BY Liam O Culbáird

Isn’t it funny how quick the time goes by when you are having fun! That is certainly the case at Fingallians GAA as we enter our 139th year of serving the people of Swords and surrounding areas. Lawless Memorial Park serves as a safe, welcoming and supportive environment for the sport stars of the future. In 2022 our membership passed the 2,000 mark. Our club is proving more popular than ever and we are now one of the largest community groups in Fingal. This is due to the brilliant support of our players, parents, mentors, volunteers, staff and the many others that contribute. Special thanks must also go to our sponsors that support the various teams and are central to our ongoing success. Isn’t it funny how quick the time goes by when you are having fun! That is certainly the case at Fingallians GAA as we enter our 139th year of serving the people of Swords and surrounding areas. Lawless Memorial Park serves as a safe, welcoming and supportive environment for the sport stars of the future. In 2022 our membership passed the 2,000 mark. Recently we opened the new all weather training facility at our grounds. The new all weather surface will mean additional space for training during winter months when grass is unusable. The new facility was made possible through a capital sports grant in addition to fundraising by Fingallians. The official opening was carried out by Minister Darragh O’Brien and Minister of State Jack Chambers. Many Fingallians members were present for the opening including 6 time All-Ireland winner Paul Flynn. Photos were taken by Fingallians member Noel Delaney. Our club is proving more popular than ever and we are now one of the largest community groups in Fingal. This is due to the brilliant support of our players, parents, mentors, volunteers, staff and the many others that contribute. Special thanks must also go to our sponsors that support the various teams and are central to our ongoing success. As we look towards 2023, our major concern is that we do not have enough playing space. We have over 77 teams taking to the field each week for games. Add training sessions to this and you see how stretched our resources are. Regardless of this we look forward to welcoming new players to Fingallians in 2023. We wish all our friends and supporters the very best of success in the new year and we hope to see you at the sideline soon. Athbhliain faoi shéan is faoi mhaise daoibh.

Cllr Cathal Boland said recently, “The confirmation by Minister Simon Harris TD that Swords will be the location for the new €50m Fingal College of Further Education is to be welcomed. This College is long overdue for the North County. It will fill the 3rd level gap and give opportunity to all in the area. A skilled workforce will assist greatly in attracting high level employment to our area. It will cater for 1,000 full time students and 5,000 more through part-time, online and blended learning. Now we need the commitment to deliver on the announcement and ensure it does not stall like Metro.”

“Failte Isteach Christmas Party was a great success. Thank you to all volunteers, students and staff at Holywell Community Centre, Swords, after 14 weeks of teaching conversational English, to people from all over the world. The group enjoyed Christmas cake, mince pies and refreshments to celebrate. Class resumes January 9th 2023. All are welcome”

By Ken Duffy

2022 has been a very busy and successful year for Swords Tidy Towns. We completed our butterfly Mural on the hoarding at Swords Garda Station and have started another one due for completion early in 2023 (details to follow). We also distributed a multitude of Leaf Cages in strategic areas around Swords which we will benefit from in 2023. We had a successful Halloween Bucket Collection at Swords Castle, a big thank you to everyone who contributed for their generosity on the night. Further new planters were put in place at the Garda Station at a blind spot to prevent possible accidents occurring. Digging, planting and mulching works were completed outside Colaiste Choilm school, (worth taking the time to have a look).

Swords Tidy Towns took part in a protest outside FCC offices with other concerned groups to prevent the rezoning of lands. Motion 535 wasn’t passed, the protest succeeded in saving the Rivervalley, Ridgewood and Knocksedan greenbelts from being rezoned. We once again in 2022 linked up with the TY students of St Finnian’s and Fingal Community Colleges to help them achieve their Irish Presidents Awards. STT received a Certificate of Appreciation at this years 2022 Mayors Awards and shared the Fingal Horticultural Society’s overall winners Trophy with FCC which showed the high regard that is held for our group. We achieved yet another Green Flag for our Rock Garden Park on the Rathbeale Road, this is a great place to sit and unwind to watch the world go by. We retained our Silver Medal status in the 2022 National Tidy Towns Competition, making it five in a row for our hard working volunteers. The landscaping works at our Welcome To Swords sign entering Swords from Ashbourne was completed, a great job was done by our partners FCC, a special thank you to Aileen O’Connor. We linked up with MSD Biotech in Swords on three projects, many thanks to them for reaching out and connecting with us. If you wish to keep up to date on what Swords Tidy Towns volunteers are doing, please go to our Facebook page and give us a like. If you wish to volunteer or make a donation we can be contacted at swordstidytowns@gmail.com

