.We used this opportunity to catch up and inform our tenants of a new gardening initiative.In Feb 2021, we applied to Fingal Chamber for funding for our ‘Promoting Mental Wellbeing through Gardening’ Project.The idea for this project stemmed from the ongoing covid19 restrictions. We were concerned that our tenants were becoming increasingly isolated. So the aim of this project is to encourage our tenants to get outside and engage in some gardening. Gardening resources can be expensive, especially for those in our tenant group so our project would develop a communal group of gardening tools/equipment for all to use. We were successful with our application and Fingal Chamber awarded us a sum of money to purchase this equipment. We have purchased a small number of items so far which has been included in the attached photos. We also have an annual gardening competition, not everyone takes part as they do not have the resources so we would encourage more involvement.Winners of the competition win a gardening voucher and a small trophy.

Fingal County Council has welcomed the news that all eight applications from Fingal to the Community Monuments Fund have been successful with a total of €270,000 awarded including Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD, has announced the approval of 139 project grants across all 31 Local Authorities for a wide range of archaeological heritage projects under the Department’s Community Monuments Fund. First established in 2020, the fund was increased from just over €1 million last year to €4.2 million in 2021. The full list of projects awarded in Fingal is: Castleknock Castle works - €70,000.00 - Kilsallaghan Graveyard works €36,189.00 - Burial site, Windmill Lands, Swords works - €33,948.00 - St Columbas Towers, Swords survey - €26,610.00 - Malahide Abbey survey €24,600.00 - Rush Tower House survey €24,600.00 - Lanistown Castle, Donabate and St Marnock’s Church Portmarnock -€24,600.00 - Portrane-Donabate Peninsula Heritage Audit & Interpretation Plan - €29,520.00. ‘I am absolutely delighted that all eight applications from Fingal to the Community Monuments Fund have been successful, securing just over €270,000 in funding for the preservation of our important archaeological sites’ said Fingal Chief Executive AnnMarie Farrelly

What is it? - The Message in a Bottle (MIAB) project is brought to you by your local Lions Club. It is a simple idea designed to encourage you to keep medical information and contact details in a small distinctive bottle in a common location – the fridge. This free bottle contains a printed form and three labels. The form is completed and put in the bottle. The bottle is then placed in the fridge and one of the adhesive labels is placed on the outside of the fridge door, another inside front entrance and/or back door.So, What does it do? The MIAB initiative is supported by the emergency services. If a person is taken ill while alone in the house and is unable to communicate, the first responders, on seeing the labels, are alerted to go straight to the fridge, saving valuable minutes assessing the patient’s details. This time can be critical and lifesaving.Who will benefit from Message in a Bottle? Vulnerable people not in good health, people living alone, those who have life threatening conditions/allergies, people with disabilities. It can also give peace of mind to families. Where can I pick up this free bottle? McCabes Pharmacy in Malahide Shopping Centre. This potentially lifesaving initiative is funded by your Lions Club with the support of local donations. For more information contact Damian Carberry, MIAB Officer, email: miabd133@gmail.com

We are delighted to announce that we will be re-opening for browsing and lending from the morning of Monday the 10thof May. We really look forward to welcoming you all back to the library.For those of you who don’t wish to come back into the physical library just yet, we will have a returns box outside the main door.

With the Government and NPHET urging people to “Think Safe, Think Outdoors” over the coming months, Fingal County Council has revealed its plans for an Outdoor Summer.At a recent meeting of the Council, Councillors were given a presentation which detailed how, from the June Bank Holiday Weekend, the public will be able to safely access the public realm in some of the county’s major towns.Councillors were also briefed on the supports being put in place to facilitate Outdoor Dining with areas in Swords, Blanchardstown, Skerries and Malahide, which have clusters of dining businesses, identified as locations that would benefit from special activation measures to support the hospitality sector.This will see New Street in Malahide being pedestrianised from June 6 and a walkway being introduced on Harbour Road in Skerries as part of a redesign of how people move through the area. Outdoor dining areas are also being established on Main Street, Swords, and Main Street, Blanchardstown.

