< PreviousAugust 2017 The Meath Coaster ©20Sonairte’s Farmers Market Sonairte is hosting a weekly Farmers Market throughout the summer months we have our own Sonairte stall selling freshly picked organic produce from our walled garden, so why not come along on a Sunday and browse local food and craft stalls, take a relaxing walk around our or-ganic garden and nature trail.Volunteering in SonairteWould you like to join us and help out with some volunteering here in the Sonairte centre? July is a busy time of the year here in the walled garden and we always need help with digging, planting and pick-ing. Please do call or drop down into the garden and have a chat with Andrew we will be delighted to see you.Sonairte Bee MuseumSonairte’s bee mu-seum is currently being refurbished, we have recently re-ceived funding from the Heritage Council funding towards this project and it will be officially opened during Heritage Week.National Heritage Day in SonairteSonairte will host its annual Heritage Day event as part of National Heritage Week on Sunday 27th August. This year Sonairte will focus on our own local community biodiversity and the im-portance of our native Irish bees, we will have an informative talk from a local bee keeper and are highlighting the impor-tance and increased awareness of our na-tive Irish Bees and Wasp. We hope that representatives from the Meath Naturalist Field Club will also be in attendance on the day to give addi-tional presentations.Julianstown Com-munity Biodiversity Action Plan 2016-2020. Sonairte has joined together with our neighbours and with all the work that was previously undertaken on the Julianstown Community Biodiversity Ac-tion Plan 2016-2020. We are all currently working together with Meath County Council’s community her-itage department to deliver two identified projects; to support and promote the grass-land management for the local wild Irish orchids and to start a new barn owl pro-ject for along the River Nanny, this will be with assistance from Birdwatch Ireland.These two new projects will also be for-mally launched on Heritage Day. Natural Local Honey People say that the best honey for you is honey that is harvested from bees living locally, raw honey is honey (nectar from flowers) that is pure, unheated, unpasteur-ized and unprocessed, this is perhaps one of the most important characteristics and health benefits as it preserves all the natu-ral vitamins, enzymes, phytonutrients and other nutritional elements.Watt Footprint is now stocking a supply of locally sourced honey also stockiest of glu-ten free and other health food product, Water Butts Digesters and energy saving products.In view of the latest water shortage… High heat and drought present home owners with a Sophie’s Choice: which plants deserve to live and which should die? Water Butts can hold up to 200L! Call us on 041 9886545 for an appointment.Email: bettystowndental@gmail.comWeb: www.bettystowndental.ieTriton Road, Bettystown, Co. Meath (between Funtasia & Tesco)Open Saturday MorningsLATE NIGHT OPENING ON Mondays, Tuesdays and ThursdaysPrivate, PRSI and Medical Card Patients WelcomeDr Matthew Crinion B.D.S. (NUI) Corns, Callouses, Verrucae, Ingrown Toenails, nail surgery and other treatmentsState of the art Gaitscan analysis pressure plate used in the assessment of foot, back and leg pain.Orthotics prescribed to stabilise foot function and rehabilitationOpening hours 9.00-6.00Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday: Saturday 10.00-1.00Niamh Tully, BSc (Hons) Pod. MCh.S. S.R.ChMain Street, Laytown, Tel: 041 9888492Chiropodist / Podiatrist(State registered)The Foot ClinicToddler/Wobbler Room ages 1-2½Full Day Care & After School AVAILABLE NOWLimited places available2 & 3 Day Places availableNew Affordable Childcare Scheme AvailablePhone 086-1925660 2 The Walk - Inse Bay, LaytownEmail: dolphinsearlyed@gmail.com086/1733396086/3673406Mullenandsons1@gmail.comwww.Mullenandsons.comMullen & SonsBuildersFifth Generation Irish BuildersFor All Your Building NeedsNew Builds - Extensions - Renovations Attic Conversions & All Roof WorkFully Insured and RegisteredAugust 2017 The Meath Coaster ©22Beach FestivalThe 15th Annual Sand Festival took place on Bettystown Beach Sunday, July 2, A huge crowd of both contestants and onlookers attended with the Chair of Meath County Council Cllr Gerry O'Connor presenting all the prizes in the various categories. Refreshments were sponsored by Harry's Centra in Mornington and Boyne Valley Foods Drogheda. The National Sandcastles and Sand Sculp-turing Festival organisers want to thank the following sponsors:Roger and Liz Pickett for sponsorship of first prize in the national sculpture competition. Mr Jimmy Gilna from the Cottage Inn Laytown for sponsoring the Junior Sculpturing. A big thank you also to Patrick and Margaret Smith Riv-erside Home and Gift Mornington, for sponsorship of the