Skerries Community Association (skerriesca.com) welcomes the initiative from Fingal Count Council to restore part of the Harbour Road area to “promenade” status.
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Skerries Cycling Initiative is a committee of the Skerries Community Association and a member of Cyclist.ie, the national cycling advocacy network. We welcome the Greenway development as a means of improving active travel in the area and encouraging modal shift.
Continue readingThe following observations have been made by Skerries Community Association on the recent planning application made by Skerries Rowing Club for the erection of a club house at Skerries Harbour.
RE: Application F20A/0558 Skerries Rowing Club
Planning Department, Fingal County Council
Skerries Community Association welcomes the opportunity to make observations on Planning Application F20A/0558 from Skerries Rowing Club.
The Association’s purpose is to develop and improve generally the town and its neighbourhood for the benefit of the people of Skerries and to increase its attractiveness for residents and visitors to Skerries. Having sustainable water based activities which enhance the cultural and economic life of the area is to be encouraged. Such activities entail having adequate land based ancillary facilities.
However, with regard to the planning application from Skerries Rowing Club the Association notes that the proposal would entail a valuable, substantial and uniquely positioned piece of public open space in the harbour area passing from public amenity space, into the de facto possession of a small private group for their exclusive use.
The site being proposed for this development is located directly by the sea in the busy harbour area of the town. As Skerries grows in population and people seek to enjoy the amenity value of walking and socialising in this coastal town there is growing pressure for more open space, not less.
The Association supports the enhancement of watersports amenities in Skerries as these bring a valuable dimension to the town. However, given the broad community demand for such facilities (scouting, kayaking, sailing, rowing, swimming, motor-boating, etc) as well as the constrained space available in the protected harbour area, the Association feels that the allocation of Council land for this purpose should follow broader consultation on a more integrated plan to deliver the capacity to store and safely launch sports boats as well as to deliver shore-side facilities to benefit the maximum number of water uses in the community, while minimising impacts on land-based recreational use of the harbour area. The association feels that the proposal has fallen short in this respect.
The Association notes too, that the only building that currently stands on the seaward side of the road (from the harbour pier around to the Red Island carpark) is one used by people who risk their lives to rescue those in distress at sea. It is entirely appropriate that this RNLI building continue to be located directly beside the Sea Pole Memorial dedicated to those who lost their lives at sea. The insertion of a large building between the two would be a physical barrier undermining the powerful and poignant relationship that exists between the two structures.
In conclusion the Association is strongly of the view that the current proposed development on this site would be an infringement of the general public’s access to and enjoyment of the area and would take from the unique spatial relationship between two of Skerries iconic structures. Neither would it do anything to meet the needs of other water based activity groups.
Michael McKenna
Chairperson
Skerries Community Association
08 December 2020
Michael McKenna, Chair of the Skerries Community Association, writes: Last Monday, 19 October, on the day of the 2020 Skerries Community Association AGM, I had the pleasure of presenting Ronan O’ Callaghan with the Jim Quigley Volunteer of the year award for 2020, on behalf of the Association. Ronan was given the award for “his exemplary initiative and proactivity in starting the community response in our town” in setting up a volunteer group response group here in Skerries at the beginning of the Covid Pandemic.
After considerable arm-twisting Ronan accepted the award with the words ”All I’ll say is I just hope I’m making it clear how the Skerries Volunteer Group was in every way a team effort that literally couldn’t have been done without many volunteers, and you can kick me if I ever say it wasn’t. I want to specifically say that others did the same share of work, especially in getting the concept out there. It’s an example of how people are willing to do to help when needed.”
Well said and fair enough Ronan, but you were the one that kicked it off.
So who was this Jim Quigley guy anyway?
Jim Quigley came to live in Skerries with his wife Brigid in the late 1970s, purchasing their home in the newly built Hillside Estate. He joined the local residents association and was drawn to the Skerries Development and Community Association where his involvement lasted 22 years. Jim was Chairperson of the SDCA (now SCA) for ten of those years and worked on many, many projects. Perhaps the most visible legacy of his work in Skerries is the Community Centre. His skills in community building came to be recognised further afield and he became the first full-time President of Muintir na Tíre in 1994. He was proud to be named Tipperary Man of the Year in 1999. Jim died on the 29 August 2001. We remember him and celebrate his life’s work with an annual award. You can read more about him here.
Skerries Covid Community Response Group
When Ronan started the Response Group last March, he was quickly joined by other individuals and groups and together with voluntary services such as Meals on Wheels, they delivered a valuable service to those confined to their homes.
Leaflets were printed (with the contact numbers for the group) and delivered widely in Skerries. Volunteers were registered and many of them Garda vetted. Google groups and WhatsApp made it possible to respond rapidly to requests in a way that kept personal information private. As local businesses geared up to meet the demand for home deliveries, the need for the volunteer service lessened and the group was able to wind down operations after some months.
It is great to know that there is a reservoir of people out there who are ready and willing to give their time and energy to making life better for others.
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For information about the AGM on Monday 19 September, and the report for 2019/20, go to AGM 2020: The 2019/20 Report.
