< Previous© March 2020 The Meath Coaster 20 ment of some crucial projects to the area. At our last municipal meeting council- lors were presented with plans for the proposed traffic calming measures to be adopted in Julianstown which has been allocated €100,00. We have also received a further commitment from the council to address some further traffic calming measures in the area. I’m also delighted to see that my calls for traffic calming measures on the Piltown road will also be addressed with €30,000 allocated to the junction turning onto the Ministown Road and a further commitment from the council to add yellow line mark- ings along the Piltown road which will ad- dress the high volumes of traffic in the area. Proposed traffic calming for Coney Hall As part of the review of housing estates to have 30km/h speed limits applied in Meath a number of estates were high- lighted as having particularly high re- corded speeds. These estates have been the subject of additional speed monitoring and as a result Coney Hall has been se- lected for the installation of traffic calm- ing measures to achieve a greater level of compliance with the 30 km/h speed limit. To that effect we were presented with the proposal of the installation of two single chicanes on that road. This will now go on public display, at which time I would en- courage residents to make submissions or observations on the proposed traffic calm- ing measures. Upon review of submission made they will then be presented to coun- cillors for adoption. County Development Plan We are nearing the end of the public display period for the County Devel- opment plan; submissions must be in by 4pm on Friday the 6 th of March. You can view the Draft Development Plan online or by visiting the municipal of- fices in Duleek during normal office hours. Ensure that you have your say and make your submission, which can be made online at https://consult.meath.ie Written observations or submission can also be made. These should be marked ‘Draft Meath County Development Plan 2020-2026’ and submitted to the Planning Department, Meath County Council, Bu- vinda House, Dublin Road, Navan, Co. Meath C15 Y291. § STOP NO MORE CONSTRUCTION IN THIS AREA WITHOUT INFRA - STRUCTURE© March 2020 The Meath Coaster 21 Large Ground Floor Office Space For Rent Floor Space: 5 metres x 8 metres approx. Location: City North Business Campus, Stamullen, Co. Meath 01-9680344 Monthly rent of €850 includes electricity & gas. Good natural lighting. It has a fully alarmed access. Located just off the M1 motorway, beside the City North Hotel. Free car parking. Viewing highly recommended. Please Contact: 01 9680344 for more information© March 2020 The Meath Coaster 22 Answer This Please! East Meath Schools take centre stage at Credit Union Primary School Quiz School children from all over East Meath, Dunleer, Drogheda and Trim battled it out at the end of January in our local Credit Union Primary School Quiz. What a night it was! With the hall of DIFE packed with over 160 extremely energetic, excited children. The talent every year continues to be incredible with children from as young as the age of eight flying their way through questions in each round that Quiz Master Declan Collins was calling out. “It is so wonderful to see how gifted and talented all these children are that have participated here with us tonight” com- mented Credit Union Secretary, Paul Hus- sey. “It’s a credit to their teachers and schools in preparing and organising their teams to be with us on the night, and we thank them all for their participation in what is a real, Battle till the End”. While there were over 40 teams it was the schools in East Meath that really stood out. In competition A, Realt Na Mara Boys from Donacarney in Co. Meath who are no strangers to the competition cer- 2nd Place Winners in the A category of the Drogheda Credit Union Annual School Quiz held at DIFE were Ronan O'Reilly, Rachael Markey, Cormac Grogan and Matthew McHugh from Whitecross NS . image by Jenny Matthews Joint 1st Place Winners in the B category were Tadgh Doran, Daithi Wade, Joe Smith and Daniel McKenna from Realt Na Mara Boys NS and Jack Herrernan, Conor Black, Kane Russell and Cathal McCarthy from Whitecross NS. images by Jenny Matthews© March 2020 The Meath Coaster 23 tainly came in fighting form in the hope to take the lead . After 10 tough rounds of general knowledge questions and only a hairs breath between Whitecross National School, Julianstown and themselves, Realt Na Mara managed to stay that small step ahead taking 1 st Prize. Second was taken by Whitecross NS, Julianstown and 3 rd was Realt na Mara Girls from Donacarney. In competition B it was equally intense and the score board was again very close with only points in the difference between many of the teams. After much debate over the scoring once again seasoned par- ticipants in the Quiz, Whitecross National School and Realt na Mara Boys shared joints first place with Le Cheile Educate Together & Realt na Mara girls sharing the runner up prize. Huge Congratulations to Réalt Na Mara Boys and Whitecross National School for doing so well in both sections with each of their teams now going on to represent the Chapter in March. The full list of winners are as follows: Competition A 1 st Realt Na Mara Boys; Ben Brady, Sam Neary, Fionn McCabe & Thomas Kearney 2 nd Whitecross National School: Matthew McHuge, Rachael Markey, Ronan O Reil- ly & Cormac Grogan 3 rd Realt Na Mara Girls; Lucy O Connor, Jennifer Giju, Rana Salem & Lily O’ Hara Competition B Joint 1 st Realt na