Congratulations to Alma Atagamen, Shannon Campbell and Makia Carey who represented AB on the Leinster North East team versus Leinster Metro recently. It was a very tightly contested game with both teams taking the lead at various points in the game. Well done to Makia Carey on her NE debut, she was solid in the scrum and carried well in the loose. Balbriggan player Alma Atagamen proved to be unstoppable in the 2nd row with a hat-trick of tries. Shannon Campbell who, we are very proud to say, was team Captain on the day, converted one of the tries. The final score ended at 29 v 29. Skye Healy also of AB was unable to play today due to illness but we look forward to seeing her at the next match. Well done to all the players and coaches for providing a very enjoyable and competitive match. We would also like to remind you to join us for our Christmas party night ..Happy Christmas Everyone!!

The Senior Ladies team are Leinster Champion for the first time ever for the club. Our pictures show the jubilant team immediately after winning and later some of the senior ladies brought the Leinster trophy to visit our Club President Dinny O’Leary. The players, management and Committee of the club wish to say a big thank you to all of the supporters who travelled once again, we really appreciate it as always.

On Saturday October 8th, St Colmcilles Gaelic for Mother and Others hosted their Blitz in aid of St Francis Hospice. Many teams were invited, 7 of them took St Colmcilles up on the offer, St Finians, Fingal Ravens, Na Dubh Ghall, Erins Isle, O Dwyers and Starlights. Over 100 women took to the pitch throughout the day, where each team played 3 matches each. All our referees volunteered their time and for this we are appreciate greatly.Friday night the preparation started where all the St Colmcilles ladies gathered and arranged all the spot prizes which were donated by local businesses and got the hall set up. O’ Dwyers from Balbriggan were voted Team of the Tournament by the referees. Each team donated to the Hospice and there was a raffle after the games to help raise further money for the hospice. Raising just under €3000 we would like to thank everyone involved in this great event.St Colmcilles G4M&O are always looking for new players, even if you’ve never kicked a football before, this LGFA initiative is a great way for women to meet up and have a laugh while getting exercise and learning a new skill. Contact Marian on 0876819540

October has been a very busy time at the club, between new members starting, international tournaments in Riga and the Korean Ambassadors Cup in Baldoyle.

Juana recently took part in a high level tournament in Riga Latvia where Robbie took to the mats after 3 years and made it to the quarter finals in his first time in the senior division.

We also took part the following weekend at the Korean Ambassadors cup here in Dublin, where we took home a medal for every player we entered.Have a look at what Junsa was up in October and November.

Lusk Athletic Club is immensely proud of our 50 plus athletes who completed the Dublin Marathon on Sunday 30th October. All the training sessions and races over many months was rewarded with great performances on the big day. Special thanks are due to our dedicated marathon training group coaches, Dwain, Mark, Una, Kathy and Annette for all their hard work in setting weekly training schedules and helping their club mates to achieve their goals. Thank You to our club members who acted as volunteers on marathon day and gave great support to all the runners.As well as the Dublin Marathon, Lusk AC athletes have run in the Chicago Marathon, Fastlane 3/4 Marathon, The Dublin 5K Road race championships, the East of Ireland races in Lusk and we were delighted to host the first Dublin Juvenile cross country league races in Lusk on what was a gloriously sunny day, one to be remembered. We were also privileged to have Irish Olympic marathon runner, Mick Clohisey come to Lusk to put on a great training session and offer advice to our marathon runners.Thank you to all our dedicated coaches, assistants, committee and club members who continually work so hard to help improve our adult and juvenile athletes, our facilities and equipment and the new indoor arena for winter training. 2022 seems to have flown by and it is almost time for the Lusk AC Christmas party night which is taking place in the Man O War Pub on Saturday 3rd December. Please contact Emma Przymusinska for your ticket asap.New members are always welcome at Lusk Athletic Club and we cater for a wide variety of track and field events as well as road and cross country running. Training takes place every Tuesday and Thursday from 6.55pm at the Hub on Rathmore Road.

It may only be the start of our season but we have had a very busy few weeks here at Lusk United AFC. We had the privilege of hosting two events within two weeks which raised a total of over €21,000 for charity. First up was the opening of Collie Maher Park. Last February we sadly lost our dear friend Collie Maher. Collie was an amazing club volunteer who not only managed and coached our U17s boys but was involved in fixtures, facilities, fundraising and supporting other coaches with his advice and guidance. In honour of Collie we decided to rename our Station Road pitches - Collie Maher Park. A dedication ceremony, featuring the brilliant Black Raven Pipe Band, was attended by people from all across the community who were entertained with a ‘Legends Match’ as Lusk United took on Whitehall Celtic /St. Kevin’s.Plenty of familiar faces dusted off their boots and got stuck in!

