Rush Local V2I9-DEC 2025 by Irish Media Group

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Christmas, not just another date on the Calendar

In Fingal, Christmas has never been just a date on the calendar. From Balbriggan to Rus and Lusk to Swords, what makes Christmas truly special here is not the glitter of shopfronts or the bustle of seasonal markets, but the unmistakable sense of community—an unspoken understanding that this is a time to slow down, look around, and appreciate the people who share our little corner of the world.

Throughout Fingal, children rehearse school nativity plays, grandparents share recipes handed down through generations, and neighbours exchange greetings that seem more heartfelt in December’s crisp air. Whether it’s decorating a tree in Donabate, enjoying a winter walk along the Malahide estuary, or sharing a festive meal in Rush, the rhythm of the season reminds us that connection is our greatest gift.

Community groups across Fingal play a vital role in nurturing that spirit. Local sports clubs organise toy drives, parish halls host Christmas fairs, and volunteers ensure that those who might otherwise feel forgotten are welcomed into the fold. These efforts, often quiet and unseen, are the true heartbeat of the season. They shine a light on the generosity that defines Fingal—people showing up for one another not because it is expected, but because it is who we are.

In a world that often feels hurried and divided, Fingal’s Christmas traditions remind us that belonging is built through small acts of kindness and shared moments—carols sung in the town, a thoughtful knock on a neighbour’s door, a warm drink after a cold evening supporting a local event.

As we gather with loved ones and celebrate the season, let us hold onto what Christmas teaches us every year: that our community is strongest when we celebrate together, support one another, and make space at the table for all.

May this Christmas bring peace to your home, joy to your family, and renewed pride in the community we are fortunate to call our own.

The Locals Team

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Guide Dogs Calendars on Sale to raise vital funds

The Balbriggan\North County Dublin branch of Irish guide dogs for the Blind on December 5th Friday in the Strand Bar rush will be selling Xmas Cards, 2026 calendars, Merchandise and car raffle tickets costing €5 each, from 11am to 5pm.

Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind is dedicated to enriching the lives of blind and visually impaired people, and children with autism, by providing them with the freedom to travel safely, thereby assuring greater independence, dignity, and new horizons of opportunity.

Maura Ellis, Noeleen Turner, Tom O’Neill with guide dog Qeb and Rob O’Donoghue Labour party TD

Tom O’Neill with guide dog Qeb and Rob O’Donoghue Labour party TD

111 new homes in Skerries officially opened

A brand-new housing development for north Dublin has officially been opened, marking an important milestone in the delivery of housing to the local area. The opening of The Paddocks located at Ballygossan Hill, Skerries was celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Tom O’Leary, Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly, Minister for Housing, James Browne, Minister of State with responsibility for Local Government and Planning, John Cummins, and representatives from Tuath Housing.

The Paddocks, a collaboration between Fingal County Council, Tuath Housing, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Housing Finance Agency, and the Housing Agency, is a 111 home development in the popular seaside town of Skerries, made up of 97

social homes and 14 Cost Rental homes.The Cost Rental homes provided at The Paddocks will be the first of this tenure type in Skerries, offering an affordable solution to rising rents and supply pressures.

Mayor of Fingal County Council, Cllr Tom O’Leary, said: “The completion of these exceptional new homes highlights Fingal County Council’s commitment to meeting its ambitious housing targets. It is thanks to strategic collaborations with trusted partners like Tuath Housing that we can meet the diverse housing needs of our growing population. The Paddocks is another great example of what can be accomplished by working together. As a long-time resident of Skerries, I know just how appealing the town is. With its beautiful coastline, its vibrant community, and expanding

infrastructure, it’s no wonder that developments like The Paddocks have attracted such strong interest.”

The 111 new homes are made up of a mix of one, two, and three bedroom apartments, along with one and two bed duplexes, each with a private balcony. Residents have access to landspaced open spaces, communal gardens as well as excellent transport links.

