Welcome to our Summer 2021 newsletter! We have been busy over the last few months and have lots of projects to tell you about.
New Logo
Have you seen our new logo? It was designed by Una Healy Design and we love it! The 'A' in Raheny is one of the iconic windows of the Crescent Cottages in the village centre and represents the long history of the village. The graduated blue represents the sea and the simple green branch represents the abundance of nature in Raheny. A huge thank you to Una Healy for designing the logo!
Welcome to 'Wee Chuckles' !
Raheny Tidy Village Group originally installed a boat in front of the Garda station in 2010. Over the years, the plants growing in the boat have added lovely colour to the area. However, the boat had been rotting recently so we were delighted when Hugh Gill offered us a replacement boat 'Wee Chuckles'. The above photos show us removing the original boat and the new boat in place. We will add plants to the new boat over the summer, so be sure to check it out when you pass by.
New Planters at Crescent Cottages
Have you noticed the two new granite planters in front the Crescent Cottages? These gorgeous planters were organised by Dublin City Council. They were custom designed and made to complement the historic cottages. We worked with Dublin City Council on this project and will maintain the plants for them.
Memorial to Seamus Griffith
The Raheny Business Association (RBA) has installed a memorial to Seamus Griffith, our former chair, in the rose garden at the bottom of Main Street. Seamus's contribution to Raheny has been enormous. Many Raheny residents will remember his and Ann's Thrifty shop which served the local community so well. Seamus spent many hours tending to the roses in this area over the years and installing this plaque is a very thoughtful gesture by the RBA. Pictured from left to right are Dennis Cronin, Ann Griffith (Seamus's wife) and Con Clarke.
New Flowerbed on Station Road
We have added a new flowerbed at the junction of Station Road and Springdale Road. It has been planted with colourful, pollinator friendly plants. Thank you to Clare Keane who has painted the box beside the flower bed with native Irish flowers. We think the flowerbed adds great colour to the area and judging from the comments of passersby when we are working there, locals agree!
Flowerbeds Outside St Assam's
Thank you to Kennedy Fitzpatrick Landscape Architects for donating the new plants in the three flowerbeds outside St Assam's estate. We replanted the flowerbeds earlier this year with a mix of pollinator friendly plants and grasses.
Flower Boxes in the Village Centre
The flower boxes at the Rath, the Main Street Bridge and the Scouts Den have been planted by Keith at Greendale Centra with a mix of colourful plants. We think they look great!
New Pollinator Plan for Raheny Village
This year, one of the goals of our group is to improve biodiversity in Raheny. We were lucky enough to receive a grant from Change X which has enabled us to develop a pollinator plan for Raheny village. The pollinator plan includes development of the 'Watermill Woodland', planting pollinator friendly plants around Raheny, working with local schools and last but not least Raheny's Tallest Sunflower Competition.
Sunflower Competition
We launched Raheny's Tallest Sunflower competition in April and are delighted with all the entrants from local residents, schools and creches. If you have a sunflower growing, it's not too late to enter. Simply email a photo of your growing sunflower to rahenytidyvillage@gmail.com.
The prize is a hamper sponsored by Supervalu. The winner will be announced by Raheny Tidy Village Group following judging at the end of the summer. Good luck and happy growing!
Litter Picking
We continue to do regular litter picking and sweeping around Raheny. Unfortunately, we noticed an increase in the level of litter in the village during the lockdown which kept our volunteers busy.
Tidy Towns Competition
We submitted our entry to the the Tidy Towns Competition in June. This year the judging will be based on electronic entries only. Raheny has entered the national Tidy Towns competition since the 1990s. We won our first bronze medal in the Tidy Towns national competition in 2015. We have maintained a bronze medal since then, so fingers crossed for this year!
Thank you
Thank you to Claire Kenny at River Holistics, Ross Tully Chemist, Pearse Adams, Supervalu, Members First Credit Union, Mrs Guyette. Tom Halligen, Brian Flood at Castlerock, John Meade, Sean Haughey TD, Cian O'Callaghan, TD, Councillor Tom Brabazon and Raheny Football club for your donations. These vital donations go towards our running costs and projects.
Thank you to Lynn Feeney who took the fantastic new group photos of us for our website.
Thank you to the Dublin City Council nursery at Saint Anne's for supplying many of our plants.
Interested in Volunteering?
The Raheny Tidy Village Group meets Saturday mornings at 10.30am outside the Catholic Church. No experience or knowledge is needed, just a willingness to help out. As well as the working on various projects you see in this newsletter, we are busy litter picking each week and are always delighted to have extra help with this.
If you would like to join us, email rahenytidyvillage@gmail.com, or message us on Facebook or Instagram. All help is very welcome and no commitment is necessary. If you are under 18, bring a guardian with you.
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