The Northside News 19042023

News

Dog walkers to face Bull Island controls

Dog walkers on North Bull Island will be required to keep their dog on a lead in the sand dunes to prevent disturbances to ground nesting birds as part of a new visitor access management plan for the area. A designated area of the beach will be available for dogs off-lead outside of the bathing season from June 1 to September 15, and bathing hours of 11am to 8pm.

Dublin City Council’s (DCC) new plan for the island’s nature reserve is intended to be implemented from April 30. It

said it welcomes feedback on the proposed measures.

DCC recently announced the visitor access management plan for to protect biodiversity on the island.

The plan requires people not to access the salt marsh or northern tip of the island, which will be left undisturbed. According to the council, the salt marsh is where migratory birds feed and roost, so that they can build up crucial fat reserves for their long migratory journeys.

Speaking on RTÉ’s, green

Party Councillor Donna Cooney said different zones will be marked with signage and colour-coding across the island.

“There’s red zones where dogs and people shouldn’t go at all, we’re asking people to stay away from those to protect wildlife because they are sensitive areas where you have ground nesting and feeding birds and also the seals and their cubs on the farther end of the island,” she said.

“If they get disturbed it can affect their breeding numbers if they don’t feed enough. They

need as much food as they can to sustain them. There’s going to be restrictions for dogs, they will need to be kept on their lead in nearly all areas of the island.

“We don’t just have one habitat; we have multiple habitats. We have the salt marshes, we have the coast, we have the dunes and we’re going to have new park wardens now that are being hired and they’ll be there seven days a week.”

Continued on next page

Baldoyle Tidy Towns group at Baldoyle Bay for one of their monthly beach cleans.

Walkers to face island controls

Continued from previous page

In the past, Bull Island had its own sub-species of hare, and restrictions on dogs running loose were signposted and backed by a dog warden. There are now no hares on Bull Island.

oonagh Duggan, head of advocacy at Birdwatch Ireland, said she hopes the measures will work this time around.

“I’ve been sitting here looking out and in about five minutes, three people have arrived with their dogs unleashed and the minute they see the wetlands, the salt marsh area, the dogs are left off,” she said.

“So it’s very worrying because these wintering waterbirds come from Canada, Greenland and Iceland to spend the winter here with us, and they need to be free from disturbance in order to be fit to fly home so they can start the breeding season.”

Gardener Peter wins top Australian medal

NoRTH Dublin-based Garden Designer Peter Donegan (inset) has won Gold with The Bam Stone Garden at Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2023, the first ever Irish medal at the worlds prestigious show.

The central boulevard 200 square metre show garden constructed by Semken landscaping, a contemporary vision of a love story and two hearts separated by a small island off the coast of Galway to the mainland stole the hearts of the 120,000 visitors to world heritage site of The Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens.

Peter Donegan Garden Design is an international and local garden design, landscape architecture and project management practice based in B allybough al in north Dublin.

In 2001 aged 24, Peter

Donegan Garden Design was borne and swiftly won a host of awards for 17th & 18th century gardens designed & show gardens at national competition.

From 2019 – 2022 The RHS silver medalist became the series garden designer for the country’s most watched tv show and RTE television’s DIy SoS The Big Build Ireland. Selected to represent Ireland to design & realise the Irish WW1 Centenary Peace Garden

Artane advocate heads to EU forum

THREE young advocates from Dublin travelled to the Slovak Republic recently to help influence Eu policies and ensure young peoples’ voices are heard when it comes to shaping the future of the Eu Blessing Dada from Dublin 24, Jenny Maguire from Artane and Conn McCarrick from Blackrock were among 30 young leaders as well as experts from four countries who gathered in Bratislava, the Slovak Republic, for discussions on Eu young citizens’ engagement though a programme called EuAct2. EuAct2 is a pan-European programme which is managed in Ireland by European Movement Ireland, an NGo working on European affairs in Ireland since 1954. The programme brings together young people living in Ireland, Austria, Greece and Slovakia, giving them a platform to influence policies and share their ideas on a truly international level.

EM Ireland is working with a diverse group of partners that include Globsec, Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy and Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe.

