Author Archives: SMcK

Bike Repair and Maintenance Course organised by two of our committees

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Fix that bike! Want to learn how to fix punctures and brakes and lots of other practical stuff to keep your bike working safely and efficiently?
Two of the committees of Skerries Community Association have come together to bring you this course:
Sign up now for a free bike repair and maintenance course coming to Skerries in May. The course is open to Skerries residents over sixteen years old and is being organised by Skerries Cycling Initiative and Skerries Tidy Towns.
The course involves six sessions and will take place on Tuesdays and Wednesday mornings (9am-12 noon) over a three week period starting on Tuesday 5 May and ending on  Wed 20 May.
Any questions? Contact Michael, Skerries Cycling Initiative, via  cycling@skerriesca.com
Sponsored by Fingal County Council under the Local Agenda 21 Environmental Grants scheme
bike in front of harbour

Reports from Skerries Community Liaison Committee March 2015

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REPORTS FROM SKERRIES COMMUNITY LIAISON COMMITTEE

AttendanceCllr David O’ConnorCllr. J.P. BrowneCllr. Grainne Maguire

Jane Landy – SCA Rep.
Pat Reen – Prosper Fingal

Ann Doyle – Skerries Tidy Tows

Kay Coleman – Skerries Chamber
Guests

Ray Ryan – S.C.I

Apologies:

Cllr. Malachy Quinn, Geoff McEvoy S.C.A.,

 Martin Sweeney – FCCAileen O’Connor – FCCBernard Kenealy – FCCAnn Murphy – FCC

John Hartnett – FCC

Meeting held on March 24th 2015
Town Park, Skerries – Update

Aileen O’Connor reported that the Council put the plans for the Town Park on public consultation requesting submissions from the people of Skerries.

As part of the public consultation, 53 submissions were received. All submissions will be considered in the preparation of a report that will be presented to the elected members at the Balbriggan / Swords Area Committee Services B meeting in April.

Skerries to Balbriggan Cycle Route – Update

Martin Sweeney provided an update to the proposed Skerries to Balbriggan Cycle route. There has been a lot of work carried out to date and lands have been acquired for the project. Although a portion of grant funding has been awarded by the N.T.A. the overall delivery of the project is reliant on further funding being provided. This funding has not yet been identified.

Fingal County Council will look to seek approval from the elected members to commence the Part 8 of the Planning Act & Regulations in relation to the scheme which will include the preparation of detailed drawings and costings and a public consultation period.

Signage on Promenade on South Strand

The Council will be placing signage on the promenade on South Strand restricting cycling on this pathway over the coming weeks. The signage is being installed as a direct result of cyclists who are not having regard for other users, especially elderly and mobility impaired users.

The signage will be placed at either end and at all entrance points on the track. When the signage is being installed, a press release will issue to local Councillors, Skerries News, Skerries Cycling, SCA etc. It will be emphasised that these measures are being taken to address inconsiderate adult cycling on the pathway, and it is not the intention to restrict or prohibit young children from cycling on the pathway.

Sit Down on Strand Street

The Committee members again discussed this difficult issue and have recommended that one of the benches be repositioned on Strand Street. This recommendation is being evaluated by the Operations Department and hopefully work can take place in the coming weeks.

Special Works Programme 2015

The elected members recently adopted the special works programme for the Operations Department. The following works relate to the town of Skerries;

Restoration  Improvement  2015 – Road Reconstruction

Thomas Hand Street, Skerries          300M             €75,000

Restoration Maintenance  2015

Convent Lane, Skerries (MO)            200M             €28,000

Millars Lane, Skerries (MO)               200M             €20,000

SPECIAL  WORKS  2015   

Footpaths and Drainage works –    Millverton, Thomas Hand St, Strand St & Millars Lane       €44,000

Traffic Management Schemes

Skerries Dublin Road between roundabout and

Townparks Distributor Road Junction        €23,000

Parks and Open Spaces

Skerries      Cormorant Bed                       €8,000

Kelly’s Bay path                                       €5,000

St Patrick’s Day Parade

The Committee wished to thank Kay Coleman for her help and involvement in this year’s parade.

