The 31st Annual General Meeting:
The 31st Annual General Meeting of the Dalkey Community Council was held on Monday, 7 March in Our Lady's Hall. The Chairman's Statement, Secretary's and Treasurer' s Reports were presented and adopted by the meeting. Chairman' s Statement, Secretary's and Sports Reports published inside -Ed. All other reports; Treasurer's, Newsletter, Functions, Neighbourhood Watch, Planning & Environment, Tidy Towns and Heritage will be published in future editions of the Newsletters. All reports were adopted by the meeting. Following this the floor was opened up to Any Other Business:

Pay & Display:
There was a general discussion about car parking -Pay & Display and the enforcement of the regulations. There is a review of the parking regulations taking place and residents are advised to let their opinions be known to Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. The Community Council, once again, is pushing for the enforcement of the regulations.

Planning & Environment:
Planning & Environment: Football Club on Hyde Road -Several residents raised their concerns with regard to the planning application currently lodged with the Planning Office of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. These residents were seeking advice and clarification on some aspects of the application. The meeting closed and adjourned for refreshments.

The March Meeting of DCC was held after the Annual AGM:
The March meeting of DCC was held after the Annual AGM. The Chairperson extended the Council's sympathy to the families of the late Hazel Goggin and Ciaran Feely and a minute's silence was held.

Matters Arising:
As most of the topics had been dealt with under the reports of the different committees the meeting proceeded to any other business.

AOB:
Attention was drawn to the neglected state of the bench at the bottom of Saval Park Road and this will be made known to DLRCC.
As there was no further business the meeting ended.

FILES
As Dalkey Community Council is intending to collect all its documents and store them in one location I would be grateful if any members both past and present would give me details of any papers relevant to DCC that they may have in their possession. Please drop any information into the DCC post box in OLH along with a name and contact number.