Captial ‘to host’ six Euro games

Croke Park has been dropped from the Britain and Ireland bid to host euro 2028.

The GAA had approved the use of Croke Park and a renovated Casement Park for the joint campaign between the football associations of Ireland, Northern Ireland, england, Scotland and Wales to stage the european Championships.

Both venues were included along with the Aviva Stadium on the initial proposal of 14 stadiums that was drafted last November.

at Chateau de Peronne in 2018, he returned and designed a second inaugurated garden there in 2022 to commemorate the anniversary of Europes largest war museum housed within the castle.

This year saw Peter Donegan become the first Irish landscape Architect invited and accepted to design at Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show March 2023 – the largest flower show in Southern Hemisphere.

Featuring a series of natural bluestone steps that symmetrically weave their way through a rocky landscape, recognisant of the journey made across the Atlantic from the Connemara coast, the destination became a limestone (moleanus) island featuring planting, shelter, and a single autumnal 8 metre tall liriodendron tulipifera reflecting across the black water, a beacon to those who wish to return to their love.

Hundreds to attend second Darndale 5K

HuNDREDS of runners of all abilities, and their families, are to descend on Darndale Park for the second annual ‘Get The Message out Darndale Another Way 5K’ on Saturday, April 29 at 11.00am.

Darndale’s famous community spirit will again be to the fore at the free event, which forms part of the Get The Message out (GTMo) campaign to steer young people away from addiction and crime and support those determined to exit that lifestyle.

This event is for all, regardless of age or ability. There will be a 1K fun run commencing at 11.15am for children under-13.

More information and registration for those interested in taking part is available at https://www.active.com/dublin17-dublin/running/distancerunning-races/another-way5k-2023

last year’s inaugural event was an outstanding success, attracting hundreds of runners of all ages, whilst at the same

time promoting alternatives to addiction and crime.

The event is spearheaded by local man, father and exprisoner Ger Redmond.

He said sport and fitness had helped turn his life around following the birth of his son, prompting him to become a Get The Message out Ambassador.

According to Dr Jack Nolan, the chair of the Darndale Economic and Social Plan implementation group, such events are needed to show communities affected by drugs, that they are not forgotten.

The Darndale Economic and Social Plan was initiated by Dublin City Council and its Implementation oversight Group (IoG) is supported by the authority.

“The Get The Message out Darndale Another Way 5K encourages people to consider a different way of life by highlighting opportunities, services and activities available to help them to reach their full potential,” said Dr Nolan.

It needed to be whittled down to 10 ahead of the UeFA deadline for formal submissions and Croke Park has missed the cut with the Aviva and Casement Park retained - even though the latter project requires considerable investment and faces a race against time to come to fruition.

It’s understood that the Aviva Stadium will have six games in the competition if the bid wins.

Three schools make finals

Holy Faith Secondary School Clontarf, our lady of Mercy College Beaumont and Belvedere College are set to represent Dublin City at this year’s Student Enterprise Programme National Finals, having being named Junior, Intermediate, and Senior Category winners at the regional finals held recently at the Mansion House.

The schools competed against 15 other schools in the Dublin City area for a coveted place at the national final which will make a return to Croke Park for the first time since 2019.

In the Junior Category, the students representing Dublin City at the National Finals are: Hollie Nolan, Grace Brady, lilly Kenny Scott, Mollie o’Neill and Kate o’Callaghan from Holy Faith Secondary School Clontarf.

In the Intermediate Category, the students representing Dublin City at the National Finals are: Emily Bennett and Venessa Survila from our lady of Mercy College Beaumont.

In the Senior Category, the students representing Dublin City are: Cian o’Mahoney, Ruari Bates, Fionn Teeling and James Geoghegan from Belvedere College.

12 students scoop prizes in children’s art competition

Songs for the docks to be unveiled

FOuR new songs about Dublin’s Docklands will be performed at the Bord Gáis Theatre this summer.

Dublin City Council (DCC) announced that tickets have gone on sale for Sing a Song of Docklands on May 21.