End 28th March 2015

fingal logo

The Liaison Committee is an informal meeting of community groups (including the SCA) and Fingal County Council officials. The committee meets four times per year and any resident of Skerries can request for a topic to be discussed.

The SCA representatives on the committee are Jane Landy (jane.landy@skerriesca.com) and Geoff McEvoy (geoff.mcevoy@skerriesca.com)

 

Launch of 2015 Skerries Adopt-A-Patch

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Skerries Tidy Towns Committee, in association with Fingal County Council and Supervalu, re-launched “Adopt-a-Patch” at Skerries Mills last Tuesday (24 March 2015).

This successful scheme is now in its fifth season. New and continuing volunteers take charge of an open space, laneway or pedestrian area, and keep it clean and litter free. Fingal County-Council provide bags, and collect full bags from convenient points around the town. Our local Supervalu act as the depot for new bags, gloves etc.

Frances Owens and Breege Madden, the Tidy Towns “Adopt-a-Patch” coordinators, thanked all their volunteers. They added: “With your help, Skerries continues to achieve a high place in the national Tidy Towns competition.”

It was particularly good to see a strong contingent from Skerries Community College, who are ever increasing their involvement in the community. They regularly cooperate with SCA committees – Soundwaves, for instance, hugely benefited from a good number of Transition Year volunteers during their festival last September.  The SCC students have adopted a patch around the Community College.

 

Patch 2015 (1) Patch 2015 (2) Patch 2015 (3) Patch 2015 (4)

If you would like to join those who already have adopted an area, contact y member of Skerries Tidy Towns Committee, in particular Frances Owens (087 241 7017) or Breege Madden (087 770 0449).

  • Big areas can be divided between a number of volunteers.
  • The area can be cleaned at a time that suits you.
  • Gloves, bags and a picker will be provided.
  • Fingal County Council will collect bags from convenient points

Photographs: Brendan Sherlock, SCA.

Jim Quigley Volunteers Award 2015 – Call for Nominations

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SCA VolunteersVolunteers are the glue of our community. Every year, Skerries Community Association awards a prize to an individual or a group of volunteers.

This year the nominee can be a young person, an adult, or a group – the only thing that matters is that they are deserving prize winners!

This prize is awarded every year in appreciation of volunteering work done in Skerries. You can read more about Jim Quigley and the prize, as well as see a list of previous winners, on our website.

Please forward nominations with as much information as you can giving the reason why you would like this person/group to get the prize.

The judges are outside the Town and need guidance on what the nominee does to help them make a fair decision.

Nominations to mary.conway@skerriesca.com  before the last day of May 2015.

 

Skerries CoderDojo in March

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The volunteers of Skerries CoderDojo (one of the many committees of Skerries Community Association) made it possible once more – over 70 “ninjas” (young coders) attended the monthly CoderDojo (or computer-coding workshops) in our Old School last Sunday, 8 March 2015.

There are some 30 mentors and helpers involved in this project, all giving their time free of charge. Thanks to their main sponsor, RazorSocial (based in Rush), their venue is paid for for the moment, but there are many other costs to cover, such as mentor training,  child protection training, materials and (some) equipment (they borrow as much as possible).

Normally, sessions take place on the second Sunday of the month. Every month, tickets for this free event can be reserved. It is safest to book them on the Sunday before the event, when they go live at 5 p.m., as there can be waiting lists. An email to coderdojo@skerriesca.com is all it takes to be put on their mailing list & to be alerted in good time before the next session!

 

Tidy Towns: Adopt-a-Patch

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Skerries Tidy Towns (a committee of Skerries Community Association) invites you to the relaunch of their ‘Adopt-a-Patch’ scheme at Skerries Mills on Tuesday, 24th March between 2.30 and 4 p.m.

