👋 Hi FingalEMers,

Another busy weekend is ahead across Fingal East, with 57 events taking place between Friday and Sunday — from live music, markets and workshops to parkruns, family events and theatre.

We also head from Skerries to Shakespeare with actor Emily Taaffe, whose career has taken her from the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre to major film and television roles, plus the latest local traffic and travel updates for the weekend.

Coming Next Week: Tell me more

Next week we’re launching Tell me more — a new weekly feature introducing you to activities you can get involved in around Fingal East.

We already have more than 30 activities lined up, from sea swimming, sailing and coastal rowing to chess, drama, bowls, photography, bridge and plenty more. Each week we’ll give you a short introduction, explain what’s involved, what you might need to get started and where you can try it locally.

The idea is simple: hopefully we’ll introduce you to something you’ve never considered before — and give you enough information to decide whether you’d like to give it a go.

🛍️ Featured Business: Country Crest Farm Shop — Donabate

There aren’t many local businesses where the story stretches quite so clearly from the fields of Fingal to supermarket shelves across Ireland. The Hoey family’s farming roots in North County Dublin go back generations, with brothers Michael and Gabriel Hoey establishing Country Crest in 1993, initially supplying fresh potatoes from their base in Lusk. The business later expanded into vegetables and prepared foods, including the establishment of Ballymaguire Foods in 2008.

The Country Crest Farm Shop on Swords Road in Donabate brings that wider story back to the local customer. It showcases produce from the family farm alongside products from other Irish growers and producers, with a craft butcher counter, seasonal fruit and vegetables, breads and cakes, Irish artisan foods and prepared meals from Ballymaguire Foods.

It makes the Farm Shop more than simply somewhere to pick up the groceries — it is a window into a Fingal family business that has grown from local farming into a major Irish food operation while remaining firmly rooted in the area.

Visit Country Crest Farm Shop

On Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September, Whitestown House in Naul will host A Literary Feast — an intimate dining experience inspired by Ireland’s literary heritage. The multi-course tasting menu and tablescape will take their inspiration from the poems, novels and prose of some of Ireland’s greatest writers.

The Dining Club at Whitestown House is led by chefs Kelly Keogh and James Gabriel Martin, with a strong focus on seasonal and sustainable ingredients. Guests are welcomed for pre-dinner drinks, canapés and live music before gathering around the house’s long dining table, creating an evening centred as much on conversation and atmosphere as on the food itself.

The idea is to make the meal part of the storytelling — food, literature, music and company coming together in one of north Fingal’s most distinctive settings. As James Joyce wrote in Ulysses, “God made food, the devil the cooks.”

📅 Friday 25 & Saturday 26 September
🕗 19:00–23:00
📍 Whitestown House Estate, Naul

Book Tickets

Friday 25th September

• Balbriggan | Flemington Community Centre | SH Fitways | A friendly fitness class to get the day moving. | 10:00-11:00

• Balbriggan | Flemington Community Centre | Metropolitan School of Dance | Friday afternoon dance classes at the community centre. | 15:00-18:30

• Skerries | Otter Space | Otter Mixer Board Game Meetup | A relaxed evening of board games and meeting new people. | 18:45-21:45

• Balbriggan | Flemington Community Centre | Elite Taekwondo Academy | Friday evening taekwondo training at Flemington. | 18:00-19:00

• Balbriggan | Flemington Community Centre | Neurographia Classes | A creative drawing-based class combining pattern, colour and mindful focus. | 18:30-20:30

• Balbriggan | Flemington Community Centre | Flemington Basketball | An evening basketball session at the community centre. | 19:00-20:00

• Balbriggan | O'Dwyers GAA | Wet Your Whistle | Adult tin whistle session for newcomers and continuing musicians, with music and socialising. | 19:00-20:00

• Naul | Whitestown House | The Dining Club Presents: An Irish Literary Feast | A multi-course dining experience celebrating Ireland’s literary heritage. | 19:00-23:00

• Swords | Swords Pavilions | Circus Extreme | High-energy circus entertainment in the big top at Swords Pavilions. | 17:00-19:00

• Swords | Swords Pavilions | Circus Extreme | A second Friday performance of the high-energy touring circus. | 19:45-21:45