DCC and partners Sing Ireland, supported by Creative Ireland, created four new songs with the local communities of the Docklands.

Sing a Song of Docklands is from the vision of David Brophy, and each song was created alongside schools, youth groups, residents and other community groups.

The songs celebrate and connect the communities of old and new Irish that make the Docklands a dynamic and vibrant gateway to the city.

TWELVE North Dublin students were amongst 36 young artists from the county to have won top prizes in this year’s 69th Texaco Children’s Art Competition.

All were winners of Special Merit Awards for artworks that Final Adjudicator, Professor Gary Granville said ‘were imaginative and displayed high levels of

skill and creativity’. They were Walt Russell (age 13), a pupil at Sutton Park High School; Emily Chen (11), from St. Philip’s S.N.S. Clonsilla; Sophia Wu (6), from Stapolin Educate Together National School, Belmayne; Marlie Salinger (6), from Our Lady Immaculate Junior School Darndale; Lucy Giblin (5)

from Scoil Mobhi, Glasnevin; Connor O’Brien (11), from St. Paul’s School, Beaumount; Isabella Romera (9), Skyler Dunphy (11) and Evan Murphy (10), all pupils at St. Joseph’s School, Drumcondra; and Ruby Zhou (11), Nicole Lin (11) and Conor Griffin (5), all St. Fintan’s National School, Sutton.

A multiple previous winner, Walt won second prize in his age Categories in 2022, 2019 and 2018, and Special Merit Awards in both 2021 and 2017.

The Texaco Children’s Art Competition is popularly regarded as the longest-running sponsorship in the history of arts sponsoring in Ireland, with an

unbroken history that dates back to the very first Competition held in 1955.

This year, as has been the case throughout its life, it has been a platform on which young artists from Dublin and counties throughout Ireland have had their talents recognised and their creativity commended.

Dermot O’Callaghan, CEO of Sing Ireland, said: “This event and project celebrate the rich song tradition of Dublin and the Docks. Singing together has an incredible power to unite and create belonging.”

The four new songs will be performed by Sing Ireland affiliate choirs Kings Hospital School Choir, Cór na nÓg, Guinness Choir and Maryfield College Choir, with guest supporting acts Jerry Fish, DJ Robbie Kitt, Ciaran Kelly.

Pet owners asked to bag and bin

Lord Mayor of dublin

Caroline Conroy, along with former dublin GAA Footballer, Michael darragh McAuley, recently launched dublin City Council’s pilot ‘responsible dog ownership’ campaign in Liberty Park, dublin 1. The campaign is an initiative of dublin City Council’s (dCC) Central Area office and the North East Inner City Initiative.

The pilot will see a total of

50 new dog Poo dispensers erected at strategic locations across dublin’s North East Inner City (NEIC) in an effort to promote responsible dog ownership.

Efforts are already underway with extra Waste Management resources in place across designated streets. The streets include Buckingham Street, Sean Mcdermott Street, Summerhill, railway Street and Killarney

83 individuals sleeping rough

ThE official Spring 2023

Count of people sleeping rough in the dublin region was carried out over the week March 6 to 12.

A total of 83 unique individuals were confirmed as rough sleeping across the dublin region over the week of the count.

This represents a reduction of 8 persons (9%) on the same period last year, with 91 individuals found to be rough sleeping during both Spring 2022 and Winter 2022 counts.

The count was arranged by the dublin region homeless Executive (drhE) and carried out by the dublin Simon Community outreach Team, with support from the Peter McVerry Trust housing First Intake Team.

The main characteristics of the group known to the drhE were as follows:

The majority of the people confirmed as rough sleeping were male, Irish and aged between 26-45 years.

92% were linked with one of the four dublin local authorities.

48% were using tents and 52% were not.

18 individuals were found rough sleeping in both the Spring 2023 and Winter 2022 counts. A number of these are being targeted for a housing First response.

4 individuals (5%) recorded as rough sleeping had an active tenancy.

In the count, 36 individuals (48%) accessed Emergency Accommodation that week.

Street at present.

