This summer, the Community Center organised a family day for children with additional needs and their families. There was a Bouncy castle, a sensory room, outdoor activities and hot food and treats. This has been a real success and everyone enjoyed the opportunity to have some fun, meet friends and make new connections in the town. We thank Shay, Sharon and her team for organising this excellent day out !
We were absolutely thrilled to see our dedicated chairperson Maeve Mc Gann from Tidy Town awarded the Jim Quigley volunteer of the year award for 2026 at the Skerries Community Association – SCA AGM on Thursday June 25th.
Maeve has been with Skerries Tidy Towns for 43 years , and has been Chair for the last 10. She was part of the winning team which saw Skerries crowned Ireland’s Tidiest Town in 2016 and we have won gold medals and other commendations over the past 25 years. Her energy is inspiring and Maeve has been at the forefront of the evolving Tidy Towns vision. Now the emphasis is on promoting Sustainability, Biodiversity and Conservation and Maeve has forged links with other local groups such as Sustainable Skerries, Birdwatch Ireland, Clean Coasts, the Historical Society and Lusk, Rush and Balbriggan Tidy Towns groups.
Maeve was instrumental in the installation of the beautiful mosaic in Floraville to commemorate the landmark Supreme Court win in 1973 by local woman May McGee and her husband Shay. Their win led eventually to the legalising of contraception in Ireland. The unveiling of the mosaic on 30th August last was such a happy day for May, her family and friends and local supporters. Nobody could have guessed that May would pass away after a brief illness on 28th October. Rest in peace May.
Maeve’s nominators emphasised the huge amount of work that she does, be it planning, communicating, physical work, and the very burdensome task of the annual entry. Her work, and the Tidy Towns vision and achievements give a great boost to the morale, and sense of pride in place, of all people living in this town. She is an inspiration to us all. Well done Maeve McGann and thank you.
Twenty children, a week in Ardgillan and a lot of clay, paint, plants, bats and bicycles make for a very special Sustainable Skerries summer project in August. Now in its third year, the idea behind the nature camp is to give children the chance to get outdoors, get creative and have fun in nature.
Over the course of the week, the children took part in a wide range of activities, like nature walks, tree art, yoga, bird watching and lots more. They learned about bats and the important role they play in our ecosystems. They also had the opportunity to start learning about wildflowers with Zoë Devlin’s fabulous plant ID book, Wildflowers of Ireland. Identifying wild plants is a lovely way for children to start noticing what is growing all around us.
Sustainable Skerries believe there is something really valuable about giving children this kind of experience. Children get to understand nature as somewhere to be creative, discover wildlife, make things with natural materials, relax in and enjoy. Sustainable Skerries also hope that an annual camp can help children build curiosity, develop an appreciation for local biodiversity and understand why looking after our environment matters.
The 20 places were snapped up within minutes, which shows the appetite for opportunities like this in our community.
The week was made possible through very generous support from Fingal County Council, which sponsored the project and provided the permits to use the grounds at Ardgillan. That support is essential to running an event like this.
Amy and Edel from Colour and Art (https://www.colourandart.ie/) led the activities and were inspiring, encouraging and kind while giving the children plenty of room to be themselves. Pauline, Ciara and Breda were the Sustainable Skerries volunteers who organised and helped run the event.
And the week didn’t finish in the usual way. On the last day, the children visited an open orchard with Sabine (Skerries Open Orchard Project / Sustainable Skerries) before heading off on a fun cycle with Michael, Dave and Steve of Skerries Cycling Initiative. They cycled down to South Strand, where they enjoyed being outdoors and got to see some of the other community projects happening in Skerries, including the Community eCargo Bike, the Cycling Without Age Trishaw and the Sustainable Skerries Beach Toy Box.
There is something heartening about seeing a group of young children getting excited about birds, wildflowers, trees, clay, bicycles and the beach. They were learning and discovering all week, but it never felt like school.
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Text and photo credit: Sustainable Skerries
From 10 to 15 July, Skerries Town Twinning hosted 24 visitors from Brittany. Activities included a tour of the new library and an exchange of books. We held a seminar in Prosper Fingal entitled “Building Community” with contributions from Jane Landy (Skerries Community Association), Miriam Carroll (Forget-Me-Not Café), Breda Shankey (Tidy Towns), Dave Beattie (SYSS), Catherine McMahon (CPR/AED), Stephanie Bourke (Skerries Historical Society), John Coleman (Rockabill Film Society and the Trishaw Initiative). Máire Jones gave an insight into her own volunteering activities. Philippe Gourronc from Guichen presented a very interesting look at comparable services available in France.
Sunday, and another fine sunny day, marked a visit to the Battle of the Boyne centre, at Oldbridge. Coincidentally, it was the 12th July, the day of the famous battle. A tour of the gardens, an audio-visual presentation and a picnic made for an interesting day.
Monday provided another interesting excursion – thanks to Fingal County Council the visitors and hosts were welcomed to the newly restored Bremore Castle in Balbriggan. Kevin Halpenny provided a very interesting talk on the Castle followed by a walking tour of our neighbour’s historical heritage.
In the evening, the weather provided a stunning background for a celebration dinner in Skerries Sailing Club. To add to the atmosphere a group of local musicians, led by Carol Keane, and local dancers featuring world champion Seoidín Handibode provided entertainment for a great evening.
Tuesday morning saw the group heading to Dublin for a visit to Leinster House. This had been organised for us by Deputy Rob O’Donoghue, who was our host for the morning. An added surprise, was an unexpected encounter with Michel Barnier (former Prime Minister of France). Following the visit, the French visitors took the opportunity to explore Dublin’s historical and shopping areas. Our friends returned home on Wednesday 15 August.
On Wednesday 2 September we held a social gathering in Skerries Harps which was attended by over 30 people including most of our host families.
A great weekend was had with the visit of our French friends once again – all lovely encounters in gorgeous weather. The teamwork from the committee all worked out very well. Many thanks is due to all our host families.
Text and photo credit: Town Twinnning
June 17, 2026, at 7.30pm
Launch of the automated external defibrillator (AED) at Red Island, which was attended by Mayor Tom O’Leary, Pearse Lydon (of Lydon Builders, who donated the AED), reps from the FCC, the Frosties and Tidy Towns as well as members of the Board of Directors of Skerries Community Association
A new automated external defibrillator (AED) was installed at Red Island. An AED is a portable device that can be used to treat a person whose heart has suddenly stopped working. This is called sudden cardiac arrest.
Effective AED programs are designed to deliver a shock to a victim within three to five minutes after the person collapses.
Pearse Lydon and Grainne Smith of Lydon Builders
The launch was attended by Mayor Tom O’Leary, Pearse Lydon of Lydon Builders who donated the AED, representatives from Fingal County Council, the Frosties (a local group of year-round sea swimmers) and Tidy Towns, as well as members of the Skerries Community Association (SCA) Board of Directors.
With the support of the SCA Board of Directors, it is planned to roll out CPR and AED training throughout our community, starting in February with the Frosties.
BalSwoOpArea@fingal.ie is the go-to email for issues with pavements, roads, signs, traffic lights, street lights, trees, beaches, playgrounds or anything else in public areas around Fingal. The email is a contact to the Fingal County Council Local Operations Department.
If you are sending an email to BalSwoOpArea@fingal.ie, then it is best practice to include details of the problem, with a photo and an associated eircode.