< Previous© September 2019 The Meath Coaster 10 Laytown Tidy Towns D uring this month we focussed our at- tention on the beds around the trees opposite Pat’s and Gilna’s. We removed the grass and weeds, then planted begon- ias around each tree. William Boshell of Pat’s in Laytown was then kind enough to donate and plant some geraniums as well. We are very pleased with the end result! Two new volunteers joined us this month. They spent their time working on the edg- ing of the grass near and outside the play- ground, which has really tidied up the ap- pearance of the path! Thank you ladies, keep up the good work! The restoration of the public toilets at the Coast Tavern is complete.....fantastic job done! This facility will be a great asset to the community. Sadly it has already been vandalised twice. Can we ask if people notice any anti-social behaviour there that they no- tify the Gardai straight away. It would be a shame if this facility is abused in this manner. Date for your diary: Laytown Races takes place on Wednesday 11 th Sept at 4pm! See lots more informa- tion on pages 20 -22 and in the Septem- ber digital edition of the Meath Coaster at www.meathcoaster.com/library School Books free for all Children Legislative measures to ensure Schools make uniforms affordable End School reliance on so-called ‘voluntary contributions’, which on average is €85 at Primary, and €225 at Secondary Replace this with proper school funding through capitation grants Significantly expand School Meals Programme Reform and increase funding for the school transport scheme Louth & East Meath T.D. Imelda MUNSTER Constituency Office: 84 West St, Drogheda Open: Monday - Friday 9.30 - 5pm Tel: 041 987 3823 Email: imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie Clinics held in Drogheda, Laytown & Ardee, contact office for appointment. BACK TO SCHOOL ALLOWANCE SCHEME 2019 The Back to School Allowance Scheme doesn’t end until 30th September if you have not received an allowance and would like to apply, application forms are available in all Social Welfare Departmental offices or online at www.welfare.ie. “LET’S END BACK TO SCHOOL STRESS” Some of the proposals included in the Sinn Féin policy document “Let’s End Back to School Stress.© September 2019 The Meath Coaster 12 East Meath Cllr Stephen McKee & Louth Cllr James Byrne worked hard together along with the Council to ensure that drains were quickly unblocked in Bryanstown Village and on the Dublin Road & Colpe areas during the heavy rain & flash flooding. Mill Road Project I am pleased that work has start- ed on the new Mill Road pro- ject in Mornington which will see a huge investment in a new road, Business Park, footpaths & cycle paths near Colpe. The new road will help take traffic off the old road down to the schools, there will be local jobs in a new business Park and a new footpath will serve Grange Rath in addition to new homes for the area. This is a developer- led project through Shannon Homes and I have been working with them and Meath County Council to advance this project for the area. The project has huge potential to improve the quality of life of local residents and offer new job opportunities and I will continue to lobby for this to be completed as soon as pos- sible and for footpaths to be extended down to Donacarney to link the whole area up. I am also hoping a much- needed new playground for the area will form part of the overall plan. Road Safety & Speed Limits I recently brought the Road Safety Officer for County Meath, Michael Finnegan, to the area to raise with him serious speeding and road safety issues on our roads. Fol- lowing this, I am pleased to say that speed limits on the Colpe Road, Donacarney – Mornington Garra Road, School Road Donacarney, the Beamore Road and the Dublin Road are now being reviewed. I have also asked for additional road safety signage, a safe pedestrian crossing at the Southgate Matthews bus stop, and Garda Speed checks on all these roads. I am ac- tively working alongside Meath County Council and the Road Safety Officer to try and improve road safety for our area. New County Development Plan I am told by Meath County Council that a draft County Plan will be given to Coun- cillors at the September meeting follow- ing which we can propose amendments prior to public display of the Plan. When the draft plan does go on display, it is then open to any member of the public to make a submission. I am available to work with Clubs, groups Council Update By Cllr. Stephen McKee info@droghedagrammarschool.ie www.droghedagrammarschool.ie© September 2019 The Meath Coaster 14 Coláiste na hInse Record Success! T he Coláiste na hInse class of 2019 celebrated their fantastic results in August. The 2019 class achieved the high- est results of any group in the Coláiste's young history, with the largest number of first choice options offered to this group. There were a significant number of H1 grades in traditionally tougher subjects and a huge jump in the number of stu- dents achieving over 450 points. It is not surprising considering the time, effort and dearcadh put in by this wonderful group. As a school we would like to take this op- portunity to wish them every success in their future pursuits and we can't wait to hear about their successes! § & individuals on any ideas and/or issues you wish to raise on the new Plan for our area. Resurfacing Of Crook Road At my request, Meath County Council re- cently completed work on resurfacing the Crook Road, Mornington. I hope the new road surface makes a positive difference for residents. The Fleadh! The Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann was a great success not just for Drogheda but for the whole area. It was a brilliant week-long celebration of Irish music & culture and a great way to catch up with old friends who you might not have seen in ages! Hopefully we don’t have to wait too long for its return! Clinics / Further Information I hold monthly clinics in the East Meath area and am available to meet upon re- quest. If I can be of help to you or your family, please contact me directly on 086 0432760, by email stephenmckeeff@ gmail.com or through Facebook at Cllr Stephen McKee. Thank you. § Great fun at the Fleadh with the little one meeting Nathan Carter!