ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The 29th Annual General Meeting of the Dalkey Community Council was held on Monday, 3 March at 8pm in Our Lady's Hall.

The Chairman welcomed all present to the meeting, however a Minute's Silence was held as a mark of respect to a great friend of the Community Council and Dalkey's local historian, Mr. Harry Latham on his recent passing.

The Chairman's Statement, Secretary's and Treasurer's Reports were presented and adopted by the meeting. Chairman s Statement and Secretary's Report published are inside -Ed There followed reports from the various sub-committees: Heritage, Newsletter, Sports, Functions, Neighbourhood Watch -all to be published in future editions of the Newsletter -Ed.

The meeting was also given an update of the work being carried out by the Tidy Towns Committee and the Traffic consultation that had been taking place (see inside -Ed).

CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT:
An amendment to the Community Council's Constitution was put to the meeting. This amendment was passed unanimously -that re-election to the Executive Committee can take place after one year and not, as previously, two.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS:
A resident urged people to report to the Litter Warden should they see any person dumping (car registration etc.) particularly at the back of Our Lady's Hall. In addition a resident wondered if there was any merit in all of the organisations and committees in Dalkey having the one logo in order to promote Dalkey. The meeting had differing views on the matter.
The hours of the Heritage Centre were queried as one resident felt that visitors may be unsure as to whether the Centre is open or not. It was pointed out that the Centre is looking into plans for changing the front doors as it could appear that the Centre is closed when indeed it is open.
The issue of retentions being sought following building was raised.

There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed.

The monthly meeting of the Dalkey Community Council took place on 3 March following the Annual General Meeting.

MATTERS ARISING AND CORRESPONDENCE:
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council are looking into the completion of the painting of the railings at the park on Hyde Road as well as the cleaning-up of the surrounding weedy area.
A resident wrote complaining of the dog fouling and also the railed triangle at the junction of Killiney and Ballinaclea Roads.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS:
A request for seats to be placed in the town was made. The Executive Committee will look into the matter. A complaint was made with regard to the condition of the seat on the Barnhill Road end of Saval Park Road.
It was also raised that the yellow box on the forecourt outside the railway station needed repainting and it was also queried as to what the current maintenance work in the station entailed.
The business of the meeting was carried out as efficiently as possible due to the late hour, the meeting concluded.

In 2001 the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council decided to omit the Dalkey area from the Parking Schemes then being introduced, because of objections lodged by the Community Council, among others.
It was felt, at that time, that more public consultation was necessary.
For the past year the Community Council, the Dalkey Business Association and the Tidy Towns Committee have been working on a Traffic Plan for the town and had meetings with the County Council to put proposals to them.
The Council have now prepared a plan for the town and the Council's strategy is to implement a parking management system in the area which will offer a control on existing parking habits to the benefit of local residents and business communities, with a greater turnover and availability of spaces.
The comments in the previous submissions from residents and businesses in the area are taken into account insofar as possible. This has resulted in a number of modifications to the original proposals (2001) and the revised drawings will be placed on display in the public consultation process. It is recognised that the communities of Dalkey, particularly in the town centre area, are " suffering from the ill-effects of congestion associated with long-stay parking and lack of parking facilities.
It is the intention of the Council that the environmental quality of Dalkey would be improved for both residents and businesses with the introduction and enforcement of a parking control scheme.
While there are benefits to be gained in the controlled areas/streets, there is concern that areas which are on the periphery of the controlled areas may have increased parking activity due to the displacement of long-stay parking from the town centre. Nevertheless, peripheral roads where the residents have already expressed a view that they do not want parking controls will be omitted from the proposals, and they are being notified directly.
This can be reviewed at a later stage.
A number of very useful and constructive meetings have taken place with representatives of the Dalkey Community Council, Dalkey Business Association and Dalkey Tidy Towns Committee. It appears there is a general consensus that there is an urgent need to introduce parking management arrangements as soon as possible and the views and support of the local communities in achieving this is welcomed. By the time this is published the County Council will have circularised everybody in the affected areas and you can make your views known.

Do you know whether any resident of Dalkey is .

Reaching/reached the wonderful age of 100 years young this year or indeed if there is someone over 100 years young living in the community.

An athlete taking part in the Special Olympics this year.

If you do know please drop me a line to the Dalkey Community Council's post box in Our Lady's Hall. Many thanks -Ed.

St. Patrick's Dramatic Society Dalkey will present 'Give Me your Answer, Do! ' by Brian Friel in Dalkey Town Hall from April 2nd to April 5th inclusive at 8pm.

Tickets are available from Gemma's or at the door of the Town Hall, price Euro 10 and Euro8.

