Lusk Local V9I8-MAR 2024

Local Solicitor has moved but still a great service!

Local Solicitor has moved but we are still in your corner. Our bright spacious modern office is located on the Top Floor of the Town Centre in Lusk. The office is wheelchair accessible via the lift from the lobby. There is also plenty of free parking nearby. You can find us when you scan the QR code. As a general practice law firm, Local Solicitor provides legal service in relation to a wide range of legal matters including: -

matters, Personal Injuries, Wills and Probate, Contract Law, Debt Collection, Family Law, Criminal Law, Employment Law and general legal advice. With more people on board, we can provide a broader range of services in a more efficient manner. Talk to us about your legal matter. You can contact us when you scan the QR Code.We look forward to hearing from you soon. Best wishes to you all.

Liam Fitzgerald

Louise Hogan – 0862249299 louise@irishmediagroup.ie

Sean Maguire (Publisher) - 087 915 9052 seanmaguire@irishmediagroup.ie Production

Tim Evans communitylocalsdesigner@gmail.com

This March is a particularly peculiar month. Mother’s Day is on the 10th and Christians will celebrate both St Patrick’s Day and Easter, before the end of it. Obviously, Our Mums should always come first so do not forget them. Then, all over the world, those born in Ireland and those of Irish descent will as usual be celebrating St Patrick’s Day on March 17th. However, two weeks later on March 29th it will be Good Friday with Easter Sunday on March 31st. This of course will be a busy and expensive time especially for families. A month when children want to buy Mum a present and youngsters and adults may be joining in on floats depicting factual or imaginary groups, events, or characters. Costumes and the decorating of floats does not come cheap and during these austere times groups and organisations are doing all they can to keep the costs down.. The question is how can we all help? Well, if you think about it there are many ways. Do you have a skill or craft that may help to make costumes, design floats, or make caricatures or floats? Are you experienced in organising events or interested in learning a new skill? All over Fingal help will be needed by all these groups whether it is to celebrate St Patrick’s Day or the Easter Festivities or helping charities for those less fortunate this Easter. Every one of us can do something. Every one of us can help our local economy by shopping locally. Every one of us can give whatever we can to make our less fortunate neighbours happy in March. The rewards are immense no matter how you measure them whether it is the smiles on the kids whose costumes you made, or the satisfaction of viewing the lovely float you designed or painted or indeed the grateful looks given by the Meals on Wheels recipients you helped sponsor. So, in keeping with our theme of caring in the community let us all remember our Mums, enjoy Paddy’s Day and Easter but do so whilst thinking of others so we can all enjoy March together!

Fingal County Council to build 18 houses on Orlynn Park Green

Fingal County Council recently announced plans to build 18 houses on the green space in Orlynn Park. The site was zoned for residential development back in 1999. A campaign and motion to redesignate the area as Green Space in last year’s development plan failed. Under the Minister’s new Planning & Development Bill 2023 (Section 179A) this piece of land is exempt from the regular planning process which means that there is no opportunity for the public to make observations. We currently have nearly 500 houses under construction in the town with an existing population of 10,000, 3,300 under 17’s and are the fourth most densely populated town in Ireland. The facilities to support this population

have not been provided. In a survey we conducted last year was stark reading with Lusk coming bottom of the list in every single category when compared to towns of similar sizes in the country. Education, community facilities, sports facilities, medical, legal, supermarkets, shops, restaurants, bars, things to do, tourism, theatres, libraries, festivals, Lusk came last in every category. Communities need spaces for social interaction, cultural activities, and community gatherings to thrive. Insufficient facilities can lead to a decline in community engagement and cohesion. A town of 10,000 people without a single restaurant is an indictment of our local authorities’ poor planning. People in the community have been working hard

BRIAN DENNEHY

for years to improve our town, the one barrier that we always meet is the lack of any space left. Mens shed, community gardens, basketball nets, farmers markets ( given our location as one of the biggest food producers in the country) to name but a few that cannot be accommodated.