Public Information Leaflets outlining the measures for Swords, Skerries and Malahide will be distributed to all households in those areas from tomorrow (Tuesday) with residents being asked to complete a survey on the proposals at consult.fingal.ie (not accessible through this medium) as part of a non-statutory public consultation that is open until May 21.Outdoor Dining will also be facilitated in other parts of those towns as well as in other towns and villages across the county, such as Balbriggan and Howth, through the issuing of licences, grants for outdoor dining furniture and a Parklet Partners scheme. Further information is available on the web at fingal.ie/outdoordiningsupports.ie (not accessible through this medium) The public realm measures will also include additional litter bins, public toilets and public benches as well as additional staff resources in key areas of the county and changes to the county’s Casual Trading Byelaws.Toilets in libraries in Malahide, Blanchardstown and Balbriggan will also be opened to the public. The Council has installed Changing Places Toilets in Millennium Park, Blanchardstown and is planning to install them at Ardgillan Castle.There will also be additional measures to promote Active Travel with an extension of the Bleeper Bikes scheme and the provision of additional bike parking facilities.

Malahide Portmarnock Educate Together Secondary School (MPETSS) is delighted to announce that the first phase of its permanent build has commenced in recent weeks.Now in its 3rd year, MPETSS first opened its doors to 1st year students on 27th August 2018 at temporary accommodation in Swords Enterprise Park, on the Feltrim Road, Drinan (K67 W9Y8). Limited space has seen classes being restricted to two per year group however, this year, they have been granted the opportunity to open a third class. The school is set to grow to over 190 students in 2021/22 academic year and the new permanent school building, when completed, will accommodate over 1000 secondary school students from the area by the year 2028/29.Plans for the new school include : A Technology Suite that includes separate provision for Technical Graphics, Technology Wood, Metalwork /Engineering Room, Technology and Design, Communication Graphics.-A Home Economics Suite that includes two kitchens and a Dress and Design room - Six Science Laboratories - Multimedia Learning Lab - Two storey Library - Two Music and Drama Rooms - An Art and Design Suite - Physical Education suite that includes a modern gym and a Fitness Suite and external courts - ICT enabled classrooms - Courtyard that includes school garden project and sensory garden, leisure facilities and learning sites - Internal Social Areas for Students, also with a canteen and space for school productions - and a purpose built centre for the needs of children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).MPETSS Principal is Aoife Kelly-Gibson. “We are very excited to learn that our permanent build is due to begin. Ms Kelly-Gibson said and added, “Student applications for 21/22 1st year and additional enquiries from new residents moving to the Malahide area were the highest seen this year in all local schools. Completion of the new build will bring additional capacity & facilities which will allow us grow our student base exponentially to meet the demand in our catchment.” Information on MPETSS can be found at their website. Applications for 1styear 21/22 are now closed as places are filled. Applications for 1st year 22/23 will open in October 2021.

It is with great sadness that we recently learned of the passing of Paddy Craddock ,may he rest in peace. A member of the first Malahide United FC Club team that was formed in 1946, Paddy played through the ‘40s and ‘50s for Malahide and was a committed committee member for many years. He blazed a trail to allow the club to become what we have today. He was a strong part of the development of the club. When the first team’s home pitch was at that time on the Yellow Walls Road called The Marshes, we then moved to a pitch in St Margareth’s Road. How times have changed. The club is indebted to his continuous commitment and support to the club at all times, a great supporter on match days and always looking for the club’s result. A wonderful long life that sadly has come to an end. A legend in his lifetime Ard Dheis De Go Raibh a Anam.

In an increasingly complex world, Lions provides one of the most basic human needs, the need for friendship. And the opportunity to make a difference. As an individual you can have limited impact but as part of a group you can achieve so much more. Lions Club membership brings more awareness of community and the average Lions Club has, at its heart, the intention to make the community it serves a better place to live. Wherever there is a need, you will find Lions there, actively involved in getting the job done and making things happen. No skills required to roll up the sleeves and find a solution. No job is too big or too small. Lions above all are nice people, who genuinely want to give of their time and means to assist others and have a lot of fun doing it. The Club projects are fun. Social activities are fun. And the Service is fun.One of the best reasons for becoming a Lion is the chance to do, as a group, what we cannot hope to achieve on our own, to serve our fellow man.Our motto says it all “We Serve” To show you some of tthe work we have done and continue to do in Malahide we have put together these pictures and we hope they will interest you enough to make you want to get involved. These are just some of the things we have been involved in and maybe you can suggest other things for us to help the community in the future..Check us out for fun, laughter and community service at Malahide Lions Facebook Page. More information about projects and activities at our Malahide Lions Club website and use our contact form to apply. An easy watt for you to contact us is at malahidelionsclub@gmail.com or contact any member you know. We urgently need your help and we look forward to hearing from you.