A new pilot Public doggie Toilet has been built on Sean Mcdermott Street.

dCC hope dog owners who exercise their dogs in the area will encourage their pets to use the toilet area.

They are also carrying out a survey on dog Fouling in the local community. The survey collates information from people living in the North East Inner City as well as outside

It is envisaged that the findings of the survey will aid dublin City Council’s Central Area office in addressing the immediate challenges of dog fouling and strive for cleaner, safer and thriving neighbourhoods for everyone. There has been 200 responses from citizens to date. If you would like to contribute, you can do so here: https://bit.ly/ dogFoulingSurvey.

Dubs star’s pain over brother’s drug death

duBLIN GAA star Philly McMahon opened up about his brother’s death following a decade-long struggle with heroin addiction at the Citizens’ Assembly on drugs use.

The former sportsman, whose brother John died in 2012 after a long battle with drug addiction, has since become a strong anti-drugs advocate. McMahon was appointed to the Citizen’s Assembly’s advisory support group last month to examine the issues surrounding drug use alongside hSE boss Paul reid and 99 randomly selected members of the public.

The 35-year-old told the assembly in Malahide, Co dublin that his family discovered the link between his brother’s addiction issues and his mental health struggles years later. he said that the family were “educated to be ashamed” about drug use and mental illness.

“It wasn’t until John was in his late 20s, that we discovered [he] had schizophrenia,” he said.

“So for a long time, based off our education as a family, and the wider social education was based off it being incriminating to take drugs.

“We were educated to be

ashamed, to be embarrassed and that stigmatisation was crucial in all of that education.”

he added that John’s addiction would have been treated as a mental health issue had they known about his diagnosis earlier.

“And we would have definitely, I think, you know, we would have, we would have dealt with it a little bit differently”.

In a recorded message, Leo Varadkar said that drug deaths are affecting “far too many families” in Ireland.

“Far too many families have lost loved ones due to

an overdose,” the Taoiseach added.

“Far too many communities have been living in fear of those who supply drugs in towns and villages across our country.

So, we need to find better ways to deal with the problems arising from the use of illegal drugs.”

The aim of the Citizens’ Assembly on drugs use is to examine “legislative, policy and operational changes the State could make to significantly reduce the harmful impacts of illicit drugs on individuals, families, communities and wider society”.

Airport plans €265m Terminal 1 extension

ProPosals to expand

Terminal 1 are being considered by Dublin airport, according to the sunday Independent.

The plans would see the terminal extend into the northern section of the airport as part of a €265m capital investment plan.

It would accommodate up to four million more passengers a year and a number of extra aircrafts.

The new building would be accessed by a skybridge walkway which connects the terminal’s security and shopping area with the boarding gate now.

The Daa is currently in the early stages of planning and seeking a developer “to design, procure, construct, test and commission, put into service… and undertake close-out activities for the North apron development”, according to the plans.

The proposals are part of a €265m capital investment plan to develop the northern apron of the airport which was approved earlier this year by the Commission for aviation regulation.

Under the scheme, a planning application would be lodged before the end of the year and

Daa hopes permission would be granted by mid-2025. Construction would be expected to start later that year and be completed before the end of 2028.

The airport would remain

open for the duration of the works and Daa said construction will have a minimal impact on its existing operations.

“Dublin airport, as our nation’s principal international

airport, is a key economic facilitator and driver, not only for its immediate catchment area, but for the entire island of Ireland,” a Daa spokesman said.

“We are very conscious of the

Ryanair plans €40m hangar

direction given in the national aviation policy to provide infrastructure that will facilitate promoting Dublin airport as a major international hub, while also meeting the needs of carriers operating point-topoint routes.”

Documents seen by the sunday Independent show the development of the airport’s north apron has been earmarked “to facilitate a potential growth in traffic of between three to four million passengers per annum”.

The documents state the airport is on a trajectory to serve about 40 million passengers per year in the future. last year more than 28.1 million passengers travelled through Dublin airport, but these numbers were affected by the pandemic.

The 2022 figures represent 85pc of the total number of passengers who used the airport in 2019 but data from this year shows numbers are rising.

