Dublin South RTA

Please be advised that the Cornmarket Health Insurance Webinar is now open for registration. The webinar will take place on Tue 25 November from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

The link to register for the webinar is here – https://cornmarket.newsweaver.com/RTAIHealthInsuranceWebinarNovember25th-4po9l5ws9nk/event/1wsbn89hzys/m/0011jeqbir02x5dmqykqpw/submit.html?cs=77393&action=y

I would be grateful if you could share this with the members in your branch, for consideration.

Many thanks and have a lovely weekend. 

Our November Social Walk will find us 9 km from the city, in the foothills of the Dublin mountains, at the 300acre historic Marlay Park.

DATE: Wednesday 19 November 2025.

VENUE: Marlay Park, Rathfarnham.

LEADER: Carmel Corcoran … with a brief talk on Marlay Grange Park by Mary Connolly.

We will enjoy a coffee break together after the walk.

MEET at 10.30 am in front of Marlay House, off Grange Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin,16.

TRANSPORT: Buses 16, 74, and S8 travel along the Grange Road.

CAR PARKS: There is a car park beside Marlay House, enter from Grange Road.   

A second car-park is located off College Road,Rathfarnham.  The meeting point, Marlay House, is a short walk downhill.

Looking forward to your company on our last social walk for 2025.

Carmel Corcoran Mobile 087 937 3016

Cora Quinn Mobile 087 989 1610

Social walks are held monthly on the third Wednesdayof the month. Flat or   nearly flat walks that are approximately 5km. Some walks will be shorter but include a cultural aspect. Comfortable trainers or walking shoes recommended. Note there is no Social Walk in December 2025. There is always a stop for refreshments arranged for after each walk.

Starting point: Visitors’ Centre where there is plenty of parking, a café and toilets. If you are entering the park from Parkgate Street go to the roundabout with the Phoenix monument in the centre and take the third exit, coming from the Castleknock side take the first exit, you should then see a small sign for the visitors centre. If you arrive by public transport walk from the Parkgate street entrance as far as that Phoenix Monument roundabout, take the signed road to the visitors centre.  It’s approximately a 30 min walk from Parkgate Street to the Visitor Centre. Bus number 99 runs every half hour from Parkgate Street to the Visitors Centre.

Departure Time: 10.30

Duration: Two and a half to three hours, 11.5 KM.

Footwear: As it is mostly flat and on good tracks, trail shoes would be suitable.

Route: 

Please Note:  The route we will follow this year is a little different to previous years, and will not include a lunch\snack break.  Toilets are available at the start and finish of the walk.

We will leave Visitors’ Centre and cross Chesterfield avenue to the new Commemoration Avenue. From there we will go via the Furry Glen to the side entrance at Chapelizod and exit onto Park Lane.   From there it will take us about 10 minutes to get to the Liffeysidepathway. This will bring us to the War Memorial Gardens where we will do a circuit through the rose gardens. When we leave this area we will return to the Phoenix Park at Islandbridgeand passing the Wellington monument do a circuit of the Peoples Gardens.  We will then proceed by  the Band Hollow, the Victorian Tea Rooms and  return the Visitors’ Centre.

Walk Leader: Patrick Hogan. if you need any further information you can contact me on 0863150312.

Our guest speaker for the session will be Ms Cathy Mc Hale, Clinical Nurse Specialist  Institute of Memory and Cognition , Tallaght Univ Hospital. She is part of a multi disciplinaryteam that brings together expertise in neurology and geriatric medicine. Cathy will present on the topic of “Brain Health” and her talk will focus on the following (but not confined to)

Brief account of her work in TUH

Changes in the brain as we “mature”

Cognitive enhancement via diet, lifestyle, activities

Cognitive impairment via diet, lifestyle, illness

Alzheimer  v Dementia  , early signs of A & D

Coping  with A & D

Q & A 15 mins

We  expect this talk to be most interesting and informative  and thus we hope to have a large attendance in the hall to hear Cathy. Feel free to ask any related question you may have during the Q & A session. If you would like me to raise a question on your behalf email me your question and I will pass it on to Cathy( mmacfhlann@gmail.com is my email address)

So, colleagues, mark Wed 5 Nov 2025 in your diary and we look forward to seeing you at the session

Cathy McHale works as a Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner in the Institute of Memory

& Cognition – a Regional Specialist Memory Clinic in Tallaght University Hospital (TUH).

She holds a Bachelors degree in English and Psychology, Higher Diplomas in Computer

Science and in Safety Health and Welfare at work, a Diploma in Gerontological Nursing and a

Masters in Advanced Practice from TCD. She has worked across many nursing specialities

including end of life care, intellectual disability and the acute setting. She has worked for over

15 years in care of the older persons with a special interest in dementia, delirium, brain health

and the humanities and involved in the specialist memory clinic -established in 2014. She has

contributed to National Working Groups on delirium and frailty and to a national integration

group for the ASI Dementia Adviser Service. Her current role includes the assessment of

patients (including neuropsychological screening), and delivery of Post-Diagnostic Support.