Congratulations to the Squad of 17 JKS Swords members who took part in the JKS Autumn Interclub Competition in Tallaght recently. They had a very successful outing bagging 7 Gold, 9 Silver and 14 Bronze medals overall. JKS Swords hosted the JKS Ireland Open Squad and Brown & Black Belt training session recently. Members of JKS Ireland from all over the country spent 2 hours training in Applewood Community Centre, going through ring craft for competition and also syllabus work for grading’s.Members of JKS Swords joined other JKS Ireland members on a competition squad and attended the Kanazawa Cup 2022 in Tallaght. The Squad had a very successful day with lots of medals won. Congratulations to everyone who took part. A big Well Done to Tadhg Comiskey and Harrison Beaumont on being selected as Students of the Month for November. Both boys train very hard and on a regular basic to develop their karate. Regular training continues weekly as we prepare for the Winter Grading. Students are putting the final touches to their kihon, kata and kumite in preparation for the Grading exam on 17th December 2022. If successful in their grading, the students will earn a new coloured belt and progress to the next level of their karate training.
We would like to wish all our members, Parents and Guardians and all our Supporters a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We take new members (Children, Young People & Adults) throughout the year. Contact Dermot on 087-8073885 for details on how to join. Contact us on Facebook: JKS Swords Karate Club or alternatively contact us on Instagram: @jks_swords_karate_club.

St Colmcilles is currently recruiting for a Coaching/Management Team for their Junior Men’s Football team. These candidates should have an excellent knowledge of Gaelic football, Team Coaching and team Strategies. All applicants can call Marian 0876819540 or Aaron 0863888944. Or email their interest to secretary.st Colmcilles.dublin@gaa.ie.Annual Christmas Draw will take place Friday 16th Dec at 10pm. Tickets are available in the clubhouse bar and any committee member. Tickets cost €10 each with the main Jackpot Prize €1000. Juvenile Section - All teams will finish up for the Year at the end of November, to enjoy the festive season. All teams will return the first week in February 2023Training times for Feb - Saturday Morning’s @ 10.30am and Wednesday evening at 7pm (over 7 years) all sessions are 1 hour long. For more information, please call Cora 0833741305.Gaelic for Mothers And Others, is a great initiative from the LGFA, it is for women over the age of 25. G4M&O brings together women who enjoy learning Gaelic football (even if you’ve never played, this is for you) and having a bit of fun while exercising. Contact Deirdre 0879309962.We would like to take this opportunity to Wish you all a very Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year, and to Thank each of you for all your support throughout the year.

Congrats to our U13 Girls who won the SC final recently, well done to the girls and their mentors. Also Fingallians GAA will host our children’s Christmas party on Saturday 10th December. Great fun will be had with our DJ who will conduct our annual Christmas dance-off. We will have music, singing, dancing, jokes and other party pieces. Rumour also has it that a very special guest, a man with a white beard and red costume (Fingallians colours!) will be visiting and every child will have a chance to meet him. Fingallians GAA would like to thank Swords Local Magazine along with the parents and children of Swords for their ongoing support through 2022. We look forward to welcoming old friends and new members in 2023. Nollaig shona agus athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh.

Article By Ken Duffy

Once again our hard working volunteers who are out in all weathers year in year out have been justifiably rewarded for their efforts. On Friday 28th Oct we attended the National Tidy Towns Awards Ceremony in the RDS Ballsbridge where we were awarded a National Silver Medal in our category. This makes five National Silver Medals in a row, as our member Gerry Brennan remarked afterwards, if we win another Silver next year, we will equal the Dubs six in a row, what an achievement that would be. The presentation of our award will most likely take place early in the new year in Trim as they were the regional winners. As I have written many times in the past, our success is down to a collaborative effort with Fingal County Council, in particular with the hard-working lads in their Operations Department who we work hand and glove with. Swords Tidy Towns have linked up with other Swords based organisations in our ongoing efforts to work with other like-minded groups to make Swords the best it can be, to help it achieve its true potential. No man or group is an island, when we collaborate together with determination and goodwill with a common goal, its amazing what can be achieved. New volunteers are always needed and very welcome, whatever your skillset it will be put to good use. Donations are also much needed and very welcome to help continue our great work which can be seen all around Swords town centre. We have come a long way since the 2003 Irish Business Against Litter report which designated Swords the 3rd dirtiest town in Ireland. With your help and backing we will continue to make strides in making our town the very best it can be. You can contact us by email at swordstidytowns@gmail.com.

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

We were privileged to host the head of JKS Worldwide, Kagawa Shihan 9th Dan JKS, recently for a training seminar. Over 4 hours, Kagawa Shihan gave masterful karate instruction in kihon, kata and kumite. Over 100 JKS members from across Ireland attended Applewood Community Centre to take part. The attendees ranged in age from 6 to over 60 years and Kagawa Shihan was mindful to cater to everyone who was training. We hope to have him visit next year again. It is great to offer our students the opportunity to train which such a high calibre Karateka. Congratulations are in order for three students who were presented with their Dan Diplomas by Kagawa Shihan at the seminar. Brian Horgan and Conor Glennon received their 1st Dan Diplomas, while Vincent Clarke received his 4th Dan Diploma. All of these karateka were dedicated in their training to achieve their Dan grades through tough examinations. Regular training continues weekly in Applewood Community Centre. All classes are enjoying being back to a regular schedule after the summer break and are working towards the next event which is the 2nd JKS Inter Club Competition which will be held in Tallaght.We hope to have some medal winners on the day.We take new members (Children, Young People & Adults) all through the year. Contact Dermot on 087-8073885 for details on how to join. Contact us on Facebook: JKS Swords Karate Club or on Instagram: @jks_swords_karate_club