© September 2019 The Meath Coaster 15 Coláiste na hInse, Baile an Bhiataigh, Co. Na Mí Enrolment for Academic Year 2020-2021 Oíche Eolais (Information Night) For parents & students of 5 th & 6 th class in the catchment area. In Coláiste na hInse, Bettystown, Co Meath on Thursday 26 th September 2019 at 6:00pm Important Notes: (1) Please refer to our website www.colaistenahinse.ie for Admission Policy requirements© September 2019 The Meath Coaster 16 Bettystown Tidy Towns, BTT A s part of our caring for the envi- ronment we were delighted to take delivery of our water harvesting tank in August. The harvested water will be used by us to water the trees and plants that we have planted around the village and for cleaning the street furniture. The tank has a capacity of 5,700 litres and will be installed on the grounds of the Neptune Hotel, and connected to the existing down spouts of the hotel. We are very grateful to Marina and Dennis of Reddan’s Bar for permitting us to install the tank on their property and for their generous contribu- tion towards the cost of the tank and for their continued support of our work in the village. The tank was part financed by a grant from the Department of Rural and Com- munity Development, Meath LCDC, who we wish to acknowledge and thank for their financial support. An Taisce’s Clean Coast’s Big Beach Clean This September we will to be support- ing An Taisce’s Clean Coast’s Big Beach Clean campaign. In previous years the campaign had fo- cused on beaches but An Taisce now feel as most litter dropped on land eventually makes its way to the sea via waterways, we should try and shift the focus inland. Therefore, they are encouraging commu- nities around the country to take part this year as every bit of litter you pick up, no matter where, helps safeguard our seas. The Big Beach Clean runs from Friday 20 th to Sunday 22 nd of September. If you would like to hold a Clean Up in your estate or road, you can register for your free clean up kit at this link, https://cleancoasts.org/ our-initiatives/big-beach-clean/. Bettystown Tidy Towns will be support- ing the Big Clean campaign by conduct- ing a litter pick on Saturday September 21 st from 10.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m., meeting at the statue of the Boy with the Kite. We would appreciate your support on the day as these events heighten awareness about the issue of marine litter and serve as an indicator of the magnitude of the problem. Soon we will be starting to plant spring bulbs and we would greatly appreciate your assistance, the more help we have the more areas we can plant, and we can all enjoy the flowers next spring. If you are interested in assisting us with our spring bulb planting please speak to us any Saturday morning between 10 and 11 am when we are working in the village or send us a message on Facebook. § East Meath Community Development Community Employment Programme Caretaker/General Maintenance The general maintenance role includes painting, shrub planting, grass cutting, strimming and repairs. To work indoor/outdoor as required maintaining the grounds in a neat and tidy manner.Position is in Julianstown Start date 01 September 2019 Please contact James Kelly jkelly@emcdc.ie Full job advertised on www.jobsireland.iejacinta-cassidy@hotmail.com www.fitkidsfitteensireland.com© September 2019 The Meath Coaster 18 East Meath Meals on Wheels. T he local community has been busy over the summer helping to raise funds for East Meath Meals on Wheels. The photo below is the cheque presen- tation by Charlie Gordon, Beechpark, Laytown to Marie Savage (Chairperson East Meath Meals on Wheels). Charlie successfully completed the 2.7km Boyne swim on the 15 th of June and raised €1000 which he very kindly donated to East Meath Meals on Wheels. The photo above is of the winning team in the Golf Classic held on 19 th July at Laytown/Bettystown Golf Club. In the photo are Berna Carthy (Committee Member) and Marie Savage (Chairperson, East Meath Meals on Wheels) with the winning team in the golf classic - Derek & Rowan Lester and Sharon & Des Rogers. We raised another €9,000 which will go a long way in assisting the service to the local Community. We wish to thank all teams the participat- ed ,sponsors, local businesses and friends for their generous support on the day. East Meath Meals on Wheels provided dinners three days per week. The service can be accessed by calling the Meals on Wheels phone on 085 7570810.September Special Tear Drop Flags from €235 +vat Includes Flag, Pole and Base Providing Professional Print Services to Meath Coaster Since 2009 • design • print • sign INDOOR or OUTDOOR USAGE Withstands Strong Winds 2m 3m 4m sizes info@beulahprint.ieNext >