In this context, the taking of this green space is nonsensical. Lusk Action Group will be opposing this in the strongest possible way. Our LAG AGM will take place on Monday 4th March at 7.30pm in the Cottage community centre. All are welcome to attend. If you are interested in joining our committee, please contact us at luskactiongroup@gmail.com

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

O’Donoghue - update on the pathway from Lusk to Rush/Lusk Station

Cllr Rob O’Donoghue tabled a motion at the February Area Committee seeking that provision be made to widen the footpath from the Rush Roundabout in Lusk to the Rush-Lusk Train Station. Residents have been vocal in their concerns that the footpath is narrow and dangerous to walk on and unsuitable for parents and children accessing the local childcare facility on Station Road. At the meeting O’Donoghue was informed that works on the delivery of the Rogerstown Estuary Masterplan are ongoing and the provision of a walking/ cycling link between Lusk and Rogerstown Park via the Rush/ Lusk Train Station is being pursued in association with the master planning process for the park in line with the Fingal Biodiversity Action Plan 2023 – 2030.The draft masterplan is currently being considered by the Environmental Protection Agency in the context of an Aftercare Plan for the park as it

used to be a landfill. The EPA’s response will inform the next stages of the master planning process for Rogerstown Park and the walking/cycling link to Lusk. Fingal County Council is also currently seeking consent from the EPA to open Rogerstown Park to the public on Saturdays and Sunday hopefully in 2024. Commenting on the issue, Cllr O’Donoghue stated, ‘it is good news that the cycle/walkway link to Lusk is included in the Rogerstown Masterplan. The walk from Lusk to the station currently can be treacherous, particularly in the winter due to its narrow nature. This masterplan will give us scope to make the pathway safer for pedestrians and cyclists looking to access both to the station and the park. I look forward to to keeping the pressure on to have the Parks opening hours extended to a Sunday, and the response from the EPA, so we can finally look to upgrade the link to the train station for pedestrians and cyclists.’

Cllr Dennehy welcomes FCC strategic land acquisition at Blakes Cross

Cllr Brian Dennehy has welcomed the FCC strategic land acquisition at Blakes Cross. He said, “At the February full council meeting of Fingal County Council under item 19A it was agreed that Fingal County Council take possession of 12.32 acres adjacent to Blakes Cross. The land acquisition is very welcome, and it is an action I had requested FCC to carry out due to the strategic positioning of the site along with the potential to carry out the badly needed road upgrades required at the junction.

The positive potential the site offers is both seismic and potentially life changing to the commuters who use the junction daily. A firm of consultants, Roughan and O’Donovan consulting engineers have recently been appointed to provide engineering, planning and environmental services for the Blakes Cross Junction Upgrade, to provide a safer junction layout that caters for both motorised traffic and active travel modes of transport such as walking and cycling.

This will also include the areas along the R132 encompassed by the Road Safety Audit carried out in 2022. The acquisition of the

land is very timely considering the appoint of the Consultants and the new acquisition will allow the area required to carry out the major upgrade required by giving safety to the residents of Lusk, Rush and Skerries as they transverse the junction on their commute as well as providing further safety to residents of traveling north to the Rural villages including Ballyboughal and Oldtown. In time this acquisition will be seen as one of the key and most important actions carried out in the north county area by Fingal County Council in order to bring safety measures to the enormous volume of commuters who pass through the extremely dangerous junction on a regular basis.”

Lusk Ladies Shed Drama group brilliant comedic sketch

On January 21st the Lusk Ladies Shed took part in the ICA Wicklow Federation Drama Festival with a comedic sketch written by Anne Quane titled ‘Pilgrimage to Knock’. Tracy O’Mahony and Catherine Hogan played the parts of ‘Mary’ and ‘Bridie’, two faithfully religious women endeavouring on their yearly trip to Knock Shrine, County Mayo. Sandra Conlan and Mary Bermingham played the part of ‘Shelly’ and ‘Denise’, two brazen women who believe they are going to watch a Chippendale performance. Samya

Berridjdal acts as the Travel Agent working in the agency where all the ladies arrive into to venture on their trip, and to her shock they have completely different ideas of what the trip to Knock will entail. The comedic sketch won a meritorious award for the script writer Anne Quane and the Lusk Ladies Shed performers won an award for ‘Best Costumes’. Special thanks to Director Anne Smithers and prompter Leona Donagher for their support in ensuring the ladies’ successful performance.