We hope our existing volunteers will continue the wonderful work they do in helping to keep Skerries litter free and welcome new volunteers to Adopt-a-Patch. Come along and check out the areas we hope individuals and families will adopt!

  • Big areas can be divided between a number of volunteers.
  • The area can be cleaned at a time that suits you.
  • Gloves, bags and a picker will be provided.
  • Fingal County Council will collect bags from convenient points

Could you spare an hour or two each week to keep a space clean and litter free? If you can, please come to our relaunch and register.

Contact any member of Skerries Tidy Towns Committee, in particular Frances Owens (087 241 7017) or Breege Madden (087 770 0449)

 

 

SCA Objects to Milverton Quarry Skerries Plans

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Roadstone are planning to fill the quarry at Milverton, just outside Skerries on the Dublin road – we are concerned for a number of reasons!

Today, the formal objection on behalf of Skerries Community Association was submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency.

In it, the Board of Directors of the SCA emphasises

  • the importance of the Mill Stream, which flows from the quarry and through the centre of the town park to the sea, and the danger and consequences of contamination by even small amounts of hazardous material: “Therefore the SCA requests assurances that all material will be fully tested offsite before being transported to the quarry prior to granting of the licence.”
  • the increased volume of traffic on the road to the quarry by up to an extra 26 HGV movements per hour at busy periods on winding and undulating roads extending for over 10 kilometres (Skerries to Blakes Cross).  “The licence should not be granted until a more detailed investigation of the impact on traffic can be made.”
  • the fact that the quarry itself is listed as being of special geological significance by Fingal County Council. “Given its geological importance, further study of the impact of the works on the local ecology needs to be made before granting the licence.”
  • the fact that there is no time limit on the licence: “… the licence should not be granted without some clearly defined limit being in put in place on the duration of activity at the site. “

And the submission concludes: “Until assurances can be made to the local community on all these points, the Skerries Community Association objects to the granting of this licence.”

Read the SCA objection to the Milverton Quarry Skerries plans in full here:

SCA Roadstone Quarry Objection 11 Feb 2015

2015 An Post Rás to finish in Skerries – for the 10th time!

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This will be the 10th time that the this exciting bicycle race will finish in our town. Mark your diaries for Sunday May 24!  After nearly 1,200 kilometres, the riders will be able to look forward to a great welcome in Skerries. The An Post Rás Skerries Stage End Committee (a committee of the Skerries Community Association)  are already on the case!

An Post Ras Facebook snippet

 

Here is some detail from An Post Rás HQ:

Stage 8, Sunday May 24: Drogheda to Skerries (132.6 kilometres):

The last stage of the race is the shortest but Race Director Tony Campbell says that a modification has been made to the finale which could bring about a last gasp change in the overall standings.
After the drop of the flag in Drogheda the bunch will race through Donore and Navan prior to an An Post Prime in Kilmessan, 35.1 kilometres in. The first of five third category climbs will rear up at Newtown (km 63.3) followed by the second at Ardgillan Castle (km. 83).
Soon afterwards the peloton will race into Skerries and cross the finish line for the first time, 91.4 kilometres after the start. They will then begin three 13.7 kilometre finishing laps, each bringing them across the Black Hills category three climb and providing opportunity to strong riders who are chasing overall victory or the stage win.
“The last stage is familiar to those who have been at previous editions of the An Post Rás, in that it finishes once again in Skerries” says Campbell. “It’s actually the tenth year that we are doing so and that finale has been absolutely fantastic for the race. There is a fantastic committee putting it together, and each year it is just better and better”
“This time we have put in an extra lap of the finishing circuit. We believe it could be very close in the overall standings and so the third lap could make a difference and decide the race right in the final minutes. It could be a very dramatic finale.”