In February 2023 2.6 million passengers used the airport, a 3pc increase on the same period in 2019. This also represents a 1pc increase on February 2020 — which had been the busiest ever February at the airport.

ryaNaIr has announced plans to build a new €40m hangar and aircraft maintenance facility at Dublin airport.

The investment will result in the creation of 200 new engineering and aircraft mechanic jobs.

The new 120,000 sq ft facility will be used to carry out routine maintenance and repairs on some of the airline’s expanding fleet of aircraft, which is due to reach 600 by 2026.

Construction is to begin later this year and it is expected that the facility will be operational by 2025.

“With a growing fleet we need places to do routine maintenance and heavy maintenance for aircraft, and Dublin is our second largest base and it makes sense to build one here,” ryanair CEo Eddie Wilson told rTÉ.

“so we will have a four bay hangar, which means four aircraft can actually fit into that,” he added.

Mr Wilson expressed confidence that the airline would be able to fill the new roles, despite the pressure on skills in the sector.

He said Ireland has a long history in aircraft maintenance and it is very interesting work.

An artist’s impression of Dublin Airport’s plans to extend Terminal 1.

Photo: Sasa Isakovic

Those who vote for dinosaurs are doomed to live in the past

MICHAEL WOLSEY

INSANITY has been defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

The people of Northern Ireland have been behaving in this mad way for the past 25 years.

They elect politicians who have no interest in sharing power and are surprised when they fail to form a powersharing executive.

They elect politicians because of their stance on flags, parades and peace walls, then complain that they don’t concentrate on bread and butter issues.

They elect Sinn Féiners who say their first aim is to secure a referendum on Irish unity and are baffled by the DUP’s reluctance to join them at the Cabinet table.

They elect the white, misogynistic evangelists who run the DUP and are puzzled when these men oppose moves to liberalise abortion laws or extend LGBT rights.

Sow the wind and you’ll reap the whirlwind. Although whirlwind is hardly an appropriate term for the plodding politics of Northern Ireland.

Elect dinosaurs and you’ll live in the past, would be a

better metaphor. The northern parties that get the most votes are the two least likely to work together and those who vote for them cannot honestly say they favour power-sharing. Pointscoring and triumphalism are their first priorities, not

good government. No other democracy indulges the whims of its electorate in this way. Parties that prioritise ideology above practicality rarely make it to the Cabinet room in Dublin or any other European capital. Britain’s Conservative Party

tried it when they picked Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng to run the country. Their free-market theories sent the Pound into freefall and hiked the cost of government borrowing.

Tory members liked the noises

this pair made but the financial world didn’t and British voters soon got the message.

They made it clear that they would not support an ideology that endangered their pension funds and pushed up the price of their mortgages.

Voters in Northern Ireland don’t have to make that sort of calculation.

The politicians they elect have squandered the potential of the Good Friday Agreement.

They get away with it because someone (usually the British taxpayer) always picks up the tab.

The lack of a government at Stormont has caused difficulty for many services that find themselves under-funded and under-staffed but, ultimately, the Westminster government will not let the place go down the tubes and everybody knows it.

Per head, Northern Ireland is being subsidised more heavily than any region of Britain.

#But it hasn’t many heads and the cost is only a tiny fraction of total UK spending.

So unless the peace process itself is endangered – and so far, thankfully, there has been no serious threat of that – northern voters and the people they elect can continue to play games and Britain will continue to foot the

bill. It shouldn’t be like that and it needn’t be like that. There are many good politicians in the North who are willing to shoulder their responsibilities and make Stormont power-sharing work but it won’t happen so long as other politicians can ignore their responsibilities and suffer no consequences.

The British government needs to abandon the d’Hondt system which forces Stormont parties to declare themselves nationalist or unionist and allocates ministries on that basis.

It should let the parties and politicians who are willing to form a government do so on no other basis than that they can get legislation through the house.

Let those who don’t like it go into opposition or stay growling on the sidelines.

Our own Government should back Westminster in this move.

D’Hondt was deemed necessary 25 years ago to prevent unionist (or nationalist) parties ganging up and excluding the other side. There is little danger of that now and it is a risk worth taking.

