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Volume 4 Issue 12 - January 2021

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ou Wishing y nd a y p p a h a ew healthy N Year!

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Lets make 2021 a positive happy and healthy New Year.

Editor E. communitylocalseditor@gmail.com

Last year we were hit with a worldwide pandemic, which meant we had to stop and start work periodically. Some of us lost our jobs. Some of were severely financially challenged, some of us got very ill and some of our families were hit with tragedy. This coming year we have a chance for a new beginning, a rebirth, and best of all another chance at making our health and lives better. Let us make positivity the byword for this year. Let us show each other the positive mental attitude that has helped us and our forebears overcome so many man made and natural disasters in the past. Let us all pull together, obey the Government rules and continue to flatten the Covid 19 curve again. We should also all shop locally and ensure the local jobs of our neighbours and friends. We all know the dangers of not wearing face coverings, not regularly washing our hands thoroughly and not keeping our distance when meeting others. Our elderly, those of us who are vulnerable because of health issues, our children and ourselves deserve to have a normal happy life and this year we can return to that. So lets keep supporting our HSE workers,our local shopping outlets and most of all our families and those we love and lets make 2021 the year we work for a new positive future for all of us. Lets make 2021 the year when we make and keep only one new years resolution -to do our best to be healthy and happy and ensure our families are also. As for us, we are determined not only to do that but to keep promoting all the wonderful works and achievements of our community and voluntary/ sporting organisations in this area in 2021. Happy New year to you our wonderful readers, contributors, and advertisers and your families from all of us in The Locals Team.

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Local News

Community Council to meet Housing Minister

Donabate Portrane Community Council is to meet Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien to discuss planning policy issues.The meeting comes about after the Community Council had issued a statement saying it was disappointed that Minister O’Brien’s officials said he would not meet it.This prompted the Minister to quickly

contact the Community Council to say a letter from Donabate Portrane Community Council seeking a meeting had not been brought to his attention by his officials. He said he was prepared to meet them. The Community Council wants to question the minister about his previous promise to abolish the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) process.This process allows developers to bypass local authorities and apply directly to An Bord Pleanála for planning permission. It applies to developments of over 100 homes. The promised meeting comes about after a letter sent to the Minister was answered by his officials, saying he could not discuss planning issues with Donabate Portrane Community Council. The Community Council had written to Minister O’Brien last month. In the letter it was stated that the Donabate community is alarmed at plans by Cannon Kirk to use the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) process to apply to build housing 1,368 units at Corballis East in the village. An Bord Pleanála has categorised 1,000 of these units as apartments. The letter to the Minister stated that in this instance the SHD process is facilitating an unsustainable exercise in over-development.The Minister contacted the Community Council after it issued a statement saying it was disappointed his officials wrote to

say he would not meet.He said he would respond to the original letter and was prepared to meet the community council to discuss the policy issues around the use of the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) process. A spokesperson for the Community Council said that it was eager to see the end of the SHD process and was anxious to discuss this with the minister. The Government has decided that the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) process is to remain in place until the end of next year. The community council spokesperson added: “The Minister gave a commitment before this year’s general election that he would abolish the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) process. We want to tease this out in a meeting with the Minister.” In a related development, Donabate Portrane Community Council said it had been contacted by developer Cairn Homes which is seeking planning permission for 36 houses and 28 apartments/duplexes at Ballymastone in Donabate. The company is seeking planning permission from Fingal County Council. An objection to the scheme has been submitted by Donabate Portrane Community Council, which said it would be inappropriate to meet the developer ahead of a decision on the planning application.

