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.
If you’d like to be among the first to know about such projects, make sure to subscribe to the Sustainable Skerries Email Newsletter!
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
In August 2025, more than fifty years after making constitutional history, Skerries woman May McGee and her late husband Seamus were celebrated and honoured in their own community.
Skerries Tidy Towns commissioned the installation in Floraville of a Mosaic to celebrate the groundbreaking Supreme Court victory in December 1973, of Skerries woman Mary (May) McGee, which effectively legalised the sale and importation of contraceptives. The mosaic is by renowned Irish international artist Helen McLean. Skerries Tidy Towns thanked the Department of Rural and Community Development, Skerries Community Association and the Chamber of Commerce for their financial support. Many joined the organisers, May herself and her family and friends at Floraville on Saturday, August 30 for the official unveiling of the Mosaic and to finally celebrate this local heroine.
We salute you, May, and thank you for your courage in challenging authority and helping to create a kinder Ireland!
Many thanks to Skerries Tidy Towns for commissioning the beautiful plaque and for organising this wonderful occasion.
A big thank you to all those who attending the Skerries Community Association 2024 AGM. It was a great opportunity to hear all the great activities being organised by each committee and to take the opportunity to recognise our Jim Quigley award winners.
As every year in the run-up to the Annual General Meeting (to which everyone in Skerries is invited!), the chair and the committees of the Skerries Community Association look back on the past twelve months.
We have put together reports and photographs, which will be delivered to households in Skerries over the next week or so.
It will also be available in our community centre, in Skerries Library, Skerries Mills, and in some of the local supermarkets.
And we are also publishing it here (below), for your convenience.
Will we see you at the AGM? It will take place on Thursday 15 June from 8 pm in the Little Theatre, Old Schoolhouse, Skerries Community Centre. There will be refreshments!
Click on the link below if you’d like to see the full PDF.
See also the recent NOTICE OF THE SCA AGM TO MEMBERS
The AGM is free but numbers are limited. Please register now on Eventbrite.
It’s less than a year since our last AGM (4 October 2021) and Skerries and the world seem to be very different. An end to all Covid restrictions since March 2022 has meant that those committees who rely on holding in-person events have been able to get back to business. Back in September who would have thought that we would be welcoming people fleeing from war-torn Ukraine to our town? (See skerriesca.com/Ukraine for more.) And I find myself (an SCA old-timer) “back in the chair”, which is as enjoyable and fulfilling as ever!
Continue readingNOTICE OF THE SCA AGM TO MEMBERS
The event is free but numbers are limited. Please register now on Eventbrite.
NOTICE is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of The Skerries Community Association CLG (SCA) will be held online via Zoom on Thursday 23rd of June 2022 at 8 pm to transact the Ordinary Business of the Company, that is to say: –
1. To confirm the Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting
2. To receive and adopt the Directors’ Report and Financial Statements for year ended 31 Dec. 2021
3. To elect Directors to the Board of Skerries Community Association CLG
4. To elect Members to Skerries Community Centre Board of Management
5. To reappoint Dempsey Mullen as Auditors and to authorise the Directors to fix their remuneration
6. To transact any other business proper to an Annual General Meeting of the Company.
Dated this the 1st of June 2022, by order of the Board, Secretary.
NOTE 1. No person other than a Director of the Company retiring at the meeting shall, unless recommended by the Directors, be eligible for election to the office of Director at any general meeting unless, not less than three (i.e. 20 June 2022) nor more than 21 days (i.e. 2nd June 2022) before the date appointed for the meeting, there has been left at the registered office notice in writing, signed by a member duly qualified to attend and vote at the meeting for which notice is given, of his/her intention to propose such a person for election, and also Notice in writing signed by that person of his/her willingness to be elected. [Nomination Form below].
NOTE 2. The names of candidates who have consented to stand for election to the Board of Management of the Community Centre, together with the names of their proposers and seconders, shall be given in writing to the Secretary, and shall be posted on the Community Centre Notice Board at least three days prior (by 20 June 2022) to the holding of the Annual General Meeting. [Nomination Form below].
NOTE 3. Copies of the Directors’ Report and Financial Statements will be available to members at the Community Centre and at www.Skerriesca.com at least seven days prior to the holding of the Annual General Meeting.
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Nomination Form
Please click here to download the nomination form for printing. Copies are also available from the Community Centre.
For election to the Board of Directors of SCA CLG or to the Board of Management of Skerries Community Centre [please underline the Board for which you are nominating]
I wish to nominate ____________________________________ for election to the Board of:
Skerries Community Association CLG OR Skerries Community Centre Board of Management (underline one)
Printed name and signature of Proposer: ____________________ ___________________
I consent to my nomination for election
Signature of nominee _____________________ Date: __________________________
NB: Please return signed Nomination Form to the Community Centre by 20 June 2022 or by email to secretary@skerriesca.com
Click on Full Screen for best viewing. Also available to see here.
The terms “herd immunity” and “critical mass” became all-too-familiar during the recent crisis.
How could cyclists achieve herd immunity, that is, immunity from the dangers of sharing the road with traffic?
The answer is to band together, forming such a large group that we become the traffic.
And so “critical mass cycles” have become a phenomenon that’s really putting safe cycle routes on top of the agenda all over the world.
EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK is the European Commission’s flagship awareness-raising campaign on sustainable urban mobility.
It promotes behavioural change in favour of active mobility, public transport, and other clean, intelligent transport solutions.
To celebrate and of course to participate, we at Skerries Cycling Initiative are planning a major critical mass cycle during that week. But we’ve no intention of waiting until September to get on our bikes. After all, it’s summertime at last!
We’re organising a series of summer “critical mass” cycles, starting on Thursday, May 26th. There will be further cycles on each of the last Thursdays in June July August and finally the big one in September.
We are aiming to double the number of participants each month and hoping to have at least 100 cyclists, scooterers and wheelers of all sorts at the first of the cycles. Do the maths! If this works we could have 1600 cyclists making our voices heard and having fun together in September.
The people of Skerries have told us time and time again that they are reluctant to cycle around Skerries because of the lack of safe cycling routes. Here is your opportunity to find out what it would feel like to cycle safely in Skerries with like-minded friends and family.
We also believe that the planners, councillors, officials and national politicians cannot continue to ignore the demands of 1000 very loud voices.
We’ve estimated that there are probably more than 5000 usable bicycles in Skerries.-So, it’s time to dust off, oil up and hop on your bike.
Be there, at 7.30pm on Thursday, May 26th.
This cycle will start and finish at Skerries Mills Bike Park- No! That’s not a typing error. Let’s reclaim our town park and our streets! See you there!