Another busy time for Lusk ICA Ladies

The recent weeks have proven to be yet another busy time for our ladies with lots of activities: Nollaig Ña mBan -We thoroughly enjoyed a lovely Nollaig Ña mBan night out in the Shoreline Hotel. We also had a brilliant night bowling in ALSAA and congratulations to one of the winners our own Mary Hickey. Also, recently our Lusk ICA drama ladies did us proud in the recent ICA Wicklow Federation 68th Drama Festival. The adjudicator Alan Howley was very kind to us and our play “Dinner ladies”. Congratulations to Angela O Brien who received a meritorious award. Thanks to Mary Hagan Director, Alma Farrell stage Manager, and Caroline O’Malley on the music and all who helped backstage. Regarding our Swimming ladies, a big thank you to Mary Hickey for the “fascinating dinner evening” on the 10th of February which she hosted for the swimming ladies - who all wore their colourful

fascinators and brought along their delightful desserts. We will be back swimming again in May to join the brave ladies who swim most weeks, in Rush and hopefully welcome new members to join us for 2024. Oh and not forgetting our recent Chow Mein and laughter nigher with a superb Chinese meal hosted by Maria Baird following our success in the drama. Our future plans are very exciting too. Plans are in place for Lusk ICA to take part in Fingal County Council’s. International Women’s Day in the Lusk Cultural Centre on 8th March. We are all looking forward our invitation to Farmleigh House and Estate which is being organized by Eoghan Dockrell of Fine Gael. In April, 20 of our ladies will travel for 2 nights to the European Parliament in Brussels which is being organized by Senator Lorraine Clifford Lee together with Darragh Gallagher, assistant to Barry Andrew’s MEP.

Thanks to Deirdre Wilson for organizing a great night of Bowling in ALSAA

Fascinating Fascinators

Home Cook Recipes Healthy

Easy Peasy Dark Chocolatey Bark

Some of you may have given up sweet foods for lent. Some of you may be trying to cut back on sweet foods as part of healthy eating plans or goals or new year’s resolutions.Or some of you may just like trying out new food ideas and recipes!!! This recipe is super quick, easy and you can tailor it to your taste preferences or to whatever is in your kitchen cupboards!! I love the crunch that the dried edamame beans or nuts provide in this recipe and the richness of the dark chocolate. It is also very satisfying and filling. Edamame Beans are green soya beans which have become very popular due to their nutritious properties including high levels of protein and fibre which can help to keep us fuller for longer.

Edamame Beans also contain vitamins A, K and folate, and are good sources of calcium, manganese and iron. If you don’t have or like edamame beans, you could use nuts or seeds or dried fruit instead in this recipe!

Ingredients:

• 200g Dried Edamame Beans OR nuts OR seeds OR a combination with some dried fruit!!!

• 200g GOOD Quality dark chocolate

(Please Note: When I state good quality dark chocolate, it does not need

to be expensive. Most supermarkets have good quality dark chocolate at reasonable prices. The difference is how the chocolate melts and reforms. Good quality dark chocolate will melt smoothly and reform into a smooth bark. The not so good quality chocolate may turn lumpy and crumbled!)

Tip: I love the bright green colour of the dried edamame beans which makes them stand out against the dark chocolate but for a variety of colours, use a mixture of different coloured dried fruits, nuts, seeds etc.

You could even do an Irish flag theme for St Patrick’s Day with green pistachios or pumpkin seeds, orange apricots and white coconut chips or flakes!

Method:

1. Spread out a sheet of greaseproof paper on a baking tray or lunchbox.

2. Melt the dark chocolate either: in a heatproof bowl over a pot of gently simmering water and stir intermittently until just about all the chocolate is melted, OR in the microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring after each one.

Please stand by the chocolate whichever way you melt it, have patience, don’t forget to stir and be careful not to overdo it!

3. Pour the melted dark chocolate onto the pre-lined tray/lunchbox and spread it into a rectangle. Do not let any condensation or water droplets fall onto the melted dark chocolate as they do not mix well!

4. Scatter over the dried edamame beans OR nuts OR seeds or fruit. Allow it to cool and set at room temperature for a few hours. 5. When hardened, break up the bark into pieces or use a sharp knife to cut it neatly into squares, triangles or however you like!!

Store within an airtight container and use within 2 weeks. Bain sult as (=Enjoy)!!!!

Please follow ‘Biabites’ on Facebook for other food ideas especially in the ‘Fun food’ and ‘Recipes’ albums. Please follow @BiaBites on twitter. For nutrition talks/workshops at events or in schools/workplaces/community groups= please email: niamh@biabites.net Niamh Arthurs BSc, Msc Registered Dietitian and Researcher.