Happy New Year to all our members and potential new members

Annual General Meeting: Last year we started the year with registration and moved quickly into attending our classes. This year we are not sure yet where and when we will start! What we do know for certain is that we hold our Annual General Meeting in January. We have a provisional date of Monday 18th for this but it will be confirmed by email and text. Our challenge is that we will not have access anywhere that will hold a quorum for our meeting if we are to meet social distancing requirements! At this point it looks like it will have to be held over Zoom. Documentation for nominations etc will be available at the DPCC. Again, this will be updated as soon as we have more certainty. A big

thank you to people who had big ideas: Some of our early Committee Members have completed 6 years of tenure – when they are obliged by our Constitution to take a break for a minimum of a year. We will have 5 places to fill on the Committee for 2021. Those taking a break or retiring have been in from the start and, on behalf of all members, we would like to thank them so much for all the effort involved in driving our group to becoming such a success. What would be doing with ourselves if you have not pushed forward with the whole idea? Like all things worth having, there was lots of discussion and organizing and some challenging times. We became aware of so many things needed to run a

successful group and lots of these people brought many skills with them and shared them around. Thank you to you all – you have been brilliant volunteers and we want to publicly acknowledge your work here. Might you be a replacement on the Committee? Most of the big challenges have been visited and viewed and worked on but there will always be some new ones coming along. However, the bedrock work is now complete and new committee members will have the experience of others to fall back on. Please do not wait to be asked if we can nominate you. If you are willing to give some time to the Committee, please contact Jennifer on 086 8806808.

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Finance

How you can combine health with wealth By Dave Kavanagh The start of another year, where despite all of the challenges that Covid-19 brought, many people will still be intent on embarking on making some positive changes or improvements in their lives. The most recognisable of these is the ‘losing weight” one. To give people more of an incentive to maintain what they start, it’s worth noting that if done properly, losing weight can have the added bonus of leaving you with more money at the end of each month. So how does that work?? Well, by “doing it properly” I refer to NOT going on a diet, or buying products with magic properties that will make the weight just fall off. Instead, making small, sustainable lifestyle changes. It can be adding some exercise in week 1, drinking more water (and less alcohol/sugar laden drinks) in week 2, reducing portion sizes in week 3, substituting things like chips for wholegrain rice or pasta in week 4, breaking the association of biscuits/cakes whenever you have a coffee or tea in week 5, etc., etc. Do-ing it this way, makes it sustainable and when weight is dropped slower over a longer period of time, it is far more likely to be kept off. So how does that help my finances? When I analyse people’s spending budgets, it’s clear that takeaways, alcohol, sweets, cakes biscuits etc. pop up quite fre-quently. If you keep track of the savings when you cut down on many of these things, it’s easy to see how much you can

save. One person I was helping used to enjoy her “treat” of a chocolate eclair most days. When she accepted that she felt bad after eating it and conceded that it was not helping her goal to lose weight, I suggested it was more of a punishment than a treat. I proposed that she put the money into a jar each day and when there was enough, to treat herself to a back massage, which can positively reinforce the good changes someone has made. Make the right choices, one day at a time. Dave Kavanagh QFA has been advising people financially for over 25 years. For quotes or infor-mation (with no cost or obligation) he can be contacted by emailing info@financialcompanion. ie or use the contact form on www. financialcompanion.ie or phone 087-6414570, 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 depart-ments on financial wellbeing, positivity and motivation. As heard on RTE 2FM and TV3.

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Local News

Johnston calls for urgent action in Portrane Recent coastal erosion in the Donabate/Portrane area

Corina Johnston, the Labour Party local area representative for Donabate and Portrane is calling on Fingal County Council to take urgent action to protect the roads, homes and businesses in Portrane, following the worsening effects of coastal erosion in recent weeks. Johnston said; “ Beach Lane was made impassable on two occasions recently, due to the effects of further coastal erosion following the recent high tides. On each occasion, the residents had to carry out urgent repairs to the road, in order to provide safe access to their properties. The flow of the tide, where the existing Seabees end at this section of beach, has redirected the sea towards the corner of the access road and the adjoining dune network, which will be further undermined, if the Seabees or other remedial works are not carried out as a matter of urgency by Fingal County Council.” Johnston added; “Duncan Smith TD and I have consistently called for Fingal County Council to install emergency coastal protection measures along the beach, from Quay Road to the back of the Brook, and for an extension of the Seabees fronting the houses on Beach Lane, and at other strategic locations along the beach front. Johnston concluded; “ as we enter the winter season with anticipated worsening weather conditions, we are calling on Fingal County Council to give further consideration to the plight of residents and to respond to their needs before it’s too late.”