The failure of d’Hondt-style power-sharing is forcing the British government to once again consider direct rule from London, but this time with a high input from Dublin.

Irish governments will be wary of this controversial strategy which requires an open-ended commitment.

But they cannot continue to support the insanity of endlessly repeating the same actions and expecting a different result.

“O’Connell Bridge, Dublin. 8287.” The postcard was cent from Dublin to Canada in June 1940 and is stamped “Ceaduithe ag on Scrudoir” (Passed by the Censor). It reads, in part:- “Someday, maybe sooner than we think, peace will come again. So keep smiling.” It comes from the collections of the Old Dublin Society. If you would like a free digital copy just send an Email to olddublinsociety@gmail.com

City employees enjoy more hybrid working

Dublin workers are significantly more likely to work in a hybrid way compared to their counterparts in other parts of ireland, according to the latest Reflecting ireland research from Permanent TSb Half (50%) of adults working in Dublin currently work in a hybrid way. This compares to a third in Munster (33%) and Connacht and ulster (32%). in the rest of leinster, 38% of workers do so in a hybrid form. it also found that 52% of adults in Dublin used the car as their primary mode of transport versus 3 in 4 for the rest of ireland (75% in Munster, 76% in Connacht & ulster, 77% in rest of leinster).

The findings are part of Permanent TSb’s look at the changing lives of people in ireland since the pandemic. nationally, the research found there has been an increase in the number of people with a more positive view of the economy over recent months. The research was undertaken by Core Research in March 2023 amongst 1,000 adults.

it continues to show public concern about the economy but also finds an increase in the number of people who express optimism across several key areas.

Relevant findings include:

• There was a rise of 6% in the number of people who believe the economic situation will improve over the coming 12 months (17% in this report, up from 11% in november 2022). However, a greater number, 49% of respondents indicated that they felt the economic situation will deteriorate over that period (63% in november)

• There was a rise of 4% in the number of people who believe that they are better off now than 12 months ago (15% in this report, up from 11% in november 2022). in contrast the percentage of people who believe they are now worse off than 12 months ago fell to 56% (down from 63% last november).

• Looking ahead 22% of respondents said that they

expect to be better off in 12 months’ time. That compares to 18% in the november survey. The percentage which believes they will be worse off over the coming 12 months declined to 38% from 47%.

When asked their views on whether or not the country was on the right track currently, 60% said we are “off-course” while 28% said we were “on-the-righttrack”.

This compares to 62% and 25% respectively in the november survey.

Speaking about the findings, leontia Fannin, Head of Corporate Affairs with Permanent TSb said: “there is a subtle but significant shift in opinion from november which suggests that more people think the worst of the Cost-of-living crisis is behind us.

“it will be interesting to see whether that more optimistic mood continues or is paused in the coming months.”

The survey also explored the significant impact of the Covid Pandemic on how people in ireland live their lives.

Dublin 15

D15 delivers for Syrian Earthquake Victims

Castlekno Ck tennis Club hosted a hugely successful pub quiz last Thursday, March 30th, which raised over €5,000 for aCn (aid to the Church in need).

The packed venue was filled with enthusiastic teams who competed in an array of categories, from literature to music to sports.

aCn will use the proceeds to provide emergency food, (including milk), and shelter to those in need as well as spiritual support for those whose lives who have been so tragically changed forever.

This will be followed by repairs where possible to victims’ homes, schools and churches.

edward Mac Manus one of the organiser’s speaking at the event expressed appreciation for the support of the community and recalled how earthquake Response Group – D15 came about because a local lady teresa Hawkes who

was so touched by the tragic scenes during coverage of the devastating earthquake in turkey and syria on February 8 that she immediately set about collecting relief items. There was a great and generous response from the local community and teresa together with a team of parishioners from our lady Mother of the Church in Castleknock, over a three day period, sorted, packed over 250 boxes of clothes, blankets, nappies, toiletries and other aid. local volunteers then transported this huge volume of boxes and items to the turkish embassy.

“Thank you to everyone who participated and supported this great cause,” said Martin sneyd, Chairman of earthquake Response Group D15 who organised the event.