Family Prizes in the National Sandcastle Competition. Other sponsors included: "FLAG" The Fisher-ies Local Action Group, Tresses and Tal-lons of Bettystown, The Sunflower Cafe Laytown, Smiths's Ice Cream and Art and Hobby Navan. The organisers wish to thank Cllrs Sharon Tolan, Eimer Fergu-son, Tom Kelly & Paddy Meade for spon-sorship and support for the event. A very special note of thanks to Dick O Reilly's wife Eileen for her sponsorship of the Dick O'Reilly Perpetual cup it is much appreciated and serves as a wonder-ful reminder to all that the sand festival was Dick's idea. He wanted to showcase the wonderful amenity that is our beach-es. This cup is presented each year to the individual or team who showed or dis-played best effort on the day.The Senior Sculpture winners were The Duff Family from Bettystown - “Gorilla”. For the full list of winners, see our Face-book page, Sandcastles Bettystown.The organisers want to say a special note of thanks to Meath County Council and the Beach Warden for their assistance with the event. Thank you also to the East Meath Cardiac First Responder Unit for their assistance in marking out the beach for the event and for First Aid cover on the day. The organisers, Martina Maguire and Susan Wogan want to express their deep appreciation to all of the volunteers who gave up their Sunday for a fabulous fam-ily day out. Check out the Facebook page for pho-tographs of this year's festival and past events www.nationalsandcastles.ie Mar-tina and Susan of the organising team ask that anyone who was on the beach for the festival and took any photographs of sandcastles or sculptures to please share on their Facebook Page - Sandcastles Bettystown. The 15th Annual Sand Festi-val was a great success "Biggest Crowd Ever" and looking forward already to 2018..August 2017 The Meath Coaster ©23Online Gifts for Every OccasionNew and local to the Meath coast area is “Gifts for Every Occasion. Wheth-er it's a present for your loved one or your mother in law. You'll find what you need and just to make it extra special We can personalise for you. Whether it's a wedding, anniversary, en-gagement, a simple key ring or a beautiful piece of pebble art be sure to have a look and mention the Meath Coaster. Would make ideal Christmas present or even the first day at school. A great favorite is the message in the bot-tle but please see out website below for the full range of products on offer. You’ll find something to suit every budget.. http://giftsforeveryoccasion.dropship.co.uk/August 2017 The Meath Coaster ©24Indaver AwardsOn Wednesday 19th July, Indaver, in collaboration with Meath County Council, held a night of celebration in the Carranstown Lodge in recognition of the 2017 awarding of funds from the Indaver Community FundMeath County Council Cathaoirleach Cllr. Gerry O’Connor, Deputy Thomas Byrne, Laytown-Bettystown Cathaoirleach Cllr. Paddy Meade, Cllr. Sharon Tollan, Cllr Emer Ferguson amongst others spoke about the benefits of such a fund to the local community and congratulated the groups for their dedication to local area improvement and development. Over 27 groups secured funding for dif-ferent projects. These include €300,000 for the community centre in Duleek under the Duleek, Bellewstown & District Com-munity Partnership Group, and €3,000 to Duleeks own ‘Doc Mc Suffins’ as Cllr McKee fondly referred to Mollies Animal Rescue. In total, over a half a million euro in funding was distributed on the night. The Indaver Community Fund has result-ed in more than €1.7 million being spent on local community projects since 2010. Local sporting club beneficiaries include Boyne Rugby Club, (€30,000) and St. Colmcilles CLG, (€50,000).Also present at the event, Eugene Farrelly from the Community Section of Meath County Council and committee represent-atives from the Carranstown Residents Association were thanked all by Coun-cilors and Indaver for their hard work on the fund committee.Applications for the next tranche of fund-ing, which will be awarded in 2018, will soon be available. Application forms and further details on funding criteria are available from the Planning and Community Department, Meath County Council, Abbey Mall, Ab-bey Road, Navan, Co. Meath or online at www.meath.ie § Are you looking to do something different? Would to like to meet new people and watch 100 competitors Sand Yacht in Meath? Would you like to volunteer at a European Sporting Competition or for future beach events ? Ireland plays host to the 52nd European Sand Yachting Championships on Bettystown & Laytown beaches, County Meath from Monday 11 to Friday 15 September 2017. Now is your chance to join in this amazing sport as an Event Volunteer. The event will be held on the expansive beaches where over 100 of the best land sailors in Europe and further afield will race over a five day period. The Meath coastline has always been a popular venue for