The August meeting of DCC took place on Monday 8th August at 8pm in OLH.

The Chairperson opened the proceedings and called for a minute’s silence as a mark of respect for the late Dara Shakespeare who had represented Whites Villas on the Council.

Treasurer’s Report: The papers for DCC to become a “Company Limited by Guarantee” will be lodged with the Companies Office in the next month.

Heritage: The HC is suffering very badly at the weekends due to the suspension of the DART service. The Living History is going from strength to strength as there are many visitors to the town on weekdays.

Planning: DCC has serious reservations in the ever increasing number of applications that are being submitted requiring permission for the demolition of good houses in the area and will proceed to make comments on this matter to the Planning Department of DLRCC.
A rather large hole has been noticed in the sea wall under the car park of the Dalkey Island apartments. The Community Council will follow this up.

AOB: DCC is awaiting feedback on the graveyard from the recent articles in the Newsletter and the website.
Attention was drawn to the appalling state of the public toilets on the Vico Road and the foul odour that is emitting from them. As these are the only public toilets in the immediate area of the town it is important to ensure they are clean as this road is a very busy tourist attraction.

As there was no further business the meeting concluded.

Highest ever numbers reach National Finals in Mosney

Once again the participation within the Dalkey area for the Community Games reached new records with over 200 children from the area attending the weekly training sessions. All the preparation culminated in over 60 children attending the Dublin Finals in the Morton Stadium in Santry on the first weekend in July.

The emphasis of the games in Dalkey is participation and to encourage children to achieve their potential. Therefore to get 60 children to partake in many different events including running, ball throw, discus and javelin is indeed a credit to the children, many of whom wouldn’t have tried some of these activities before.

Santry Finals

All of the children who participated gave of their best and were supported with wild cheering from the Dalkey contingent in the stand. Everyone who took part was a winner in his or her own right. Many of the Dalkey contingent, too numerous to mention proceeded through the heats to the quarterfinals and semi finals. There were also those who made it through to the finals in their respective events and indeed there were some who won their finals to become the Dublin champions and who now go forward on the last weekend in August to represent Dublin at the National Finals.

There were many excellent performances throughout the weekend. Those who qualified for the final in their event included:

Under 8 boys – Emmet Burns, Under 8 Girls –Kate Mc Cauley,

Under 10 Girls - 100 metres - Lauren O’Leary who won silver, 200 meters Sarah Patton certificate for 4th, 60 meters Hurdles Mary Niamh Healy and Aine McCarthy

Under 12 Boys – 100 metres - Killian O’Leary and Sean Comerford, Relay Team – Killian O’Leary, Sean Comerford, Tom O’Reilly, and Shane Halpin and Niall James who won Gold.

Under 12 Girls - 600 metres – Orla Patton who won gold, Relay – Orla Patton, Ailbhe Crowley, Cathy Roe and Rebecca Moran who won Bronze, Ball throw – Grace Moloney

Under 13 Boys – Walk – Billy Thorne and Joe Kelly

Under 14 Boys – 80 meters Hurdles – Mark Rogers

Under 14 Boys – Long Jump – David O’Reilly who won Bronze

Under 14 Girls – Shot Put – Emma Tarbet, who won Silver, Jennifer Roe – Certificate for 4th, 100 meters – Breifne Mc Keever

Under 16 Boys – Discus – James Thorne who won Gold, Relay – Michael Cassells, Andrew Patton, James Thorne and Jordi Murphy who won Bronze, Marathon – Michael Cassells who won Bronze.

Under 16 Girls – Javelin - Megan Healy who won Silver
Eric Comerford ran in the special race and won gold with everyone on their feet roaring him on to success.
We now send our best wishes to the largest ever contingent to represent Dublin in the National Finals on 27th and 28th August.

The team includes:
Lauren O’Leary, Killian O’Leary, Sean Comerford, Shane Halpin, Tom O’Reilly, Niall James, Orla Patton, James Thorne and Michael Cassells.
Many thanks to the ever growing contingent of parents who are involved each Wednesday training the children. The team now includes Barbara Barron, Bridget Roe, Colm Comerford, Marguerite O’Leary, Sandra Brady, Joan Patton, Conor Crowley, Conor O’Reilly and Conor Patton. With the growing numbers we are always looking for more helpers for 1 hour each Wednesday from 7.00pm to 8.00pm from Easter to end June.

Community Games – Swimming

Nicola Davis won gold in the under fourteen backstroke (two lengths) and her younger sister Julie received a certificate for coming fourth in the under ten’s backstroke. The Davis girls along with Maria and Orla Macken then obtained silver in the under thirteen-squad 4x1 length freestyle – bearing in mind that Julie is only nine competing in the squad for under 13’s!