• Balbriggan | The Lark | Amy Winehouse Tribute: Absolute Amy | Holly Cosgrove celebrates the music and distinctive sound of Amy Winehouse. | 20:00

• Naul | The Séamus Ennis Arts Centre | Niall McCabe | An intimate live performance from acclaimed singer-songwriter Niall McCabe; listed as sold out. | 20:00-23:00

• Swords | Carnegie Free Library, Swords Cultural Quarter | Story2Remember: A Creative Training Workshop | A creative train-the-trainer workshop using storytelling, reminiscence, poetry and drama. | Time not stated

Saturday 26th September

• Balbriggan | Ardgillan Castle & Demesne | Ardgillan parkrun | A free weekly 5k walk, jog or run in the grounds of Ardgillan. | 09:30

• Malahide | Malahide Castle & Gardens | Malahide parkrun | A free weekly 5k walk, jog or run through the castle grounds. | 09:30

• Swords | Broadmeadow Linear Park | Broadmeadow Linear parkrun | A welcoming free weekly 5k for walkers, joggers and runners. | 09:30

• Swords | River Valley Park | River Valley parkrun | A free community 5k around River Valley Park. | 09:30

• Malahide | St Sylvester’s Parish Centre | Iyengar Yoga with Sue | A Saturday morning Iyengar yoga class in the parish centre. | 10:00-11:30

• Balbriggan | Flemington Community Centre | SH Fitways | A welcoming Saturday morning fitness class. | 10:00-11:00

• Balbriggan | Flemington Community Centre | Pickle Ball | A social Saturday morning pickleball session. | 10:00-12:00

• Balbriggan | Flemington Community Centre | Kumon | Saturday learning sessions for children and young people. | 10:00-12:00

• Malahide | Malahide Castle & Gardens | Step Up for Recovery 5K | A flexible-start 5k fundraiser supporting Kyrie Farm’s addiction recovery work. | 10:00-14:00

• Skerries | Skerries Mills | Skerries Mills Farmers Market | Local produce, breads, cakes, preserves and crafts at the weekly market. | 10:00-14:00

• Rush | Rush Library | Twin Hearts Meditation in Rush | A guided meditation session focused on relaxation, wellbeing and stress relief. | 10:30-11:30

• Malahide | St Sylvester's Church | Leaf Composting Workshop | Learn how to empty and refill leaf composting cages. | 10:30-12:00

• Malahide | Malahide Library | Seó Draíochta agus Puipéad / Puppet & Magic Show | A fun bilingual puppet and magic show with audience participation, presented in Irish and English. | 11:00-12:00

• Swords | Swords Castle | The Magic of Stories: Fingal Festival of Children’s Literature 2026 | A free family festival with authors, illustrators, art, music and theatre. | 11:00-16:00

• Swords | River Valley Community Centre | Swords Tidy Towns Clothes Swap and Repair Cafe | Swap pre-loved clothes and get help repairing garments with community menders. | 11:00-13:00

• Skerries | Otter Space | Neurodivergent Adults Coffee Meetup | A relaxed social coffee meetup for neurodivergent adults. | 11:00-13:00

• Balbriggan | Flemington Community Centre | Spleodar | A Saturday community activity session at Flemington. | 12:00-14:00

• Donabate | Community Well Studio | Cacao, Healing & Connection — Nourish Your Soul | A gentle afternoon of cacao, healing practices and connection. | 12:00-15:00

• Balbriggan | Flemington Community Centre | Emma Weldridge Dublin Dance Company | Saturday dance classes at the community centre. | 13:00-14:30

• Lusk | Lusk Community Cultural Centre | Beginners: Lino Print Making Workshop | Create a beautiful carve and Lino print to bring home | 14:00-16:00

• Swords | Swords Pavilions | Circus Extreme | An afternoon performance packed with high-energy circus acts. | 14:00-16:00

• Swords | Peacock’s Bar & Lounge | Mr Pussy Bingo Cabaret Brunch | Cabaret, comedy, live singing, bingo and finger food; doors open at 14:00. | 15:00

• Swords | Swords Pavilions | Circus Extreme | A late-afternoon performance of the touring big-top show. | 17:00-19:00

• Naul | Whitestown House | The Dining Club Presents: An Irish Literary Feast | A multi-course dining experience inspired by Ireland’s literary heritage. | 19:00-23:00

