Hi FingalEMers,

Welcome to something new for Fingal East Media. This is our first week trying a twice-weekly rhythm, with one edition earlier in the week and this second one giving you a clearer look at what’s happening as we head into the weekend.

The idea is simple: instead of trying to squeeze everything into one long weekly newsletter, we can give local events, community updates and stories a little more room to breathe. It should also make the newsletter easier to scan, especially when you’re just looking for something useful or interesting happening nearby.

You’ll also see the same quick location poll that appeared earlier in the week. If you already filled it in, thank you — there’s no need to do it again. We’re just keeping it here for anyone who missed it, as it helps us understand where readers are based and make Fingal East Media more useful across Swords, Malahide, Portmarnock, Donabate, Rush, Lusk, Skerries, Balbriggan and the surrounding areas.

We’re delighted to have Bright Motor Group as this week’s sponsor of Fingal East Media. With a strong local presence in Airside, Swords, Bright is a well-known and trusted name for many drivers and families across North Dublin.

From helping people find their next car to supporting customers with servicing, finance and aftersales, Bright Motor Group is one of those local brands that has become part of everyday life in the area. That makes them exactly the kind of established business we’re happy to be associated with.

Their support helps us continue sharing the events, stories, local organisations and community updates that matter across Fingal East. We’re very grateful to Bright Motor Group for backing this week’s edition and for supporting a growing local newsletter that is trying to shine a light on all the good things happening in the area.

🏗️ 🚶 Swords Main Street Transformation: A New Vision for the Heart of the Town

Fingal County Council has outlined early plans for a major Swords Main Street transformation, describing it as part of a wider programme of investment in the town. The briefing, hosted with Fingal Chamber, positioned Main Street as a key next step following the work already underway around Culture House, the new library and theatre building, and the wider Swords Cultural Quarter public realm works around the castle, County Hall and Culture House. Council officials said the combined investment in Culture House and the SCQ area is around €70 million, with Main Street now being looked at as the next major piece of the town-centre jigsaw.

The vision presented is for a Main Street that is more welcoming, accessible and attractive — a place that supports local businesses, celebrates Swords’ heritage and gives people more reason to spend time in the town centre. Ideas discussed included improved seating, outdoor dining, more trees and planting, pocket parks, sustainable drainage, traffic calming and better pedestrian access. The council also stressed that Swords has a strong heritage story, from the castle to the wider historic core of the town, and that the Main Street project should help bring that character more clearly to the front.

A major theme of the briefing was that Main Street, as it stands, is not working as well as it could. The current layout was described as heavily car-dominated, with broken and uneven footpaths, clutter from poles and street furniture, limited seating, and difficulties for people using wheelchairs, mobility aids or buggies. The Sustainable Swords work also found that a large share of the street is currently given over to traffic and parking, with concerns around illegal parking, turning movements and a lack of comfort for walking, cycling and wheeling. In simple terms, the council is making the case that Swords needs a Main Street that works better for people, not just vehicles.

The project is still at an early engagement stage, and businesses are being encouraged to get involved before the statutory planning process begins. A business workshop is planned for Tuesday 23 June, with invitations to be circulated through Fingal Chamber and a flyer drop planned for businesses on and around Main Street. The council said early feedback will be more useful than waiting until later in the process, especially on practical issues such as loading bays, deliveries, business access, bin storage, taxi bays and licensed seating. Officials also made clear that the Main Street project cannot be seen in isolation, given other major Swords projects including the R132 works, Swords Cultural Quarter, BusConnects and future MetroLink enabling works.

✍️ 🌿 Featured Event: Memoir Writing & Spring Lunch at Whitestown House

Whitestown House in Naul is hosting a lovely creative day on Saturday, 30 May, bringing together memoir writing, conversation, local history, a gentle estate walk and a seasonal spring lunch in the beautiful surroundings of Whitestown House & Demesne.

