👋 Hi FingalEMers,

Good morning! There is a definite change in the air as we reach the final weekend of summer. With the weather beginning to turn, it may be worth checking the forecast before heading out — particularly for any outdoor events taking place across Fingal East.

On Monday, we forgot to mention that if you would like to buy a copy of Mike Power’s book, drop us a line at [email protected] and we’ll gladly send you Mike’s contact details.

This week’s poll asks what you would like to see more of in Fingal East Media. If you already completed the poll in Monday’s edition, please don’t enter it again — your response has already been counted. If you haven’t voted yet, we’d really appreciate your input, as the results will help shape what we cover in future editions.

We also take a look at the major new recreational hub now under construction in Lusk, introduce you to the medically supervised exercise programmes offered locally by ExWell Medical, and explore the remarkable story of Richard Montgomery — the Swords-born general who became one of the earliest heroes of the American Revolution.

And don’t miss this week’s Featured Business, Roche Windows, which has created a special offer exclusively for Fingal East Media readers.

Now, let’s see what’s happening across Fingal East this weekend…

Roche Windows is a family-owned Dublin business supplying and fitting windows and doors across Leinster, backed by more than 25 years of hands-on fitting experience. The team works with homeowners looking to replace older windows, improve energy efficiency or simply make their homes warmer and more comfortable.

Roche Windows supplies bespoke double- and triple-glazed windows and doors, with designs tailored to individual homes. They can also advise customers on the SEAI grant process, helping homeowners understand the options available when planning an energy-efficiency upgrade.

For a limited time, Roche Windows is offering Fingal East Media readers a FREE upgrade from double glazing to triple glazing. Customers placing an order before December 2026 will also receive a €100 Pavilions Shopping Centre voucher. A complimentary home consultation is included, and orders booked now can be installed before Christmas.

If upgrading your windows or doors has been on the list for a while, this could be a good opportunity to explore what is possible and get some advice on the best options for your home.

🌾🎉 Featured event: Skerries Mills Harvest Time Festival

Skerries Mills is holding its Harvest Time Festival this Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 August — a free, family-friendly celebration of the harvest in the fields beside the historic mills.

It is built around the arrival of the crop harvest, with music, demonstrations, animals, stalls, food and activities for all ages. Saturday opens at 11am and includes live afternoon music, while Sunday begins at 10.30am. The festival finishes at approximately 5.45pm each day.

The regular Skerries Mills Farmers Market will run on Saturday, while Sunday brings a small craft market. The Watermill Café, outdoor terrace and food vendors in the crop field will also be available, making it an easy place to spend a few hours rather than simply call in.

Entry is free, although there is a small charge for face painting. Parking will be limited, so the organisers are encouraging visitors to walk, cycle or use the train — Skerries Mills is about a six-minute walk from the station. Entry is through the Mill Hill Park gates between the two windmills.

📅 Friday 28 August

Balbriggan | The Victory Garden, 7 Bremore Cottages | Victory Garden Open Day | Explore a private ornamental garden featured on the Dublin Garden Trail. | 11am–5pm

Balbriggan | Niah Restaurant, Drogheda Street | Sociable 60s+ Restaurant Meetup | An early-evening restaurant gathering organised through a private Meetup group. | 5pm–7pm

Portmarnock | Portmarnock Beach | Portmarnock Beach Race | Kids’ colour dash at 6pm, juvenile 2K at 6.30pm and the senior 5K at 7pm. | From 6pm

Skerries | Otter Space, Holmpatrick Shopping Centre | Otter Mixer Board Game Meetup | An adults-only social games night with more than 200 games and puzzles available. Registration required. | 6.45pm–9.45pm

Swords | Venue shared with attendees | The Dish-A-Month Club | A monthly cookbook club where members test recipes and compare their results. | 7pm–9pm

Balbriggan | The Lark | The Sensational 70s Superstars Show | A costumed eight-piece live band performing some of the biggest hits of the 1970s. | 8pm

Donabate | Shoreline Hotel | DJ and Karaoke | Friday-night DJ entertainment followed by karaoke. | From 8pm

📅 Saturday 29 August

Swords | Broadmeadow Linear Park | Broadmeadow Linear parkrun | A free weekly 5K for walkers and runners. | 9.30am

Swords | River Valley Park | River Valley parkrun | A free, volunteer-led weekly 5K. | 9.30am

Malahide | Malahide Castle | Malahide parkrun | A free weekly community 5K. | 9.30am

Donabate | Newbridge House and Farm | Donabate parkrun | A weekly 5K for runners and walkers. | 9.30am

Balbriggan | Ardgillan Castle and Demesne | Ardgillan parkrun | A free weekly 5K through the demesne. | 9.30am

Lusk | Murray’s Carpark, Station Road | Lusk Farmers Market | Fresh local produce, artisan food and handmade goods. | 9.30am–1pm

Malahide | Malahide Marina Slipway | Malahide Swords Canoe Club Open Day | Free 45-minute kayaking taster sessions for young people aged 10 to 20. Registration required. | From 10am

Malahide | St Sylvester’s Parish Centre | Iyengar Yoga with Sue | A weekly Saturday-morning Iyengar yoga class. | 10am–11.30am

Malahide | Casino Model Railway Museum | Explore Fingal Market | The final Malahide food and craft market of the summer. | 10am–4pm