DP ICA raised €1200.00 for Brother Kevin

2020 was a disastrous year for us in Donabate Portrane ICA as we were not able to hold our usual meetings to socialise and develop our various skills further. However, we did use our talents even in lockdown and when 6

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we could not meet. Some of our members, along with many other guild members, sewed scrubs at the start of the pandemic. That was not all though, everyone who does any crafting will know that crafters always have boxes of ‘leftovers’. Did we ever think that they would come in very handy for mask making? Well we were offering the first homemade masks on the peninsula. They were made to a very exacting pattern and have the facility for additional layers and filters. When we first advertised them, we did not expect such a good response. Thanks to all for your donations for your orders.We managed to meet at the start of December and brought together our funds. We are delighted to say that over 1200.00 euros was sent to Brother Kevin to support his ongoing work. Thank you everyone! Nb: Over 40 years ago, Brother Kevin Crowley founded the Capuchin Day Centre for Homeless People in Bow Street, Dublin. From its very humble beginnings in the Friary garden it now provides over 700 meals each day and over 1500 food parcels each Wednesday to the homeless and poor of Dublin.Well done to the ICA in raising such funds for such a good cause. Contact us: communitylocalseditor@gmail.com

Local News

LSA - Your Local Athletics Club - Registration Open! Some our adult athletes taking a breather

2020 was a different year for the Lambay Sports Athletics club. It got off to a promising start for our Juveniles with a big group competing in the Dublin Indoor Championships in Abbotstown. We had a very successful event: some of our athletes set new Personal Bests with a total of three gold medals, others qualified for the National Championships in Hurdles, 60m,

Long Jump and Shot Putt. Lockdown presented different challenges and a different way of training. In April we had a virtual relay challenge with juveniles and adults taking part. During the summer we completed the “Chernobyl Challenge” with members running 9,100 kms. With a big effort from the coaches, Committee and volunteers, all our groups eventually got

back to training together during the summer. It was a very different summer without our usual competition, but nonetheless a few of our Juvenile, Junior and Master athletes did get the opportunity to test themselves in the few competitions that took place in Morton Stadium, Santry. For the first time LSA had an Under 20 National Medal winner! In October the Dublin City Marathon was cancelled but our members ran virtual 4 mile, half and full marathons around our beautiful peninsula- you may have seen us on RTE News! We are all looking forward to the year ahead in 2021 which will hopefully see the return of group races and Parkrun. 2021 is our 10 year anniversary with great plans ahead including our own race which will be open to all and will be Athletics Ireland certified.“Joining the club in October not only got me back into running after letting it slip but also gave me a social and supportive network of encouragement throughout the harshest lockdown!” Aileen McDaid, recent Couch to 5K graduate. “LSA is a fantastic running club with a fantastic community spirit. I have been a member for just over a year and I have made some great friends within that time” Fintan Counihan, Member & Coach. If you’re interested in joining or have any questions, contact us on gmail at lambaysportsathletics or Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter [Search, “LSA”]

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Local News

Leithinis DP ready for whatever 2021 brings!

