< Previous© October 2017 The Meath Coaster20Coláiste na hInseCNI Open NightThe Coláiste na hInse Open Night takes place on Thursday, October 5th, from 6 until 8pm. All parents and students in 5th and 6th class are invited to attend to discover more about our unique school atmosphere, our emphasis on clann, bród, uaillmhian agus dearfachas (family, pride, ambition and positivity). There will also be an op-portunity to look back on our successes over our first ten years as a school, includ-ing National Award winning plays, national champions in debating, All-Ireland series basketball teams and provincial champions in soccer and gaelic football. For more in-formation see colaistenahinse.ieLeaving Certificate year group received their results on August 16th, with a signifi-cant number of students earning over 500 points. Congratulations to all students and parents on a fantastic set of results.Musical “Billy Elliott” to mark CNI’s 10th AnniversaryFor this special 10 year anniversary of the school opening its doors, Coláiste na hInse are proud to announce that this Jan-uary they will be performing Billy Elliot. As of just this week, the characters have been cast and our Billy has been found! Rehearsals will begin in earnest now and we very much look forward to seeing you all there from January 17th - 20th. Tickets will be on sale from December.History Project WinnersMegan O’Gorman Boyd, Claire Gavin, Abby Fetherston, Maebh Doorley and Dominika Eidukeviciute with Máisitir McCabeHighest Achievers Rebekah Armstrong, Caireann Bracken, Caoimhe Murphy and Liam Burke Brady with Year Head, Martin McCabeJunior Cycle Students Rejoice at Out-standing ResultsThis was the largest ever year group in Coláiste na hInse, with 220 students com-pleting the exams. The school's "honours norm", where every student is encouraged to attempt each subject at higher level, is paying off with numbers well above na-tional average attempting the Honours ex-ams. It was another successful year for a large number of students as they succeed-ed in reaching 7 A grades or more.Leaving Certificate ResultsThere was huge excitement as our biggest Deborah Utubor, Alicja Chmura, Katie Power, Sarah O’Toole Byrne, Shannon Bazunu, Jill Savage, Freya McGrath and Eniola Jakande with their Junior Cycle Results© October 2017 The Meath Coaster2127/28 St. Benan’s Villas, Laytown, Co. MeathLaytown Business since 2002 086-8496792 / 041 9828585CAR SERVICING• Local Business, Est. 2002 • Contact Ken / MoniqueMon-Fri 930- 6 • Pre-NCT & All RepairsHealth CentreLaytown Motors GarageSt. Benan’s VillasCoast Rd LaytownKenPiper58@gmail.comFollow the sign on the Coast Road Congratulations to all students who en-tered the CNI History Project Competi-tion, with the winners being announced. Cillian Quigley won the booklet compe-tition with his entry on Roman soldiers, and Danil Markelov won for his Roman sword. Other winners included Molly O’Hora, Calum Hoyne, Aimee Murphy, Liana WIllicombe and Jane Stanley, with models of Newgrange and Stone Age homes particularly impressive. The win-ning projects will be on display at the CNI Open Night on October 5th. §Aimee Murphy, Liana Willicombe and Jane Stanley with their model of NewgrangeCalem Martin, James McElearney and Darragh Beirth celebrate their Leaving Cert Resulsts with Principal Inion McCarrick© October 2017 The Meath Coaster22East Meath , you blew us away!Tá me go maith!, yell 30 bright eyed, rosy cheeked, and smartly dressed school children to my previous inquiry “Dia Dhuit, Conas atá tü ?” in my Ameri-can accent. A break in racing of the 52nd European Sand Yacht Championships has allowed me and several other women sail-ors to embrace all the questions the school children have generated while strolling the beach with their teachers to see all the high speed action of the best Sand Yachters from Europe and a few other countries about the globe. mother natures gift of wind and a dynamic undulating beach into one of the worlds fastest sailing sports gives such a great sense of achievement. Our hope was to inspire a few children to seek out the sport and connect with nature in ways most people never have a chance. Although in many countries (Ireland and the U.S.A. included) few know of the sport there are a few exceptions such as Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Spain and France. Amazingly, along the coast in France there are many sandyacht sailing schools that start children sailing on beaches at 6 years of age as part of the school curriculum. It's no wonder why the French dominate the sport, as they have churned out over 250,000 sailors trying the sport each year. Estimates for the near-est country are 1/10th that number. But let us not forget the real benefit of giving children the chance to tame mother nature in a fun way while solving the many mys-teries of wind and land interactions. My next question to all the young girls was “How many want to be engineers, doctors, or teachers?”, interestingly we three women sailors engaging the chil-dren are just that, I (Renee Fields, USA) am an engineer, An Samyn, Belgium, is a teacher, and