Recently at Junsa Taekwondo we held our annual belt grading and graduation

When you start taekwondo, you start as a white belt and as time progresses and you learn new skills and new Poomsae’s (a set of moves that must be performed as part of your training) that range from basic to advanced. We use the grading system to set our students goals and improve their skills.

The grading is full of many different aspects so that if one individual is not as good at one skill but is better in other aspects, then this can give them a great sense of accomplishment.

St. Maurs GAA club in Rush has announced Carroll Estates as the headline sponsor for its ball wall and skills area, which is being upgraded to include a 3G surface, new fencing and improved lighting. With over 1,300 members, 40 juvenile teams, 16 adult teams and an All-Stars section for young adults with special needs, the ball wall is a vital resource for every player to sharpen speed, agility, footwork and hand-eye co-ordination.

To celebrate the sponsorship, Roisin Carroll, director of Carroll Estates visited the club on Sat 7 December to unveil the new wall ball mural commissioned from local artist Sheena Joyce and Darragh Mulryan of Darragh Signs.

Club treasurer Peter Monks said “The Carroll Estates sponsorship is key for St Maurs as it will enable us to fund the upgrade of our vital ball wall area, and we aim to have the project completed by summer 2025. This forms the last infrastructure phase in our development plan, ‘Create the Future’, which was launched in 2018 and sets the club on a good path towards our centenary in 2028.”

It also marks the beginning of an eight-year partnership between the club and the company. To support the amazing work of the staff and volunteers at St. Maurs, Carroll Estates will be providing a ‘Local Hero of the Month’ prize of a €100 One4all voucher to a deserving winner picked by the club in January 2025.
Carroll Estates, which is celebrating 50 years in business, will be building homes in the Rush area over the next eight years. Roisin Carroll, director of Carroll Estates, said, “We are delighted to partner with St. Maurs GAA, a cornerstone of the Rush and Loughshinny communities, as they continue to inspire and empower people of all ages through sport. Supporting the development of the ball wall and skills area aligns with our commitment to fostering community growth and well-being.

The club, which was founded in 1928, has doubled in size over the past ten years as its local catchment area of Rush and Loughshinny continues to grow and also provides playing facilities for five local schools. Recent achievements for the club in 2024 include winning the Dublin Men’s Under 21 Football Championship, ladies football played at Division 1 level, and becoming the crowned champions in the Camogie Intermediate 2 category.

The club was recently honoured at a ceremony in Croke Park on Saturday 9 November 2024 as one of 90 Green Clubs across Ireland taking sustainability action for the club and community.

We would like to wish all club members a very happy and successful New Year. 2024 was another fabulous one for the club with record membership levels and fantastic performances in all races and competitions. Well done to all our athletes and a huge thank you to our hard-working coaches and committee members.

Membership for 2025 is now open and we ask all existing members to please renew as soon as possible. New members are very welcome. The increasingly popular Lusk 4 mile road race is only two months away so register before it sells out. Some of our athletes travelled overseas for December marathons in Valencia and Turin. There was also a Lusk AC parkrun takeover where our latest Fit4Life group completed their graduation 5k runs. The races will be coming thick and fast from January onwards so talk to your coach for a training plan to suit your needs.

Fingal County Council is delighted to announce the Fingal Sports Club of the Year Awards 2025, an initiative designed to celebrate the remarkable achievements and contributions of sports clubs throughout the county.

These awards shine a spotlight on the vital role sports clubs play in fostering community spirit, promoting inclusivity, and encouraging sustainable practices. With over 100 awards available this year, the competition offers clubs a unique opportunity to be recognised for their dedication and hard work.
This is a wonderful opportunity to honour the diverse array of sports that are making a meaningful impact on local communities across Fingal. The county boasts a proud tradition of sporting excellence, with athletes and teams achieving success on local, national, and international stages.

