Fingal County Council has secured €33.1 million in new active-travel funding for 2026 — with €23.5m going to 49 walking, cycling and public realm projects, and a further €9.6m for priority commuter schemes. This sits within a wider national pot aimed at making everyday journeys safer, healthier and more sustainable.

For Fingal East, some headline projects are:

On the commuter side, the funding also supports work like R132 junction upgrades (design stage), a countywide bus stop enhancement programme, and broader bus priority/traffic management improvements. And for families, there’s extra support through Safe Routes to School (Round 4), which includes Gaelscoil Ros Eo (Rush), Scoil Moibhi (Skerries), St. Andrew’s NS (Malahide) and St. Joseph’s Secondary School (Rush). The overall aim is to make walking, wheeling and cycling a realistic option — especially for trips under 5km.

Donabate has a brand-new library space now open in Ballisk House, following a €2m refurbishment that began in January 2025 and has turned the former credit union building into a modern public facility right in the centre of the village. Fingal County Council bought Ballisk House in 2022 after Donabate Credit Union closed, and the new library is being pitched as a bigger, more accessible community hub as the area continues to grow.

The library spans two floors and includes a lift for accessibility, along with a dedicated events and meeting room designed to host talks, activities and community gatherings. A particularly interesting addition is that My Open Library is expected to be introduced soon, which would allow registered members to access the library from 8am to 10pm, 365 days a year, outside normal staffed hours (including Sundays).

We’re also told this is phase one of a two-phase plan — with phase two (a further expansion and added facilities) expected to move into the planning process in early 2026, and already at feasibility stage.

Fingal County Council has launched its third Age Friendly Strategy for 2026–2030, outlining how the county plans to better support older people over the next five years. The launch took place in County Hall, Swords on 16 January 2026, with local Age Friendly representatives and council leadership highlighting participation, inclusion, and accessibility as central themes.

One of the main messages is that Fingal’s population profile is shifting. While the county is often seen as relatively young, there is a growing cohort of older residents, and the strategy is designed to respond to that reality in a structured way.

The strategy is organised around four broad areas:

It’s intended to be delivered through a detailed action plan, with progress tracked and reported on over time, and with different agencies and groups expected to collaborate so the commitments translate into practical improvements across Fingal.

Swords

Rush

Balbriggan / Clogheder

Rail (Portmarnock / Malahide / Donabate / Rush & Lusk / Skerries / Balbriggan)

Donabate: night-time track works listed during this period (expect overnight activity/noise).

Malahide | Malahide community School | Tin Whistle for beginners | One of the easiest instruments to learn but yet very flexible, in that once you learn the basics , you can play many different types of music from traditional to modern. I will be teaching the Tin Whistle in the key of D. | 19:30-21:00

Rush | Rush Library | Exhibition: 15th Anniversary of Rush Library | All Day

Rush | Rush Library | Stained Glass Crafts | 15:00-16:00

Rush | Rush Library | Sage Advocacy: National Advocacy Service for Older People | 10:30-12:00

Malahide | Malahide community School | Irish Geneaology | Researching your family tree is a growing hobby. This class teaches you where to begin with Irish sources like the census, birth, death and marriage certificates, then progresses to parish registers, newspapers, wills, land records and the military. | 19:30-21:30

Swords | Swords Senior Citizens Centre | Free Beginner Bridge Lessons | 10 Free Lessons - Over 55's only - Swords Senior Citizens | 09:15-11:15

Online | Online | Facebook for your business - Advanced | This workshop aims to guide business owners/managers who already have a Facebook Business page and wish to improve customer engagement, increase Facebook traffic, develop custom landing pages, incorporate existing website content into Facebook, and create an online e-commerce Facebook store. | 09:30-12:30

Online | Online | Fingal Community Development & Inclusion Department to Host Information Webinar on Funding Applications | This webinar is designed to support community groups across Fingal by outlining how to make applications for community funding and to provide an overview of the recent changes to funding guidelines. Community groups are encouraged to attend so they can ensure they are fully informed and prepared when submitting funding applications in the coming year. Registration is now open. | 19:00-20:00

Swords | Liam Rogers Community Centre | Gravity Membership Registration Evening | Swords Autism Friendly Town - Gravity Clubs, Events & Activities will resume in the coming weeks 🥳🥳 | 19:15-20:15

Swords | Fingal community College | Staging of Brain Play by Chloe Lawrence Taylor | When Mia’s dad suffers a traumatic brain injury and struggles to leave the house, she makes it her mission to find the cure for his symptoms. Delving deeper and deeper into the world of neuroscience, Mia is desperate to make him better, but first she must contend with her own brain. | 19:00-21:00

Online | Online | Sources of Finance for SMEs | This workshop aims to signpost participants to various sources of funding that they can access to start or grow their business. Participants will gain the tools to apply successfully for funding and finance and find the sources that best suit their business. | 09:30-12:30

