👋 Hi FingalEMers,

This is a very big weekend in the Fingal calendar, with Flavours of Fingal taking over Newbridge House and Farm in Donabate on Saturday and Sunday. It is one of those weekends that really brings the area together, with food, farming, music, family activities and plenty happening across the grounds.

In this edition, we also have a look at a major new musical theatre development for Balbriggan, an update from the NTA on MetroLink and public transport pressures, our events calendar for the weekend ahead, and a local story we really like about Adam Kelly from Skerries.

You will also see our quick poll on the Swords Cultural Quarter update. If you have already completed it, thank you — no need to do it again. If you have not, we would still love to know whether the article was useful, clear, or needed more detail.

And finally, keep an eye out next week — we have a giveaway coming, so stay tuned and enjoy the weather.

🍜🥢 This week’s headline sponsor: Camile

This week’s newsletter is proudly supported by Camile, bringing fresh Thai food to homes across much of Fingal East.

Whether it is a quick midweek dinner, a Friday night takeaway, or food for a busy family weekend, Camile offers Thai favourites for delivery, collection and dine-in from its local outlets, including Swords and Skerries.

Camile’s menu includes curries, stir-fries, noodles, rice dishes, vegetarian and vegan options, along with macro-counted meals for anyone who likes to keep an eye on nutrition. Their Swords outlet serves areas including Swords, Malahide, Portmarnock, Lusk and Donabate, while Skerries covers Skerries, Rush and Balbriggan.

So, if dinner is one thing you do not want to think too hard about this week, Camile might be a handy one to keep in mind.

🎭🎓 Balbriggan lands a major musical theatre first

Balbriggan is set to welcome a major first for the town, with third-level musical theatre degrees to be offered locally through a new partnership between the Irish Institute of Music and Song, The Lark Concert Hall and American College Dublin.

From next September, students will be able to study for a Bachelor of Fine Arts or Master of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre and Performance at the IIMS campus, bringing internationally recognised performing arts education directly into the heart of Balbriggan.

Michael T Dawson, CEO of the Irish Institute of Music and Song, described the development as a dream come true, saying the ambition behind building the campus and the €12m, 400-seat Lark Concert Hall was always to bring prestigious third-level courses to the town.

He also said the expansion of the student body will have a major positive impact on Balbriggan’s economy, adding that it is a wonderful development for IIMS, The Lark and the wider town.

The courses, delivered by American College Dublin, were the first accredited third-level musical theatre degrees in Ireland and are recognised through the US-based Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

Graduates have already gone on to perform in major West End productions including Les Misérables, The Buddy Holly Show and The Witches of Eastwick. Applications are now open at acd.iamu.edu, with the move also seen as another boost for Balbriggan as the town continues to develop under the wider Our Balbriggan regeneration plan.

🚌🚇 NTA update: MetroLink, bus demand and pressure on services

The National Transport Authority appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport this week, and there were a few points worth highlighting for Fingal East readers.

The headline for our area is still MetroLink. The proposed automated metro would run from Swords to Dublin city centre, connecting Dublin Airport with rail, DART, bus and Luas services. The plan includes 16 new stations, 11 of them underground, along with a park-and-ride facility at the Swords end.

The NTA said the granting of the Railway Order in January 2026 was a major milestone for MetroLink. Work is now moving towards the next approval stage before tenders for the main construction contracts can be sought.

Another important point is that public transport demand is continuing to grow. The NTA recorded 363.5 million passenger journeys in 2025, almost 20 million more than the previous year. That gives a sense of how much pressure is now on the system, particularly at peak times.

The statement also covered wider investment in BusConnects, DART+, Connecting Ireland, electric buses, accessibility improvements and contactless payments. Contactless payment is being rolled out on TFI Local Link services and is expected nationwide by the end of 2026, with a broader next-generation ticketing system for rail, Luas and bus services expected from 2028.

There was also a note of caution. The NTA acknowledged that expansion is being limited by driver and mechanic shortages, fleet supply, depot capacity and the time needed to deliver major infrastructure. Even with record public transport funding in 2026, rising costs mean the NTA said it has not been able to add new services during the year.

So, in simple terms: MetroLink is moving forward, demand for public transport is rising, but extra services are still being held back by capacity and cost pressures.

Read the full NTA article

🏊‍♀️🌊 Featured event: Open Water at Low Rock

This week’s featured event is Swim Ireland’s Open Water - Malahide - LowRock - Competitive Teens session, with the next session taking place on Tuesday (June 30th) at 7pm.

The programme is aimed at teens in a competitive club setting who are preparing for open-water swimming events this summer. Qualified Swim Ireland coaches and lifeguards will guide participants through a safe and structured session at Low Rock.

There are also further sessions listed for Tuesday July 7th and Tuesday July 21st, both at 7pm.