Phenomenal work from all involved in making this day happen including organising a fundraising raffle which raised over €11,500 for St. Francis Hospice Dublin. Thanks to all those who contributed and to all the business who donated fabulous raffle prizes. Next up were our ladies… To launch Breast Cancer Awareness month our Kick Fit ladies organised a charity match against Malahide United at Rathmore Road. With 1 in 9 women affected by breast cancer in their lifetime it was a great opportunity to raise funds for this worthy cause. We had a wonderful, fun filled family day which included a cake sale and a raffle. There was a great atmosphere and buzz around the club on the day and our U8 girls team even had the chance to show case their skills to supporters at half time. An amazing total of €9,590 was raised – well done! We are so proud of our club, all its members and the whole Lusk community. The Images with this article are courtesy of Paul Maguire for which we are very grateful.

Over 100 years old, Portrane Hockey Club has been at the heart of many generations in the village. With over 350 adult and junior members, the club has joined together the community, encouraging new members to try a new sport in a fun, relaxed environment. The club now has 7 senior teams, 3 men’s and 4 ladies with a range of junior Leinster league teams from age 5 through to U16’s. Portrane HC caters for all hockey levels from the serious player to the social player. With the club on the Donabate pitch six days a week, there is something for everyone! Last season was a very successful season for the senior teams with league wins for many and cup finals being won after a hard-fought season. Both the men’s and ladies first teams play at division one and Challenge A respectively. This success transferred into our junior teams with many boys and girls walking away with well-earned Leinster titles at the end of the season. Portrane Hockey Club is a club for all with competitive teams and a great social atmosphere both on and off the pitch. The supporters come together in their purple colours for home matches at the Donabate pitch with great camaraderie from push back to final whistle. The club wouldn’t be where it is today without it’s hard-working committee and coaching staff. Last season saw the new additions of coaches Ross Hetem and Anthony Glutz, both from South Africa. They can also be seen playing for the men’s first team each week in their bid to win division one. If you would like to give hockey a go and join Portrane Hockey Club, please contact Anita Patterson secretaryportranehc@gmail.com or message Portrane Hockey Club on Facebook or Instagram

Marathon fever was in the air in LSA in October as the mileage and training intensified. The theme of the 2022 Dublin City marathon was the Power of Support and this was well and truly evident amongst members of LSA. Over thirty of our adult members ran the Dublin City Marathon last month, supported in their journey to that point by many more. See our Social Media pages for the latest information.Our club provided a supported pathway to the marathon: training sessions, company and hydration for long runs, and Zoom talks with advice on everything needed to get from the start line through the 26 miles.The Dublin race series builds up to the Marathon. Back in August, the Frank Duffy 10 mile race was also the Dublin Athletics 10 mile Championships. Huge congratulations to our coaches Eimear Caulfield and Shane O’Farrell who placed 2nd and Steven Rice who placed 3rd in their age categories in the Dublin Championships.Then in September the Dublin City Half Marathon took place in the Phoenix Park. The notoriously tough and hilly course tested our group. Huge congratulations to Willie Cahill who had a fantastic run and placed second in his age category. As Marathon Day approached LSA was well represented in Lusk at the East of Ireland and Longwood 3/4 Marathons. Meanwhile, we are excited to see our Little Athletics and Juvenile section growing and some of our younger members have had their first taste of competition in Cross Country. Congratulations to Mark Kelly on a Dublin Medal with an excellent 4th place finish in the recent Dublin Championships. Well done all, and thank you to our volunteer coaches for their support. For memberships queries or to get involved please contact lambaysportsathletics@gmail.com - Keep up to date on all the events by following LSA via our social media pages! Facebook facebook.com/lambaysportsacademy or indeed
instagram.com/lsadonabateportrane twitter.com/LSARunning For additional information on the above please visit our website lambaysportsathletics.ie/

Balbriggan RFC hosted 11 school teams in the Leinster Rugby Junior 3A qualifiers blitz today. A great morning of rugby including our local Ardgillan Community College Junior team.

Well done to Ardgillan Community College and Malahide Community School who have qualified for the Cup.

Balbriggan woman Nina McGowan set a new world record in the Masters category of the No Fins discipline at a prestigious international free diving competition. She went on to secure a gold medal for Ireland in the FIM (Free Immersion) category during the CMAS (Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques) Outdoor Free diving World Championships in Kas, Turkey. McGowan, 50, from the Harbour area of the town, also set two national records over the course of the Championships. She beat the existing world record by three metres to log the deepest ‘no fins’ dive in CMAS history for a woman aged 50-54. She dived to 43m, with a dive duration of two minutes, ten seconds at the competition’s warm-up event. McGowan is one of the world’s leading exponents of free diving, which involves competitors diving deep under water without breathing equipment. “When my coach suggested a world record was within my reach, I thought it was a crazy,” she said. But because water is both my sanctuary and playground, anything is possible. The limitations of the land do not apply.To become a world champion and a world record holder in one week is simply fantastic. I had many doubts and failings along the way, but I have achieved what I set out to do and I am very proud Ireland is now represented at this level in freed diving. I hope the sport will grow in Ireland and that next year we will have an Irish team going to the World Championships. I would like to thank everyone who has helped me in this adventure. Diving Ireland, Sport Ireland and Dublin City Sports and Wellbeing Partnership for their support and belief in me. Also, my Go-Funders, friends, family and the wonderful community of freedivers who have encouraged me from the beginning and continue to cheer me on.”