A number of categories are open for nominations. This includes:

Green Club of the Year
This award celebrates clubs that have demonstrated a strong commitment to environmental sustainability. The winning club will have taken significant steps such as reducing their carbon footprint, promoting recycling, and encouraging sustainable transport. They may also lead environmental education and awareness initiatives that benefit their community.

Club of the Year
Honouring a club that has excelled in community engagement and governance, this award recognises efforts to foster social inclusion, support volunteerism, and promote physical activity. The winning club will have demonstrated best practices in governance and collaborated with local organisations to make a positive impact.

Sports Inclusion Club of the Year
Recognising clubs that break down barriers to participation, this award celebrates those who create accessible and inclusive opportunities for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. This may include programs for people with disabilities, outreach to underrepresented groups, and ensuring affordability for members.

Along with an award, winning clubs will also receive a €500 sports equipment voucher to further support their growth and success.

Fingal Sports Office are hosting the exclusive awards ceremony on Monday 27th January 2025 at the Carlton Hotel in Tyrrelstown to honour and recognise outstanding clubs in Fingal. The event will also see the announcement of the Fingal Sports Volunteers of the Year.

Clubs are encouraged to submit their nominations by 5pm on Monday, 6th January 2025.
Nominations can be made via: https://bit.ly/sportscluboftheyear2025

We had some interesting events recently in the Club. We hosted Japanese Instructor Daisuke Watanabe Sensei from the JKS Headquarters for a Kumite Seminar recently. We had a fantastic session training with him. He has a totally different level of kumite with unbelievable speed and power. His Kumite never fails to disappoint, and we were all inspired by his teaching and kumite expertise.

Students from the club travelled to Tallaght to participate in the SKIF Ireland Murakami Shield Open Championships. This was a National competition with karate clubs from all over Ireland in attendance.
We had some novices who were taking part in their first competition and although they did not win any medals, they gained valuable competition experience on the mats and made the club proud with their participation.

Our more experienced students did take home some medals on the day. Sandra Iliasz took a bronze medal in her kata event while Tom Horgan and Tommy Keegan took bronze medals in their kumite events. Harrison Beaumont did the double, taking bronze in both his kata and kumite categories while Sophia Guildea, hot on the heels of her recent ONAKAI National Kata Champion win, took silver in both her kata and kumite events. Amelia Miller and Lilia Beaumont just missed out on the medal rounds in very tough kata and kumite categories. All in all, however, the results were very good for the club at this event.
We focus now on preparing for our end of term Belt Grading examinations where hopefully all members will progress to a new coloured karate belt and level. After this we wind down for the Christmas break. We would like to thank all our students, families, friends and community for supporting us throughout the year and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous 2025.

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

Sword’s BC boxer, Shay O’ Dowd, recently competed at the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) World Youth Championships in Budva, Montenegro, returning home with a much-coveted bronze medal. The World Youth Championships pits the best 17/18-year-old talent from around the globe against each other and is attended by all the world’s top boxing federations.

O’Dowd a three – time Irish champion and seventeen years old, was drawn in the last sixteen of the championship against a tough Puerto Rican southpaw. O’Dowd started fast, stunning his opponent early, giving him two standing eight counts before the referee waved the fight off. Next O’Dowd faced an experienced Georgian slugger who was also a European medallist. The fight was an all-action affair and declared by the Irish online boxing media as fight of the tournament with both boxers sharing multiple standing eight counts and the Swords star sustaining a hand injury in the second round and falling behind on the score cards. O’Dowd came out swinging in the final round, stopping his opponent with a superb display of technical boxing and bravery to the delight of the Irish support and Irish boxing fraternity watching at home. Unfortunately, O’Dowd was declared unfit to box by the tournament doctors due to his hand injury so had to withdraw from the tournament and settle for a valued bronze medal.
Swords BC head coach David Byrne spoke about his boxer’s achievement “A world medal is massive for our club. Shay has blasted his way into Irish boxing history and proven himself as a world class athlete and I’m sure he will go all the way to the top in the sport”.