Friday 3rd July

• Rush | St Maurs GAA | St Maurs Advanced Camp | A multi-sport camp for teens with coaching, speakers and strength work. | 10:00-13:00

• Swords | St Finians Community College | Woodworking Summer Camp | A hands-on woodworking camp for children, suitable for all levels. | 10:00-13:00

• Balbriggan | The Victory Garden, 7 Bremore Cottages | Garden Opening | A summer open afternoon to wander and enjoy the community garden. | 14:00-17:00

• Skerries | Skerries Mills Carpark | Skerries 100 Classic Bike Lap | The Skerries 100 weekend kicks off with a classic bike lap gathering at the Mills. | 18:30

• Balbriggan | Balbriggan Golf Club | Health Screening | Free community health checks, with limited appointments available. | Free ALL DAY

• Donabate | Donabate Golf Club | Race to 59 | A friendly nine-hole Friday evening golf series for members and guests. | Time not stated

• Malahide | Malahide Castle Sports Pavilion | Mini Picasso Art Camp | A creative art camp for ages 4-8, with drop-in options available. | Time not stated

Saturday 4th July

• Balbriggan | Ardgillan Castle & Demesne | Ardgillan parkrun | A free, friendly weekly 5k to walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate. | 09:30

• Malahide | St Sylvester’s Parish Centre | Iyengar Yoga with Sue | A welcoming weekly Iyengar yoga class with an experienced local teacher. | 10:00-11:30

• Balbriggan | Balbriggan Library | Board Games with Eclecticats | Family-friendly board games with a great mix of games for all ages. | 10:00-16:00

• Donabate | Donabate Library | Scéalta, Rince agus Ceol le Chéile | Irish-language stories, songs, percussion and basic sean-nós dancing for ages 8-12. | 10:30-11:30

• Donabate | Newbridge House & Farm | Flavours of Fingal 2026 | Farming, food, crafts, music and family fun at Fingal’s flagship summer festival. | 11:00-18:00

• Donabate | Newbridge House & Farm | Mobile Library at Flavours of Fingal | The Fingal Mobile Library joins the festival with friendly library fun. | All day

• Skerries | Milverton Circuit | Skerries 100 Practice & Qualifying | Practice and qualifying day for the Country Crest Skerries 100 road races. | 12:00-20:30

• Malahide | Malahide Library | Family Movie Time | A relaxed family movie afternoon at the library, no booking required. | 14:00

• Rolestown | Fingal Ravens GFC | Fingal Ravens Family Fun Day | A centenary family fun day with local activities and games. | 13:00-18:00

Sunday 5th July

• Skerries | Milverton Circuit | Skerries 100 Racing Day | Race day at the Country Crest Skerries 100 road races. | 08:00-18:30

• Skerries | Skerries Golf Club | Skerries Women’s Scratch Cup | The inaugural women’s scratch cup at Skerries Golf Club. | 10:00-12:00

• Donabate | Newbridge House & Farm | Flavours of Fingal 2026 | Farming, food, crafts, music and family fun at Fingal’s flagship summer festival. | 11:00-18:00

• Donabate | Newbridge House & Farm | Mobile Library at Flavours of Fingal | The Fingal Mobile Library joins the festival with friendly library fun. | All day

• Balbriggan | The Lark | NT Live – The Playboy of the Western World – Matinee | A filmed National Theatre performance screened at The Lark. | 15:00

📢 From Skerries to Cambridge: The remarkable journey of Adam Kelly

When people talk about exceptional young talent from Fingal, Adam Kelly from Skerries deserves to be near the top of the list. While a student at Skerries Community College, Adam captured national attention in 2019 when he was crowned BT Young Scientist & Technologist of the Year. His project, Optimising the Simulation of General Quantum Circuits, tackled one of the biggest challenges in the emerging field of quantum computing.

Adam’s achievements did not stop there. He had already won SciFest 2018 and represented Ireland internationally, before going on to share first prize at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists in Bulgaria in 2019. Along the way, he received international recognition, including having an asteroid named in his honour. It was an extraordinary run for a young student from Skerries, placing both his hometown and Ireland firmly on the international STEM map.

Today, Adam has continued that remarkable trajectory. After earning over 600 points in his Leaving Certificate at Skerries Community College, he went on to study Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. He now works as a quantitative trader with Virtu Financial, applying the same mathematical and computational skills that first brought him to prominence as a student. It is always encouraging to see someone from our own community achieving on the world stage, and Adam Kelly’s journey from a classroom in Skerries to Cambridge and into a career at the cutting edge of technology is one of those local success stories we just like in Fingal.

Image: “Skerries” by Kent Wang , licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 .

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 next few days, and we’ll talk again on Thursday morning.