Some more details

2015 AN POST RÁS ROUTE TO MAKE FOR THRILLING SPECTACLE
Speed and Tactics will be key to success

Unveiling a fast and tactical route which totals almost 1,200 kilometres, the organisers of An Post Rás today launched what could be one of the most suspenseful editions of the race in recent history.
Deliberately omitting some of the tough first category climbs that have featured in recent years, the emphasis this time around is on opening up the possibility of attacks at any point in the race. This change is set to add greatly to the unpredictability An Post Rás has long been known for.
The 2015 edition of the race will begin in Dunboyne, travelling clockwise around Ireland with stage finishes in Carlow, Tipperary, Bearna, Newport, Ballina, Ballinamore and Drogheda, before the customary finale in Skerries.
Scrapping it out over eight days, the riders will still have 21 categorised climbs to deal with. But with just two of these being second category, surprise attacks, high speeds and strong winds will likely be the biggest factors in shaking up the peloton and deciding the final overall result.
Announcing the route for the May 17th to 24th event in Dublin’s GPO, An Post Rás, Race Director, Tony Campbell anticipates a gripping contest.
“This year’s race is a lot flatter than recent years,” he stated. “However it is very rolling terrain and very exposed and there is very little shelter on a lot of stages.
“The riders are going to have to be careful of winds; if there are any sort of westerly winds, I would say they could be in big trouble. It is going to make for great racing and will also require good bike handling skills.”
As has been the case in recent years, the route was designed by Stephen O’Sullivan. Campbell said that the choice of terrain is intended to strike the right balance between the international and the domestic competitors. The new format will ensure that both groups can influence the outcome.
“Sometimes the flatter editions are the ones with the most attacking, the most action and the most tactics,” he said. “Riders will have to be vigilant every minute of the day.”
Double Olympian and former Rás winner David McCann was on hand to launch this year’s route alongside Irish riders Damien Shaw, Eoin Morton and Sean McKenna. McCann, who lifted the coveted trophy in 2004, believes this year’s route will make for a thrilling spectacle.
“It’s going to allow for typical Rás style racing with plenty of attacking, which is what we love so much about the race. It should be a great one for the neutrals and hopefully this year an Irish rider can take home the trophy.”
Day one of the race covers 154.4 kilometres from Dunboyne to Carlow and has been set up to ensure a fast, aggressive opener. It features four third category climbs at Sherlockstown, Boherboy, Hacketstown and Kilcommon each awarding points towards the King of the Mountains competition. It also includes An Post Hotspot Sprints at Naas, Clonegal and Ballon.
Time bonuses will be on offer at each of these three gallops, but larger bonuses at the finish mean that whoever wins the stage will don the first Yellow Jersey of the race.
At the GPO launch of Ireland’s top-ranked UCI race, An Post CEO, Donal Connell said:
“An Post is Rás sponsor since 2011 and we have seen things change for the positive in this time, with huge growth in cycling as a sport, a form of transport and as part of the leisure and tourism economy. An Post is part of this and we continue with our support for cycling at every level. This helps our business visibility, it allows us to be part of a positive change in the country and we see the huge and longstanding difference our support makes to An Post Rás, as it does with all of our sponsorships.”
Details of the international teams set to join this year’s An Post Rás will be released over the coming months. The An Post Chain Reaction Sean Kelly team has already committed to participating.

An Post Rás route 2015 (UCI 2.2, May 17th – May 24th):
Stage 1, Sunday May 17: Dunboyne to Carlow (154.4 kilometres)
Stage 2, Monday May 18: Carlow to Tipperary (137.2 kilometres)
Stage 3, Tuesday May 19: Tipperary to Bearna (155.9 kilometres)
Stage 4, Wednesday May 20: Bearna to Newport (155 kilometres)
Stage 5, Thursday May 21: Newport to Ballina (142.4 kilometres)
Stage 6, Friday May 22: Ballina to Ballinamore (160.1 kilometres)
Stage 7, Saturday May 23: Ballinamore to Drogheda (142.4 kilometres)
Stage 8, Sunday May 24: Drogheda to Skerries (132.6 kilometres)

 

Submissions by our Committees re Town Park

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There is considerable interest in Skerries in the redevelopment of Skerries Town Park, and rightly so. In addition to the direct submission made by Skerries Community Association to Fingal County Council, a number of our committees also made their thoughts known. Some of them can be accessed here on our website – see rough summaries and links below.

