Ken Duffy, our chairman, spoke to the owners of Colourtrend on Swords Main Street about possible sponsorship for our latest gardening project. The little raised garden area and wall next to their shop looked neglected and very unattractive. Management was happy to support us, which was wonderful.

Preparation of the ground was challenging and required hours of tough digging by STT member Mary Maxwell and her hardy crew of volunteers. Mary has been heavily involved in the design and execution of our gardening projects around the town for some years. It’s great to have her expertise.

The digging and soil preparation took place over two Saturday morning sessions.

The new plants from Martin Nulty Landscapes were delivered on November 19, 2023. Our team arrived early that Saturday morning to receive them and to place them in position. By lunchtime all of the plants were in the ground. 

Their hard work has really paid off. This neglected spot has now become a tasteful little garden leading down to the historical sites of Swords. 

This year our committee decided not to make this event a fund-raising one. Instead, many of our hard-working group met up at Swords Town Park to enjoy the evening of entertainment laid on by Fingal County Council. 

Dressing up was optional. Ken and Grace couldn’t resist the opportunity!

Families and other groups, many in Halloween disguises, packed around the stage, enjoying the live performances.

Swords Castle provided the perfect backdrop for the fireworks display. Hot gas flames spurted up at intervals over the battlements providing heat and light on a cold October evening. The sky was ablaze with every imaginable type of firework, accompanied by loud bangs and ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the crowd.

Congratulations to FCC’s Events Team, led by Paul Barnes, for a wonderful evening of family entertainment. They never disappoint us.

Our festivities continued at The 44, which was decorated very imaginatively. Grace almost ended up in the clutches of a strange creature on the wall. Another strange character sitting at the bar had obviously been waiting a long time for his drink!

Our chairman, Ken Duffy, was delighted to receive and to accept an invitation from teacher Clare Reilly to speak to three classs at this school.

She wanted him to vist the Senior Infants to tell them about our work, including the Halloween costume swap, grafitti-busting, planting and litter picking. She also wanted him to explore ways in which they, as youngsters, could help keep Swords tidy.

On Tuesday, October 10th, Ken paid a visit to all three classes, and enjoyed meeting the students in rooms 4, 5 and 6 and their teachers Clare, Alana and Saidhbhín.

Ken was impressed by their enthusiasm and ability to pose the most interesting questions. Hopefully these youngsters will become part of our ranks in years to come!

Our sixth swap shop took place at the start of October and it was Halloween themed to encourage children and adults alike to swap their Halloween costumes and accessories rather than buy new ones contributing to more Halloween waste.

Research by Hubbub, a UK-based environmental charity, found that a shocking 83% of Halloween costumes used non-recyclable oil-based plastics which meant they were destined to end up in landfill. “To put that into context, that’s around 2000 tones of plastic waste or a horrifying 83 million plastic bottles caused by the Halloween festivities. Even more disturbing is the fact that the plastic polymer used in over 63% of these costumes, polyester, can take anywhere between 20-200 years to decompose.” (https://www.wastemanaged.co.uk/halloween-waste/)

This even was a great success and it was enjoyed by all.

On Saturday October 7, it was time to present the cheques and plaques to the well-deserving winners of this year’s competition. The number of entrants and the standards have been rising since this began in 2018, making the task of the independent judges very difficult.

First place went to joint winners Highfields and Carlton Court estates. The cheque was presented by sponsor Alan from Redmond Property Estate Agents.

Second prize was awarded to The Nurseries. They received a cheque from sponsor John Hennessy of Hennessy & Perrozzi solicitors.

Third place was won by Rivervalley Rise. This prize was sponsored by STT, and the cheque was presented by member George Mongey.

The Special Award for Biodiversity was won by Comyn Manor. This was also sponsored by STT. Chairman Ken Duffy made the presentation.

Congratulations to all of these worthy winners. A big thank you to our sponsors.

This year the Finals of the National Tidy Towns Competition were held at Croke Park for the first time, and as usual it was recorded by RTE. 

Three of our members attended the Ceremony. They and the rest of the group were all on tenterhooks waiting to be told whether all of our hard work had been rewarded. We were delighted to hear that we’d won our sixth consecutive silver medal. Not only that, but we had also won the “All Ireland Circular Economy Award”.

After refreshments and their opportunity to see the Sam Maguire and Liam MacCarthy Cups, it was time to return for a team celebration. The manager and staff at The Old Schoolhouse in Swords did us proud. We were treated to complimentary platters of delicious finger food in the Whiskey Bar. 

A wonderful time was had by all.

On Saturday, September 17, our STT FreshWaterWatch team took part in the WorldWaterBlitz event, which was taking place that weekend.

Team members Grace, Catherine and Ramune tested their regular ten spots in the Ward River, Broadmeadow River and at the Estuary. They were ably assisted on the day by their husbands (and supporters) Barry, Alan and Viktoras

September 5th was judging day for the IPB Pride of Place 2023 Competition. This year Broadmeadow Community Garden entered under the category “Biodiversity and Climate Action”.

Part one was the presentation to the judging panel showcasing their work. This took place at Applewood Community Centre. 

Part two was a visit to the garden. Members of other community groups, who support their work, were invited to come along and meet the judges. Several of our members turned up to enjoy refreshments and to relax in this tranquil and colourful setting. Among them was George Mongey, who is also an active member of this community garden group.

The glorious sunshine on the day showed the wonderful plants at their best.

This popular initiative is now a monthly event. Management of the Rivervalley Community Centre has kindly allowed us to move from our outdoor marquee to the upstairs area at the back of the bar. This will allow us to operate in comfort no matter what the weather might be. 

An enthusiastic group of volunteers from ASL Airline Ireland joined us in our battle against the weeds on Friday, September 1. STT members Rose, Teresa, Malachy, Kim and Ken organised the group into teams.

The laneways from Main Street down to the Ward River had become overgrown once again. What a difference a morning’s work by dedicated teams made to these untidy areas!

STT member, Rose, was delighted to meet ASL Team Leader, Una, who also hails from Westmeath. Una was due to be married the following week, but was willing to get her hands dirty helping us out.

Thank you ASL for your assistance. We look forward to working with your volunteers again in the future.