HERITAGE WEEK 2005 (Seachtain Oidhreachta)

Heritage Week runs from 4th to 11th September. It is a weeklong celebration of who we are and where we’ve come from with many national and hundreds of local community organisations participating in organising events throughout the country. There is something to appeal to almost everyone and the main aim is to build awareness of our built, natural and cultural heritage.
This year over 500 events are taking place throughout the week. Everyone is encouraged to get involved and activities range from guided tours and lectures, to music recitals, historical re-enactments, art exhibitions and craft demonstrations. Many heritage sites and stately homes will offer free admission or special concessions. Further information about events is available on http://www.heritageweek.ie, from your local authority, OPW site or local library. There is also a callsave number 1850 200878.

Heritage Council

Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre

Heritage Week: There will be free admission and guided tour of the Heritage Centre every day of Heritage Week (4th-11th September) at 11.00am.

Sharing a Culture Festival

The festival will take place in Dalkey over the weekend of 23rd to 25th September 2005.
Events celebrating Welsh and Irish culture and community links will take place in various locations around Dalkey with large concentration of activities between the Cuala and Dalkey United playing fields and the Heritage Centre. Close to 100 visitors are coming from Wales to participate in the events. There will even be Welsh blacksmith demonstrating his skills. There should be a distinct medieval feel to the town with medieval tents and one of the highlights will be a falconry display.

Gordon Snell, author of so many well-loved children’s stories, will give a talk at 5.00pm on Friday 23rd September in the Heritage Centre. A group of Welsh poets will put on a free show in the Town Hall later on Friday at 7.30pm and there will be impromptu sessions in other locations over the weekend. After the poetry session there will be traditional Irish music in McDonagh’s, until late.

A forty strong Welsh Male Voice Choir will perform a short programme of sacred music in the Church of the Assumption on Saturday 24th September at noon and they will be part of a Concert which will include the Monkstown Choir and Ffidl Ffadl traditional Welsh Folk group on Sat evening in the Town Hall at 7.30pm. There will be free admission to the Heritage Centre all day Saturday and there will be Living History with Deilg Inis Theatre Company from 11 to 4.00pm. A giant Welsh Dragon will stalk Castle Street on Sunday 25th September at 2.00pm in search of the King of Dalkey Goats! Welsh artist Toby Downing has created the artwork for this pageant and the Black Sheep Art Group, ably assisted by the boys from Los Angeles Society in Dalkey.

Art Exhibition: Dalkey Sharing our views will run from Thursday 22nd to Sunday 25th September in the Gallery at the Heritage Centre and will feature the work of Emyrs Williams, the first Welsh artist of 2005 and Toby Downing, the artists who were in Dalkey through the summer. The Black Sheep Art group will have Part Two of their exploration of Dalkey landscape and characters, which began last year, at the same time. Admission is free.

There will be demonstrations of Welsh folk and Irish dance steps in the Town Hall on Sat from 2.30 -4.30pm.

Most events are free with a small charge to some events. Detailed programme of events is available at the Heritage Centre.

Deilg Inis Theatre Company will revive their “Cuan” show, which is a site-specific theatre show based on Dalkey’s history of the early 1920s on Thursday and Friday at 2.30pm.

The final tour of the Dalkey-Anglesey: Sharing a Culture, project funded by Community Initiative 111A of ERDF from Dalkey has gone to Anglesey as the Newsletter is distributed. The final trip from Anglesey to Dalkey will coincide with the festival.

Living History Day on Wednesdays (11.00am -4.00pm) and Guided Walks on Mondays (11.45am) Wednesdays (1.45pm) and Fridays (11.45am) continue to be popular.
Visitor numbers to the Heritage Centre have been badly affected at weekends due to DART closures.
For further details contact Dalkey Castle and Heritage Centre at 2858366.

Wishing every student awaiting the results of the Junior and Leaving Certificate or college exams the best of luck.

