Reasons To Be Cheerful Pt 2022

Pot Of Gold by Niamh Delmar

s we plough our way through all the Guide posts of 2022, we’re reminded again and again at just how busy this past year has been in Greystones.

So, why does it feel like we’ve all been sitting here in limbo…?

Partly to do with the hangover of the still-here Covid, and partly to do with the Ukraine war and its impact on not only towns and villages all over Ireland as refugees take shelter but also that fine energy crisis that has extended the crippling uncertainty of the last three years.

Of course, with any period of transition, there’s always the golden opportunity to rip it up and start again, to figure out better ways of living, and giving, and having a damn good time. Without wasting your time.

And so it is for many of our entries in this year’s Reasons To Be Cheerful, locals giving thanks and praise to a year that, as always, brought joy to those who knew where to find it…

Margaret Duggan The Great Responder
2022 has been a bittersweet year for me…

Starting with a big high in July when my daughter got married. We had 3 fantastic days of celebrations with family and friends and it has left great memories that will stay with me forever.

It was also the year that I retired from the Community First Responders group after 16 years as Chairperson. That was a huge milestone moment in my life. I really enjoyed my time with this amazing group of people and made some lifelong friends which I will cherish.

I know this group will continue to grow from strength to strength and I will miss them all.

I am looking forward to making more happy memories in 2023.

Kaci Rock Boxing Clever
There are so many reasons to be cheerful. Mine is bringing my dog for a walk through Greystones village and without fail I am always met with a friendly smile from another passer by. A smile and a simple ‘good morning’ is enough to brighten your day even on the darkest of days.

Aubrey McCarthy Tiglin founder
As chair of Tiglin, 2022 was full of highlights with the reopening of The old tea rooms at Carraigeden (now The Rise) to the purchase of the old YWCA facility Coolnagreina on Trafalgar road. There were many highlights such as the new youth cafe on Trafalgar Road, the collaboration with the Making Waves Youth Theatre and the music academy at Coolnagreina but welcoming our guests from Ukraine on St. Patrick’s Day was mind-blowing. Listening to horrendous stories of war, but seeing the kids grow roots in the town brought smiles all around. Their new ice cream facility at The Rise Cafe was a great success and it allowed the town of Greystones to get to know our Ukrainian kids.

Learning bits of Ukraine to make our guests feel comfortable was challenging with the kids starting to call me “Ovaries” as they could not get the Aubrey pronunciation. Seeing the local school principal Ms Harper donning sparkly leotards to raise money for the Ukrainians at Circus Gerbola certainly brought a smile. While the Happy Pear twins giving pizza classes at our youth cafe and also doing the catering at our homeless cafe in Dublin showed that there was definitely more to these guys than handstands.

Seeing Ryan Tubridy playing as goalie for our soccer family day at coolnagreina brought a buzz and allowed us also see the human side of our local politicians, such as Stephen Donnelly, Simon Harris, Stephen Matthews, John Brady, Jennifer Whitmore, etc.

Tiglin has an open door policy and we welcomed many people to our Greystones facilities during 2022 including President Michael D Higgins, Niall Quinn, Ryan Tubridy, John Healy (RTE The Restaurant), Oliver Callan, numerous ambassadors, ministers, etc – and, of course, Paul and Otto from the Greystones Guide.

I work in many areas but I have to say Greystones is a special place! It is weird to only feel at home in a town that is one hour away from my home of Punchestown. The sense of community and an unconditional welcome always brings a smile to me!

Tommaso Spenato Coffee Champ
Another year, another Best Coffee win. Every year, that’s all that really matters.

David O’Reilly Newly-Minted Greystones Tidy Towns Chief
Although the year if viewed in certain ways was it could be said a bad year but then out of tragedy comes compassion. The war in Ukraine – which we could not have influenced in any way – brought out the love and compassion of the Irish people in the manner in which we responded to the personal crisis faced by Ukrainian women and children in particular. This brought out our basic decency in helping our fellow human beings. And a reason for us to take a collective well done, as for such a small country we always seem to come out on top when such a crisis occurs. Although it’s a long time ago but Live Aid was an example of how the drive and unending energy and pressure basically from one man made this happen. When I hear the Live Aid song at Christmas, it always brings me back to those concerts.