Leithinis Donabate Portrane CCE held its first term of classes for 52 students in September 2019. We also had a number of slow sessions for our beginner students and fast sessions for our more experienced musicians. Our main fundraiser was a bag pack and tradathon in early March 2020 in Donabate Town Centre which raised funds for our instrument bank.With the outbreak of covid19 our classes were held over zoom which proved very successful. We were also able to facilitate a few slow sessions over

zoom which enabled our students to highlight their progress and it was an enjoyable way to pass an hour or two on a Friday evening during the initial lockdown. In December we took part in an online Tradathon as part of Fingal Inclusion week which was a great way to promote our branch throughout the North County.We are ready to resume face to face classes as soon as the Government give us the green light. We were fortunate to receive funding from Fingal County Council for sanitising equipment and we have our

covid19 Officers and plan in place so as to ensure our lessons are held in a safe environment.Our lessons are continuing over zoom and registration for our second term starting at the end of January 2021 is now open. We offer lessons in Fiddle, Tin Whistle, Bodhran, Banjo and Accordion at both beginner and advanced levels. We have a bank of instruments for rent so don’t let not owning a instrument prevent you from joining us. Details can be found on our webpage leithinis.com or email us on leithinis@comhaltas.net

Men’s Shed planning for restrictions easement 2021 promises to be a busy year for Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed, once Covid-19 restrictions can be eased. We are arranging for the upgrading work at Donabate Sea Scouts’ den funded by a Department of Rural and Community Development grant from the Fingal Local Community Development Committee. In addition, we hope to have a second plot at Turvey Allotments to occupy our members interested in growing vegetables, not to mention our usual weekly get-togethers, exercises classes and regular outings when conditions permit. The Men’s Shed wishes all our members and the wider community a safe and peaceful 2021. We welcome new members and ideas at any time; please contact Jim on 086-3694316. 10

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Local News

Newbridge House the set for Mundy’s new track

Photograqphy by Donal H Murphy

Fingal County Council is proud to have supported ‘Ireland in Music’ filming in Newbridge House for the latest track from Irish musician Mundy,Dark Long Enough.The track was recorded live for ‘Ireland In Music’ at Newbridge House and will feature in the one-off TV special that will premiere on RTE One on Tuesday 29 December at 8 pm this Christmas and the album of the same name. ‘Ireland In Music’ celebrates Ireland’s natural heritage and culture, specifically our music and musicians. Leading Irish musicians were filmed playing live during the lockdown in some of Ireland’s most iconic locations.The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr. David Healy said: “Newbridge House is a stunning venue in a stunning location,

and it is great that it is being recognised for this. It has been a long and difficult year for so many and this winter has been particularly tough. ‘Ireland in Music’ will showcase some of the most iconic places in Ireland and show what we still have to offer as a country and a county.” Emer O’Gorman, Director of Economic, Enterprise, Tourism and Cultural Development Department of Fingal County Council said: “We were delighted to work with Ireland in Music and Mundy in recording his new track at Newbridge House. It was an opportunity to show what a great venue Newbridge House is and the cultural significance it has to Fingal as well as the significance Fingal has to the rest of Ireland as a

county rich in heritage and culture.” The ‘Ireland In Music’ project is produced by TradFest in association with Born Optimistic, The Temple Bar Company, RTÉ, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland and the local authorities of Clare, Donegal, Dublin, Fingal, Meath and Westmeath.Dark Long Enough marks the next chapter in Mundy’s career. This album represents a man from Birr who has carved out his own place in Irish life. Mundy talks about memories of his childhood in Birr, treasured times gone by. He’s already given us ‘Galway Girl’, one of the biggest selling downloads in Irish history with over one million copies sold.

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Local News

Through the Lens Photography Club 2021 calendar Through the Lens Photography Club are

happy to announce that they will be

selling their limited edition calendar for

2021 at a location in or near the Donabate shopping mall. The calendar has enjoyed

great popularity over the last few years; it makes an ideal gift to send to loved ones who live abroad, or indeed a welcome

Christmas present anywhere.The calendar is the clubs’ only fund-raising activity for

the year and this year we will be donating €500 from the proceeds to the local St

Vincent de Paul society.Given the present

pandemic situation we fully understand that some people are reluctant to venture out

too much, so if anyone would like to order

a calendar we will gladly deliver. For orders please contact Carolyn Smith 0879284307 or 0894072523.

