Bloomsday production packs Main Street!

A Play on Ulysses directed by Caroline Fitzgerald was performed at the Cross in Blackrock on Bloomsday. Fun and theatre were brought to the heart of the Village with an entertaining insight into Ulysses. This was a very slick and polished performance and entertained the huge crowd of almost 500 for nearly 2 hours. The performance has come a long way in a few short years and has now become a must see on Bloomsday!

A Play on Ulysses was adapted by Nastaise Leddy (above) and Iris Park

Europe Day in Vincennes, Paris

Juliet O’Connell (Leas Cathaoirleach DLR), Claudia Ranieri (Councillor, Vincennes), Brigitte Gauvain (Deputy Mayor, Vincennes), Lettie McCarthy (Cathaoirleach DLR)

Europe Day held on 9 May every year celebrates peace and unity in Europe. The date marks the anniversary of the historic ‘Schuman declaration‘ that set out the idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, which would make war between Europe’s nations unthinkable. Schuman’s proposal is considered to be the beginning of what is now the European Union.

Vincennes this year chose Blackrock/Dun Laoghaire/Ireland as their special district/country for 2022 and the whole town was dedicated to all things Irish, including stalls promoting Irish Tourism, Irish Cultural events, large displays of Irish places of interest, etc. The Irish side was represented by a BBN group, a high level DLRCoCo group and by a traditional Irish music group called Aiteal. The weather was wonderful and all things Irish got a magnificent airing and exposure to the 50,000 inhabitants of Vincennes

Tom Feeney, Vivienne Bradley, Odile Benali (DGA Animation Services Vincennes)

Aiteal and their adoring fans!

Blackrock on show!

Ambassador Niall Burgess hosts the Irish group at the Irish Embassy in Paris

Hector Berlioz School ultra keen to partner with School in Blackrock

Brendan McLoughlin, Bruno Bobkiewicz (Head Teacher Hector Berlioz School), Audrey Krespine (Teacher Hector Berlioz School)

Hector Berlioz High School is ultra keen to partner with a school in Blackrock. Students at the school are aged from 11 to18 years of age. There are 1,800 students in total and the school is a very modern mixed public school, with small classes. The basic subjects are taught as are a large range of optional subjects. The school is high ranked because of its exam results. This demand for high standards comes especially from parents. Teaching jobs in Hector Berlioz are difficult to obtain because of the reputation of this school so close to Paris.

See below a video featuring a group of German students who who were involved in an exchange programme with Hector Berlioz.

Watch video now!

Granada FC represent Blackrock in Vincennes Tournament

Blackrock’s youth football club Granada F.C. visited their counterparts in Vincennes, Paris, earlier this month, where its young players, families and other supporters got a taste of sport and culture in the partnered French town. The trip was originally due to take place in 2020 but had been postponed until now.

Blackrock and Vincennes were partnered in 2019, with the aim of deepening business, sport, education, tourism and cultural links between the two towns. The Granada F.C. trip has been a great result in that regard. The club is very grateful to everyone who has helped bring this tour about.

Some highlights of the trip are pictured here – at Paris’s best-known landmarks, on the pitch for their matches, including one played in conditions more common at home.

The boys are looking forward to welcoming Vincennes F.C. to Blackrock for a future visit. And who knows, some of them might even meet again in North America, 2026 and beyond!

Rongcheng Restaurant hosts BBN Social and Information Meeting

Rongcheng Restaurant kindly hosted the first BBN Social and Information Meeting since lockdowns lifted. Our thanks go to David Wang and his team for their hospitality and generosity in providing this wonderful space The meeting was very well attended with standing room only. Updates were given on a range of topics and included a report on the Europe Day visit to Vincennes, a presentation by Granada FC, an update on Frascati Centre and an update on the Seafront Plaza concept.