Balbriggan | The Lark | Bagatelle & Friends – Celebrating the Legacy of Liam Reilly | Bagatelle is by far, one of the most successful original touring bands to emerge from Ireland during the 80s. With several No 1 Hit Singles including their iconic, and timeless, Summer in Dublin – written of course by the Late Great Singer/Songwriter Liam Reilly. | 20:00-22:00

Swords | Swords Library | Imbolc & Feile Bríd: Traditions, Herbs and St. Brigid | Explore the history, folklore, and seasonal meaning of this ancient Celtic festival. Learn about the myths, lore and historical connections between the pagan Goddess Brigid and St. Brigid of Kildare. | 18:00-19:00

Swords | Fingal community College | Staging of Brain Play by Chloe Lawrence Taylor | When Mia’s dad suffers a traumatic brain injury and struggles to leave the house, she makes it her mission to find the cure for his symptoms. Delving deeper and deeper into the world of neuroscience, Mia is desperate to make him better, but first she must contend with her own brain. | 19:00-21:00

Online | Online | Sources of Finance for SMEs | This workshop aims to signpost participants to various sources of funding that they can access to start or grow their business. Participants will gain the tools to apply successfully for funding and finance and find the sources that best suit their business. | 09:30-12:30

Dublin City Centre | National Concert Hall | National Symphony Orchestra Ireland - Tchaikovsky’s ‘Pathétique’ | Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique, his last, most searing symphony, is a powerful, poignant confessional filled with turbulent passion, restless energy and aching melodies. Its striking use of brass chorales, dark low-lying strings and volatile drama points to unbearable tragedy behind the fatalistic surrender of its mournful Adagio finale. | 19:30-21:30

Balbriggan | Balbriggan Library | Celebrating Celtic Seasonal Wisdom | 10:30-12:00

Donabate | Donabate Library | Saint Brigid’s Colourful Cloak Collage | 15:00-16:30

Balbriggan | The Lark | Mike Denver in concert | Mike Denver takes us on a 2-hour+ high-energy show featuring all his hits. He's joined by a special guest, the legendary Philomena Begley. | 20:00-23:00

Swords | Fingallians Club | Social Dance with Aidan Clerkin | get your dancing shoes on … doors open 20:30 | 21:30-23:45

Dublin City Centre | The National Concert Hall | ClassicsNow: Dido's Lament | Join ClassicsNow to discover the many facets of the fascinating Dido, in a selection of readings and arias including Purcell’s famous Dido’s Lament (‘When I am laid in earth’) performed by the acclaimed mezzo soprano, Sharon Carty. | 19:00-21:00

👩‍🦰👩📢Balbriggan | Ardgillian Castle | MnáFest

Naul | The Seamus Ennis Centre | The Lowest Pair | Born on the banks of the Mississippi, bound by banjos - The Lowest Pair bring their soulful Americana to life with harmony, heart, and a decade of musical kinship. | 20:00-22:30

Balbriggan | Glebe North Football Club | Adult dancing | Entertainment: Moynihan Brothers | 21:00-00:30

👩‍🦰👩📢Balbriggan | Ardgillian Castle | MnáFest

Balbriggan | Ardgillan Castle | Brigit! Ancient Goddess. Modern mouth. | A poetic recital written by Elisabeth Anne Smiddy directed by Phyllis Monaghan | 11:30-12:00

Swords | Roganstown Hotel & Country Club | Wedding Open Day | See the hotel dressed as it would be on your Wedding Day, enjoy delicious canapés and a glass of prosecco, and chat with our team about your wedding ideas and plans. ✨ | 14:00-17:00

Swords | Broadmeadow Community Garden | Learn to make St. Brigid crosses | Learn to make a st.brigids cross with Broadmeadow Community Garden | 11:15-13:00

👩‍🦰👩📢Balbriggan | Ardgillian Castle | MnáFest

Niamh is a Portmarnock girl who grew up in a strongly musical home, shaped by a classically trained pianist mother Angela (who inspired “Pianos in the Snow”) and a father, Terry, who sang and played guitar in pubs. Niamh however is not the only musical talent in the family, her sister Fiona is a trained opera singer who formerly sang professionally with a group in Australia and her brother is a session musician who has played with various Irish bands over the years.

Niamh started piano at seven, later learned guitar with a local teacher, Mrs. Furlong, and by 14 was writing her own songs on her mother’s baby grand—drawing heavily on 90s grunge and influences like Fiona Apple, introduced through her older brother.

Her career hit a major milestone in 2023 when she became the first solo artist in almost two decades to sign with Claddagh Records. Her debut album Yellow Roses (released March 2024, produced by Brían Mac Gloinn of Ye Vagabonds) earned strong acclaim, with the title track acting as a tribute to her late grandmother. Beyond recording, she’s become a key figure in Dublin’s folk scene through her work organising the Cobblestone’s monthly singing session, and she’s collaborated with artists including Dermot Kennedy, Martin Hayes and ØXN—while 2026 has already seen a TradFest performance at Swords Castle, last Saturday, a residency in Paris, and confirmation that her second album is now being written, with more love songs in the mix.