On Sunday 21st July, 6 members of JKS Swords along with their Sensei, Dermot OKeeffe 7th Dan JKS, departed Dublin to participate as part of the JKS Ireland Squad in the 6th JKS Karate-do International Cup 2024 & The 6th JKS Karate-do International Para Cup 2024 in Yoyogi 2nd Gymnasium (Tokyo, Japan). 40 countries were in attendance with over 1000 competitors taking part.

Following a grueling 18 hours of travel (and fighting the jet lag), JKS Swords members took to the tatami on Tuesday 23rd to take part in the 2 hour International Seminar under Kagawa Shihan, Kanayama Sensei and Yamaguchi Sensei. Wednesday 24th saw the Squad members and supporters familiarize themselves with the competition venue as the Irish Coaches, Judges and Referees took part in important information meetings. Thursday 25th & Friday 26th saw the International Cup in full swing with Individual events on the Thursday and Team and Family events on the Friday.

While there were no medals for the younger members of the Squad on this occasion, they all performed with distinction, giving their all in Kata and Kumite and showing high levels of sportsmanship and respect towards their fellow competitors. The young Squad members were exemplary representing their Club, Organization and Country during these Championships and everyone is very proud of them. The future is bright for this young Squad. JKS Swords would like to thank everyone who supported them in this journey.

Our Club is always looking for new members (Children, Young People & Adults). Contact Dermot on 087-8073885 for details on how to join our club. You can also contact us on Facebook: JKS Swords Karate Club or on Instagram: @jks_swords_karate_club

Junsa Taekwondo recently attended a Taekwondo event and training session run by Taekwondo Ireland to congratulate and send on his way to Paris, Jack Woolley - our two time Olympian.

This time Jack had the opportunity to meet the young and upcoming taekwondo talent in Ireland as the last time he attended the games it was during Covid. It was a fantastic day and very inspiring for the students and coaches alike, as Jack displayed some of his kicking skills his coach Robert Taaffe explained how they got to such a level in Taekwondo.

Meanwhile on the Poomsae front Junsa’s Ellen attended the national Poomsae squad training with the intention of competing in October’s Korean ambassador cup here in Dublin.

We are looking forward to welcoming all juveniles back to training on Tuesday 3rd September after the summer break. New members are welcome and our latest Fit4Life and Fit4Youth groups will commence on Tuesday 17th September. The autumn marathons are almost upon us so the long runs are getting longer for those who have signed up for one. Good luck to all our athletes who have races coming up and well done to all who have competed in the Race Series, Graded meetings or any other events over the summer. We held the Man O War Round 7k race in mid August. Thanks to all who took part and to everyone who helped to make it another successful event.

There is something for everyone in LSA and we always welcome new members. We have a wide variety of adult groups ranging from social runners, to 5k, marathon, Masters track and Field and beyond. We now have over 420 members, more than half of whom are adults.

We had a fabulous summer camp in July, thanks to our volunteers. Our adult groups and older juveniles continued training and competing throughout the summer; our younger juveniles and Little Athletics will return to training in September.

A record number of LSA athletes qualified for the National Juvenile Championships in Tullamore in July. They gained valuable experience and won two medals, with Under 19 athletes Suzie Linkiewicz and Michelle Branigan winning bronze in the100m sprint and Javelin, respectively.

Our women’s Track and Field team had a great National League: first of all they qualified for the Division One final at the start of July, and then went on to place fourth in the final in late July.

There was more track and field action in August with Sinead Farrell winning bronze in the 5000m and Anna Gavigan winning gold in Discus at the National U20 and U23 Championships. James Keegan had some great track races in the Dublin Graded race series whilst Reuben Capocci notched up his first mountain race win. Credit is due to the athletes, their parents and all the volunteers who work hard to support them, with special thanks to Gerry Ronan for his expert coaching.

Our Masters women had wonderful performances in the National Masters Championships in August with a Gold in the 4 x 100m relay and Silver in the 4 x 400m relay, both the over 40s age category.

After the excitement of watching Team Ireland in Paris we hope to welcome new members (and their parents) to our Little Athletics and Juvenile sections. Our club is run entirely by volunteers, and we aim to be a club for all the community. To find out more please visit our social pages.

We at St Colmcilles are looking to grow our teams. If you are interested in playing Gaelic football, please come along. Training will resume for this programme Thursday 29th August

Save the date 24th August. For the community of Swords, we are holding our annual Family Fun Day. All welcome!

