Congratulations to all who completed one of the Autumn marathons in the last few weeks. The club were well represented in Berlin, Chicago and Dublin. The recent Rathfarnham 5k was the culmination of a very focused block of training and produced some fantastic results on the day. Well done to our athletics and club coaches. Fit & Fab is our new sociable, no pressure running group for teenagers. Bring a friend and try it out. Our Christmas party is on Friday 13th December. Have you purchased your ticket yet? All club members and family are welcome.

Our adult sections of the club have been very busy in recent times. Firstly, we are well into marathon training season and members from across all our adult groups have been busy with their long runs in preparation for the Dublin City Marathon on Sunday the 27th October. Having trained now up to and over 30km our marathoners are ready to taper off and enjoy the run up to the big day. Well done to each and every one of you!

We also have a new Couch to 5k group running on Tuesdays and Thursdays - these runners are already doing a fantastic job getting their kilometres up and it is clear they will cruise through to 5k in no time!
Our Advanced, Intermediate and Fit 4 life group have all been busy clocking up the kilometres around Donabate and Portrane - some of our members have also completed races recently such as the Frank Duffy 10 Mile and the Irish Life Dublin Half Marathon. Amazing efforts as always to all!

Our peninsula might not be associated with Mountain Running, but some LSA athletes are really putting us on the map in that regard. Back in September Iveta Mc Donell and Eimear Caulfield represented Ireland in the World Masters Mountain Running Championships in Spain. Closer to home, teenager Sinead Farrell won a Bronze medal as part of an Irish Under 20 team in the British and Irish Mountain Running Championships in Laragh, Co Wicklow.

Also in September LSA was very proud to have almost 30 athletes take part.

in a Dublin Athletics Cross Country League race held in Newbridge Park. Almost 1000 young athletes from all over Dublin participated in that event!

We are delighted to have new parent helpers and athletes at our busy Thursday night Juvenile sessions at the Portrane Hockey Club Astro pitch. We always welcome new members and volunteers. Please follow us on our social media channels for more information.

Malahide United hosted the Coastal Cup for a range of both boys and girls age groups on the weekend of the 24th and 25th of August. It was a huge success, and two great days of football were had.

The Malahide boys U10 A team ended up winning their tournament, beating Cherry Orchard in the semi-final and then going on to beat an excellent Belvedere FC team in the final on penalties.

While the evenings are starting to become cold, dark and wet, at Junsa Taekwondo the classes are warm, bright and welcoming . Our full classes have now returned and are welcoming new members. If you want to learn a new skill, get fit or want to reach your full potential in the world of Olympic Taekwondo then we can help you get there. We are members of Taekwondo Ireland the national governing body of WT in Ireland and have direct pathways to help our students fulfill their future either as an Olympic athlete, a poomsae world champion, or as an international referee. OR if you just want to have fun at a local level, we can help you get there.

The Dublin City Marathon is almost upon us and as usual there will be a big contingent of Lusk athletes taking part. The hard miles have been run so it’s almost time to enjoy the taper and reap the rewards of your hard work. Enjoy the day and best of luck to everyone. Welcome to all recent new members and well done to all who have joined our latest Fit4Life or Fit4Youth groups. Thanks as ever to all club coaches and other volunteers who’s continued commitment and hard work enable our club to go from strength to strength.

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