I should like to begin by thanking you for electing me as Chairman of the Community Council, a position I have found to be challenging, but enjoyable. In that regard, I must thank all the members of the Executive who have been extremely supportive, but in particular, Ann Perry, whose contribution to the Community Council extends well beyond the brief of Secretary.
As you will be aware, the Community Council was established over thirty years ago to increase community harmony and fellowship, to foster the benefits of all the inhabitants of Dalkey without distinction and to foster facilities in the interests of social well being, health, recreation and leisure. In furtherance of these objectives the Council aims to work with statutory authorities, voluntary organisations and institutions, commercial and professional bodies and individual members of the community.
I think it will become apparent after hearing the reports from the various committees that the Council is certainly working with all these bodies to increase communication between them and the residents of Dalkey in pursuit of our aims.
During the year, we met with many of the Departments in the County Council and our local County Councillors. Indeed at my first meeting as Chairman, three County Councillors met with the members to hear our concerns about various current issues amongst them planning issues, traffic problems and the proposed new bin charges
In particular, the introduction of bottle banks on the Vico Rd at Whiterock had caused widespread annoyance to both immediate residents, those living in the locality and visitors to Dalkey. We circulated all County Councillors for the next eight months with information and views from the public and eventually the Council agreed to remove the bottle banks to a site on the Burmah Rd, which we have been informed will be upgraded with improved facilities. We have met with some of our new local County Councillors, to facilitate their awareness of local issues and increase their contact with us here in Dalkey. We have had meetings with several of the County Council Departments during the last year; we had had on-going contact with the Traffic department ever since they proposed the new 'pay and display' parking scheme several years ago. The Community Council is part of the Combined Traffic Group with the Business Association and the Tidy Towns Committee, which brings together various perspectives on the difficult issue of parking and traffic management in Dalkey.
In December we were asked to send a submission to the Traffic Department with an overall view that reflected your concerns and opinions following the introduction of the 'pay and display' parking scheme. From your correspondence and comments to your road representatives, it would appear that enforcement and cost are the main issues with the majority of Dalkey residents amongst other more local problems.
On a related topic, the removal of the No.8 bus and the closure of the DART at the weekends during the last year have caused great inconvenience to many of us and we have worked with the various departments and personnel to try to convey your displeasure about , these issues. We are therefore extremely concerned about the prospect of no DART services again at the weekends during the summer months this year; this is intolerable for businesses and the tourism industry in Dalkey as once again, we will be inaccessible for what should be our busiest and most profitable time of the year. We will continue to work on these issues.
We met with Peter Goodwin of the Environment Section of the County Council in connection with the various problems associated with the introduction of the new environmental charges, i.e. the 'pay-by-weight' bin charges, which have come into force countrywide. We had a far ranging discussion about this and other environmental issues connected to Dalkey.
We are without a local 'Bring Centre' since the George's Place facility in Dun Laoghaire closed in March last year. Several areas in Dalkey still don't have their Green Bins, which makes recycling more difficult for them. Your comments on the scheme would be welcomed.
We have developed a closer relationship with the Litter Warden through our partnership with the Tidy Towns Committee and their successful litter patrols during the summer months. Litter and dumping remain a problem throughout Dalkey; some areas, for example, in the car park behind the Eurospar supermarket, appear to have become prime sites for this. It has to be pointed out that we, the residents of Dalkey, are responsible for this anti-social practice that we must tackle.
We have had on-going contact with the Parks department for many years now and this year we met with Les Moore and Hugh Glynne with representatives from the Tidy Towns Committee to discuss in more detail issues and ideas relevant to Dalkey's parks and open - spaces. We are very fortunate to have so many beautiful green-spaces as part of our local heritage, but we have a responsibility to maintain them for the enjoyment of future generations. We therefore welcome every opportunity to work in partnership with the Parks department.
One such joint venture was the erection of the new Heritage sign for Dalkey at the junction of Castlepark Rd and Ulverton Rd, undertaken by several departments in the County Council, including Parks, in association with us, the Tidy Towns Committee and the Business Association. We hope to substitute the three remaining old rusted Heritage signs on Dalkey's entrance roads with similar granite replacements during the next two years.
We also work with the Parks department every year during National Tree-Planting Week when we contribute and plant trees around Dalkey. This year's event will be opposite the Killiney Towers roundabout on Barnhill Rd on Thursday of this week.
Finally, when mentioning the Parks Department, we must thank Tom Byrne and his team in Loughlinstown for all their work in our parks, on Killiney Hill, the flower displays during the summer-the list is endless !
Another major event in our calendar was the annual Lighting of the Christmas tree when we work with several departments in the County Council and many local organisations to bring this colourful and enjoyable occasion to Dalkey; this was reported fully in the newsletter earlier this year, but I should like to mention Chris Furlong and Margaret Kenny of the Community department whose cooperation and support behind the scenes have contributed so much to the success of the event.
We were also involved with them in the running of the Family Day on Killiney Hill in June, when we were blessed with one of last year's few sunny days. The event was very well attended despite several other events happening in the area on the same afternoon.
We entered the Dun Laoghaire Community Awards Competition this year for the first time, run by the Community Department of the County Council. This involved mounting a display about our events and activities for and in the community. This gave us an opportunity to show the true face of Dalkey other than the elitist community usually portrayed in the media.
It became apparent to us while we were researching our entry that although we knew about the beginnings of the Community Council, we were very hazy about the detail and the people initially involved. We therefore feel that it would be important to record this and write a history of our thirty years of existence, something similar to that written about the Dalkey's Meals-on- Wheels organisation that was this year's very worthy winner of the Dalkey Community Cup. It is something that we hope to pursue in the coming year.
During the last year we have been examining the possibility of becoming a company limited by guarantee, in response to the ever-increasing litigious society that we live in today. However, we believe that it is important that we continue to operate in the same democratic way that we do at the present time, but we feel that we must protect our members as fully as possible. We hope to have a satisfactory outcome in the near future.
Finally, I should like to reiterate, that we shall continue to work to represent you to improve our community for the benefit of all.

The Dublin Community Games is 37 years old now and Dalkey has been associated with the Community Games for many years.
The Community Games allows each and every child and indeed encourages each and every child to take part in both sporting and cultural activities. During the year 2004 we took part in the likes of Athletics and Hockey. What is very important our young people made an immense contribution to those Games in 2004 and enjoyed themselves while doing just that.
The Community Games Movement, as a whole, like so many organisations, stands at a crossroads as it has been trying to face up to the challenges posed by modern society and the very different lifestyles of the 21st century to that of the 1960's when the Movement was first founded. It has drawn-up a Strategic Plan and new methods and strategies have been and continue to be discussed seeking the all important solutions and answers. However while that process continues, many of our young residents from age 6 to 18 get down to the business of the day and take part in those Games and continue to have fun.
To run the Games in Dalkey and to involve the children requires much patience and a fair bit of stamina! I congratulate all those adults who give their time so willingly to give the children of Dalkey (your children) an opportunity to experience the Games and the comradeship -thank you so much. They are truly the unsung heroes! To the Community Council to whom we are affiliated thank you for your support and to Doctor Dolores MacKenna, Principal, Loreto Abbey we are indebted to you for the use of the school grounds.
Community Games is an experience not to be missed by any child. The atmosphere and feeling of comradeship is intoxicating, to experience just a small taste of this just go to the Athletics Finals the first week in July at Santry Stadium and see for yourself. To parents I say give both you and your child the opportunity to experience the Games and I have no doubt that your child will reap the rewards for many years to come and thank you for that opportunity.
Colleen Hogan