Congratulations to Deilginis Theatre Company for the play performed in July and August. ‘Cuan’ by Caimin Collins started in Coliemore Harbour for the first scene, moving on to Dillon’s Park and Sorrento Park for subsequent scenes. Relating the childhood of the characters living in Dalkey and their part prior to and during the 1916 Easter Rising up to 1922, the date the play is set. Historic and events from Dalkey are weaved into the fictional plot, against the unsurpassed backdrop of our beautiful harbour and parks. A great idea and enjoyable event. Colette

This was judged on 7 June, a sunny day. The two judges, Clodagh Bowen and Patti Maher were impressed by the beautiful gardens. Thanks to the judges, drivers Maura, Ursula and Rosaleen and Susan McDonnell for hosting a delightful lunch. Thank you to all entrants for allowing your wonderful gardens to be viewed. Congratulations to all the winners. The Garden Reception and Presentation of Prizes will be held in Our Lady’s Hall at 8pm on 16 September. Below are the results of the garden competition. Colette

Best Overall Garden
First
Rock Edge, Knocknacree Road
Second
12, Hyde Road
Third
17, The Village Gate

Best Front Garden
First
16, The Village Gate
Joint Second
5, The Burgage
13, St. Begnet’s Villas

Best Display
First
17, The Village Gate
Second
13, White’s Villas
Third
57, Hillside

Best Surprise Garden
First
Dalkey Design
Second
11, St. Margaret’s Close
Third
115, Hillside

Best Communal Open Space
First
Killiney Towers
Second
The Village Gate
Third
Bailey View

Harold Boys’ school is named in memory of John and George Harold who were priests in this area in the 19th century. The school opened on 7 January 1901. We celebrated our centenary in 2001. When it opened in 1901 it was a two-roomed school with outdoor toilets and a fuel shed in the yard. A third room of red brick was added at the back later and then in the 1960’s a further two rooms were built on the north side of the original building. The physical appearance of the school today dates from that time. I thought the school community, past pupils and the wider community of Dalkey might be interested in the first years of the schools existence. I have got the original register and it does provide us with a picture of Harold one hundred years ago. The register tells us that the school’s official name was Harold Male National School and the first principal’s name was Mr. Waldon who lived in “Tigh Mhichill”, Carysfort Road, a schoolhouse. This register was printed by Alex Thom of Abbey Street, Dublin in 1898, which was “The Queens Printing Office, for Her Majesty’s Stationery Office”. Queen Victoria was alive and well at the time!
It seems in 1901 the school year ended on 30 November each year. The register shows that a total of ninety pupils were registered that year. There was an infants class of ten pupils and the ages ranged from 4 to 8 years. A total of 75 people had Dalkey addresses and the balance came from Killiney, Ballybrack, Sallynoggin and Glenageary.
The occupations of the parents/guardians make interesting reading, by far the most common one mentioned was gardener, although there were a great variety of occupations mentioned. Some of these we know well today like Carpenter, Butcher, Shoemaker, Painter, Postman and Policeman. Others remind us of bygone days and ways that have disappeared – the D.M.P., the Irish Yeomanry, Scavenger, Lodge Keeper, Railway and Coach Man. Occupations that are still here but have new names were Gas Fitter, Coal Porter, Chairwoman, Carter, Coachbuilder, Washing and even Gas Man! Others, mentioned only once were Captain, Sailor, Rates Officer, Teacher and Solicitor. All in all it seems that all human life was represented in Harold in 1901.
The register shows that classes ranged from infants to seventh class. It is noticeable in 1901 that very few pupils went on to second level. The few that did went on to Glasthule C.B.S., Dun Laoghaire and Blackrock College. The rest are described in the “destination of pupil” column as going to “work” or sometimes the work is named like Telegraph Messenger, Shop-boy, Gardener, Plasterer, Delivery Parcels, Guinness and one as Pawn Broker! At this time two families emigrated to Scotland and one family came to Dalkey from Kings County, the register informs us!
I think the last item of interest is the addresses of the Dalkey pupils in Harold in 1901. Mapas, Hillside and Begnet’s Villas didn’t exist so the pupils came from Dalkey Avenue, The Metals, Coliemore Road, Convent Road, Castle Street, Sorrento Road, Tubbermore Road and Avenue, Leslie Avenue and Barnhill Road. Dalkey Hill and Torca Hill also provided pupils. It mentions C. Boytons Lane – who knows it? And Porters Road, which I now believe is St. Patrick’s Road.
That was the school community in 1901 who were all born in the last century and whose descendants are probably part of the Dalkey community and perhaps the school, one hundred and four years later in 2005.
Just reading and researching this has given me a great sense of a continuous community in an Irish Town

Sean O’Gorman

The Community Council Annual Art Exhibition will be held on 19 and 20 November. Please note that this year entry forms, by POST ONLY, with full payment, will be accepted (no new entries taken at door).

1. Postal Entry Forms to be received by 27 October (Thursday).
2. All paintings must be ready for hanging.
3. “Not for sale” exhibits will not be accepted.
4. Entries limited to two per artist.
5. A number for each painting will be sent to each Exhibitor before the date of Exhibition.
6. Your entered painting/s and number/s to be brought to Our Lady’s Hall on
18 November at 12.30pm.
7. The Exhibition is limited to 110 exhibits from local artists.