Alexia Kamoen, Belgium is studying to be a doctor. Although we are fundamentally sportswomen in our heart, sailing and sand yachting requires added understanding of weather, how it inter-acts with the land, how all the mechanical aspects of the yachts work, how to trim the sails for best speed in light and high winds. We three took the children to our yachts to let them sit in, pull the sheet rope to tighten the sail, and to push the pedals to see the mechanics of how the hand and foot steering is all connected. Although simple in design, using physics to harness Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh children with competitor Renee FieldsChildren from Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh try for size© October 2017 The Meath Coaster23I believe Laytown – Bettystown has such a perfect venue for a community based sailing school like the French and Bel-giums have. Not only would it be a great tourist attraction but more importantly a great way to help children to connect with mother nature in ways only few imagine. There is one more reason a land sailing school would be grand for the Laytown – Bettystown area – The 2024 Olympics. There is a likelyhood that the 2024 Olym-pics held in France will include Sand Yachting. So why not create another op-portunity for Ireland to obtain a few more Olympic medals to match the feat of this American's favourite Irish olympians, the O'Donovan brothers... I believe!As a first time visitor to Ireland and in particular to Laytown and Bettystown for the horse racing the sandyacht champi-onship event all I can say to sum it up is wow, awesome! On behalf of all the 110 visiting competitors and the other 200 or so foreign family and friends who joined you here for almost two weeks, thank you Alan Watson for inviting us to your beautiful hometown and beach. The lo-cal community should be proud of how they welcomed all of us foreigners to their back yard, you smiled and chatted with us and cheered us on, day and night you supported us , go raibh maith agat (I’m now on page two of Irish for Dummies) we sure had the craic with you all. To the businesses the local council and the coun-cillors who supported the event we thank you sincerely and we hope that you will invite us back some day. We hope that as a community you can build on the success of the event and go on to organise other fantastic events on your coastline, don’t be shy you can do it together as a commu-nity, we know this because … you already did it ! Renee Fields , Reno Nevada. Class Standart US ladies team member.Great aerial photography of the event by Jim Smith© October 2017 The Meath Coaster24Scoil an Spioraid NaoimhWelcome back to all our pupils and Par-ents for another school year in Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh!We have all transitioned back very well and it felt like we had never been away! The school population has expanded from 387 to 430 pupils now. Welcome to Ao-ife Finlay, Ciara Kilcoyne, Fiona Dunne Helen de Brún and Linda Ryan-Paul all recently appointed to our staff. The Board of Management were very busy with the prefab refurbishment ensuring additional accommodation for two classes. Pupils and staff are very happy with the new classrooms. We have 5 3rd classes and the staff have met all the parents at a very suc-cessful information evening. Many of our families attended the Laytown Races on the beach which were a great success. The new school development is progressing well and it is hoped to have a definite pic-ture for future planning soon. The AGM of the Parents Association was held re-cently and a new committee was elected. Fifth Class on their field trip learning about native Irish trees Blossom Ireland WalkRichie O’Leary, supported by BT Ire-land is walking 175km from Belfast to Dublin to raise funds for Blossom Ire-land. Richie is the proud father of Amy who has special needs and attends Blos-som Ireland camps. Richie wants to en-sure that more children like Amy can ac-cess Blossom camps and programmes.Richie works for BT Ireland who has been hugely supportive of the work Blossom do. All funds raised will go towards pro-viding camps and programmes for chil-dren with special needs.”Blossom Ireland was set-up in 2010 by two mums passionate in the belief that their sons with special needs deserve the same opportunities as all children. The or-ganisation has grown from its initial offer-ing of a few weeks of services in the sum-mer to a year round programme of holiday and life skills programmes for children and teens with special needs from 8 – 18 years of age. Their work has received awards from Social Entrepreneurs Ireland and has been independently assessed by a team from Trinity College Dublin.For more information on all of the services that Blossom Ireland provides for children and teens with intellectual disabilities go to www.blossomireland.ie §Adult Education Information morning 17 October Our monthly drop-in morning in East Meath is the 3rd Tuesday of the month, Tuesday 17 October. If you are thinking about upskilling, retrain-ing or returning to education and want to find