St. Patrick's Dramatic Society Dalkey will present "The Loves of Cass McGuire" by Brian Friel in the Town Hall Dalkey at 8pm from Wednesday 20th April through to Saturday 23rd Apri1 2005. Tickets are €10 and €8 (concessions) to include tea and coffee. Tickets are available from Gemma's Newsagents, The Heritage Centre and at the door.

Cornish Pasties

Makes 9. Filling:

Ingredients:
3/41b beef,
1 medium sized onion,
2 1arge potatoes,
2 tablespoons water or stock,
salt and pepper.

Short Crust Pastry:
12oz plain or self-raising flour, 6oz margarine, 3 tablespoons water. Beaten egg or milk for glaze. Pre-heat oven to 200°c, 400°f, gas mark 6. ,

Method:
Cut beef into small pieces. Peel and chop onion finely, also peel and chop potatoes into small dice-sized pieces. Mix together with water or stock and season.

Pastry:
Sieve flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Rub in the margarine until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Mix in the water and form a firm dough. Roll out thinly. Cut into rounds (use a plate or lid). Place the filling in the centre of the round. Brush the pastry edges with water and seal. Place the little parcels on the baking sheet and brush with beaten egg or milk. Bake for 30 minutes then reduce the heat to 160°c, 325°f, gas mark 3 for an additiona140-45 minutes.

SCONES:
Ingredients:
8oz self-raising flour,
1 level teaspoon baking powder,
loz caster sugar,
2oz margarine,
7 tablespoons milk, milk to glaze (optional).
Pre-heat over to 220°c, 425°f, gas mark 7.

Method:
Sieve flour, baking powder and sugar into a bowl. Rub the margarine into the flour until the mixture look like fine breadcrumbs. Add the milk and mix well with the blade of a knife to form a soft dough. Turn out on a floured board and roll to a thickness of at least half an inch. Cut into rounds. Place on a baking sheet (brush with milk if desired) and bake for 12-15 minutes.
Make fruit scones by adding afew ounces of currants, sultanas or raisins when forming the dough.

In Celtic tradition, the night of April 30 was thought of as the darkest of the
year, when witches flew to frighten, spawning evil throughout the land. In response, people pounded on kettles, slammed doors, cracked whips, rang church bells and made all the noise they could to scare off the corruption they imagined to be moving on the moist air. They lit bonfires and torches and witch- proofed their houses with spring boughs. Such vigils were kept throughout the night until the rising of the May-dawn.

As secretary I recorded the minutes for the Monthly and Executive meetings and dealt with the correspondence received by the Community Council during 2004. As of previous years the same topics remain with us, and these can be divided into two groups No.1 Litter and No.2 Traffic. Among the items brought to the Council' s notice were the disapproval of the placing of the bottle banks on the Vico Road, dog fouling in the area, the closure of the recycling facility in George's Place by DLRCC, the traffic problems in the town and the need for a pedestrian crossing in Castle Street. All these issues and many more have been brought to the attention of DLRCC and Local Councillors have been lobbied to help bring about resolutions to some of the more difficult problems. During the year I accompanied our Chairperson to various meetings with DLRCC officials, our Local Councillors and the Parish Council.
Dalkey Community Council has a total membership of 76 members, 20 represent various organisations in the locality and 56 are Road Reps. representing approx. 90 roads/streets in the area. In my report last year I identified areas that were without representatives and we welcomed eleven new members who joined DCC during the year. Six of these represent local organisations and the remaining five replaced Road Reps. who retired from the Council. The members act as a channel to bring residents' views and opinions to DCC and if every area is represented a true representation can be gauged as to what is the feeling on the ground pertaining to different matters. As lifestyles have changed and everyone is now under so much pressure the time available to give to voluntary organisations has been restricted but in reality the few hours a month serving as a member of DCC is not too demanding and can be fitted into a modern life. Each member is required to attend one monthly meeting, to help if possible once a month with collating the Newsletter and deliver the Newsletters in his/her area. The time taken for these activities is approximately 4 hours in total. The work DCC undertakes is varied and is an important benefit to the town. The Community Council is always in communication with DLRCC and its many departments. In addition we co-operate with Tidy Towns, Business Association and the Heritage Centre working on plans to improve Dalkey. Becoming a member of DCC is a great way of keeping abreast of what is happening in the community, it.allows people to exchange ideas, to meet fellow residents and also to have a bit of fun.
Mapas Road, Dalkey Avenue (lower), Old Quarry are areas that have been without representation for more than a couple of years. Annette Cahill is still single-handedly looking after St. Begnet's Villas. This is an "old" Dalkey area and it is a shame that more residents are not interested in joining DCC, as the area is big enough to be split into 2 or 3 sub-areas. I hope people will consider and join our ranks, as it is a very worthwhile endeavour and a great way to give back something to our community.
I would also like to thank John Coyle, assistant secretary for his help during 2004 with minute taking and keeping the attendance for our meetings. My thanks to the Chairperson and the other members of the Executive who have worked hard during this busy year.
Ann Perry

