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Displaying items by tag: Blanchardstown

#IrishSport - Ireland's national bodies for angling, canoeing and swimming have moved into their new home on the National Sports Campus.

The new Irish Sport HQ in Blanchardstown, west Dublin was officially opened by Taoiseach Enda Kenny on Wednesday 29 May.

Among the 19 sporting bodies that have followed the FAI in relocating their headquarters to the new centre are the Angling Council of Ireland, Swim Ireland and Canoeing Ireland.

Opening the facility, the Taoiseach said: "I'm delighted that significant progress has been made in the development of the National Sport Campus over the past 12 months.

"The opening of the Irish Sport HQ and the arrival of 19 national governing bodies is a major step in the development of the campus. Today's milestone will also help foster the sense of community and co-operation which I know already exists in Irish sport."

Minister for Sport Leo Varadkar also expressed his delight at being present for the opening of the Irish Sport HQ.

"The campus is now well on the way to being a national training centre for sport," he said. "It shows what can be achieved when you work on a realistic scale, within realistic budgets, in partnership with the sporting bodies."

Published in News Update

#TITANIC - This Saturday 26 May, Blanchardstown Library presents a series of talks and discussions on the history of the Titanic.

In her talk 'How the Titanic Touched My Family', author Martina Devlin tells the story of her grandmother's uncle Tom O'Brien, a farm labourer from Co Limerick who made plans to emigrate to America on board the ill-fated ship, but didn't tell his family he was taking someone with him - leading to a secret that was hushed up for generations.

Stephen Cameron will also be discussing his book Titanic - Belfast's Own, which looks at the ship from the perspective of those who helped to build it and "bring the dream to life".

Meanwhile, Patrick Fitzgerald of the Centre for Migration Studies at the Ulster American Folk Park gives his talk, 'A Window on Emigration', that accompanies the park's exhibition highlighting the stories of Irish emigrants who embarked for a new life in the New World on board the Titanic.

And Ed Coughlan of the Irish Titanic Historical Society will present his talk 'Titanic - A Voyage Into History', giving an overview of the Titanic story.

Registration is at 10.45am on the day, with the first talk starting at 11am. The event is free but booking is required on 01 8905563.

Published in Titanic
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Top surfers are headed to Ireland's most unlikely surfing festival this weekend in Dublin.
The Evening Herald reports that landlocked suburb of Blanchardstown has been transformed into a South Pacific-style beach for the surf event, designed to promote Ireland's global surfing charms among the Irish themselves.
Pro surfers will compete on a wave machine for the 53 Degrees North Open Surf Championship, but the same waves will also be open to beginners and younger surfing wannabes.
Herald.ie has more in the story HERE.

Top surfers are headed to Ireland's most unlikely surfing festival this weekend in Dublin.

The Evening Herald reports that landlocked suburb of Blanchardstown has been transformed into a South Pacific-style beach for the surf event, designed to promote Ireland's global surfing charms among the Irish themselves.

Pro surfers will compete on a wave machine for the 53 Degrees North Open Surf Championship, but the same waves will also be open to beginners and younger surfing wannabes.

Herald.ie has more in the story HERE.

Published in Surfing

Marine Wildlife Around Ireland One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with marine wildlife.  It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. As boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat.  Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!