Entry Form and full details in next Newsletter (October Issue). Hopefully this will eliminate the lengthy queues experienced over the years.

Colette

The South Dublin Branch of BirdWatch Ireland has run a project for ten years to encourage terns to nest on Maiden’s Rock by providing secured nest boxes for the chicks to shelter in and taking over gravel that the terns can use as nesting material. Maiden’s Rock (the farthest left/north rock looking from Coliemore Harbour) gets pounded by the sea
and washed over by north easterly gales during the winter, and sometimes unfortunately during the summer as well, leaving the rock bare of any possible nesting material.
Terns are sometimes called ‘Sea Swallows’ due to their long forked tails and elegant flight. They are summer migrants arriving here in May from their wintering quarters off west Africa in the case of the Common Tern and from as far as the Arctic circle in the case of the Arctic Tern, it having the longest migration of any bird. When we began the project there were two species of terns already nesting there Common Terns and a few Arctic Terns, up to thirty five nests in all. One of our aims and hopes when we began the project was to attract another species of tern, the Roseate Tern to nest on Maiden’s Rock. The Roseate Tern is Europe’s rarest breeding seabird but Ireland has an internationally important breeding colony of these birds on Rockabill island off Skerries and it was hoped we could start another colony off Dalkey. Much to our delight Roseate terns began to breed on the rock three years ago and have done so since making it a very important habitat.
Lots of information about the birds and our project for which we got a lot of help from DLRCC Heritage Office and the Parks Department this year, is the subject of a talk, “Terns, the graceful diving seabirds that nest on Maiden’s Rock off Dalkey Island” to be given by Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland. It is one of the events for Heritage week and will be held in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown council chambers on Thursday 8th September. Everybody welcome and admittance is free.

On Tuesday 6th September we have our introductory talk about birds “Beginning Birdwatching, everything you need to know about getting started” at the Kingston Hotel on Adelaide Street in Dun Laoghaire at 8.00pm Free admittance and all welcome.
So if you’ve any interest do please come along to the talks.
MR
For further information check our website at www.birdweb.net

2005 is Ireland’s sixth year of participation in European Car Free Day, the aim of which is to raise awareness of the environmental impact of our transport choices and to encourage the use of sustainable modes of transport. Car Free Day is an opportunity to explore alternatives to the single occupancy private car as a mode of transport, such as cycling, walking, taking public transport, sharing a journey with a friend or work colleague. Reducing the amount of car journeys we take will make a valuable contribution to the environment. Car Free Day is Thursday 22nd September, the European Commission nominated this date, as the day, because each year the event is held on a different day of the week. This enables people to get a true sense of what “urban car free living” would be like on each day and means that the date becomes fixed and well known across Europe. Courtesy Dublin City Council

I am trying to trace a college friend of mine who used to live in Dalkey.
His name is Gareth Holmes and he lived (maybe still lives) at St Johns, Ardeevin Rd, Dalkey. We attended Norwich City College in Norfolk, England between 1989-1991. He and I were very good friends but unfortunately lost contact over time.
I realise this is a long shot but was wondering if anyone can help trace Gareth please drop a note into the DCC postbox in OLH or email info@dalkeyhomepage.ie

Nigel Henshaw

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council will review its Pay and Display Parking Scheme in September 2005. The public is invited to comment on the current scheme or its extension to any particular area. All submissions will be considered in the review, including those already submitted throughout the year.
Please send your comments or suggestions to Bernie Gilligan, Senior Executive Officer, Transportation Dept., Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, County Hall, Dun Laoghaire or email bgilligan@dlrcoco.ie on or before Friday 30th September 2005.
Following this review the revised Byelaws will go before the Council for formal adoption in 2006

Courtesy of DLRCOCO

Enable Ireland invites people to get involved in fundraising events across Dublin & Wicklow. Volunteers can organize a sporting challenge or fundraising event, or purchase button badges, which will be on sale during Action Week on Disability for just €2 via 14 Enable Ireland service locations and 19 charity shops nationwide.

Alternatively, would you like to join Enable Ireland in Action Week on Disablility and walk part of the Wicklow Way to raise money for Enable Ireland Wicklow?

Funds raised will help create nationwide opportunities for children with disabilities to participate, have fun, compete, learn, share and build friendships through physical and recreational activities.

To get Active, organise a fundraiser, volunteer or donate, call the Fundraising Office on 01-2615917

Dalkey Ladies Hockey Club is keen to recruit new members, after the successful season of 2004-2005

Please contact Mary-Jane Mulligan@hp.com or call 087-9959933 www.dalkeyhockeyclub.com