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10th February 2015 • Volume 22, Issue 04 • Leader House, North Street, Swords, Co. Dublin. • Tel: 8•400•200 • info@northcountyleader.ie
FINALLY!
A Summer Festival For Swords In what is sure to inject life and vitality into the area, plans have been unveiled for the first ever Swords Summer Festival, to take place over the weekend of 17th, 18th and 19th July. Swords Castle and the main street will play host to the three-day event, which will give a welcome boost to local traders and businesses, as well as being fun for all the family and locals alike. Oddly enough, this initiative is a first for the area. This may come as a surprise to many, especially as Swords is the capital of the North County, and the area with the biggest population. The neighbouring towns in the locality have long had their own festivals over the years - the Malahide ‘Has It’ Festival, Skerries Soundwaves, the Rush Harbour Festival and Balbriggan’s Summerfest have been key, successful festivals in the events calendar, These festivals have injected much needed life into these towns, and are eagerly awaited there each year. Finally, common sense has prevailed, and Swords is now getting ready to have it’s own weekend of colour and festivities, and the opportunity to showcase it’s many qualities. Local councillor Darragh Butler (FF), told
By Jennifer McShane
the County Leader that he was delighted with the news, as he had been campaigning for a festival to enhance the area for many years. “I have been campaigning for this for years and I am delighted that 2015 will hopefully be the first of many more Swords Main Street festivals and will kick-off even greater use of Swords Castle,” he said. “It really is great news.” “Swords is the biggest of all the North County towns, and we have Cllr. Butler been campaigning for a festival of our own for so long - it is well overdue,” he said. “The town is slowly starting to get revitalised, so this will definitely help things along.” He gave particular mention to the boost that this event will give our local businesses.“This will be great news for local businesses, pubs and restaurants. Full credit to the Council and their excellent Events Team. Hopefully we can also get some local Swords acts involved as part
Pictured at Dublin Airport getting ready to jet off to Lesotho, as part of the Action Ireland Trust delegation, are Portmarnock Community School pupils, Ciara Coates, Dearbhla Murphy, Amy Keyes O'Rourke and Rebecca Smith
of this. The annual Fingal 10k will also take place in Swords on Sunday 19th July, so it will be a very busy weekend,” he added. He also told us a little more detail about the summer festival, which will see Friday involving a theatrical event at Swords Castle. Saturday will have children’s entertainment on a closed off Swords Main Street in the afternoon and there will be a concert on the Main Street on Saturday evening. The Main Street will remain closed off for Saturday evening, and there will be a real festival atmosphere, with live music and hopefully follow on entertainment at the various pubs, and so on,” he explained. “There’ll absolutely be something for everyone.” The announcement of such a festival has come at a time which sees the County Council trying to revitalise Swords, and its main street and castle. The Council recently announced plans to have a new ‘Cultural Quarter’ in the area, and more details of this are to be announced in the coming weeks. The town has become run down in recent years, with the closure of many of its once thriving businesses, and a castle that has yet to be fully open to the public. Local councillors and residents have frequently said they are more than eager to see Swords restored back to its former glory; once again becoming a fully thriving, busy hub of activity for traders and residents alike.
Spring Is In The Air
Perhaps some the most uplifting scenes in the entire year, are the sights and sounds of the emergence of Spring, and the prospect of longer and warmer days ahead. After a long and bitterly cold Winter, the days are finally getting longer, and people’s moods are beginning to lift. Nothing captures the sense that Winter is on the wane and Spring is in the air, better than the sight of daffodils emerging from their winter slumbers, and the sound of newly born lambs echoing across the countryside. Hopefully, we can all now look forward to a long warm summer ahead.
Little Molly Recovering From Transplant Operation The past week has been a tough one in the life of little Molly McNally, the six -year-old Balbriggan girl, who has Stage 4 Neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer. Last Monday week, Molly had her bone marrow transplant operation at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, following heavy chemotherapy. Molly was sick much of the time with vomiting, and cannot tolerate any food. The hospital lessened her food, normally 40 mls, down to 10 mls, which is less per
hour, but over a longer time period to give her tummy a break. She has no taste buds, due to the chemotherapy. At the moment, she is on fluids and she has lost some weight. It is part of the downward spiral, where her immune system and red and white cells are dropping. By this week, they will be at zero. But according to her father, Gerry, the signs are promising for the little Balbriggan girl. He told the County Leader, “This is a tough period for Molly, but she’s handling it really
energy. At the moment, we well. This coming week and the cannot bring in anything to week after that, will be even Molly, for fear of infection, tougher. After this, we hope to and the hope is that she will see an improvement in her. start eating again in a week Molly is Molly and she’s a or two. real battler,” said Gerry. Gerry has nothing but the “Hopefully the bone marrow height of praise for Crumlin should start to come into Hospital, and how they effect in about 10 days time, have cared for Molly. “They and start growing after a have been absolutely brilliant, further week or so. It will start producing red and white blood Molly McNally with nothing left to chance and the good news is that the cells and fight infection. As you can imagine, she is absolutely drained of consultant is happy with Molly’s
progress. She’s a tough little lady, and once we get this episode out of the way, we can look forward to her getting better,” said an upbeat Gerry. Meanwhile, the fundraising for Molly continues to be a great success, with the recent ‘Return to the Cricket’ in Clontarf raising a whopping €3,000 for the fund. A very exciting fundraiser will be the much anticipated, ‘Bust Up For Molly’, which is a charity boxing event, which will take place in the Bracken Court Hotel in Balbriggan on 2nd May. This is expected to be the biggest fundraiser to date, and preparations are beginning already.