Active Transport

Skerries Cycling Initiative made a comprehensive submission to Fingal County Council regarding the Town Park redevelopment. In summary:

Skerries Cycling Initiative (SCI) welcomes this plan in principle. The proposed new entrances and paths have the potential to create better access to amenities in the park and more importantly, to provide links between the North, South, East and West of the town.
The Town Park serves many purposes and its redevelopment gives Skerries a unique opportunity. Our comments in this submission are directed towards improving the Town Park as an active travel hub as well as improving access to the many amenities -existing and planned- in the Town Park. As such our focus is on extending the capacity of the Park to provide safe routes of travel for persons walking and cycling, using wheelchairs and other mobility vehicles including cycles adapted for persons with disabilities. We want the end result of the redevelopment to be the creation of an inclusive, age friendly and attractive space. We wish also to point out that increasing numbers of battery powered mobility vehicles are in use around the town and it is important that the users of these vehicles are catered for through well designed pathways in the Park.

Click on the following link to open the full submission, which includes maps and tables, in a new window: SCI Submission Townpark Redevelopment

 

Community Food Garden

Adding a community food garden was at the heart of the submission made by our Sustainable Skerries Committee. They write:

Sustainable Skerries wishes to submit a proposal to Fingal County Council with respect to the Skerries Town Park development to allow an area for a Community garden in the plans.

Site specification: Good drainage Easy to secure 600 -1000m2

We believe that the ideal location for the community garden would be beside the Bowling green, where the shipping container is at present. This area has easy access for young and old people alike, and is somewhat secure.

You can read their submission in full here: Community Food Garden Proposal to FCC Sustainable Skerries

Skatepark

The Skerries Skatepark Committee, also part of the SCA, wrote:

As part of the new Town Park Development Plan we would like to see a skatepark included in the overall plans. It has been the vision of the committee to construct a skatepark that is sensitive to its surrounding from a visual and environmental viewpoint. … Ideally 700 m2 area would suit a skatepark, this give enough room for mixed ages and abilities to participate at the same time. As a comparison a football pitch is around 7,000 m2.

See the full submission here: Town Park Plan – skatepark

Skerries Tidy Towns  also had direct input to Fingal County Council in this regard; we will add their submissions as they become available to us.

SCA Submission re Town Park to FCC

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….the proposed development of the Skerries town park as described in the plan is very welcome and will go a long way to making this park an amenity that the entire community can enjoy and be proud of.

This is the central message of our submission to Fingal County Council regarding the proposed redevelopment of the green heart of Skerries, the Town park.

In it, we are supporting the separate submissions made by our committees, Skerries Cycling Initiative, Skerries Tidy Towns, Sustainable Skerries and Skatepark Committee, and making some points of our own.

Here is a quick summary of our suggestions:

  • the provision of improved lighting around the Mill car park and the road leading to it.
  • an illuminated loop path for wintertime running
  • an increased provision of safe routes of travel for persons walking and cycling, using wheelchairs and other mobility vehicles including cycles adapted for persons with disabilities
  • the possible provision of a skatepark in the town park should be explored as part of this development
  • an area could be allocated for the provision of a community food garden, possibly by the bowling green for ease of access
  • inclusion of a fully equipped theatre and performance space within any extension of the Community Centre, or to explore possible provision for a free standing theatre and performance space, subject to planning permission, within the confines of the park

If you would like to read the full, much more detailed submission, sent to Fingal County Council by our Vice Chair, Geoff McEvoy, on 27 January 2015, just click on the link to it below.

SCA Submission Town Park January 2015

Skerries Town Park Masterplan