The day is co-hosted by Jane Gormley, writer and founder of CRAICLY Stories, and Aoife Keogh of Whitestown House. Guests will be welcomed with tea, coffee and homemade scones before settling into a day of reflection, storytelling and guided memoir writing.

The event is suitable for anyone who enjoys stories, memories, writing or simply taking time out in a special local setting. No previous writing experience is needed, and the session is designed to be inclusive, relaxed and sociable.

When: Saturday, 30 May, 10:00-16:00
Where: Whitestown House & Demesne, Naul
What: Memoir writing, estate walk, spring lunch, coffee & cake

Book tickets

Friday 29th May

• Balbriggan | Balbriggan | Balbriggan Summerfest | Family festival with music, market stalls, emergency services displays and bank holiday fun. | 09:00

• Balbriggan | Millfield Shopping Centre | On the Altar of the Arts 2026 | Black Lines themed exhibition featuring more than 40 artists, running through Sunday. | Time not stated

• Naul | The Séamus Ennis Arts Centre | Daniel Chester: Bog to Bloom | Easter Snow Gallery exhibition inspired by peatlands, wetlands, wildflowers and rural landscapes. | 10:00-16:00

• Swords | Carlton Hotel Dublin Airport | FEWN: Own Your Value — Money Mindset for Business Success | A LEO Fingal networking event on pricing, negotiation, resilience and backing your business value. | 10:30-13:30

• Skerries | Skerries | Skerries Midsummer Festival | Seaside family festival with beach sports, sandcastle fun, movies, music and the fair. | 11:00

• Balrothery | Balrothery Heritage Centre | Restorative Yoga, Whitehorn Tea & Singing Gongs | A gentle evening of restorative movement, tea, gongs and time to slow down. | 19:00-21:00

• Skerries | Skerries Sailing Club | Skerries Ukulele Festival Opening & Open Mic | Opening night of the festival with local music and open mic performances. | 19:30

• Balbriggan | The Lark | Neil Delamere: Reinventing the Neil | Neil Delamere brings his sharp, playful comedy show to The Lark for a second date. | 20:00

Saturday 30th May

• Rush | Rush North Beach | Free Beach Yoga for Leaving Cert Students | A calm, free beach yoga session for Leaving Cert students ahead of exams. | 07:30-08:20

• Malahide | St Sylvester’s Parish Centre | Iyengar Yoga with Sue | A weekly Iyengar yoga class with Sue, teaching locally for 20 years. | 10:00-11:30

• Lusk | Lusk Community Cultural Centre | Abstract Art Workshop | A full-day creative workshop for adults, with materials and lunch included. | 10:00-16:00

• Swords | Cove & Co car park | Swords Tidy Towns Annual River Cleanup | Join the annual river clean-up, with new volunteers very welcome. | 10:30

• Skerries | Joe May’s | Skerries Ukulele Workshop: Raise Your Playing to a Higher Level | A ukulele workshop with Keith White for improver and intermediate players. | 10:30-11:30

• Skerries | Skerries Sailing Club | Skerries Ukulele Workshop: Learn, Rehearse, Perform | A fun, performance-focused workshop with Ukulele Saz as part of the festival. | 10:30-11:30

• Skerries | Skerries Sailing Club | Skerries Ukulele Workshop: Adult Beginners | A friendly beginner session for adults picking up the ukulele. | 10:30-11:30

• Swords | Swords Castle | Owambe Africa Day Edition | A celebration of African culture, music, dance, food and community in Swords Castle. | 12:00-17:00

• Lusk | Lusk Community Cultural Centre | Commoning: Collaborative Design & Build Workshop | Help shape a new social space for Lusk and learn traditional building skills. | 12:00-16:00

• Skerries | Various locations | Skerries Ukulele Festival Pop-Up Performances | Festival music and pop-up performances around town through the afternoon. | 12:30

• Skerries | Floraville, Strand Street | Skerries Ukulele Festival Flashmob | A lively ukulele flashmob bringing festival music into the heart of Skerries. | 13:30

• Skerries | Floraville, Strand Street | Saturday Afternoon Busk Bus | A festival favourite, taking music on the move around Skerries and beyond. | 14:00