out more, then call in for a chat to the Alpha Centre, old Coláiste na hInse, Bettystown. The Adult Educa-tion Guidance and Information Service of LMETB, Louth and Meath Educa-tion and Training Board will be there on Tuesday morning 17 October 9.30-12.30pm or telephone ahead to make an appointment. You can contact Stephanie or Ann, Monday to Friday on 041 98 42030, 087 2300195 or email laegis@lmetb.ie. PHONE JOHN 085 8085557 Jndconstructionireland@gmail.comCONSTRUCTION J&DATTIC CONVERSIONS | EXTENSIONS KITCHENS | BATHROOMSCOMMERCIAL SHOP FIT OUTSFREE ESTIMATES 4th November, City North HotelStarting at 7.30pm admission €15. Talk Show With Top Road Racers, Special Guests on the night, live music,Dj,Raffle & Auction. Tickets available through the Alan Bonner memorial Night Facebook page, email memorialnight122@gmail.com or call 0892036664. This promises to be a great night for all. Alan Bonner Memorial Night 086/1733396086/3673406Mullenandsons1@gmail.comwww.Mullenandsons.comMullen & SonsBuildersFifth Generation Irish BuildersFor All Your Building NeedsNew Builds - Extensions - Renovations Attic Conversions & All Roof WorkFully Insured and Registered© October 2017 The Meath Coaster26Council Update by Cllr Stephen MckeeFootpath From Grange Rath To Local SchoolsI am working with Meath Coun-ty Council and the National Transport Authority to provide for a new footpath to link Grange Rath with local schools Scoil An Bhradáin Feasa, Le Chéile Edu-cate Together and Drogheda Grammar School. As local people know, the Colpe Road is extremely busy from Grange Rath down to the 3 local schools in the vicinity. Many school children from Grange Rath attend these schools and the current situation is that there is no safe footpath for students to take. Students either have to take a bus or go by car with their parents, which is another cost to families. There are also many local people who regularly walk and run this route. We are trying to encourage healthy active life-styles and this starts from childhood. However, many parents in the area feel they have no option but to utilise public transport or the family car because of road safety concerns.Road Safety At ColpeAt the recent Council meeting, I raised the need for improved road safety meas-ures along the Colpe Road to include the replacement of damaged safety barriers, improved road markings and for a safer pedestrian crossing at Southgate. This work should be done as a matter of urgency before a serious incident occurs. As a young family man who grew up in Stameen and later Grange Rath, I will continue to do all I can to help ensure that road safety measures are a pri-ority on the Colpe and Dublin Road.Footpath Works In Bettys-town/LaytownS Wilkins & Sons have started work on the new footpath between Bettystown and Laytown and this badly-needed work is expected to be completed in the next cou-ple of weeks. Though much welcome, I have asked that in future, such works be carried out during the school holidays so that traffic chaos and inconvenience to local people is kept to a minimum.Rail Commuting Costs From East MeathI recently put down a motion to the Coun-cil demanding that the NTA restructure the rail fare system and include Drogheda, Laytown and Gormanston into the ‘Dub-lin Short Hop Zone’ so that an equitable rail fare is charged for passengers. I also highlighted the issue on RTE News. As local commuters know only too well, the fare structure at the moment is to-tally unfair on passengers travelling from Bettystown, Laytown, Mornington, Stamullen, Gormanston and Drogheda. Students from the Coast area going to Maynooth University - which is in the Dublin Short Hop zone - have to pay an-other fare once they reach Balbriggan.Train stations at Naas, Sallins and Kilcock © October 2017 The Meath Coaster27Call 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 Clinicwere recently included into the ‘Dublin Short Hop Zone’ meaning lower fares for passengers from those stations, so I am campaigning for lower fares also for pas-sengers in East Meath who are travelling similar distances into Dublin. It is important to encourage people to use public transport but in reality rail travel, in particular, is very expensive. We do not have a fair rail travel policy for residents in East Meath and this must be addressed. Further InformationIf I can be of help to you or your fam-ily, please contact me directly on 086 0432760, by email stephenmckeeff@gmail.com or through Facebook at Cllr Stephen McKee. Thank you. Stephen §“Divisive” Stroke PoliticsIt is evident to most of the 12,000 residents (census 2016) of Bettystown-Laytown-Mornington that this area is a long stretched-out urban town, with the inherent problems of town infrastructure. Yet a “divisive” 20-19 vote in Meath County Council seeks to have the area re-classified as villages for the purpose of accessing funds in the Town & Village Renewal Scheme. Cllr Paddy Meade said “We need to fight for big money for Laytown / Bettystown / /Mornington because it has been declared a town“. He fears this vote will lead to con-fusion in Government Departments causing major issues in future for our coastal district in terms of funding future projects. The Bet-tystown-Mornington-Laytown area is now the third largest town in Meath with hun-dreds of more houses under construction....