As the National Tidy Towns Competition Finals draws closer, Swords Tidy Towns members have been very active readying our town for this year’s judging. We would put out a request and kindly ask residents to be extra vigilant over the next couple of months regarding litter as we strive to win our first gold medal. Judging usually takes place in June, July and August each year and the results are announced at the National Awards Ceremony in September.Volunteers have been out practically every day, planting, weeding, creating, removing graffiti, litter picking etc. Recently we completed a beautiful Frontliners Commemorative Garden to celebrate those who manned the pumps during the pandemic. Doctors, Nurses, Ambulance Crews, Police Officers, Fire Brigade Crews, Shop Workers, Home Care Workers to name a few, it’s thanks to their courage we were all kept safe and fed.Our fundraising efforts during this pandemic have been severely curtailed as I am sure you all appreciate. Swords Tidy Towns are putting out a request to local business or individuals who are of a mind to make a donation towards our running costs. If you require our banking details or if you wish to make a cash or cheque donation, please contact Ken Duffy on 0866008313.

Fingal County Council has welcomed the news that all eight applications from Fingal to the Community Monuments Fund have been successful with a total of €270,000 awarded including Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD, has announced the approval of 139 project grants across all 31 Local Authorities for a wide range of archaeological heritage projects under the Department’s Community Monuments Fund. First established in 2020, the fund was increased from just over €1 million last year to €4.2 million in 2021. The full list of projects awarded in Fingal is: Castleknock Castle works - €70,000.00 - Kilsallaghan Graveyard works €36,189.00 - Burial site, Windmill Lands, Swords works - €33,948.00 - St Columbas Towers, Swords survey - €26,610.00 - Malahide Abbey survey €24,600.00 - Rush Tower House survey €24,600.00 - Lanistown Castle, Donabate and St Marnock’s Church Portmarnock -€24,600.00 - Portrane-Donabate Peninsula Heritage Audit & Interpretation Plan - €29,520.00. ‘I am absolutely delighted that all eight applications from Fingal to the Community Monuments Fund have been successful, securing just over €270,000 in funding for the preservation of our important archaeological sites’ said Fingal Chief Executive AnnMarie Farrelly

Fingal County Council has urged local residents and stakeholders to get involved in the Sustainable Swords placemaking project which is focused on the regeneration and compact, sustainable development of the town.The ambition of Sustainable Swords is to provide a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design and management of new development and spaces, as well as the protection and enhancement of existing assets in order to achieve better quality places as the physical setting for life in Swords.Two surveys have now opened as part of the consultation process and local residents, businesses and interested stakeholders are urged to get involved.More details on the project and the surveys can be found at www.fingal.ie/sustainableswords or alternatively on consult.fingal.ie/en/surveys.(nb: not accessible through this medium). The aim of Sustainable Swords is to identify a co-ordinated range of ‘pipeline’ projects for which future funding can be sought.Key objectives are to:Enhance the identity of the town centre through the: development of Swords Civic Centre and Cultural Centre; the on-going implementation of the conservation plan for Swords Castle; and the delivery of an enhanced accessible child-friendly public realm including new public nodes in Swords Town Centre.Facilitate the creation of a new street /pedestrian walkway fronting the river walk to the west of Main Street opening up these ‘backlands’ and support co-ordinated infill development on key strategic sites along Main Street and North Street.Promote core recreational and amenity spaces, utilising in particular Ward River Valley Park, Swords Cultural Quarter including Town Park, Ward River Walk west of Main Street area.Explore the potential of establishing a Swords Business Improvement District (BID).Expand upon the recommendations in the Swords section of the South Fingal Transport Study and develop a multi-modal transport strategy for Swords.Measures to enable regeneration of lands within the study area to ensure rejuvenation of the town centre and to enable activation of land for compact development.Establish a prioritised, programmed and impactful package of measures and projects.The Sustainable Swords strategy, which will include detail on a range of transformational projects, will be published in early 2022 so take part in the surveys now!

Fingallians GAA club in Swords was honoured with the recent news that the new GAA president Larry Mc Carthy has invited two club members to sit on the Association’s National Committees. Former Dublin Senior player Sinéad Ní Fhionnagáin was invited to be a member of the GAA Association’s Coiste Náisiúnta na Gaeilge (National Irish language committee). This committee is responsible for the implementation of the GAA’s Irish language policies across the 2,200+ GAA clubs across the world. The promotion of the Irish language is central to all GAA activities.Lifelong Fingallians man Liam Ó Culbáird was invited to take a role on the Association’s Coiste Náisiúnta Scór (National Scór Committee). Scór is the annual competition, organised in a similar manner to the All-Ireland football and hurling finals, that involves areas of Irish culture other than ball games. The Scór competitions involve céilí dancing, set dancing, recitation, drama, traditional music, ballads and table quiz. Liam said “It is an honour to be invited onto the National Committee. We will be endeavouring to raise the profile of the Scór competitions. Work needs to be done in Dublin but the competitions are popular across many regions of the country. In the last few years we have had clubs participating from New York and New Jersey. This is very encouraging.”Fingallians GAA Chairperson Colin Foley commented “The Irish language and the Scór competitions have been an area of strength within our club for a long time. This is due in no short measure to the efforts of Sinéad, Liam and may others. As a club we take great pride in our achievements. Fingallians GAA are honoured that two of our members have been invited to play a central role in the administration of the Association from Croke Park. Guímid gach rath ar Liam agus Sinéad. We know they are hard workers and I’m sure that is why they were chosen.”