The play, as with many of Brian Friel's works, is set in the fictional County Donegal town of Ballybeg. The action occurs on a sunny August afternoon in the old manse house now the home of novelist Tom Connolly and his wife Daisy. They are visited by an American agent who may -or may not -purchase Tom's papers for a US college library; by their novelist friend, Garret Fitzmaurice and his wife Grainne, whose marriage may -or may not -break up and by Daisy's parents Jack and Maggie, who may -or may not -outlive the year. Absent from the occasion but overshadowing it by her tragedy is Bridget, the mentally ill daughter of Tom and Daisy, who has been institutionalised since she was a child.
Though not one of Brian Friel's better-known works, it nevertheless shows the playwright's skill in creating characters as interesting and as fascinating as those encountered in his masterpiece' Dancing at Lughnasa '.
The part of Tom Connolly will be played by Peter Beamish; Clare Cresswell will play Daisy his wife. The visiting American agent will be played by Stuart Hart while Jack and Maggie Donovan will be played by Derek Pullen and Lua McIlraith respectively. Garret Fitzmaurice will be played by Michael Stokes and Grainne Fitzmaurice by Hilda Grace. In supporting roles are Suzanne Hayes as the nurse and Lorraine Murphy as Bridget

The lamb is a symbol of Easter and originates from the Hebrew Passover. God ordered the Israelites to smear the doorposts of their houses with the blood of a sacrificed lamb.
The angel of death would then know their houses from those of the Egyptians and spare the Jewish first-born sons.

Eggs are a traditional symbol of new life. In ancient times Egyptians and Persians exchanged eggs with friends. The eggs were dyed in colour. The giving of eggs was in recognition of the resurrection of Jesus. Eggs previously were forbidden during Lent so when Lent ended, it became tradition for people to give decorated eggs as presents to their friends and over time the tradition of painting and decorating the eggs came about. Hence the reason we give Easter Eggs.

This is my first year as Honorary Secretary for Dalkey Community Council and I would like to report on some of the activities I was involved in during the year.

The Council received forty items of correspondence this year and two thirds of these pertained to Council matters such as articles for the Newsletter, letters of appreciation, confirmation of meeting dates and information for new Road Reps.

The Council has an ongoing need for new Road Representatives and anyone interested in becoming involved will be more than welcome.

Areas needing Representatives are advertised from time to time in the Newsletter and anyone interested in joining should contact the Council by dropping their name and contact number into our post box in Our Lady's Hall.

The remaining third were requests to the Council for help in resolving particular complaints raised by residents. The split in the correspondents was fifty-fifty with men more concerned about litter problems and the state of the roads and the women more concerned about the state of the footpaths.

There was only one woman who focused on the children of the area and she was looking for a playground to be built in one of the parks in Dalkey.

Unfortunately we need a place that would be secure at nighttime, an attendant who would be on duty during the day and of course there is the high cost of insurance that prevents this project becoming a reality.

The People's Park, the Play centre on Library Road, Blackrock Park and the new play area in Cabinteely Park that is due to open this month, service the area for children 's recreation.

The problem with our footpaths often originates with the illegal parking of vehicles on them. In certain areas there is the added problem when a redevelopment is taking place both the roads and the footpaths suffer owing to heavy machinery and trucks delivering materials to the site.

The disposal of waste, dog fouling and the lack of litterbins on some of the roads add to the unsightly state of some of our best scenic routes.

The right to public views has also been raised as an issue.

All four outstanding matters are being actively pursued with Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and hopefully with the good working relationship we have with the Council we can resolve many of these issues.

If we analyse the nature of the complaints we see that many residents are anxious to preserve Dalkey as a heritage town and make an effort to become involved in maintaining it and improving it whenever possible.

We have also been contacted by the Combined Residents to Save Open Spaces (CRSOS). They have sought our help in connection with the proposed rezoning of Dun Laogbaire Golf Club. Presently this matter has not been passed for rezoning and the committee is keeping us informed of developments.

There were a few emails one coming from a gentleman in South Africa recommending Dalkey as a lovely holiday destination. The other was from a resident on Vico Road who is concerned about the unsocial activities on White Rock and this is a problem that will have to be monitored as the summer approaches.

Besides recording the Minutes of meetings I was involved in a few changes to help the collating of our Newsletter. The collating takes place once a month in Our Lady's Hall and people are welcome to assist in the compiling of the Newsletter.

I helped out with the Lighting of the Christmas tree and it was wonderful to see so many of the locals appreciate and enjoy this community event.

I also assist Berry Curtin with Neighbourhood Watch and attend the bi-monthly meetings in Park House. We are both anxious along with the help of the local Garda to keep NW active in Dalkey. I would like to thank Richard for his help during the year and other members of the Council who I hassled with questions and needed answers to different queries that I had but it was all done in an effort to make sure things ran smoothly and in the proper manner.

I finish by thanking my predecessor who set a very high standard when she was in the job and who has given me great encouragement and is always there to give me a helping hand.

Ann Perry

There will be an exhibition of art and flower arrangements in Our Lady's Hall on Saturday, 12th and Sunday 13th April from 10.30am to 5pm each day.

• The Dalkey Dashers will start training for the community games on Wednesday 2nd April at 7pm and every Wednesday evening thereafter. Parents who want to help out are also welcome along.
• Training takes place from 7pm until 8pm in the Loreto Dalkey school hockey pitches.
• Everyone between 6 years and 17 years living in the Dalkey area are welcome.
• The Dublin finals will be held in Santry on Friday 4th, Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th July.

Dalkey Community Council are reminding all Associations, Clubs etc. that, under the Community Council Constitution, you are entitled to appoint a representative to speak on your behalf at Council meetings each month. Only if all sections of the Community voice their opinions can the Community Council be a strong and vibrant one capable of making decisions that reflect the feelings of all the residents of Dalkey. If you wish to be included in decisions made in Dalkey for Dalkey, then please contact:

DALKEY COMMUNITY COUNCIL, C/O OUR LADY'S HALL, CASTLE STREET, DALKEY