§© October 2017 The Meath Coaster28Drumgoole Financial Services is regulated by The Central Bank of IrelandDoes a Financial Broker offer a different service than your bank?Financial advice and the products sold by Financial Brokers, banks and life assurance company salespeople attract on-going and rigorous scrutiny by the me-dia and other commentators. And rightly so! Consumers are placing their trust, their hard-earned financial assets and in-deed their future lifestyles in the hands of these professionals, and so the industry deserves scrutiny.The world in which financial advisers live is a highly regulated world. This is impor-tant as it helps build trust. But regulation on its own won’t achieve this; best prac-tice has to also be employed by all of the professionals in the industry to help build this trust. Financial Brokers can at least be optimistic that they are continuing to build a greater sense of trust in what they do. In the internationally renowned Edel-man Barometer 2015, trust levels in Ire-land in financial services businesses con-tinues to exceed that achieved by banks, and indeed financial services businesses showed the fasted growth rates in trust (albeit from a relatively low base).So why are Financial Brokers more trusted than banks?They want to build long-term relation-ships. Financial Brokers are different to bank salespeople as they are not out to achieve this year’s sales target, as passed down from Head Office to your local bank branch. That is the focus of the bank branch as staff change and move around from branch to branch. A Financial Bro-ker on the other hand will only build a successful business if he or she can build loyal, long-term client relationships. They want to support you and provide financial advice as you go through every stage of your life. Thinking about short-term sales targets can never achieve that!Their advice is impartial. At the end of the day, helping you to identify your financial objectives and developing your financial plan is only part of the financial advice story. You then need the right products in place. While bank staff only have access to the products of one company, your Fi-nancial Broker can find the right product for you from right across the market. This can result in cheaper life cover, broader and more suitable investment choices and better pension planning options for you. Your Financial Broker is solely interested in finding the best solution for you, as op-posed to potentially force-fitting you into the only product available from a single supplier, as banks do.Their sole focus is helping you achieve your financial objectives Banks lend money, they hold deposits, they sell credit cards and (hopefully) they will give you a mortgage. They are, or at least should be good at all of that. But then the bank branch will also try and advise you in relation to your personal financial affairs.Financial Brokers on the other hand are singularly focused on helping you man-age your affairs and achieve your financial ambitions. That’s what they do, and they will travel on the long road with you as you achieve your financial dreams. §BrowniesThis recipe will make twelveIngredients:Ingredients:175g butter100g dark chocolate350g castor sugar1 tsp vanilla essence3 eggs100g plain flour75g cocoa powderMethod:• Melt the butter and chocolate• Add sugar and vanilla, mix well. • Break the egg and add it to the butter and sugar mix. • Add the dry ingredients and mix in well. • Place in a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes at 180◦c. • A batch of Caoimhe’s Crumbles brown-ies can be ordered through the facebook page For information on customized cakes, bake, kids classes, parties; contact 0860518497 and Check out caoimhescrumbles caoimhes_crumbles c_crumbles Sonairte wishes to thank each and eve-ry one of you who has offered help and support during the last few difficult weeks, as well as those who have sup-ported us over the years. We have been heartened by the assistance offered and hope to meet with many who have offered their expertise and help. As has happened with so many charitable, voluntary and community organisations, Sonairte has been affected by the recent vastly increased insurance premium. The result has been, regrettably, that the Centre and its facilities, has been forced to close to the public, a situation that has caused disruption for so many people.Where suitable insurance can be found we intend to continue running educational courses and events. The Organic Garden continues to be tend-ed and its produce will continue to be for sale.We are hopeful that in time the insurance issue will be resolved, but in the mean-time we will endeavour to continue with our maintenance programme. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and assure you the objective of Sonairte remains as ever to promote eco-logical awareness and sustainable living. §Next >