“It’s heartening to see our community come together and make a tangible difference in people’s lives.”

Teresa Hawkes (centre) with her family

Mayor of fingal launches artist mentoring report

Mayor of Fingal Cllr

Howard Mahony Launches

the HoMEGroUND report & Documentary

Film following a successful 2 year artist Mentorship Programme by Draíocht Blanchardstown & Fingal arts office HoMEGroUND was a two-year artist Mentoring Programme that ran during 2020-2022 and comprised of bespoke artist supports, both personal and professional, for artists from or with a connection to Draíocht, Dublin 15 or the wider Fingal County and whose work was socially engaged, collaborative or focused on children and young people.

Four artists were chosen and over a 2 year period, which included the very challenging and uncertain period during Covid-19, the artists met with 8 mentors; had 12 peer discussion group sessions; had 50 one to one Coaching Sessions; and had 75 one to one Mentoring Sessions, both in person and online.

The four participating artists of HoMEGroUND selected via open competition were: Michelle Hall – an interdisciplinary visual artist from Dublin 15.

Thomas Johnston – a musician and theatre maker, dedicated to promoting high quality and meaningful experiences of the traditional arts amongst children.

Monica Muñoz – a choreographer and dancer, and recent artist in residence in Balbriggan Educate Together National School.

Jijo Sebastian Palatty – a

collaborative Film Maker, based in Dublin 15, with more than a decade of experience in participatory, collaborative and intercultural filmmaking. HoMEGroUND was

conceived and led by Emer McGowan Director, Draíocht and Sharon Murphy, resident Curator, Draíocht with support from Sarah o’Neill (Deputy arts officer, Fingal County

Council) and Caroline Cowley (Public art Co-ordinator, Fingal County Council).

Launching the HoMEGroUND report & Documentary, Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Howard Mahony, said“Fingal County Council has been committed to Draíocht’s Programme delivery for over 20 years.

We have been proud to watch its importance grow not only as a recognisable asset to Dublin 15, but to the greater Fingal area and beyond with programmes like HoMEGroUND.

We wish the artists and the team continued success in their professional journeys.

” Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Howard Mahony of HoMEGroUND, Emer McGowan, Director of Draíocht commented“HoMEGroUND was conceived both out of Draíocht’s 5 year Strategy ‘a Space for the arts’ where providing support and expertise to develop artist’s practice is one of our stated goals and out of a body of collaborative and children/young people’s practice that we have engaged in over our 20 years of operation.

Jijo Sebastian, Howard Mahony and Emer McGowan

Northside groups in line for awards

.IE, the national registry for .ie domain names, is delighted to announce that six entries from North Dublin town groups have been shortlisted for the .IE Digital Town Awards 2023.

The awards, now in their 3rd year and have welcomed Vodafone as a partner for 2023, recognise and reward projects created by town groups and local communities that have a digital element, supporting Ireland’s digital development.

The shortlisted entries include:

Drumcondra’s ‘My NCBI Smart Hub’ shortlisted in Community Digital category.

‘Empowering the sight loss community through sport’, is shortlisted in the Newcomer category.

Skerries Community Car initiative has been shortlisted in the Community Digital category.

Fingal’s Weather Station for Schools has been shortlisted in the Digital Education category.

Ballymun’s INSPIRE mentoring programme, has been shortlisted in the Digital Education category.

Glasnevin’s Parking

Protect AI powered app, has been shortlisted in Digital Changemaker category which is proudly sponsored by Connected Hubs for promoting accessibility for all.

Donabate scrubs up for Clean Coasts Hamilton musical coming to Bord Gáis

FolloWING the positive response to the three events organised in recent weeks, Clean Coasts were delighted to host two events as part of the Clean Coasts Roadshow series, which had a strong focus on biodiversity.

on April 1, Clean Coasts were joined by volunteers from local community groups, including the Donabate Clean Coasts group, among others, for a coastal walk and a chat about local marine biodiversity on Donabate beach.