Payment, €10/calendar, can be made

remotely and securely on our Sum Up app. L to R - Eithne English and Marie Mulligan accepting €750 cheque for SVP from Carolyn Smith and Alain Rochecouste from Through The Lens Photography Club.

We wish all our sponsors and supporters

a very Happy Christmas and a bright and healthy New Year.

Peninsula Pacers- Winter Walking and Step into Spring!

The Peninsula Pacers is now registered & listed with “Get Ireland Walking” and up on their map. We had a short walk over the Christmas just to get up & going and are now ready for more regular walks. The idea is one a month on a Wednesday & one a month on a Saturday-weather permitting! If you want to start walking, Sports Ireland under “Get Ireland Walking“ 12

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have a 21 day Challenge- to help you get going, check out their website. The provision of safe walking routes under “Sli na Slainte”, for all users from buggy to bike will be of great benefit to all on the peninsula. A co- ordinated approach to deliver routes would be best. Please contact Carolyn on 0879284307 or Breda on 086-8693243. Contact us: communitylocalseditor@gmail.com

Local News

Artist seeks autistic young people interested in filmmaking

Artist Sarah Browne is looking for autistic young people aged between 16 - 21 from across Fingal to participate in making a new short film. Echo’s Bones is an ambitious, collaborative project responding to the language and locations of a collection of short stories by Samuel Beckett, set in Fingal.Commissioned by Fingal County Council under the Infrastructure 2018 – 2021 Public Art Programme. The project will be developed through a series of workshops held online which will involve elements of creative writing, acting, composition and filmmaking etc. and will also involve the viewing and discussion around a selection of experimental films made by autistic artists, writers and performers.The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr. David Healy said: “It

is so important that we provide platforms for members of our communities that do not get seen enough in our cultural mediums. That is why this project from Sarah Browne is one that needs to be supported. It is one that will help show the perspective of Fingal through film, performance and writing by a community with a diverse perspective.” Details are as follows:The project will be developed through a series of online workshops held between February –May 2021. Shot in June 2021, with a relaxed screening in Autumn 2021, Looking for Fingal-based autistic young people aged 16-21 years of age,No film experience required,There is no cost to participate in the project,The creative team leading Echo’s Bones is trained by autistic performer and former

AsIAm youth leader, Eleanor Walsh,Workshops will be facilitated by drama practitioner Sarah Fitzgibbon, with Sarah Browne,Participants need to have internet access and be comfortable navigating Zoom (online meeting platform) after some initial guidance.Zoom sessions will have captions provided by Otter.ai for people who prefer reading/typing to speaking, who use screen readers or are hard of hearing,Participants need to be available to explore their local Fingal area and comfortable working in a group.You can express your interest by emailing echosbonesfingal@ gmail.com, If your preference is Whatsapp text/ voice call, a member of the Echo’s Bones team can happily answer all related questions.Text or call Sarah Browne on 086 602 0292.

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Home Cook Recipes

Healt

Niamh’s Veggie Bean Burgers Why not try Veganuary in January? New Year - New Goals? Many people reflect on things they would like to change around this time of year.Some people consider changing for the whole month of January or giving something a go in the first few months of the year and seeing how they get on.A popular trend for January is ‘Veganuary’ whereby people opt for a vegan lifestyle for the month of January. I am not suggesting that everyone reading this needs to go to that extent but research shows that having some meat free meals each week and more plant based foods in our diet can be good for our health. One idea for a meat free meal and more plant based food is this recipe and even better if there are some helping hands to get involved!!