Swords Tidy Towns was formed in 2005 as a result of Swords being designated the dirtiest of 30 towns in Ireland in the 2004 Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) report. We have come a long way since then, this is due mainly to all the trojan hard work put in by our Tidy Towns volunteers over the past sixteen years with the support of Fingal County Council. The hard work of the many volunteers over the years was rewarded in 2017, 2018 and 2019 with a national Silver Medal, the competition was not held in 2020 due to Covid. Our group has worked very hard this past year under very difficult circumstances prepping and preparing for this year’s National Tidy Towns Competition, all eyes are firmly focussed on achieving a Gold Medal this year (fingers crossed). Due to the inconsiderate behaviour of certain individuals, our work has been made unnecessarily harder and is a cause of much annoyance within local communities. Inconsiderate behavioural attitudes: Dog Fowling: Not cleaning up after your dog poos, no bin is no excuse. Bagged Poo: The discarding of bagged dog poo into the undergrowth is worse than not bagging it at all, it takes much longer to biodegrade and is very unsightly to others. Masks: These have become the bain of our life, they are strewn everywhere, there is no excuse whatsoever for this kind of behaviour, use a bin or take them home. Fly Tipping: The dumping of household waste in isolated country lanes and even into ditches, is environmental vandalism pure and simple. Graffiti: This has become another pandemic within a pandemic which uses up a lot of our time and resources, please refrain. Picnics: Rubbish left by people after a picnic on a sunny day has become a major problem, please bring a bag and take your rubbish home with you. Again, no bins available is never a good excuse for polluting an area. Nature is a very fragile thing, whether we accept it or not, we are her custodians.

The Joe Duffy nursery will return on May 8th at 10am, with the 2015 group on the all weather and the 2016 + 2017 group on the main pitch. You can purchase your nursery membership now. The Joe Duffy sponsored Nursery & Academy is on every Saturday at Fingallians GAA Pitch. The nursery (children born 2016 and 2015) starts at 10am on the main pitch with the academy (children born 2014) starting at 10:30am on the astropitch. Please note we have protocols in place and registration must be completed before arrival on Saturday. Restrictions apply and please update your covid health questionnaire before each session. If you are interested in getting involved in coaching, admin or if you have any queries contact GPO Brian Jordan 0873372495.

Swords Tidy Town members have been keeping themselves very busy during this current lockdown. We set up a WhatsApp group so our members could communicate with each other and plan which areas they would be working to keep within the lockdown guidelines. They have gone out in all kinds of weather, to litter pick, to plant and weed, to remove graffiti, nothing was going to stop our enthusiastic group from taking pride in their town. We have asked our members when out to take pictures and forward them to us for posting on our Facebook page which has become very popular with the residence of Swords.Community spirit is alive and thriving, we are getting membership enquiries from all over the town every week, it’s a testament to all the hard work over many years put in by our group. Unfortunately, due to Covid we have been unable to fund raise as we once did. No Quiz Nights, no Bucket Collections on St Patrick’s Day and Halloween, no Supermarket Bag Packing etc, as a result our funds have been somewhat depleted.If anyone was of a mind to make a donation to us, we would very much appreciate it of course. Contact Ken Duffy 0866008313. We would like to thank Fingal County Council for all their help and support through these very difficult times, its not easy we know, we look forward to better days ahead. For those who have made donations to Swords Tidy Towns we thank you, you know who you are. Finally, a big thank you to our supporters who talk with us and congratulate us on our work when we are out and about, your encouragement means a lot to the volunteers. The National Tidy Towns Competition was not held last year, it is back for 2021 and our competition committee are hard at work putting together this year’s submission. It is no easy task compiling and stitching together all the different treads of information for each category, it’s like weaving a delicate tapestry bringing it together. We have succeeded in winning a Silver Medal with our last three entries, we hope and aspire to go one step further this year, to achieve a Gold Medal, wish us luck.

Men’s Shed Radio Bringing You the Best in Musical Entertainment, Information & Special Features fom Various Men’s Sheds. Quality Music from Various Genres including 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, Country, Folk, Ballads, Irish & More.. Also Shed “Spotlight Feature” Showcasing & Highlighting Various Men’s Shed’s Talents..We aim to Bring You Entertainment & Information, While providing some Company to You During these Difficult times. We Hope to Provide a Service to All Men’s Shed Members, Friends, Families & Supporters in the Community of Shedders & Beyond. Men’s Shed Radio is a Non- Profit Project and Community Based with the Interests of All Listeners taken into Consideration. Men’s Shed Radio will not Promote or Endorse any Anti Social Behaviour, Racism, Bullying or Partake in any such issues. Men’s Shed Radio Supports Community & Men’s Sheds Positive Projects & Stories. Men’s Mental Health is also a huge issue which we are very proud to support. Listen in every Monday.

St Colmcilles GFC is based near the village of Applewood in Balheary, Swords, we host a number of teams of various ages.We hope to be back on the pitch training as soon as restrictions allow.We have taken every measure to ensure that all our coaches and mentors have all updated coaching courses along with being Garda vetted and First Aid training. We aim to be compliant in all aspects related to Covid -19.Training for our under 8’s and 9’s is every Saturday at 11am and Wednesday at 7pm and for the CUBS (under 6’s) Saturday at10am. All of our training is outdoors.The Men’s Junior team train each Tuesday and Thursday at 7.15, contact Mick (0861067145) if you are looking to get involved.Gaelic for Mother’s and Others - open to all women aged over 25, even if you’ve never played, this is a great opportunity to get to know ladies from the area and have a bit of fun along the way. Our Super Club Lotto, the club lotto has started back in the past couple of weeks and is a great success. We can only offer this online at the moment, and you can play through the Clubforce App. Once restrictions are lifted we hope to be resuming the weekly club lottery through envelope entry. Also club membership is available through the App.We hope to see you all very soon when the Club house is fully opened and restrictions allow!