Have a look at our pictures which show some recent events at which we have been providing/assisting with event medical cover. If yo are involved in any organisation and need medical cover for an event, email us swords@stjohn.ie or call 0830943324 or 0872559417.We can provide: Ambulance, First Aid Tent (Small), Cycle Response Unit, First Aid patrol, EMT, Paramedic and Nurse. Why not make a note of our contact details in case your group needs medical cover in the near future.

Well done to Joanne Fulham and the Glasmore residence who were out in force prepping the Rathbeale Rd entrance to their estate for a Frontline Workers Commemmorative Garden. With €3000 worth of plants, shrubs and trees on order it should look the business. We also want to recognise and thank Alla who takes care of our poly tunnel and recently took advantage of the good weather to work on our patch on North St. Great work Alla well done. Not forgetting our members Billy, Grace and Georgy who were out weeding at the Malahide roundabout recently, played a scorcher guys if you will excuse the pun.

St John Ambulance is an international humanitarian organisation with over 500 000 volunteers in over 20 different countries. We have been providing First Aid cover and First Aid Training Courses in Ireland for over 100 years. For further information on our organisation, please click the images below.In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have developed an Instructor-led ‘First Aid and COVID-19 in the workplace’ online course. Swords Adult Division meets every Thursday evening from 2000-2200, Cadets meet every Wednesday evening from 1900-2100, both in Holywell Community Centre in Swords. We operate 1 ambulance, First Aid tent and a Cycle Response Unit. We cover many events, including Croke P ark, Dublin Zoo, Motorcross, RDS, Aviva Stadium, Local football events, local races and more. We also provide first aid courses in First Aid Response , Emergency First Aid, Baby and Toddler First Aid and more. Swords Division was established in 2014. Since the we have grown and have One ambulance, first aid tent and a Cycle Response Unit (CRU). We have 25 adult members from basic first aid, EMT to Nurses. In 2019, our cadet division was formed. Our division is lead by our Officer in Charge Mr Jamie Bollard MStJ, assisted by our senior NCO’s Michael, Noel, Jock and Claire (cadets).Our Cycle response unit was donated to us in 2019 by One4All gift cards.We are a very active division with a wide area to cover in North Co. Dublin.We provide professional event medical cover for any event, providing our Ambulance, CRU, Tent, First aid patrols and more. Our division provides First Aid courses, demos, talks and more, with our experienced instructors Noel, Jamie, Michael, Gerard and Declan. Our training equipment is of the highest standards including our full body CPR, Airway and Trauma manikin. If you want to know more please contact: St John Ambulance Ireland, 29 Upper Leeson Streeet, Dublin 4, Ireland | Tel: (0)1 668 8077.

The Swords Cultural Quarter has taken a major step forward with the appointment of the integrated design team which will be led by award-winning architects O’Donnell and Tuomey.The announcement was made recently at a meeting of Fingal County Council by County Architect Fionnuala May when she gave councillors an update on the project.With the design team now in place, the project, which was launched in 2016, will now proceed at pace with the Council intending to initiate a Part 8 planning public consultation process in May 2022. The project is expected to go to tender in April 2023 with construction works scheduled to commence in Quarter 3 of 2023. The Civic and Cultural Centre will be the first part of the project to be constructed and is expected to take 24 months to complete.The Swords Cultural Quarter will be located in the civic heart of Fingal’s County Town and will be a major new public and civic space with the new Civic and Cultural Centre and a Hub Building sitting alongside the existing Fingal County Council Offices and historic Swords Castle at the junction of North Street and Seatown Road.The Civic and Cultural Centre will be at the core of the Swords Cultural Quarter and will include a library space, performance venue and arts venue with a number of support facilities that can be utilised for artistic, cultural and community needs.The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Seána Ó Rodaigh, said: “This is great news for Swords and Fingal as this is a flagship project for the county. The objective of the Swords Cultural Quarter project is to energise this area of Swords in order to make a balanced town that provides places, buildings and spaces for both cultural and economic activity for all its citizens and to create a new sense of place.” Established in 1988, O’Donnell and Tuomey is an award-winning architectural practice led by Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey, with studios based in Dublin, Cork and London. They have received over 120 national and international awards for their completed buildings.

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.