• Swords | Peacock’s Bar & Lounge | Karen Underwood — The Music of Nina Simone | Karen Underwood and band celebrate the music and legacy of Nina Simone. | 20:00-22:00

• Naul | The Séamus Ennis Arts Centre | The Pure Drop featuring Gatehouse | Traditional Irish music from Gatehouse in TSEAC’s intimate setting. | 20:00-23:00

• Balbriggan | The Lark | Johnny Cash Tribute: Cash Returns | A live celebration of Johnny Cash and June Carter with JP Mac and Karen Lyttle. | 20:00

• Rush | Kenure Church | Autumn Leaves | A concert featuring local artists, with proceeds in aid of Kenure Church. | 20:00

• Swords | Swords Pavilions | Circus Extreme | Saturday night’s final performance under the big top. | 19:45-21:45

• Swords | Envy Nightclub | DAIRE | A late-night DJ event in Swords. | 22:30-02:30

Sunday 27th September

• Balbriggan | Balbriggan | Balbriggan junior parkrun | A free weekly 2k event for children aged 4 to 14. | 09:30

• Donabate | Newbridge House & Farm | Newbridge House junior parkrun | A free Sunday morning 2k for children aged 4 to 14. | 09:30

• Lusk | Lusk Sports Hub | Lusk Sports Hub junior parkrun | A friendly free weekly 2k for children aged 4 to 14. | 09:30

• Malahide | Malahide Castle & Gardens | Malahide Castle junior parkrun | A free Sunday 2k event for younger walkers and runners. | 09:30

• Rush | Rush | Rush junior parkrun | A free weekly 2k event for children aged 4 to 14. | 09:30

• Swords | River Valley Park | River Valley junior parkrun | A welcoming free 2k Sunday event for children aged 4 to 14. | 09:30

• Skerries | Brew Berry | AÇAÍ Bowl Workshop | for the girlies | A hands-on workshop making and styling your own açaí bowl. | 11:00-12:30

• Malahide | Sylvesters GAA Club | Malahide Vinyl & CD Market | Browse vinyl records and CDs from a range of sellers; free admission. | 11:00-16:00

• Balbriggan | Flemington Community Centre | Pickle Ball | A relaxed Sunday pickleball session at Flemington. | 11:30-13:30

• Malahide | Grand Hotel | Wedding Fair | Meet the hotel wedding team and suppliers; attendance is by appointment. | 13:00-16:00

• Swords | Swords Pavilions | Circus Extreme | A Sunday afternoon performance of the touring circus spectacular. | 14:00-16:00

• Swords | Swords Pavilions | Circus Extreme | The final Sunday performance of Circus Extreme in Swords. | 17:00-19:00

• Balbriggan | Balbriggan | Self Care Soundbath | A restorative evening soundbath with Orna Bissett Sound and Wellness. | 18:00-19:30

• Donabate | The Shoreline Hotel | Music Bingo | Sunday night music bingo with familiar tunes and plenty of fun. | 20:00-22:00

📢 Finally, stuff from Fingal East we just like — Emily Taaffe - From Skerries to Shakespeare

Skerries-born actor Emily Taaffe has quietly built an impressive career across theatre, film and television in Ireland and Britain. Her family moved to Tullyallen near Drogheda when she was young, and it was through youth theatre that acting began to become a serious possibility. She later studied Drama and Theatre Studies at Trinity College Dublin before training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Her theatre career has included performances with both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, with roles in productions including Twelfth Night, The Tempest and The Comedy of Errors. On screen, she has appeared in productions including War & Peace, Informer, The Beast Must Die, His House, The Rising and the Irish film The Dig, for which she received an IFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

More recently, Taaffe has appeared in Little Disasters, Trespasses and Professor T, while also developing her own work behind the camera. She wrote, produced and starred in the short film Little Bird, which screened at festivals including Tribeca and the Galway Film Fleadh. She is one of those Fingal connections that is surprisingly easy to have missed — a Skerries-born performer whose career now stretches from Shakespeare to major international television, and exactly the kind of local story we like discovering. Well done, Emily 👏👏

Thanks for reading and for being part of this growing Fingal East community. Every share, reply and recommendation helps us reach more local people and shine a light on what’s happening around us.

Enjoy the weekend, and we’ll talk again on Monday morning.