national and visiting land sailors and is used to this type of sailing as the Irish Power Kite and Sandyacht Association (IPKSA) regularly hold events here. We are looking for enthusiastic, outgoing, reliable, safety conscious Event Volunteers. This is a great opportunity for people to have fun, provide support and meet some new people we well as helping to promote Meath as a destination. Volunteers interested in beach activities will be based on the beach acting as ambassadors for the event and engaging with the general public and spectators to ensure that we have a safe event for all present. We are asking volunteers to contribute a maximum of two days across the five days of the volunteer programme and to consider being available for future beach events in the area.. All volunteers are required to attend training which will help brief you about the sport and the event itself. We’ll also ensure that you get the most from the experience of volunteering. Volunteers will receive food and refreshments during their volunteering shift as well recognition for their contribution of time. You will be managed by experienced volunteer managers on site. Here are a few reasons to join our team at this event: • It’s a great way to enjoy the (late) summer and meet new people • It’s an opportunity to cheer and encourage the 100 participants from all over Europe • Supervision by experienced Volunteer Managers • Volunteering can be a good asset to your CV. We provide you with a certificate of participation as a record that you volunteered with us • Gain experience in event volunteering and event management, get insight into how large scale outdoor events are managed • Consider inviting friends and family to join you. Not only does this help us to find the volunteers that we need but it adds to the atmosphere of the event and fun of those involved. • Become part of a pool of Foreshore Volunteers willing to assist with future beach events. All volunteers will be provided with training and printed resources. On event day you'll get refreshments, an event t-shirt, as well as the support of Volunteer Ireland staff and Volunteer Team Leaders on the day. Further Information For more information visit the event web site www.ec2017ireland.com For more information on the sport of sand yachting please visit the Irish Power Kite and Sandyacht web site www.ipksa.com To apply visit www.eventvolunteers.ie August 2017 The Meath Coaster ©26The Tara BroochThe Tara Brooch was found on Bettys-town Strand in August 1850.According to the story, a ‘poor’ woman and her two sons were out gathering driftwood for fuel when they found it in a box buried in the sand. The woman took it to a scrap dealer in Drogheda but it was of no interest to him. She then brought it to a watchmaker in the town who, after clean-ing and examining it, gave her 18 pence for it, about €10 in today’s money. He in turn sold it to G & S Waterhouse Jewelers, Dublin, for £12, about €1,500 today.A Celtic Revival had started in the 1840’s and by 1850 was in full swing. Celtic art, songs, language and traditions were be-coming increasingly popular, especially among the middle classes. George Wa-terhouse, owner of Waterhouse Jewelers, was one of the people responsible for it. He had been producing jewelry inspired by Celtic styles for some time, and had a very good reputation. Waterhouse had the brooch examined by the Royal Irish Academy, which included George Petrie, the leading Irish antiquar-ian at the time, who dated it to the 8th century (700AD). Not one to miss a mar-keting opportunity Waterhouse named it the Tara Brooch, linking it with the High Kings of Ireland, even though it had noth-ing to do with Tara!The centre piece of Waterhouse’s Dublin shop display for 22 years, people visited in droves – even Queen Victoria wanted to see it, and requested it be sent to Wind-sor Castle for inspection. It was featured in the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, where Queen Victoria herself pur-chased a replica by Waterhouse, giving it a ‘royal’ endorsement. It also featured in the Exposition Universelle in Paris, and an exhibition in Dublin in 1853, where Queen Victoria came to see it again. In 1872 it was acquired for £200, about €20,000 in today’s money, by the Royal Irish Academy, the organisation responsi-ble for setting up what is now the National Museum of Ireland, where it can still be seen to this day. §Adult Education Information morning 19 September Our monthly drop-in mornings will re-sume in September after the August break. Information and advice available from the Adult Education Guidance and Information Service of LMETB, Louth and Meath Education and Training Board. We hold a monthly drop-in morning in the Alpha Centre, old Coláiste na hInse, Bettystown. Why not call in on Tuesday morning 19 September 9.30- 12.30pm or telephone ahead to make an appointment. No drop-in morning