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Skerries CoderDojo write: Our monthly coding club for kids from 7 to 17 was in session two weeks ago, and here are a few pictures taken during it. The ninjas were showing off their projects to their group – part … Continue reading
Skerries Community Association is currently drafting a submission for the Fingal County Council Development Plan for 2017-2023.
2023! The kids who are starting school this September will be in 6th Class then, and those who are preparing for Junior Cert right now will be in their early twenties, and even the Leaving Cert will just be a fading memory….
So this is long-term, big-scale thinking which requires reflecting where we want Skerries to be in 2023. The Board of Directors of the Skerries Community Association is basing its work on a submission on the following:
Areas for possible future housing development should be identified on the development plan.
We (the SCA) are encouraging all Skerries residents to have a look at the development plan consultation process. Fingal County Council have put all relevant information here. The public consultation drop-in sessions are over, but all documents are available online, and we are including a few here as well.
If you have any comments that you think we should include in our submission, please mail them to secretary@skerriesca.com as soon as possible.
See below for the on-line consultation process, and (especially useful) drop-in consultation sessions where Council staff will be available to discuss the current draft.
There are sessions in Balbriggan Library (15 March), Rush Library (4 April) and many other locations.
(from the Fingal County Council website:)
| Public Information drop-in Sessions for the Development Plan process take place as follows. Please feel free to drop in and go through the Development Plan maps and discuss the plan with Council staff.
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| Draft Plan (Stage 2 Now Open)
Fingal County Council published the Draft County Development Plan 2017 -2023 on February 19th 2016 – this marks the start of Phase 2 of the Development Plan preparation process. The Chief Executives Draft Development Plan was presented to the elected Members of the Council in December 2015 for their consideration. At a series of meetings in January and February of 2016, motions submitted by the Members were considered and the Draft Development Plan is now being published for members of the public to make submissions / observations. The public consultation period runs from February 19th to April 29th 2016. The Fingal Draft Development Plan sets out the strategic spatial vision and future direction for the county over a six year period from 2017 to 2023. In developing this we will build on our previous successes and our strategic advantages as a county. The Fingal Draft Development Plan 2017 – 2023 has been prepared for public consultation and we encourage all citizens, communities, businesses and interested parties to actively participate in helping to shape the future of your County. The Chief Executive will prepare a report on the submissions received during the public consultation phase and this will be considered by the elected Members at meetings in September and October 2016. We look forward to hearing from you and exploring your views on how the County should develop economically, socially and culturally over the years ahead. Click here to view the plan or to make a submission: |
The organisers, Fingal County Council;s Community Development Office, Fingal Volunteer Centre & local partners Mourne Community Centre and ourselves, the Skerries Community Association, hope that some 30 groups will be present on the day.
The groups will set up from 5.30 and have one hour for networking until the event is opened to the public with the official Launch by Mayor of Fingal – Cllr. David O’Connor at 7 p.m.
Apart from Skerries groups looking to recruit volunteers, there will be seven Countywide / National Organisations as well, such as Foróige, Jigsaw, and Bereaved by Suicide.
All those who think they might have anything between a couple of hours once-off and a few hours every day to spare should come to the Harps Clubhouse on that 23 Feb, from 7 to 8.30!
Any Skerries organisation who are looking for volunteers and are not yet on board should contact Valerie McAllorum-Byrne, Community Officer, Fingal County Council, ASAP. Her contact details are
(01)8905106
Would you like to grow your own food without the expense and commitment of an allotment?
Do you want to learn how to grow food and flowers with a community of other people?
Do you have time to spare and interested in becoming involved with a Community Food Garden?
WE HAVE THE ANSWER FOR YOU. Sustainable Skerries in association with Fingal County Council and Skerries Tidy Towns have permission to create food growing garden near Skerries Mills.
If you are interested in becoming part of this project, please email skerriescommunityfoodgarden@
Being part of a Community food garden will provide you with an opportunity to meet new people, become more active, have access to fresh produce and learn how easy it is to grow food.
What do Skerries Mills, Shoe Horn, Barbara Ryan of The Old Rectory, the residents of The Kybe and Wisteria all have in common? They were recipients at the recent Skerries Tidy Towns Awards Night! And they, as well as many, many others here in Skerries, contributed significantly to our very good results in the national Tidy Towns competition 2015.
Below is the list of awards, their sponsors and their winners.
Well done, everyone!