• Malahide | Venue not stated | Self Care Soundbath | A deeply restful soundbath with bowls, chimes, drum rhythms and space to unwind. Orna Bissett - Sound and Wellness | 19:30-21:00

• Skerries | Skerries Sailing Club | Skerries Ukulele Festival Concert | Festival concert with Skerries Ukulele Strummers, Ukulele Saz and Ukeristic Congress. | 20:00

• Ballyboughal | Ballyboughal Church | Ballyboughal Bat Walk | A guided biodiversity walk with bat expert Brian Keeley; booking places are limited. | 21:15

• Ballyboughal | The Village Inn O’Connors | Vinyl Derek | Vinyl night with Derek McCarthy spinning records in the lounge. | 21:00

Sunday 31st May

• Balbriggan | Balbriggan Golf Club | Minor, Intermediate & Junior Scratch Cups | A full day of competitive golf with tee times running through the day. | 07:00-15:30

• Donabate | Donabate Portrane Community Centre | Donabate-Portrane Car Boot Sale | A friendly car boot sale supporting the Donabate-Portrane Summer Festival. | 10:00-14:00

• Skerries | Skerries Sailing Club | Children’s Beginners Ukulele Workshop | A children’s ukulele funshop for ages 8 and over, with adult accompaniment required. | 10:00-11:00

• Skerries | Otter Space | Pokémon Pop-Up | A free chance to buy, trade and sell Pokémon cards with local collectors and guests. | 12:00-16:00

• Skerries | Skerries Sailing Club | Skerries Ukulele Strummers Performance | A relaxed Sunday festival performance with the Skerries Ukulele Strummers and guests. | 12:30

• Balbriggan | The Lark | Songs of Ourselves: A Shared Singing Event | A welcoming shared singing event bringing voices together at The Lark. | 12:30

• Lusk | Lusk Community Cultural Centre | Commoning: Collaborative Design & Build Workshop | A second day of the Lusk commoning build stage, helping shape a new social space. | 12:00-16:00

• Balbriggan | The Warehouse, Vauxhall Street | Art Day Balbriggan Community Art Workshop | An all-ages Pride art workshop creating pieces for a collaborative mural. | 13:00-15:00

• Balbriggan | Venue not stated | Self Care Soundbath | A deeply restful soundbath with bowls, chimes, drum rhythms and space to unwind. Orna Bissett - Sound and Wellness | 18:00-19:30

• Swords | The Betsy | We Love The 90s | DJ Andy Preston brings 90s floor fillers and bank holiday Sunday nostalgia. | 20:30-late

📢 Finally, stuff from Fingal East we just like - Edelle Kenny (filmmaker, writer, and director)

We featured Lee Cronin in the newsletter before — the Skerries filmmaker who went from North County Dublin to directing major horror films including Evil Dead Rise and Lee Cronin’s The Mummy. So it caught our eye that another Fingal East creative name is connected to that same film world: Edelle Kenny, a writer, director and filmmaker who is originally from Balbriggan.

Kenny has built an impressive screen career, including a decade in New York working in unscripted television, directing and story-producing for major US networks including Paramount, Discovery and Viacom, before returning home to work in scripted film. Her recent short The Race, directed by Kenny and written by Gemma Kane, premiered at the Dublin International Film Festival and explores a North Dublin family gathering around a dying grandfather, where grief, money, ambition and family tensions all collide.

The local link is what we like most. Kenny’s Balbriggan roots place her firmly in the Fingal East creative story, and her name also appears alongside Lee Cronin on Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, where she is listed among the story credits. It is another small reminder that Fingal East has more creative fingerprints on Irish film than people might realise — from Skerries to Balbriggan, Donabate, Portmarnock and beyond, there is plenty happening here worth keeping an eye on.

Well done, Edelle! 👏👏

Photo: Travelling - Dublin, Ireland - Black and white street photography by Giuseppe Milo, used under CC BY 2.0.