in August. You can contact Stephanie or Ann, Monday to Friday on 041 98 42030, 087 2300195 or email lae-gis@lmetb.ie. August 2017 The Meath Coaster ©27Julianstown Summer CampThe first camp for children with au-tism in East Meath took place in July 2017. Initiated by Valerie Donovan from Laytown, it was organised and run with the help of Julianstown Community Cen-tre, Meath Sports Partnership and many others. After this great start, the camp will run for 4 weeks next July. We will start cof-fee mornings for children with additional needs from September in Julianstown. Thanks to all who took part and for everyone’s help in making it a success.The children had many different activi-ties each day. For example, Day 1. Gaelic football, sensory clay and art making, gymnastics and soccer. Day 2. Pauls pet parties, Zumba, karate, ice cream van. Day 3. volleyball, ballet, art, Gaelic & soccer. Day 4. Hurling, soccer, rugby, yoga, Lego, ice cream van. Day 5. Trip to Dublin zoo.Here are some of the photos of the chil-dren with special needs / autism enjoying the camp. Looking forward to next year! §August 2017 The Meath Coaster ©28Le Chéile’s Got Talent! The John Whel-an Memorial TrophyThis year’s school talent show took place on 20th June. In the lead up, auditions were held within each class be-tween 3rd and 6th class with each class vot-ing for its final entry. The nominated acts included singing, dancing, joke telling and instrument playing. The event also heralded the inauguration of the “John Whelan Memorial Trophy”. This was to mark the memory of John’s death which occurred on the day of last year’s gradu-ation. John loved all school performances so we thought it would be a fitting trib-ute to him to have the prize for the talent show named after him.The trophy, a multi-coloured glass column with a golden star on top, was presented to the winner by Chloe, his daughter, now at-tending secondary school. First Prize went to Jake for his dance performance, Second to Maeve on tin whistle followed by Fionn on Cello in Third. Well done everybody!End of Year Show highlights musical achievments. On Tuesday 27th, June, the end of year show was the perfect opportunity for our younger pupils to showcase the wonder-ful work done by the children with our music teachers, Maria Sheil and Ailbhe Kirkan. The Junior and Senior Infants de-lighted the audience with songs and clap-ping learnt at their “Little Music Makers” classes this year. They were conducted by Maria and their little friend “Mousey”. Every child in both second classes played their recorders showcasing what they performed recently for their Royal Irish Academy Cara Award. Incorporating their newly developed musical talents sec-ond class took the opportunity to put on their play ”An Machtíre and na Caorigh”, known as ”The boy who cried wolf” in English and a selection of the students accompanied the action in the play with their recorders from time to time. We were all suitably impressed by their gaeilge and a most impressive performance for chil-dren so young.Le Chéile Educate Together National SchoolMornington Road, Drogheda Co. Louthwww.lecheileetns.comMornington Road, Drogheda, Co. MeathAugust 2017 The Meath Coaster ©29Meanwhile, the schools newly developed orchestra performed ‘The Blue Danube’ and ‘Bare Necessities’, conducted by Ailbhe. They are a young group so we look forward to many years ahead of big-ger and greater things! Solo performances also took place with children performing on violin, cello and viola. They all showed great courage and the budding musicians were greatly appreciated by all.16 Finnish Teachers visit school in-spired by Erasmus+ visit.Inspired by her recent Erasmus visit to Le Chéile one of our Finnish partner schools returned with sixteen Finnish teachers. The group, comprised of teachers work-ing in a variety of teaching roles across Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary school, travelled to Ireland to learn from the education system here. Following a tour of the school, and admiring the beau-tiful displays of childrens work on the walls the visiting teachers where invited to see how things are done in four class groups in the school.They were treated to songs and recorder playing and a real learning experience of the Irish famine in 4th class. The children in return had many questions to ask about school and life in Finland. The teachers and pupils were impressive and the vis-iting teachers were very pleased by what they saw.6th Class donate profits to Charity from Junior Entrepreneur ProjectAfter the hugely successful completion of the Junior Entrepreneur Project this year, the pupils of sixth class kindly donated seven hundred euro of their profits to the wonderful charity that is Aoibheann’s Pink Tie. Aoibheann’s Pink Tie provides practical and financial support to children suffering from cancer in Ireland and their families. §Next >