Are you new to area. Looking to meet more people. Gaelic for Mothers and others is a great way for women of all ages to meet new people. Call Deirdre on 087-9309962 if you are interested.

Next year, 2025, St Colmcilles will mark its 90th year, we are looking to create a book of memories. If you have a story to tell or photos of years gone by, please email them into us - stcolmcillesswords@gmail.com

Members of Swords Karate Club gathered recently in their final preparations before travelling to Tokyo Japan for the JKS World Karate Championships 2024.

They attended an early morning training session on Portmarnock Beach where they trained solidly for an hour covering the required Kihon, Kata and Kumite that will prepare them for the Championships. Following this, the Squad braved the 13C water for some team building exercises. Great fun was had by all!

Later the Squad convened for another, more technical training session in which Dermot Sensei brought them through the finer elements of competing in karate. The session was rounded off with the Squad being presented with their official Squad Kit for the trip.

The Squad is looking forward to representing their Club and Country at the JKS World Karate Championships and would like to thank everyone in the community who supported them in their fundraising efforts to get the Squad to this point. A full report of the trip and results of the Championship will be in the next edition.

Our Club is always looking for new members (Children, Young People & Adults). Contact Dermot on 087-8073885 for details on how to join our club. You can also contact us on Facebook: JKS Swords Karate Club or on Instagram: @jks_swords_karate_club

The Fingal 10k took place in Swords on Sunday 14th July in what was a superb event that saw a very large entry list taking to the roads in fantastic weather conditions.

The streets were lined with supporters attending the event that is part of the 2024 Irish Life Dublin Race Series that attracts entrants from Fingal, the Greater Dublin area and from around the country.

Hugh Armstrong was the first man home in a time of 29:39 making it back-to-back victories in the event for the Ballina AC member. There was also jubilation for Michelle Finn of Leevale AC who was the first woman across the line in a time of 34:35.

The top 3 men were: Hugh Armstrong Ballina AC 29:39; Jamie Fallon Craughwell AC 30:45; Peter Somba Ratoath AC 30:57

The top 3 Women were: Michelle Finn - Leevale AC 34:45; Caitlyn Harvey - Roadrunners AC 35:39; Kate Purcell - Raheny AC 35:46

As the cricket season closes in, we hope that you can join us for a game at Kenure during August and support our teams, this year we have seen record number of Juvenile members take part in our Friday night training sessions and some guest appearances behind the BBQ on these nights from the parents. Rush CC would like to thank all those that have helped with the Junior teams, training sessions, attended games and flipped burgers.

Rush CC will host their annual golf classic on Friday 9th August in Rush Golf Club, this is always a great day out and if you would be interested in a tee time or sponsoring a hole on the day, please get in touch with Niall Mullen Ph 086-327780.

The Clubhouse bar is open: Friday 6pm-12.30am - Saturday 4pm - 12.30am and Sunday 4pm – 11pm

Thirteen-year-old Ryan Cowzer from Rush Boxing Club clinched the 40kg title at the Monkstown Box Cup. The Rush native triumphed over an All-Ireland finalist in the semi-finals and defeated a formidable English opponent in the final. In other news, fellow Rush BJJ/Martial Arts members Eric Healy and Aaron Maughan both excelled at the Grappling Industries Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament, with Healy securing second place and Maughan earning a silver medal in his category. Next up is the Shamrock Box Cup, where Carson, Ryan, and Sean Cogil are all aiming for gold.

As part of the Afro-Irish Festival and Africa Day celebrations, children from 6th class and 2nd class from St. Catherine’s NS performed in The Lark, Balbriggan. They performed some African drumming, African chanting and danced to Waka Waka This is Africa. The school band also performed Massive Attacks’s Teardrop!

On Friday 24th of May, St. Catherine’s NS hosted an extremely successful Multi-Cultural Day, organised by the school’s PA! This is only a sneak preview of some of the Country’s tables, the foods and the activities of the day!

A 3rd annual football friendly took place between St Caherines and St Brendan’s Loughshinny. The games were very competitive and played in the right spirit with St Brendan’s just about having the edge
Absolutely superb performance by the St Catherines boys and girls

A lot of friendships exist between children on opposing teams made for a great banter filled occasion. Roll on next year!