This year, the annual report about the work of the Skerries Community Association and its committees will not be distributed to every household in Skerries. A limited number of printed copies will be available from 10/10/2020 in the Community Centre, in local shops, and on request by email to chair@skerriesca.com.
Click on the thumbnail below to see the full report with turnable pages.
SCA and Committees: Our 2019/20 Report
And if you’d like the links to be clickable, open the PDF here:
NOTICE OF THE SCA AGM TO MEMBERS
NOTICE is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of The Skerries Community Association CLG (SCA) will be held online via Zoom on Monday the 19th of October 2020 starting at 8 pm to transact the Ordinary Business of the Company, that is to say: –
1. To confirm the Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting
2. To receive and adopt the Directors’ Report and Financial Statements for year ended 31 Dec. 2019
3. To elect Directors to the Board
4.. To elect Members to Skerries Community Centre Board of Management
5. To reappoint Dempsey Mullen as Auditors and to authorise the Directors to fix their remuneration
6. To transact any other business proper to an Annual General Meeting of the Company.
Dated this the 15th Day of September 2020, by order of the Board, Secretary.
Members wishing to participate in the online AGM should register on the SkerriesCA Eventbrite page.
NOTE 1. No person other than a Director of the Company retiring at the meeting shall, unless recommended by the Directors, be eligible for election to the office of Director at any general meeting unless, not less than three (i.e. 14th October 2020) nor more than 21 days (i.e 21st September 2020) before the date appointed for the meeting, there has been left at the registered office notice in writing, signed by a member duly qualified to attend and vote at the meeting for which notice is given, of his/her intention to propose such a person for election, and also Notice in writing signed by that person of his/her willingness to be elected. [A Nomination Form is provided below].
NOTE 2. The names of candidates who have consented to stand for election to the Board of Management of the Community Centre, together with the names of their proposers and seconders, shall be given in writing to the Secretary, and shall be posted on the Community Centre Notice Board at least three days prior (by 14th October 2020) to the holding of the Annual General Meeting. [See Nomination Form hereunder].
Ø NOTE 3. Copies of the Directors’ Report and Financial Statements will be available to members at the Community Centre and at www.Skerriesca.com at least seven days prior to the holding of the Annual General Meeting .
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Nomination Form
For election to the Board of Directors of SCA CLG or to the Board of Management of Skerries Community Centre [please underline the Board for which you are nominating]
I wish to nominate ____________________________________ for election to the Board of:
Skerries Community Association CLG OR Skerries Community Centre (underline one)
Printed name and signature of Proposer: ____________________ ___________________
I consent to my nomination for election
Signature of nominee _____________________ Date: __________________________
NB: Please return signed Nomination Form to the Community Centre by 14th October, 2020.
Are you a member of a neighbourhood network? A WhatsApp group just for your road? A Facebook group for your estate? A residents’ association even?
Yes? Great! Please have a look if it’s in our list here, and if not, please go to our online form and add your group!
No? Well, then check whether the area where you are living is covered by any of the groups below.
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Now that society has begun to open up a bit again, wouldn’t it be great if some of those more positive things that happened in the last few months continue? I’m thinking of the fact that there are now so many more people out on bikes and walking. People nipping down to the village on their bike. Families out together for a spin. Cycling has become so much more normal, it is great. And is it just Skerries, or is there more mutual respect between road users everywhere?
This is where Skerries Cycling Initiative could play a truly important role – especially if you help us in this!
Continue readingJust like new residents, new trees want to put down roots!
Many new trees have been planted throughout Skerries this year. And they need our help! It has not been raining much, and the forecast indicates very little rain on the way.
Earlier this year we saw many newly planted trees appear in the new housing estates (Ballygossan, Barnageeragh, Hamilton Hill) and alongside what are now known as Barnageeragh Road (previously the Distributor Road) and Harrison Cove Road (previously Northcliffe Heights). There are also some recently planted trees near Prosper Fingal that need watering.
It’s great to have lots of trees but they all need minding, especially in the first year.
Fingal County Council tell us that in more normal times they would always water newly planted trees over the first two summers after planting. Regrettably the Council is not in a position to carry out watering at this time as it is not a work task that can be done on the scale required while maintaining the recommended physical distancing.
These are very unusual times and Skerries must look to the great volunteering spirit of its residents to help. If we can water the new trees outside, or near our homes we can save these trees, but it must be done in a way that keeps people safe.
Let’s adopt a tree!
Give one of the newly planted trees some water (at least 5l at a time, ideally 1.5 gallons) every second day. You could, for instance, fill an empty large water container (or 2-3 two-litre bottles), put them in your backpack and bring them with you when out on your walk, then water a tree that seems to not have been watered yet by another adopter. Let’s keep our trees healthy! But keep ourselves healthy too, by keeping our distance.
Good to see that residents in Barnageeragh Cove have got the ball rolling on this as have residents in the town centre and a number of individual tree water bearers around the estates.
Skerries Community Association
Skerries Tidy Towns
Sustainable Skerries
The Skerries Tree Preservation Group