Mara Boys: Daniel Mc Kenna Daithi Wade, Tadgh Doran & Joe Smith Joint 1 st Whitecross National School: Mat- thew Mc Hugh, Rachael Markey, Ronan O Reilly & Cormac Grogan Runners up: Le Cheile Educate Together: James Deering, Alex brady martin, Diego Mora, Hayley McCarthy Realt na Mara Girls: Emma Adams, Dania Salem, Anora Roden & Caoimhe Scully 3rd Place were Lily O'Hara, Lucy O Connor, Jennifer GiJu and Rana Salem from Realt Na Mara Girls NS. image by Jenny Matthews 1st Place Winners in the A category of the Drogheda Credit Union Annual School Quiz held at DIFE were Tomas Kearney, Fionn McCabe, Ben Brady and Sam Neary from Realt Na Mara Boys NS. image by Jenny Matthews© March 2020 The Meath Coaster 24 Bettystown Tidy Towns (BTT) T he BTT volunteers have been very busy over the winter working on pro- jects for our town enhancement. Due to the success of the wildflower garden in the vacant site near the statue of the Boy with a Kite we decided to try and create another wildflower garden, this new gar- den is located in the vacant site on the Tri- ton Road across from Coastal Carpets, and has been named The Green Gate Garden, due to its newly installed green gates. The development of the garden is in its early stages, but already, the ground has been cleared of debris and litter, a pathway has been created, planting has started, a bug hotel and compost bays have also been installed. Our sincere thanks to local Mas- ter Craftsman, Ray McElhiney, who built the bug & bee hotels and the gates. More work will be carried out in the site in the coming weeks and months. Single use plastic bottles are a constant item of litter around the town and when we heard that the pupils of Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh wanted to ban single use plastic bottles from their school we contacted them to offer our assistance. Before this project started almost 80% of the pupils were using single use bottles. By using reusable bottles instead of single use bot- tles, the school will eliminate over 70,000 plastic bottles in a single school year and help towards reducing litter in the school and surrounding area. As part of the pro- ject, the school held an art competition to determine the artwork for the bottle. Before the pupils went on mid-term break, we presented the school with 500 reusable bottles with the winning design on each bottle. The project was part financed by BTT and Meath County Council. BTT also presented the design winner and the runners up with a prize each. Our thanks to the pupils and staff for working with us on this project. Competition Time! We are considering installing a banner on a wall near the Bettystown beach en- trance and are asking members of the Green Gate Garden before we started clearing it. Volunteers clearing the Green Gate Garden site. Design winner and runners up with their reusable bottles.© March 2020 The Meath Coaster 25 community to submit a scenic photo of Bettystown Beach that we can use for the banner. Please share your image to our Fa- cebook page, Bettystown Tidy Towns. We are offering a prize of a €50.00 One4All voucher to the person whose submission is chosen. BTT would like to share their plans and ideas for the town with the local com- munity and we will be holding a public meeting in April. Details will be on our Facebook page and in the next edition of The Coaster. Meath County Councils anti litter league judging will take place from the 2 nd to 27 th March 2020. We are asking residents and businesses to support this initiative to reduce litter by maintaining the front of your properties, together we can make a differenc. § 041 98 444 98 041 98 111 98 086 838 4444 www.eastcoastcabs.com EAST COAST CABS SERVICING MEATH COAST & DROGHEDA REGIONS CABS - 4, 6 & 8 SEATERS NEW RANGE OF MINI-VANS COACHES - 16, 24, 36 & 54 SEATERS AVAILABLE Five Marks of Mission D uring Lent, rather than having a mid- week study group we will be look- ing, on Sunday mornings at 10.30, at the "Five Marks of Mission" which are com- mon to the Anglican Church world wide. These are TELL: Proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom, TEACH: Teach, baptise and nurture new elievers, TEND: respond to human need by loving service, TRANSFORM: transform unjust struc- ture of society and pursue peace and rec- onciliation, TREASURE: strive to safe- guard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth. On a number of weeks there will be a visiting speaker and we look forward to a visit from our Bishop on 22 nd March. Everyone is very welcome §© March 2020 The Meath Coaster 26 Small changes ahead to protect our beaches T he Beaches in East Meath are busy every day throughout the year as a recreational area for all sorts of people and events. From the daily walkers, jog- gers, runners, swimmers, surfers, horse- riders to the busy summer months where thousands of day trippers and holiday makers head to the coast to cool off in the sea. In addition the beaches in East Meath are home to two important sites which require protection under the EU Habitats Directive. These sites are the River Nanny Shore and Estuary SPA where the Nanny enters the sea at Laytown and the Boyne Coast and Estuary at the Mornington end of the Beach. Meath County Council published a Beach Management Plan and Natura Impact Statement which outlined long term im- provements which are planned for the coast including a new building at Seaview Terrace, improved access, toilets, chang- ing rooms, community facilities, beach wheelchair facility, first aid, lifeguard fa- cility. Many of these improvements are