Next up for O’Dowd is the National Under 18 in January which is also a qualification for the European championships.

We would like to wish a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all in Lusk AC.
2025 registration is now open though the membership link on our website and we are delighted for new members to join us. The 2025 Lusk 4-mile date is set for 2nd March so why not sign up now.

Very best wishes for Christmas and for 2025 from LSA. Do you have running goals to achieve in 2025? This is a great time to join LSA and let us help you achieve those goals through the power of support. Our participation in the recent Dublin Marathon was a great experience for both runners and supporters alike.
We are an Athletics Club based in Donabate/Portrane and affiliated with Athletics Ireland. We are run entirely by volunteers, and our membership ranges from age 7 to 70 and beyond. We aim to provide coaching in all the athletics run, jump and throw events.

We have a number of different adult groups catering for a wide variety of goals and capabilities.

For example, our Fit for Life Group is essentially about being consistent and having a Fit for Life mentality in a fun and social environment. We also have advice to share on nutrition and strength training. We train on Mondays and Wednesdays at 7pm and a long slow run on Saturday.

The aim of our Developing Group is to learn to control and maintain pace for easy running. It is offered as a progression from our Fit for Life Group, but still aimed at those who want to run a Park Run in under 30 minutes and improve fitness and general health.

We also have Intermediate and Advanced groups, and adult sprint groups. Our new home, a permanent athletics track in Ballymastone, will begin to take shape very soon.In the meantime we always welcome new members. Please check out our social media channels for more up to date information
Adult memberships queries:

lambaysportsathletics@gmail.com. Little Athletics and Juvenile athletes (7-18) :lsajuvenilereg@gmail.com

The Club has been busy the last few weeks. Along with regular training four members of the club participated in the ONAKAI National Kata Championships. Boasting competitors from all over Ireland, our club members did fantastic taking home three medals and title of National Kata Champion. Sophia Guildea, Amelia Miller, and Lilia Beaumont had a clean sweep in the Cadet Female Brown & Black Belt category with Lilia taking Bronze, Amelia taking Silver and Sophia taking the Gold and National Kata Champion title for the category. The girls train hard, and it is great to see these results coming through at National level. Also competing on the day was Harrison Beaumont who unfortunately got knocked out just before the medal rounds in his category Boys Under 12 Brown & Black Belt.

We were privileged to host Yamaguchi Sensei 7th Dan JKS for a two-day seminar recently. Yamaguchi Sensei is one of the top Instructors in the JKS and he did not disappoint over the two days. On the Friday evening members of JKS Swords along with JKS members from around the country gathered to train in the Fingal Liam Rodgers Community Centre with this dynamic Instructor. Taking the attendees through kihon, kumite and kata, Yamaguchi Sensei inspired everyone with his fantastic karate and superb instruction.

On Saturday morning in Applewood Community Centre Yamaguchi Sensei delivered a stunning 3-hour seminar for the participants. He covered Heian Katas and Bassai Dai for junior members and then the kata Suishu for the senior grades. Over 70 JKS Ireland members were in attendance on the Saturday and JKS Swords was proud to host the event in their home club.

Next on the calendar is a 1-day visit from Watanabe Sensei, JKS Honbu Dojo Instructor. A seasoned competitor and very capable instructor, it promises to be an excellent Seminar.

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 took part in the prestigious Korean Ambassadors Cup held in Baldoyle Dublin. This tournament is run by our national governing body, Taekwondo Ireland in conjunction with the Korean embassy here in Ireland. It was a fantastic event which catered for both disciplines of Taekwondo and included countries such as the UK, Denmark, Albania and all of Ireland.

Junsa’s players, Darragh (Gold), Ethan (Bronze) and Conor took part and showed excellent results. Conor’s matches along with other fighters had to be postponed to another weekend due to technical difficulties, so hopefully one more medal to come.