Participants were then asked to identify some species during the walk. The biodiversity talk was followed by a beach clean, that volunteers undertook enthusiastically despite the heavy showers. overall, two full bags of marine litter were removed, with the most common litter items being cotton bud sticks and small pieces of plastic.

on April 2, Clean Coasts

teamed up with Dave Wall from the National Biodiversity Data Centre in Monkstown and Salthill for an Explore Your Shore! biodiversity workshop.

Participant were shown how they can be involved in a citizen science project, by helping collecting information about species they encounter on our shore and submitting

information to the National Biodiversity data Centre. The workshop, focused on the identification of shells and seaweed, and after a talk ad demonstration from Dave, participants were asked to put

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what they learnt into practice by identifying some of the finds.

The Clean Coasts Roadshow are a series of free talks and workshops for coastal communities which take place

Musician Mick to be honoured at awards

A lINE-uP of top trad talent has been announced for Gradam Ceoil TG4 2023. Known as ‘the oscars of traditional music’, the live concert and awards show will take place at the university Concert Hall, limerick on Sunday April 23, promising a night of foot-stomping entertainment.

The concert will be broadcast live on TG4 at 9.30pm on Sunday next.

Musician 2023 will be awarded to Mick o’Brien. Mick will be joined on stage by Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and he will also perform with his family Fidelma, Aoife and Ciara Ní Bhriain. Mick will be presented with his award by Peter Browne.

Piper and tin whistle player Mick o’Brien was born in Dublin in 1961 and began learning to play the pipes at age 9 from leo Rowsome, Seán Seery and Mick Touhey at the Thomas Street Pipers’ Club. He later attended classes at Na Píobairí uilleann and became inspired by the playing of Patsy Touhey. His father, the influential accordion player Dinny o’Brien, was also a significant source of inspiration.

It has been announced that the award-winning musical hamilton is coming to Dublin’s Bord Gáis Energy theatre next year for nine weeks.

tickets will go on sale on Friday 28 april at 9:00am from usual outlets. hamilton will run from 17 september 2024 to 16 November 2024.

the show is based on the 2004 book alexander hamilton by Ron Chernow and tells the story of american founding father, revolutionary and statesman alexander hamilton.

all around the coast of Ireland between February and May each year. The Roadshow aims to bring together all those with an interest in protecting their local beaches, seas and marine life and environment.

a new company for hamilton’s tour of Ireland and the UK is currently being assembled and the cast will be announced shortly. speaking on RtÉ Radio 1’s Morning Ireland, Bord Gáis Energy theatre general manager stephen Faloon said he was “delighted” the show will receive its Irish premiere eight years after its Broadway debut.

Food outlets ordered to close down

A DuBlIN restaurant is one of 11 businesses ordered to stop serving food by the Food Safety Authority.

These breaches of food safety legislation include 10 Closure orders and 1 Prohibition order.

The checks were carried out by Environmental Health officers of the HSE and officers of the FSAI.

la Punk Beauty Hair Salon in Dublin 1 was served with a food closure order under the FSAI Act 1998.

The FSAI say a food business was operating from a barber shop with no facilities for maintaining hygiene or protecting the food.

Mullingar Farm Meats at Cookstown Business Centre in Tallaght was also ordered to cease food production.

The FSAI say there was a lack of labelling and traceability regarding frozen fish heads and some meats were unidentifiable.

Market Street Foodhalls in Swords was also served with a food closure order under Eu

legislation. Meanwhile, union Cafe in Mount Merrion has been ordered to close its food operations.

The FSAI say it won’t affect drink serving in the bar and lounge area.

In addition – a closure and prohibition order was served under Eu legislation to Johnson Best Food African Takeaway in Summerhill.

Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive of the FSAI, spoke on the findings:

“Food law requires all food businesses to be notified to the relevant inspection authority prior to operating.

“This requirement ensures that food businesses are registered and/or approved to ensure food safety and protect consumer health.

“Maintaining a clean premises that is fit for purpose, managing pest control, properly labelling produce and providing traceability information are also legal and mandatory requirements for all food businesses.”

We take a look back at extracts from old newspapers to see what was in the news this month in years gone by