by Niamh Bn. Uí Loinsigh
August ( Lúnasa) In Celtic mythology the god Lugh one of the chief gods of the Tuatha Dé Danann, established the Lughnasadh festival as a funeral feast and games commemorating his foster-mother Tailtiu. She died on August 1st of exhaustion after clearing the plains of Brega for farming. The ancient kingdom of Brega was bounded on the south by the River Liffey and extended northwards across the Boyne Valley. The first Teltown Games (Áenach Tailteann) were held where Tailtiu was buried on the banks of the River Blackwater before it joins the River Boyne.
Julianstown Tidy Towns have been hard at work getting our village ready for judging which will be happening in July/August for the Supervalu National Tidy Towns, Meath Co. Co. Pride of Place and An Taisce Green Flag Award for Julianstown Village Garden. The work that has been done around the parish by the volunteers is fabulous and a great debt of gratitude is owed to them for their time and dedication to our community. Many thanks to all our residents who have helped with this big task and as you can see from the pictures the village looks great. A great thanks also to Kevin, Victor, Bob and Andrew who are all on our local Community Employment Scheme and have the garden looking good! Did any of you see Larry Lenehan hanging over the bridge while removing the ivy and brambles which were getting out of hand? He did a super job! Litter is still a bit of a problem but many of our residents keep their own estates and roads litter free as well as members of our committee and we do seem to be keeping on top of the problem. If you do happen to see any dumping, please e mail environment@meathcoco.ie and they will arrange to have it picked up. Cora & Maria Cunningham have created marvellous butterflies and you can find them all around the garden. Our Planters are beginning to really fill out and here is one of them at the bus stop. Doesn’t it look good? Meanwhile The Lime Kiln looks amazing and John is out there every morning lovingly watering the flowers!
Bottle Banks – Recycling of Bottles, Can and Clothes at Laytown
The Bottle Banks look super where they are situated just beside the Railway Bridge in their purpose built location. If the bins are full please bring your recycling items home with you and come back another day! They are being emptied on a very regular basis and you can always email – environment@meathcoco.ie. If you find them full to the brim. CCTV has been installed – you have been warned!
Julianstown & District Community Association has just received word from An Bord Pleanála that further significant information has been received by them from Solar Famers Ltd (part of the Energia Group) in relation to permission for a Solar PV Energy development with a total site area of 148 hectares (365 acres) at Rogerstown, Smithstown, Calliaghstown, Pilltown and Ballymad, Drogheda, Co. Meath. We will keep you advised of developments.
We have also received an e mail from North Irish Sea Array (NISA) Offshore Wind Farm who are in the early stages of developing an offshore wind farm from Howth to Skerries, to Balbriggan, and on to Clogherhead and they want to consult with all local communities and keep us advised of developments as they occur. The views of the local community are really important to them and they are very conscious of involving us in the design stages of this process.
Local Pubs and Restaurants have now opened up for drinking and dining and are reporting a brisk trade with patrons delighted to be able to go out again and enjoy themselves. Don’t forget to support local businesses, buy Irish, and you are also helping keep our workforce employed. Just be cautious, wear your mask when you need to and wash those hands!
Seaside – “ Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside Oh, I do like to be beside the sea”
If you are visiting one of our beautiful beaches in Laytown Bettystown Lifeguards and Beach Wardens are available to assist you from 11 am to 7 pm each day. We all know parking is rather limited now, but you can park at Funtasia for €4 per day and free parking is available at Coláiste na hInse and in Laytown beside playground. There are 120,000 people living in Meath and it would be nice if Meath Co. Co. could provide more parking for this wonderful amenity and also provide more Disabled and Age Friendly parking on the beach. Children should be always supervised by adults while they are swimming or near water anywhere. Adults supervising need to remain vigilant, never turn away or get distracted, not even for a moment. All you have to do then is enjoy the day!
What colour will the Dahlia’s be? Hoping for another Green Flag Entrance to the Garden
St. Mary’s Church of Ireland – a word from Revd Canon. Katharine Poulton
The Quarter of a Million Steps for St. Mary’s is ongoing with all participants doing well. Thank you for supporting this effort for our parish funds which, despite the generosity of parishioners, have seen a decrease due to the loss of Parish Rooms rental income, and of more conventional fundraising. The Paypal link is : https://paypal.me/pools/c/8ApnQ8BhZJ or you may like to just give a donation.
The service on Sunday will be Morning Prayer. The service should come through Facebook Live for people who are unable to be present in church.
The Confirmation Classes have been postponed due to limitations on indoor meetings. Confirmation will be on 5th December providing the regulations allow and preparation will take place before then. If anyone else is interested in joining the group, please let me know
Looking ahead – the Back-to-School Service will be held on Sunday 29th August.
You can contact the J.D.C.A. BY Email at julianstowndca@gmail.com if you would like anything included in next months issue of the Meath Coaster.