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Area Judged |
Sponsored By |
Winner |
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Best Floral Display on a Business
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The Progressive Credit Union |
Skerries Mills Accepting: Ray Hunt Presenting: Sinead Morgan from the progressive credit union
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Best Window Display |
The Red Bank |
Shoe Horn Accepting: Marian Butterly, Debbie and Sandra Presented by: Frances Owens
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Best Presented House in the Town Centre |
The Progressive Credit Union |
The Old Rectory Millars Lane, Holmpatrick. Accepting: Barbara Ryan Presented by: Sinead Morgan from the progressive credit union
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Best Presented House in an Estate
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Kelly & Co Auctioneers
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34 Downside Heights Accepting: Geraldine Palmer Presented by: Frances Owens
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Best Presented Estate
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S.C.A. Skerries Community Association |
The Kybe Accepting: Caroline Dwyer and residents Presented by : Brendan Sherlock
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Best Signage on a Business |
Skerries Tidy Towns |
Piccolo, Thomas Hand St Accepting: Giorgio Presented by: Frances Owens
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Best Presented Business |
Tom and Denyze Joyce Skerries Art School |
Wisteria Accepting: Camille Dennis Presented by: The artist Shane McInerney
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You may have seen the link and information on the SCA Facebook page or Newsflash – Irish Rail were engaged in a consultation process concerning their proposed changes up to last week.
We are working closely with Bob Laird in this regard, who is a member on Fingal County Council’s Strategic Policy Committee for Transport and who went through the proposals with a fine-toothed comb. Based on his thoughts and our own analysis, we felt that there were some changes that would not be so good for Skerries.
We shared these with the recipients of the daily SCA Newsflash, encouraging to make their own input to the consultation process on irishrail.ie – but we also drew up a submission and forwarded it to Irish Rail. It follows here:
Skerries Community Association
Website: www.skerriesca.com
Contact: info@skerriesca.com
7 December 2015
We wish to begin by stating that Skerries residents have been loyal users of the train service over the years, and that many of us rely very much on the trains for mobility.
In general the train service, when not overcrowd, is reliable and comfortable. Having said that, some improvements are necessary. The frequency in off-peak is not sufficient for the numbers travelling and there are a number of negative implications for users in the draft 2016 timetable, especially for those returning home in the afternoon/evening peak. We consider it crucial that overcrowding on off peak trains be reduced as many less able bodied people choose to travel off-peak in the hope of getting a seat.
We wish to say also that the time allowed for the consultation is not sufficient for train users to study a long PDF document and analyse the implications of what is being proposed.
Comments on draft Timetable.
We welcome the introduction of an express from Dundalk at 07.55 am, which serves Drogheda, and which will free up space for Skerries and other stations further south.
Below is a list of the omissions from, and proposed changes to, the draft timetable which we believe will adversely affect users of the service travelling to and from Skerries.
Issues which we feel have not been adequately addressed:
Weekdays inbound:
Weekdays outbound:
Saturdays inbound:
Saturday outbound:
Sunday inbound:
Sunday outbound:
Sunday outbound:
We trust you will consider our concerns and endeavour to accommodate our suggestions.
Yours sincerely,
Michael McKenna, Vice Chairperson, Skerries Community Association
Since September 2015, a number of new Directors have joined the Board of Directors of the Skerries Community Association.
The three snapshots below were taken during our December Board meeting in Skerries Community Centre / The Old School.
Tony Graham is a long-standing member of Skerries Cycling Initiative and has been a mentor with Skerries CoderDojo since their very first session.
Joyce Moore is part of the Skerries Skate Park Committee.
And Mary Marsden is part of the Sustainable Skerries committee, as well as being involved in the Skerries Allotments Association.
These new Directors have slotted neatly & seamlessly into our Board of Directors, and it is great to have them. Not just because we can now spread the work more!
At the same time, we would like to thank Martin Russell, Zaneta Wright and Ciara Leonard for their contribution to the Skerries Community Association over the years. In addition to their role as company directors, they all held officer positions – Martin and Ciara were both chair persons at different times, and Zaneta was our Company Secretary.
We wish them all the very best and hope that our paths will cross often in the future!
Tuesday 6th October 2015 – 3:00pm at Prosper Fingal, Skerries
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Cllr. David O’Connor Cllr. Grainne Maguire Cllr. JP Browne Cllr. Tony Murphy |
Jane Landy – Skerries Community Assoc. Geoff McEvoy – Skerries Community Assoc. Paula Marry – Chamber of Commerce Ann Doyle – Skerries Tidy Towns |
Ann Murphy – FCC John Hartnett – FCC Aileen O’Connor – FCC |
The meeting was chaired by Councillor David O’Connor
Issues Arising
Ann Murphy outlined the process involved in attaining the Blue Flag and also informed the Committee the reason Skerries lost its Blue Flag was due to 2 individual incidents in 2014.
The Committee queried how and when Skerries could expect to get back the Blue Flag in the future. They also wondered if Milverton Quarry would affect the water quality when it was operational.
Jane Landy asked if it would be possible to contact George Sharpson with a view to recommencing local bathing water quality testing again.
Aileen O’Connor gave an update on the work that had already been completed and the work that was yet to be done.
Jane Landy requested a written update so it could be put on their Facebook page.