well advanced and others are in progress. There are some new rules coming down the line for beach users in Meath in terms of meeting our obligations to protect the European sites within the area of the Beach Management Plan. The changes, for the most part, have come about in order to protect wintering birds who feed along the shoreline from Sep- tember to March within the boundary of the River Nanny Shore and Estuary Spe- cial Protection Area. When visiting this section of the Beach, which stretches from Laytown, going south towards Ben Head/ Gormanston Beach, dog owners will be asked to keep their pet on a lead in win- ter months and horse riders will be asked to keep their horse away from the Shore- line, where the water meets the sand. The Bettystown and Mornington area of the beach is open for dogs to be off the lead and for horses to use the shoreline for ex- ercising all year round. These changes will ensure that there is minimum disruption to wintering birds. Another change to the Foreshore Byelaws will be the access for horses at Mornington, within the Boyne Coast and Estuary Spe- cial Area of Conservation. Going forward horse riders will be required to use a dedi- cated horse pathway through the dunes to the foreshore, in order to protect the wider dune system. Drugs have been listed as a prohibited substance in Foreshore Byelaws 2010 As Amended and horse drawn carts have been added to the list of restricted vehicles. The Draft Amendments to the Foreshore Byelaws went on public display in July and August 2019 and 349 submissions were received and considered. The Fore- shore Byelaws 2010 As Amended were approved by Meath County Council on 3 rd February 2020 and will come into effect on 1 st June 2020. Copies of the Foreshore Bye-laws 2010 (As Amended) are available free of charge from the Environment Section Meath County Council, Buvinda House, Dublin Road, Navan or online at www.meath.ie/ council/your-council/plans-reports-and- bye-laws/bye-laws/other-bye-laws §Call us on 041 9886545 for an appointment. Email: bettystowndental@gmail.com Web: www.bettystowndental.ie Triton Road, Bettystown, Co. Meath (between Funtasia & Tesco) Extended PRSI Scheme Dental exam and clean only €15 for qualified patients. To check eligibility contact us on 0419886545 Private, PRSI and Medical Card Patients Welcome Dr Matthew Crinion B.D.S. (NUI) Corns, Callouses, Verrucae, Ingrown Toenails, nail surgery and other treatments State of the art Gaitscan analysis pressure plate used in the assessment of foot, back and leg pain. Orthotics prescribed to stabilise foot function and rehabilitation Opening hours 9.00-6.00 Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday: Saturday 10.00-1.00 Niamh Tully , BSc (Hons) Pod. MCh.S. S.R.Ch Main Street, Laytown, Tel: 041 9888492 Chiropodist / Podiatrist (State registered) The Foot Clinic Lannon Footcare and Reflexology Footcare: Nail Cutting, Filing & Thinning Calluses & Corns Fungal Nail & Skin Conditions Ingrown Toenails Diabetic _Footcare Verrucas Reflexology Relaxation Balances all systems in the body Reduces Stress Increases Energy Clears Toxins Find me on or contact 085 - 2522918 Clinic Opening Hours: Mon - Thur 9:30 to 14:00 Fri 9:30 to 17:00 By Appointment only. Also available for Call Outs, Nursing Home & Corporate Visits Clinic located at Anagenic Hair Design Unit 4F The Anchorage Bettystown Co. Meath Claire Lannon - Dip FH MCFHP MAFHP MNRRI Registered Reflexologist Foot Health Practitioner DUNLEER County Louth Ireland© March 2020 The Meath Coaster 28 Transition Year Students Work to Clean-up Gormanston Beach T ransition Year students carried out a clean-up of Gormanston Beach re- cently. So successful was the clean-up it is planned to be a regular event extending to litter picking around the perimeter of Franciscan College, Gormanston and also involving the Green Schools Committee. The beach clean-up was a great experi- ence for the students and what amazed them the most was the amount of waste that was on the beach, waste which should be disposed of in bins, rather than simply thrown onto the beach or into the sea, and washed up onto the beach. The school is working with Gormanston Tidy Towns to support regular litter pa- trols and has registered with the Nation- al Spring Clean, supporting community clean-ups throughout April 2020. Exciting new ‘Gormo 50/50 Draw’ Launched To help support the local school, a ‘Gor- mo 50/50 Draw’ was recently launched. Half of funds received each month will be paid out in prizes while the other half sup- ports the school. Franciscan College is a registered charity and the draw is run un- der license from An Garda Síochána. The draw costs €10 per month payable through your bank by standing order and details can be found on the college website www. gormanstoncollege.ie under the docu- Franciscan College Gormanston© March 2020 The Meath Coaster 29 ments section or by emailing 5050draw@ gormanstoncollege.ie. 1 st Year Students Visit Newgrange in- cluding newly opened Interpretive Centre Thank you to the staff at Brú na Boinne, Newgrange for making the school feel so welcome during their recent field trip. The newly opened state of the art inter- pretive centre was very impressive. The students really enjoyed their visit. Thank you Stamullen-Julianstown Parish Franciscan College Gormanston Parents Association recently held a bake sale after mass at St Patricks Church Stamullen to raise much needed funds for the school. The bake sale raised €343.20 and the school passes on its thanks to the local community for its support. §Next >