Ingredients:

Makes x12 - Can be oven baked OR pan fried • • • • • 14

1 large onion, diced 4 cloves garlic, diced 3 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar 1 large butternut squash 1 tin (400g) beans of your choice (such as

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• • • • •

black beans or kidney beans) 100g oats 1 tablespoon dried chilli flakes 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons dried oregano 50g milled flaxseed OR plain flour for coating

Method:

Preheat oven to 200’, Peel the butternut squash, remove the seeds and cut into chunks. Toss the butternut squash in the Balsamic vinegar and place onto a non-stick baking tray. Roast in the pre-heated oven at 180’c for around 45 minutes or until it is quite soft and tender. Sauté the onion in a pan until soft (usually takes around 3-5 minutes). Add in the garlic for another minute of cooking. Remove from heat. Rinse and drain the beans. Mash the beans and roasted butternut squash together. Gradually fold in the rest of the ingredients (including the softened onion and garlic), BUT NOT the milled flaxseed/flour. Mix to form a dough. Sprinkle the milled flaxseed OR flour onto a flat surface/ large plate. Shape the dough mixture into burger patties using your hands on top of this surface. Slightly wet your hands to prevent the mixture sticking to them.

OR use a cookie cutter to help form rounded shapes for the burgers. Ensure that the surfaces of the burgers are coated in the milled flaxseed/ flour. Place the burger patties onto a non stick baking tray or a parchment lined baking tray and bake in the oven at 180’c for 30-40minutes. Make sure to flip the burgers half-way through baking.Alternatively (instead of baking), place the burger patties onto a heated non-stick pan with some cooking oil of your choice and fry over a medium heat for approximately 5-7minutes on each side until both sides are crispy.Serve straight up with toppings of choice or freeze for later.

Wishing you and your families health and happiness for 2021. Here is to a New Year!!! Please follow’Biabites’Facebook for other food ideas especially in the ‘Fun food’ and ‘Recipes’ albums.Please follow@BiaBiteson twitter.For nutrition talks/workshops at events or in schools/workplaces/community groups= please email: niamh@biabites. net Niamh Arthurs BSc, Msc Registered Dietitian. Contact us: communitylocalseditor@gmail.com

Local News

2021 Funding for conservation works and repairs

Projects funded in 2020

Fingal County Council is now inviting applications under a number of schemes for works to be done in 2021 for small, medium or large-scale repairs or conservation projects to Protected Structures and in certain circumstances to buildings that enhance Architectural Conservation Areas within the Fingal area.In 2020 over €163,000 in funding was provided through Fingal County Council to 24 projects to assist owners in repairing and safeguarding the architectural heritage of Fingal in their ownership and care. For owners carrying out routine maintenance or small repairs to the historic fabric of their homes Fingal County Council’s own Stitch in Time scheme offers grants between €100 to €2,500. For more substantial works funding is available through the Built Heritage Investment Scheme or the Historic Structures Fund.The Historic Structures Fund has been expanded in 2021 to allow applications for a pilot scheme for the conservation of a vernacular structure that is not a Protected Structure and another pilot

scheme for the refurbishment of a historic shopfront and traditional Irish Language shopfronts.Funding is available through the following schemes: Architectural Heritage Fund’s “Stitch in Time Grant” 2021, Built Heritage Investment Scheme 2021, Historic Structures Fund 2021, Pilot Stream for Historic Shopfronts & Traditional Irish Language Shopfronts under Historic Structures Fund 2021, Pilot Stream for Vernacular Structures under Historic Structures Fund 2021.The deadline for the submission of completed applications is 5PM FRIDAY 29 JANUARY 2021. Application forms are available on Fingal County Council website and completed applications should be sent to the Architectural Conservation Officer of Fingal County Council.Please note that applicants cannot avail of funding under both the Historic Structures Fund and the Built Heritage Investment Scheme in the same year and so should only apply for one scheme.