Geoff McEvoy suggested a coordinated approach between Fingal County Council and the Committee is taken in relation to issues of traffic and road safety in Skerries. Instead of individual issues being addressed it might be better to take a holistic approach to the issue.
It was agreed that Fingal County Council would provide the Committee with some maps of the town on which they can hi-light the areas and issues that they feel could be addressed using this approach.
Ann Doyle gave a brief review of the recent Tidy Towns results. She stated that the Tidy Towns Committee were very pleased with the results considering the large number of entrants. She said that for 2016 Skerries needed to come up with a project – maybe something in the area of waste minimisation. She also passed on her thanks to Fingal County Council for all of their assistance.
The Committee passed on their congratulations to Ann and the Tidy Towns Committee.
Fingal County Council said that they would give consideration to a proposal to put a small number of additional seats on Strand Street. The Committee undertook to check with businesses and residents regarding the possible location of these seats prior to presenting Fingal County Council with a number of potential sites.
Ann Murphy said that the Fingal County Council Traffic Engineer would carry out an assessment of the area but that the addition of a disabled parking bay would be done in consultation with the Gardaí.
Councillor O’Connor made an enquiry regarding the uptake and use of disabled parking bays in the town. The Committee said that they would look into this.
Ann Murphy reported that Fingal County Council are compliant with the legislation under the Official Languages Act. She informed the Committee that all Councils have until 2026 to be fully compliant under the legislation.
During the discussion Cllr. Tony Murphy noted that Malahide will pilot a project to standardise shop fronts and signage.
Cllr. O’Connor proposed and it was agreed that this issue would be discussed at the next Skerries Community Liaison Committee meeting as a Headed Item.
Ann Murphy reported that the current signage was the most appropriate for the area and that there was no need for additional signs or to change what was there.
Jane Landy thought that the current signs were still confusing to the public and that something should be done to make them clearer.
Ann Murphy suggested that a sufficient period of time should be allowed for the public to get used to the new arrangement on South Strand. She also suggested that the Committee could reinforce this using their newsletter and also social media.
The above is the report as circulated by John Hartnett, Fingal County Council, on 12 October 2015.
No sunny skies, but warm welcome for Skerries travellers !
A large group of Skerries locals travelled to our twin area, the Canton of Guichen, from 16th-21st July to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the signing of the charter of friendship between our two area. . Among those who travelled were several, who had been there at the original ceremonies twenty years ago. Accompanying the group were members of Rinceoil Fingal whose musical talents contributed greatly to the enjoyment of all the events. We also had the great pleasure of having the newly elected Mayor of Fingal, David O’Connor, with us.
The theme chosen for the celebrations was ‘Remembering the contribution of those who fought in the Second World War, who laid the future for the Europe of today’. There was also a group of participants from the Canton’s Polish twin town, Srem .
A whole programme of events was organised for us throughout the five day stay. One of the most interesting talks was on the enormous contribution made by Polish soldiers to the defence of Western Europe and the role they played in the war in France.
On Friday morning, we visited the War Graves in the cemetery in Rennes and laid wreaths to remember the efforts made by French, Polish and Irish combatants during World War II. Of particular interest for us were the graves of George Fitzpatrick, ( great uncle of the Grundy family in Skerries) and Sergeant Ross, ( (who was related to Harry Reynolds of Balbriggan). We also visited a number of retirement homes where we had the pleasure of meeting several of those who had fought for France and hearing their memories of those difficult times. We were delighted that our musicians came along and entertained the residents with selections of Irish music, which greatly added to the occasion. A further conference was held on the future of Europe and our responsibilities to ensuring freedom and equality across the Union.
The twelve young people, six from Skerries and six from Guichen who were involved in the three-week work camp, with the leaders and organisers.
Another highlight was a visit to the work camp in Laillé, where six young local students from Skerries Community College and their six counterparts from the Canton ware engaged in constructing a shelter in the local skate park. This three-week camp was nearing the end of its second week and we were able to see the structure taking shape. Everybody seemed to be having a good time and the Irish group were greatly heartened by hearing Irish voices and the addition of some packs of Tayto and Irish chocolate !
A formal re-signing of our charter of friendship took place in the presence of the eight mayors of the Canton. The twinning committee had also taken the opportunity to invite many of those who were involved with the original ceremonies in 1995. We were delighted to have our very own Lord Mayor with us, as David O’Connor looked resplendent in his chain of office. He took the occasion to present the Fingal flag to the assembly, which was very much appreciated. This was followed by a lively session with Rinceoil again providing the music and Irish, Poles and French united in Fallaí Luimnigh !
Fun and local games were planned for the Sunday. Undeterred by the grey skies, everybody enjoyed the afternoon. Workshops on weaving, galette making and local cider tasting proved very popular, even if the pétanque and other Breton games were a bit hampered by the damp conditions. A walking tour of local historical sites attracted a number of Skerries walkers, although the falling drizzle did dampen the enjoyment somewhat.
A lesson in galette making !