To more local matters, although the dreaded Covid doesn’t seem to be going away, again people acted as community during this difficult time. Watching out for neighbours and our elderly; again, showing our inherent care and kindness. Covid has also brought out many more people to brace the waters and enjoy sea swimming, and as a swimmer myself with all my lady friends in The Ducks at the Cove, it was great to see so many new people taking up this wonderful activity. Clean beaches, clean air and freezing cold water – Brhhhhhh. But when you get out slightly pink and numb, you feel great for the rest of the day.

On matters Tidy Towns. We won our gold medal for all our volunteers’ hard work and commitment. As the incoming chair, I can only thank Marie Mc Cooey, who has steered the ship for the past number of years and did an amazing job. Big boots to fill, but I have a wonderful committee voted in at our AGM and we have major plans for Greystones in the coming years. You can follow us on Facebook and our website or contact the numbers on the website to find out more.

Remember all the efforts of Tidy Towns has only one goal – to make Greystones a more beautiful town than it is. So I urge people, if you have any free time, why not come and join us? There is a great buzz and also the social side – coffee and cakes after our Wednesday and Saturday work parties are always great fun. So, it’s not all grind; the social aspect is very important.

So may 2023 be a more peaceful and prosperous year where we don’t loose sight of what makes us what we are and may we continue to keep that spirit of Kindness and compassion that defines us.

Jake Mitchell Kilcoole’s Future Taoiseach
My reasons to be cheerful this year are…

I am thrilled to have been granted €250,000 from the council under the town and village renewal scheme for my skatepark campaign and i am most excited to get this skatepark build for my community. I hope it will give everyone a reason to be cheerful! The awards I received this year were the icing on the cake. And I’ve made some great friends along the way.

The World Cup has to get a mention. Argentina had a rough first game in Qatar and a lot of doubt surrounded them but then they tore through the rest of the world cup and Messi got to win his last world cup it was as it was surely one last chance to win the game’s most famous trophy before he retires as the greatest player of all time.

Surely a great reason to be cheerful. Happy New Year to all, have a good one,

Tadhg O’Donnell Actual Champ
This has been a great year for me boxing-wise. I won a provincial and a national title and was selected to travel to Italy with Team Ireland to box in the Europeans. I had five fights in just over a week and I won them all. I was proud to stand on the podium with the Irish flag behind me and the national anthem playing.

It was great to have so much support from everyone in Greystones especially from Temple Carrig School. My hope for next year is that my club 4 Kings Boxing Club and my coach Ste Coughlan will be able to find a permanent home.

We need somewhere of our own so that we can put up a ring and bags and get more people down to the club.

Rachel Harper St Patrick National School’s Princess
As we approach the end of 2022, it is great to have the opportunity to reflect on the reasons to be cheerful. It feels important to take the time to appreciate all we have to be grateful for and to set our intentions for more of the good and what we enjoy for the year to come.

This year the Greystones community spirit continues to thrive and is evident at every turn. This Christmas has been extra special as school doors have been once again opened up to parents, grandparents and the wider community to watch concerts, plays and performances. The children have spread Christmas cheer and brought back the true spirit of Christmas following the last two years of Covid restrictions.

Harper & her minders…

There have been so many wonderful events: in our community centres, beaches, parks and at the Whale Theatre; celebrations where the community showed up for each other and joined together to create local events for people of all ages in the community to enjoy together.

The wonderful Greystones community have been as innovative and creative as ever. They’ve welcomed so many of our new friends and neighbours from Ukraine, have ensured the successful launch of the youth cafe, showing us that when we appreciate our own many reasons to be cheerful that joy can overflow and help others in the community to thrive too.

Alan Adamson Our Once & Future King
It’s important to always remember that tomorrow could be the best day of your life. And if you play your cards right, today could be the second-best day of your life.

You can jump back through Reasons To Be Cheerful from 2015 onwards here, and find out what the future holds right here.

Cover pic: Barry Osborne