“A Need to be Heard” video collaboration released by Foroige

Young people from Foróige projects across Fingal have collaborated to write and produce a spoken word poetry piece about Covid-19 and the impact it is having on young people in particular.‘A Need To Be Heard’ was composed by Elizabeth Lola Osikomaiya from the Foróige Youth Service in Coastal North County Dublin Contact us:communitylocalseditor@gmail.com

and Josh Tutty of Foróige in Corduff. The video was filmed throughout Fingal by Patrick Tolan of The Foróige Computer Clubhouse in Blanchardstown.The video can be viewed on youtube.Elizabeth Osikomaiya’s lyrics were written about the collective experience of young people in Ireland during the pandemic and were inspired by her own experience making the transition from school to college. Elizabeth said: “I just started my first year of university and a lot of what I wrote was just how I was feeling, the experience. I wanted to be as inclusive as I could so I tried writing from the viewpoint of people’s different situations in life.”‘A Need To Be Heard’ was composed in response to some of the negative publicity that has followed young people during these challenging times. The young people were supported by John FitzGerald, Senior Youth Officer with Foróige, and the collaboration happened remotely, using online technologies

and platforms while adhering to all Covid-19 guidelines.Miriam Ryan, Foróige Manager for North Dublin, said: “Young people need to be commended for their efforts and continued engagement with youth services. It’s been a tough year for all of us, but young people in particular have been very severely impacted, their whole lives turned upside down. Every day through our work in Fingal and beyond we see the best of young people, their resilience, their willingness to stay involved and adjust quickly to changed methods of engagement. As an organisation we are committed to listening to the voices of young people and supporting and enabling them through this very challenging time.” ‘A Need To Be Heard’ is a partnership between Foróige, Fingal County Council’s Communications Unit and BNL Productions Northern Ireland, It will be circulated widely across Fingal in the coming days. DONABATE LOCAL-JANUARY 2021

Local News

Be kind to ourselves and others in 2021

By Siobhan O’Neill White Like many people, I made lots of New year resolutions in January 2020 and of course, didn’t get around to most of them because of the year we had. So this year, I am not making any!!! I am going to see as much as I can of my family and friends and enjoy the little things in life. Meeting up for a cuppa….going for a walk (hopefully not socially distanced for much longer!). The one area we will be careful about is our finances, as 2020 brought a lot of changes and it made us realise how important it is so save when you can and be mindful of expenses. We sat down (over zoom!) with a finance expert this year to evaluate our outgoings and incomings and it was a great thing to

do. We did not realise about some of the outgoings from our accounts and after a bit of clever advice from Dave Kavanagh (see financialcompanion.ie) we changed some of our policies and managed to save money every month. This will be something we take into 2021 with us – to be mindful of what and how we spend our money! Aside from that, there won’t be any fad diets, no big resolutions because last year was hard enough and coming into 2021 with uncertainty, we are going to be kind to ourselves and not add any extra pressure of hard to keep resolutions. Stay safe, mind yourself and lets hope for a positive and healthy 2021! For advice, chat on anything pregnancy and/or parenting related, hop on to mams.ie and get free advice & support 24/7, all year round.

ALL CONTRIBUTORS PLEASE NOTE** Due to increasing demand for space in our magazine could all contributors please note OUR STRICT DEADLINE FOR ARTICLES AND PICS IS THE 16TH OF THE MONTH PRIOR TO PUBLICATION ** Thank you.

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Open for yo u busin r ess In what at best can be described as an uncertain world at the moment, we at Robertson Estates hope you and your families are healthy and Covid free. Since our return in June we have like many other businesses have had to adapt our company model to not only ensure your safety when viewing properties but to also provide the professional and exacting standards you have come to expect from us. We have implemented all guidelines set down by the Government and the H.S.E. and with short notice can adapt to any new measures that may come into place in the foreseeable future.

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Your trust in all we do has seen a steady flow of sales and rentals since our return, all done with the minimum inconvenience to both parties involved. Our professional staff and dedication has resulted in us now actively seeking properties for loan approved buyers and vetted tenants. If you are considering selling or renting, we would be delighted to meet you at your property to discuss a Sales and Marketing strategy in order to achieve its true market value. Please call my office on 01 8085540 to arrange an appointment for a free verbal valuation. We look forward to hearing from you in the near future and in the meantime please stay safe and well.

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Kind regards Doug Robertson.

If you require sales, rental, probate or valuations for legal purposes you can email me on doug@robertsonestates.ie or contact the office on 01 8085540.

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