For the seventh consecutive year, An Taisce's National Spring Clean (NSC) gets under way this April. During last year's NSC over 260,000 volunteers turned up at over 3,150 events all over the country making the campaign a great success for all involved. The challenge for NSC 2005 is to improve on these figures and to have a key emphasis on recycling our litter collected. There will be corporate litter-challenges among the business community, super competitions for both adults and children and a lot more fun besides! NSC takes extra care of the younger volunteers. In addition to all the contents of the Clean-Up Kit, schools and youth clubs are also provided with a youth pack with information about how to tie in your CSPE projects with the NSC, activities to complete and details on competitions! By volunteering for the NSC campaign, YOU are actively helping to make and keep your local environment a cleaner and more enjoyable place to work and/or live in. You are helping to raise awareness and promote litter education. Your participation in Ireland's main anti-litter initiative is very important. We all have responsibility for litter and we are now taking action against it. Irish people ARE capable of making the right choice for their environment. NSC gives us all an opportunity to further that choice. Take action against all the litter that spoils our environment by registering now! Recycling is now an important facet of our day-to-day living and this year NSC is putting a key emphasis on recycling the waste you collect at your event. Last year 23% of all waste collected was recycled. We all have to make the effort to recycle as much as possible. Don't forget to make use of the colour-coded bags for cans and plastic bottles.
Register now and receive your free Clean-Up Kit! -Rotline number 7077066 Register on-line: www,nationalspringclean,org
Courtesy of An Taisce
Keep an eye out/or Dalkeys activities -Ed

"Seals are being fed along the coast at Sandycove and Dalkey. The grey seal is a protected species and so should not be fed. The seals are in their natural habitat, able to fish for their feeding needs and should, if we want to enjoy their company, be left alone.

• Don't feed these wild animals, it is illegal-
• If swimming and a seal swims up to you, slow down and swim slowly ashore
• In the event you are nipped by a seal, report it to the Irish Seal Sanctuary and seek medical attention"
  
  
  Cllr. Niamh Bhreathnach
  Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council
  

The annual fund-raising "Clambake" in aid of the Dalkey Sea Scouts will be held on Saturday 7th May at 8.00pm in St. Patrick's Rectory grounds.
Tickets €20 each, in advance, from Brian Meyer
(phone: 0866696812) or Ed O'Neill (phone: 2858341)

• Fertilize outdoor plants- .
• Weed beds and borders.
• Apply a mulch to help control weed and improve the soil fertility.
• Split hardy border plants, plant container shrubs, trees and summer flowering bulbs.
• Complete the pruning, support and tie in climbers, renew or loosen tree ties-
  Shade the greenhouse, use a shade wash that lets as much light in as possible on wet and dull days.
• The grass will want cutting this month, apply a suitable fertilizer, re-sow or re-turf damaged grass areas and edges.
• Watch out for pests and/or diseases.
• With the increasing warmth of the sum and the rising soil and air temperatures promote growth in the garden, plants can be badly damaged by even one night of frost. Spring frost is a major threat when the sky is clear and the soil is dry. Cover with fleece any plants at risk before dark when there is a threat of frost, plants that do get frosted can be sprayed with a fine spray of water before the sun damages them.
  