She contributes to the Research arm of the TUH Memory Service and is part of clinical trial activity there.

Our cycle on Tuesday next, 21st October, is a gentle, leisurely cycle from Wellington Lane, Templeogue, to Bohernabreena water works via Tymon Park, Balrothery, Firhouse Weir, Dodder Valley and Kiltipper Park. 

Most of the cycle is off road and, with the exception of a short ascent on Kiltipper Road, is relatively flat. Much of the route is along Dodder Valley park. Cyclists who wish to avoidcycling up Kiltipper Hill may take an easier diversion and rejoin the group in Kiltipper Park.

Our meeting point for this cycle is the SDCC carpark on Wellington Lane – beside St. Jude’s GAA Club House. The extension to the car park has now been completed and there should be adequate spaces for those who wish to drive to the meeting point. All the paths through Tymon Park are now open and we will commence our cycle through the park.

We will move off at 10.30 from the carpark. Please ensure that your bike is in good working order; wearing a helmet is compulsory and a high vis top is recommended in the interestof your safety

We will stop for the coffee/lunch break on our return journeyto Templeogue.

Looking forward to a good turnout on this popular route. 

Mick Griffin

Pat Fitzgerald.

Tim McKenna 086 3704396 will be leading a harder hike Wednesday 22nd October in the Oldbridge/Lough Dan area.

Meet at Roundwood 10.30am at the Coachhouse Inn (on the left coming from Dublin) for car pooling. (Parking is tight at the start of the hike.)

We will travel in convoy about 2 miles to the start of the walk.

To get to the start of the hike (it’s well signposted for Lough Dan/Oldbridge): Take the first right at Roundwood (almost opposite the Coachhouse) and follow the signs for Lough Dan. Cross a stone bridge and shortly after turn right at the T junction. There are two parking places on the left a few hundred metres up this road. We will depart from the second one.

The walk is: Path overlooking Lough Dan – Brown Mountain – Kanturk – Scarr Mountain – Carrigeenshinnagh – Cars. 10 kms, 500m ascent. About 4.5 hours.

Mostly on tracks, sometimes rough and wet. One or two short steep climbs. Boots and full rain gear essential. Bring something to eat/drink as well as walking poles and gaiters if you have them. Possible meal/coffee afterwards in Roundwood. If the forecast is poor, contact Tim 086 3704396 to see if the walk is going ahead.

As this is one of the harder hikes on our calendar and as there is no suitable place to drop out on the route, please do not come unless you are sure you can complete it. It would be very disappointing if the group has to turn back to accommodate anyone unable to complete the hike/keep up.

West Pier, Dun Laoghaire

1. Miscellany on Tuesday 14th at 11.30 am in Teachers’ Club, also a note on Fred Conlon.
2. Reading Ulysses resumes on Tuesday in teachers; Club at 2.00pm
3. Social Walk on Wednesday 15th 

Cycle- Meet at the carpark beside the tower on Beach road ,Sandymount.

Set off at 10.30.Cycle via Blackrock Park, Dunlaoghaire, Coliemore  harbour,Killiney to Shankill.Return via Loughlinstown and N11 cycle lane to Leopardstown. From there some may return to Sandymount via Newtownpark Avenue.

For your own safety please wear a helmet and a hi vis top

Mick Griffin and Pat Fitzgerald

Time:  11.10 am (for those intending to travel by DART, there are arrivals at 10.40 am and 11.00 am)

Meet: Malahide Railway Station Car Park.

Route: Railway Ave,- Old St- Malahide Castle -Seamount Rd- Paddy’s Hill- Portmarnock Promenade- Coast Rd- Malahide. 

(For those who did the walk last year it’s basically the same route in reverse)

If time permits we’ll visit the Flight memorial at Portmarnock.

Car parking in Malahide can be problematic at times but basically €1 per hour. The Bridge Field car park (on the right just before the village), offers the first two hours free and €1 per hour thereafter. You must display a ticket or use the Parking Tag app.  There can be some spaces in the Railway Station car park if you’re lucky. There is plenty of free car parking at Malahide Castle upper car park and it’s a short walk down the drive to the station. The Coast Rd Car Park is also free (but apparently not for long). It’s about a 10 minute walk back to the village.

For those of you on a bus route, the 42 comes via the Malahide Rd, the H2 takes the Coast Rd. route via Raheny, Baldoyle and Partmarnock. The 102 goes between the Airport and Sutton Cross via Malahide.

I may offer some snippets of local history on the way but if I’m boring you please tell me to stop!!

On that note, Google the term Sheela-na-Gig. I’ll be showing you an example of one on the way.

There is a wide selection of coffee shops in the Village for afterwards.

Other than that, it just remains for those of you who have a Child of Prague statue to put it out in the back garden the night before to guarantee fine weather.

Happy trails,

Stephen Mac Donagh.