News & Events

Lusk AC travelling in numbers to competitions!

The club had without doubt its biggest ever travelling numbers at the end of January when over 90 took part in the Raheny 5 mile. This was followed in February by great participation at the Trim 10 mile, Dungarvan 10 mile and the Donadea 50k. The latter was also the occasion of Peter Doyle’s 100th marathon. It was fitting that he crossed the line with another member of the 100 club , Eddie Hamilton. Daniel O’Brien has been in fine form with multiple podium finishes in recent cross country races. Our 40 day 6am runs started in February so why not join us for a few of the early morning 5k’s this month. Finally, we’re looking forward to the annual Lusk 4 mile on Sunday 3rd March at 3pm. Thanks to all who have been working on the preparations and to those helping out on the day.

Eddie Hamilton and Peter Doyle cross the line at the Donadea 50k

Some of the Lusk participants at the Trim 10 mile

Some of the huge Lusk contingent after the Raheny 5 mile

More of our crew at Raheny

Another road trip to the Dungarvan 10 mile in Co Waterford

Junsa Taekwondo Club News

Junsa Taekwondo - The competition is hotting up!

This past month at Junsa has been busy in our preparation for our upcoming local competition. There will be clubs from all over Dublin and the surrounding areas. This tournament will be a decider to see if some of our players will travel abroad to compete for Junsa. If their performances are good, then they could make the next step to international competition. We have also been focusing on our under 6’s age group, teaching them the basic fundamentals of Taekwondo and hand, foot and eye coordination, skills that will stand to them in life.

Megan (L) and Alina (R) Megan has returned to training after a long absence due to a car accident and college studies. Great to see you back on the mats.

Fionn’s showing his kicking ability’s.

Our Tuesday intermediate group.

Adam and Justin, a great show of good spirit and respect on which Taekwondo is based.

Sadie and Dianna, two of our up-and-coming stars.

Thomas displaying his sparring skills with Edward

Our under 6’s learning the basics.

BRIAN DENNEHY

Working hard for our community

This is easy… we are offering you the chance to win €50. All you have to do is correctly fill in the crossword and discover the name of an area in Fingal spelt out in the coloured squares. Then send the completed crossword and your answer by email, with your name, address and telephone number to communitylocals@ gmail.com before 5pm on the 16th of this mnoth. The first correct entry to be drawn will win €50..Good luck

Across

1. A piece of confectionery; a sweet (6)

5. A poem or song telling a story in short stanzas. (6)

10. Scuttle the thin cut of meat. (7)

11. Print a book again. (7)

12. The eldest son of Adam and Eve. (4)

13. The de facto capital of Switzerland. (5)

15. Break something thin suddenly and quickly. (4)

17. Break up soil with a shovel or machine. (3)

19. The capital of Greece. (6)

21. Butter that has gone bad. (6)

22. Type of food enjoyed by impoverished students. (7)

23. An old counting machine. (6)

25. Where Kubla Khan build his pleasure dome (Samuel Taylor Coleridge) (6)

28. A shortened short month. (3)

30. Not occurring very often. (4)

31. The criminal act of deliberately setting fire to property. (5)

32. Gratuities that can be brought to the bookies. (4)

35. Excursions or outings for outdoor meals. (7)

36. Enya’s South American river. (7)

37. Egyptian god of the Underworld. (6)

38. Narrow paths between buildings. (6)

Down

2. Rich sot hides the fast-running bird. (7)

3. A complaint about the meat. (4)

4. Similar objects of different sizes placed one inside the other. (6)

5. Not interesting, tedious. (6)

6. The den of a wild animal. (4)

7. Deadly poison. (7)

8. Tree with wood similar to teak. (6)

9. Assisted. (6)

14. Puzzling questions posed as a problem to be solved, or guessed. (7)

16.bDeclare something legally invalid, a marriage perhaps. (5)

18. To do with the nose. (5)

20. Old distress signal. (3)

21. A Latin king. (3)

23. Brief to the point of rudeness. (6)

24. Extinct large wild cattle species. (7)

26. The cost of divorce. (7)

27. Push to the outcomes. (6)

28. Quick police searches of people for weapons or drugs. (6)

29. The capital city of Colombia. (6)

33. Fibber, prevaricator. (4)

34. Raised area lower than a mountain. (4)

SUDOKU ANSWERS