Sonya Meekel, Tuath Voluntary Board of Directors, added: “We are proud to help deliver this high-quality, affordable housing. It’s an exciting moment for the community and the residents who are settling into their new homes by the sea. It is very gratifying for everyone at Tuath to see the result of the strong collaboration of all stakeholders.”

A Year of Gratitude

Thank You from Rush Community Council

As we come to the end of another busy and rewarding year, Rush Community Council would like to express our sincere thanks to everyone who continues to support our work and our community.

We begin by acknowledging our dedicated RCC Committee Members - Erin Cartlidge, Brian Dennehy, Andrew Mitchell, George Johnston, Yvonne Doyle, Chris Rooney and Emily McElarney - for their commitment, hard work and belief in what we can achieve together for Rush.

We also want to extend a heartfelt farewell to Fintan Price, Brian Delaney and Lorraine Allen. As longserving Directors of RCC, each of them has given many years of leadership, service and passion to our town. Their contributions have shaped the Council and strengthened our community, and we thank them sincerely as they retire from their roles.

A very special thank you goes to Debbie Donnelly, Manager of the Rush Community Centre, for her tireless optimism, warm demeanour and unwavering dedication. Debbie is truly the backbone of our community. Under her leadership, the Centre continues to thrive and serve as a welcoming hub for all. We would also like to thank her wonderful team in the

much of what we do. We are also grateful to our local representatives - the Mayor of Fingal, our Local TDs, Senators, and Local Councillors - for their engagement, advocacy and ongoing support for the community of Rush throughout the year.

We would also like to thank our hardworking subcommittees, whose commitment and vision help drive progress in our town: Rush Tidy Towns, Rush Tourism, Rush Events and the Rush Development Committee, whose dedication, vision and hard work contribute enormously to the growth, beauty and wellbeing of our town. Their commitment to local improvement and community pride is deeply appreciated.

We are proud to work alongside the many groups, volunteers, businesses and organisations across the town who collaborate with us on projects, initiatives and services. Your generosity, energy and willingness to help truly strengthen the spirit of Rush.

Most importantly, thank you to the people of Rush. Your support, participation and community pride are the heart of everything

As we look ahead, we remain excited for what we can build together in the coming year.

Wishing everyone in Rush a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

Rush Community Council

We’re always happy to have more members - if you are interested in joining to help us do more great things for the town and communities in the coming year please email us at manager@rushcoco.ie

Rush takes home bronze medal from National Tidy Towns Competition

The committee and volunteers from Rush Tidy Towns were overjoyed on the announcement that they had secured a bronze medal at the National Tidy Towns awards at Croke Park in October. Committee members Matt and Siobhan were at the event, again a first for this generation of committee.

To qualify for a bronze medal you have to be within 35 points of the winner of your category. This year that was Skerries who had 395 points, so on 364 points, Rush actually had four points to spare. Overall we increased by 19 points in 2025, following on from an increase of 18 points in 2024. Neighbours Lusk increased by 14 points, as did Skerries.

Gaining the medal has been the culmination of work done by the countless volunteers and committees over the years, and it is now our job to push for Silver.

The judging criteria is based on 8 categories with a total of 550 points up for grabs. Community – planning and involvement (80 marks), Streetscape and Public Spaces (80 marks), Green Spaces & Landscaping (80), Nature & Biodiversity (55 marks),

Sustainability – doing less with more (55 points), Tidiness & Litter Control (90 points), Residential Streets and Housing Areas (55), Approach Roads Streets and Lanes (55 points)

The judges visited the town on Monday 16th June, and provided some really good feedback. They commented positively on the new notice board advertising many upcoming Tidy Towns events, the mural on the Scout Den, the new landscaped area in front of Tayleurs Point, the new hedging at the side of St. Catherine’s School and the planting on the Whitetown Road. Some feedback was also provided such as, we should use more perennial plants in the hanging baskets and three tiered planters, to remove redundant stakes from trees, to not cut the grass as low in the summer, and some weeds were observed.