David Martin, Sorcha Brady and John Casey

Jane Carroll, Peter Duff and Oli Cavanagh

Karen Whelan, Aidan Fitzgerald and Helen Collins

Jim Kenny, Paddy Cranfield and Mary Gavin

Tom Feeney and Suzanne Boland

DLRCoCo elects new Cathaoirleach

Councillor Mary Hanafin has been elected Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council at the Council’s Annual General Meeting on 13 June. Councillor Hanafin, (Fianna Fáil) was first elected to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in 2014 as a Councillor for the Blackrock Ward and has an extensive history in politics at a national and local level.

Following her election to the role of Cathaoirleach, Councillor Hanafin outlined her main priorities for the year, which have both a local focus and wider view.

“The global pandemic has made us all look local and appreciate our open spaces and public areas. From the mountains to the sea we owe it to our citizens to continue to enhance our facilities, continue to improve our villages, and create inclusive and welcome spaces. We now have an opportunity to develop a plan for the Blackrock seafront, linking it again to the village“.

Blackrock Athletics Club

Lauren, Rose, Sophie and Tula taking a photo break!

May was a great month of activity for Blackrock A.C. members with Bryan Sheils (below) completing his 80th marathon to date at the East of Ireland Marathon in Howth. Michelle Langan got a personal best in the Belfast Marathon in 3:42, while Gerry Flaherty, James Dowling and Tiernan Downes completed the Limerick Marathon.

BAC would like to give a huge congratulations to their athlete Killian who ran a superb 100-meter sprint and is now the U20 Leinster champion. Killian ran a personal best of 10.98, knocking 0.8 of a second off his previous. The video can be viewed here. Other young athletes of Blackrock A.C. had a fantastic day out on 28 May 2022 at the Dublin Children’s Games team competition. Full story here.

Some members attended the Wexford Festival of Running. David Graham and Mark Kilcoyne came 2nd and 3rd in the 3-hour challenge, with Michelle coming third in the 1-hour challenge.

Congratulations to Rob Asher, Ted Burke, John Sheehy, Helen Maher, David Martin, Paul Hunt, Eoghan Hughes and Georgina Loughery who tackled 104km along the Wicklow Way Relay.

Valeria Sofia ran her first ultramarathon in the Barrow Way Ultra, from Tullamore in Offaly to Robertstown in Kildare and was the second lady home, a huge result. She was joined on the day by James and Ted, the latter of whom came first overall. Congratulations to veteran ultramarathon and mountain runner Eoghan on yet another incredible feat as he tackled the 7 Sisters Skyline Ultra in Donegal, covering 55km in the process with a 4km ascent

Open to Friends, Family and athletes from Cabinteely Athletic Club, Blackrock A.C. is delighted to announce the return of their annual Sports Day this June. Full details and registration are available here.

Blackrock Village Centre
Family Weekend Event

“Everyone is welcome to our hot Summer Family Fun Weekend.
There’ll be all sorts of FREE family activities on Friday 24 & Saturday 25 June from 12.30pm to 3.30pm. We’ll have free ice creams, a sizzling BBQ, puppet shows, plenty of giveaways and lots of cool summer fun, plus free parking. It’s going to be HOT!!”

DLR PPN Ezine

DLR PPN have just published their June 2022 ezine. It’s packed with news from its members, information on consultations, wellbeing, funding, and more.

Read about initiatives such as:

Survey into the space needs for community organisations and PPN members for the Mounttown Community Facility
The Ireland for Ukraine Funding
The UCD University Access Course
The inspirational story of Kevin O’Farrell and Robert Collins who rowed across the Atlantic in aid of the Muscular Dystrophy charity
The Stop Food Waste programme, and much more

To read the ezine, please click here

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES1. The Town and Village Renewal Scheme 2022 is now open for expressions of interest. Under the main Town and Village Renewal Measure the number of applications permitted are six: 5 applications of between €20,000 and €250,000; and 1 application of between €20,000 and €500,000.
Expressions of interest are invited in respect of rural towns and villages in the County such as the villages of Kilternan, Glencullen and Stepaside and can be submitted through the DLR online grants system at the link here. The closing dates for receipt of completed expressions of interest is Friday 24^th June 2022. Read more here.2. The European Year of Youth Grants is putting the spotlight on young people, bringing many exciting opportunities for young people and those who work with them across a variety of sectors. To celebrate European Year of Youth 2022, Léargas have opened the European Year of Youth Micro Grants Scheme to fund activities and events that support, celebrate, engage and listen to young people and that promote youth opportunities at a local, national and European level, in line with the objectives of the European Year of Youth.