Skerries | Skerries Mills | Skerries Mills Farmers Market | Local produce, food and craft stalls alongside the Harvest Time Festival. | 10am–3pm

Skerries | South Strand | Round Rockabill Rowing Race | A challenging 15km offshore rowing race around Rockabill, with a beach start and finish. | 11am

Skerries | Skerries Mills | Harvest Time Festival | A free festival featuring harvesting, animals, music, demonstrations, stalls and family activities. | 11am–approximately 5.45pm

Skerries | Otter Space, Holmpatrick Shopping Centre | Neurodivergent Adults Coffee Meetup | A free informal gathering with access to sensory resources. | 11am

Swords | Outside Rivervalley Community Centre | Swords Tidy Towns Clothes Swap | Refresh your wardrobe for free while giving unwanted clothes a second life. | 11am–1pm

Balbriggan | The Victory Garden, 7 Bremore Cottages | Victory Garden Open Day | Explore this private ornamental garden during its final August opening weekend. | 11am–5pm

Donabate | Donabate Library | Páistí! Scéalta! Amhráin! Spraoi! | Irish-language stories, songs and play for children aged four to seven. | 11.30am–12.30pm

Balbriggan | Balbriggan Garda Station | Garda Station Open Day | A family-friendly opportunity to visit the station, meet local Gardaí and view the emergency vehicles. | From noon

Ballyboughal | Ballyboughal GFC Grounds | New Clubhouse Open Day | Clubhouse tours, exhibition matches, games, food trucks, live music and family entertainment. | Gates open 4pm; official opening 6pm

📅 Sunday 30 August

Swords | River Valley Park | River Valley junior parkrun | A free 2K for children aged four to 14. | 9.30am

Malahide | Malahide Castle | Malahide Castle junior parkrun | A free weekly junior 2K. | 9.30am

Donabate | Newbridge House and Farm | Newbridge House junior parkrun | A free 2K for junior walkers and runners. | 9.30am

Rush | Kenure Woods | Rush junior parkrun | A free weekly junior 2K. | 9.30am

Lusk | Lusk Sports Hub | Lusk Sports Hub junior parkrun | A free 2K for children aged four to 14. | 9.30am

Balbriggan | Balbriggan All-Weather Pitch area | Balbriggan junior parkrun | A free Sunday-morning junior 2K. | 9.30am

Skerries | Skerries Mills | Harvest Time Festival | Sunday’s programme includes harvesting, demonstrations, family activities and a craft market. | 10.30am–approximately 5.45pm

Portmarnock | Portmarnock Sports and Leisure Centre | Sunday Social Football | Informal seven-a-side astro football welcoming players of different abilities. | 11am

Portmarnock | Portmarnock Sports and Leisure Centre | Arch Clubs Colour Run | A community colour run and woodland walk celebrating 50 years of Arch Clubs. Registration opens at noon. | 2pm–3pm

Balbriggan | Venue confirmed by organiser | Self-Care Soundbath | A relaxing session featuring Tibetan bowls, chimes, rainstick, drum and monochord. | 6pm–7.30pm

Donabate | Shoreline Hotel | Music Bingo | A Sunday-night game combining bingo with popular music. | From 8pm

Event details can change. Check the linked organiser page before travelling or booking.

📢 Finally, stuff from Fingal East we just like — General Richard Montgomery - From Swords an American Revolutionary War hero

With the United States marking its 250th anniversary this year, there is a remarkable Fingal connection to the story of how the country came into being. Richard Montgomery was born at Feltrim, near Swords, on 2 December 1738, and spent much of his early life on the Kinsealy estate that later became known as Abbeville. He entered Trinity College Dublin as a teenager but left without taking a degree and, in 1756, joined the British Army. Montgomery proved to be a very capable soldier, fighting across North America and the Caribbean during the Seven Years' War. In 1760 he was present when British forces captured Montreal from the French — a detail which makes what happened later in his life all the more extraordinary.

Frustrated by his prospects in the British Army, Montgomery sold his commission in 1772 and moved to New York, where he married Janet Livingston, a member of one of America's most influential families and a family sympathetic to the growing rebellion against British rule. When the American Revolution began in 1775, his considerable military experience made him an obvious choice for the new Continental Army. He was appointed a brigadier-general and soon found himself commanding an American invasion of Canada. Fifteen years after helping Britain capture Montreal, the man from Feltrim captured the city again — this time from the British. He then pushed on towards Quebec City, joining forces with Benedict Arnold. During an attack in a fierce snowstorm on New Year's Eve 1775, Montgomery was killed by British artillery. He was just 37. In another extraordinary twist, Congress had promoted him to major-general three weeks earlier, but Montgomery died without ever receiving the news.

His death turned Montgomery into one of the first great heroes of the American Revolution. On 25 January 1776 — months before the Declaration of Independence was signed — the Continental Congress ordered a monument to him, with Benjamin Franklin asked to arrange its creation in France. It became what is regarded as America's first national memorial and can still be seen at St Paul's Chapel in New York, where Montgomery's remains were eventually reinterred in 1818. His name subsequently spread across the United States: Maryland's Montgomery County was named for him in 1776, numerous other counties and towns followed, and even Montgomery, the capital of Alabama, takes its name from the general. It is an extraordinary legacy for a man whose story began among Feltrim, Kinsealy and Swords — and one of those pieces of Fingal history that really deserves to be better known.

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.