Irrespective of the result, residents and visitors get to reap the benefits of our work all year round, and we will continue to work with that objective in mind. Thank you to everybody who has contributed however small to enable us to achieve what we do.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

Come and take a walk through our bright, modern school building. You’ll have the opportunity to:

• See engaging learning activities happening in real-time.

• Meet our dedicated staff: Our passionate teachers, SNAs, and the supportive parents who make up our community.

• Chat with our friendly pupils, who are the heart of St. Catherine’s.

Whether your child is a baby, a toddler, or ready to start school next September, we warmly encourage you to pop in and get to know us!

We can’t wait to show you why St. Catherine’s is the perfect fit for your family and demonstrate the vibrant, high-quality

that our modern school building supports right here in Rush. Call 01 843 8266 or email secretary@stcatherinesns.ie to

Returning for its third year, the Christmas Fair at St Catherine’s National School will be taking place on Sunday 7th December from 1pm to 5pm, where you are guaranteed to be met with a warm welcome even if the weather outside is frightful! Over 20 stalls are already confirmed, including the very popular Ros Eó Soap Company, so this is the place to find fantastic stocking fillers and other gifts. Expect to find candles, soaps, face painting, jewellery, paintings and frames and much more.

Also confirmed, Santa Claus will be at the event greeting children

(and their parents) in his grotto. As well as the chance to speak with Santa, you will be able to meet his elves, write a Christmas list and watch a Christmas movie. For just €6 per child, you can visit Santa in his grotto and all children will receive a chocolate selection box. There is no charge for parents or grandparents, and the elves will be on hand to take photos of you with Santa. Slots to meet Santa will be available from the St Catherine’s Parents’ Association, on sale outside the school in the week before the fair and via their Facebook page.

How To Reduce Your December Spending?

By Dave Kavanagh

Traditionally, December is when we tend to spend the most. Is there a way to soften the impact? Of course there is. Firstly, manage expectations: Most people can’t remember what they got 2 years ago, so don’t put yourself under too much pressure for “big” presents. Next, leave the credit card at home: At about 20% interest, adding debt for things you don’t need to overspend on, only starts the new year off in a negative. Be realistic with food shopping: The shops are only closed for 1-2 days, do you really need to stock up so much? In the days/weeks after Christmas, make a list of all the things you bought but didn’t really need or through out, and keep it for next year, so you don’t repeat the same mistakes. Kris Kindle: Talk to family and close friends to agree to pick one person and buy them a present for a set limit, to ease the burden. There are things you can also do all year round that can save you enough to cover the cost of Christmas: Switch utility providers, the savings can be quite substantial. Compare before you shop for larger items: Just because one store has a sign saying the fridge you want is reduced from €799 to €699, doesn’t mean that another store that does not have a sale on, isn’t selling the same fridge for €649. Take the time to shop around when your car or house insurance

renewals come in, it can be well worth the effort. Review premiums that you pay regularly, such as mortgage protection or life cover, especially if they were taken out directly with a bank who could not compare. Finally, go through a few months’ bank statements: we regularly find people paying for things like subscriptions or gym memberships, that should have been cancelled years before or that they simply no longer require.

Dave Kavanagh QFA has been advising people financially for over 25 years. For quotes or information (with no cost or obligation) he can be contacted by emailing info@ financialcompanion.ie or use the contact form on www.financialcompanion.ie or @Davekav_ advice on Twitter and Instagram. Combined with his previous role of gym/nutrition adviser, he regularly gives talks and workshops at seminars and events for groups, companies and government departments on financial wellbeing, positivity and motivation. As heard on RTE 2FM, LMFM and TV3.