Who can apply? A youth organisation, school, club or other organised group or entity will need to be the named applicant for a grant. We welcome ideas from informal groups of young people or individuals working with young people; however, the financial responsibility and reporting obligation must remain within an organised group or entity.
What can be funded? Any activity taking place within the Republic of Ireland before 31 December 2022 that support young people’s engagement with any of the priorities listed below. This could be a conference, consultation, workshop, a music event, an art exhibition, a photo competition, a mini festival, thematic meetings, a combination of events and online campaigns, information session, and so on.
How much funding is available to applicants? The grant you receive depends on the scale of your idea. You will indicate in your application the estimated cost of your project. There are three bands: Small: €500-€1,500; Medium: €1,501-€3,000; Large: €3,001-€5,000. Read more here.

CLIMATE ACTION

DLR PPN Climate Conversations – We are keen to involve a diversity of voices from a range of community organisations, as well as those directly involved in environment on the 28th June 2022 , from 7.00pm to 8.30pm, online via Zoom. We are delighted to have Gavin Harte and Bill O’Dea as facilitators for the discussion. Places are limited so please sign up if you are interested. To register, please click here.

CONSULTATIONS and PARTICIPATION

1. DLR PPN Plenary meeting – we wish to give interested member groups the opportunity to display and promote their activities starting with 7.00pm. If you are interested, please let us know. The Plenary meeting will take place on Wednesday 22nd June 2022 in the Kilternan Parish Centre from 7.00pm – Networking and registration (refreshments provided) and 7.30pm – Welcome and start of Plenary meeting. To register for the event, please fill in the form HERE

2. The new strategy for the public library service consultation is now open. The main objective of this consultation is to seek the views of the public and understand attitudes towards the library service. It will also seek feedback on how services can be improved in terms of access, use and visibility of the public library. The new strategy will be the successor to ‘Our Public Libraries 2022 – Inspiring, Connecting and Empowering Communities’ which has overseen much progress in the public library service in Ireland over the past five years. The new strategy will be equally ambitious in continuing to grow the library service. The deadline for submissions is July 9th 2022. Read more here.

3. Ocean Winds (OW) are proposing the development of an offshore wind farm located in the Irish Sea, off the coast of counties Dublin and Wicklow. The proposed offshore wind development will be known as Réalt na Mara. At this stage of the project, they would encourage feedback from the local, coastal and fishing communities about the proposed Réalt na Mara Offshore Wind Farm. This can include any queries or concerns you may have on the proposed development or any information you have about the local area that you feel may be of interest to them. Read more here.

4. Parks: Play and Recreation Survey – This survey is part of the consultation for the provision of a play and recreation strategy for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Co Council and is being conducted by Communiqué International on behalf of the dlr Community and Cultural Development Department. The aim of the survey is to hear your views on the opportunities and potential for play and recreation in dlr County. All information provided will be confidential and will only be used to support the making of the strategy. The survey should take no longer than 8 minutes. Thank you for participating. The deadline for submissions is 30th June 2022. Read more.

5. Traffic & Road Safety: Electric Vehicle Charge Point Location – Expression of Interest – We are asking the public who currently own or lease an Electric Vehicle, to tell us where they would like a charge point in their local area. Filling out the form does not guarantee a charge point will be installed in that location but will help the Dublin Local Authorities to identify areas where there is local need. The deadline for submissions is the 30th September 2022. Read more.

View the full eZine in your browser here

Blackrock Business & Community Newsletter June 2022

Bloomsday production packs Main Street!

A Play on Ulysses was adapted by Nastaise Leddy (above) and Iris Park