  

Book Club -The book to read for the meeting on Saturday 2nd April @ 10.30am is: "An Equal Music" by Vikram Seth. (The book to read for May not decided when going to print. )
Dalkey Writers meet every second Thursday in Dalkey Library from 6pm -7.45pm Storytelling every Thursday from 3.30pm-4.00pm in Dalkey Library for children aged 3-6. Any parents who would like to volunteer in the regular story time sessions please contact the library Did you know that you can now renew your library books online? To do this you'll need to know your unique PIN number that is unique to your library card. You can receive your PIN number at the issue desk. Just ask any staff member for assistance.
Access your borrower details and the Library catalogue at the following web address: http://www.libcat.dlrcoco.ie
Phone Dalkey Library for further information 2855277.
Book Review -"Lifers" by Barry Cummins, published by Gill and Macmillan profiles over a dozen murder cases spanning the past 5 decades, revealing how the perpetrators were caught and convicted. The author makes the point that there is only one penalty in modern Ireland for committing murder, mandatory life imprisonment and at the present time that are upwards of 200 murderers behind bars with another 50 or more on parole for good behaviour. It is another excellent true crime book from Gill and Macmillan.
J Scannell

The board of the Dalkey Irish Heritage Town Company, under the Chairmanship of Mr Howard Kilroy, is gearing up to seek the funding for the very necessary revamp of the Heritage Centre.
Living History Interpretation - The Centre is currently in full swing with children from all the local schools attending the Living History programme pioneered by the Centre, funded by Blackrock Education Centre and now provided by the professional theatre company, Deilg Inis. It continues to be the most popular of the Centre's initiatives. It brings local history to colourful life in the form of characters in full period costume, from St Begnet to medieval archers, maids, merchants, the Victorian Quarry workers and last, but not least, the King of Dalkey !
Walks -The Centre is offering a new product in the form of Guided Walks in Dalkey from April to September. The guide will pick participants up in Dun Laoghaire Tourist office on three days per week and accompany them by Dart to Dalkey, where they will take in a two-hour Historical or Literary Walk. Local hostelries in Dalkey will give discounts for lunch as part of the package.
Dalkey Tourism -The Heritage Centre is currently part of a marketing initiative to promote Dalkey as a destination. To this end the group involved, Dalkey Tourism is compiling a brochure with a street map and a complete listing of the scenic amenities, walks, activities, events, facilities and businesses involved in tourism in Dalkey. It will be available in all shops in April.
DART-closure again at weekends: The group has also spearheaded a campaign to get Iarnród Éireann to minimise the disruption caused by taking the Darts off at weekends yet again in the summer season.
Story Gathering -Further to our Dalkey Remembered sessions The Heritage Centre is anxious to save the stories around the life experiences in Dalkey of the older generation. If you know of people who would be willing to share their stories (even on a one-to-one basis) about life in Dalkey back through the years, please let us know by dropping a note into the Heritage Centre with your name and telephone number and we will take it from there. We hope to build up an archive from them
Historical Tours to Anglesey -The tours will continue in 2005 and those who haven't gone on a tour already, are encouraged to do so in 2005. The idea behind the project and the funding is to foster the development of cross border friendships, artistic connections and the linking of community organisations.
The tours have been very successful, very enjoyable, very good value at a breakeven price and are also indirectly supporting the Heritage Centre. Why not gather a few friends and head off to explore , what our neighbours have to offer? There are plans for a tour that will be of particular interest to garden enthusiasts in June
Language Familiarisation As part of the same project Dalkey will play host to a group interested in learning the 'cupla focail' in late April. They will learn how to order and have their meals served up to them using 'an Gaeilge' .To round off their experience of Irishness the Welsh will try their hands at hurling in Cuala GAA club !
Events Art Exhibitions -The Gallery continues to be a popular place for Art Exhibitions and there are still a small number of slots available for this year.
Tango in the Town Hall on Wed 13th April with Argentinean dancers and live orchestra. 7.30- lO.30pm dancers will give a demonstration to live music and then give Tango coaching to the audience. ...So get out your dancing shoes! Price of €15 inclusive.
Pilates continues on Monday evenings in the Heritage Centre
Karate sessions for all age groups take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Town Hall from 6 to 9pm
Funk Hip Hop Dance classes also on Monday evenings in the Town Hall
St Patrick's will stage The 'Loves of Cass Maguire' in April in the Town Hall
Dalkey Players reherse on Tuesdays and Thursdays.They are currently working on 'Dancing at Lughnasa' for the Pavilion Theatre in June
The Fresh Food Markets continue on Friday momings in the Town Hall. The markets continue to increase in popularity and are bringing increased footfall into Dalkey on Fridays. They stock the best of Irish produce and have the added seasonal benefit of being indoors.
For more details on any of the above Contact the Heritage Centre at 285 8366