Storm Claudia puts on a show at Rush and Loughshinny Harbour

A bygone Christmas

By Jon Kavanagh

A childhood memory finds me awakening on a dark winter’s morning. Using my powers of deduction I concluded aloud ‘It won’t be long now till Santy comes’. Not a proclamation my mother wanted to hear as she struggled to boil the black kettle on the open fire, the only means of cooking in the time warp gate lodge where we lived. It may have been the Swinging Sixties but the decade of change had yet to pitch its tent in rural Fingal. A fellow

Baby Boomer recently reminded me of how we looked forward to simple treats like a bottle of brown sauce at Christmas. Things we take for granted today were luxuries back then. The centerpiece of the season was my mother’s plum pudding, which she bought in instalments starting around mid-September; week one a packet of raisins, week two a tub of mixed peal, week three a bag of brown sugar etc. The highlight of my year was scraping and consuming what remained in the mixing bowl after she placed the great load into a calico cloth. As the ingredients included a bottle of stout and a generous helping of whiskey, I’m lucky not to have been charged drunk driving on my tricycle. Tension and steam filled the kitchen as the pudding was carefully place in an iron pot for eight hours of intensive care. It was crucial not to let the water go off the boil as

the pudding would ‘take the water’ – a widely feared disaster. We would buy a Christmas cake in the local shop. Beautifully presented in a decorated cardboard box, it had thick layers of almond and white icing topped off with a toy Santa. Long before loyalty cards were invented, the shop keeper would give his customers a Christmas present; usually an Oxford Lunch Cake or a nice canister of tea.

My father decorated the tiny lodge with a string of brightly coloured balloons and sprigs of ivy as my mother proudly placed a new length of oil cloth on the rustic kitchen table. On Christmas Day we sat down to hearty meal of meat, two veg and packet oxtail soup, rounded off with the plum pudding, which thankfully didn’t ‘take the water’. Simple times we appreciated. Happy Christmas.

Local photographer Frank Ferguson braved the elements during Storm Claudia on 15th November to capture these spectacular images at Rush and Loughshinny Harbour.

The Running Man (2025) – A High-Octane, Messy Thriller

By Jack Shanley

Edgar Wright’s take on The Running Man is less of a remake of the campy Arnold Schwarzenegger film and more of a gritty, modern adaptation of the original Stephen King novel. Starring Glen Powell as Ben Richards, the blue-collar man desperate enough to volunteer for a lethal, televised hunt, the film is a non-stop, kinetic thriller that often feels uncomfortably timely.

From the first frame, Wright brings his signature visual energy. The pace is absolutely frantic, rarely giving you a moment to catch your breath as Richards is chased across a dystopian, corporatelycontrolled America. This isn’t just a staged arena game; it’s a cross-country chase broadcast as prime-time entertainment, complete with high-tech surveillance and a bloodthirsty viewing public. The action sequences are inventive and sharp, and the movie is powered entirely by Glen Powell’s performance.

Powell plays Richards not as a wisecracking action star, but as a man consumed by justifiable, seething anger. He’s running to get medicine for his sick daughter and railing against a system of extreme wealth inequality and broken healthcare. This is where the film feels strongest: its

dystopian 2025 is less sci-fi fantasy and more “uncomfortably familiar” social commentary. It’s a world where propaganda and “FreeVee” reality shows are used to placate a miserable working class, and the film does a solid job of highlighting this critique.

However, the sheer speed of the film is also its biggest flaw. The constant movement leaves many of the supporting characters Richards encounters feeling underdeveloped or quickly forgotten. They’re colorful plot devices rather than fully fleshed-out people, which dilutes some of the emotional weight.

The biggest stumbling block is the final act. After establishing such a tight, brutal, and cynical world, the ending feels strangely Hollywood-ized. It’s too neat and lacks the dark, uncompromising bite that Stephen King’s novel delivered. It struggles to commit fully to either being a purely biting satire or an all-out action flick, landing somewhere in the middle.

I’d recommend checking out ‘The Running Man’ and see what you think of it; I shall give it a score of 3 and ½ stars, after my first watch. You can watch it at your local cinema today: Director: Edgar Wright– Rating: 15A – Genre: Sci-fi/Adventure – Run Time: 2h 13m Language: English. For more film content please follow @movies4fanatics on Instagram.

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