News 2022

Fingal are hosting a pre Christmas event in Tyrrelstown next Sunday Dec 11th. The event is from 11.00 to 13.00. Parking, Assembly, Registration and Download will be in Tyrrelstown Community Centre. The Start and Finish will be close by. There will be 3 Courses availably, all direct line distance. All courses will be of a flat nature and will involve urban and parkland running.
Long (circa 6.4km) map scale 1:5000 24 controls
Medium (c. 4.2km) map scale 1:5000 18 controls
Short (c. 2.4km) Map scale 1:4000 12 controls
All maps will be on A4 waterproof paper.

Online entry is on orienteering.ie.

Tyrrelstown is north west of Blanchardstown. It is signposted from the N3 and the N2.

The event will be signed from the Tyrrelstown shopping area roundabout. The community centre is beside the Educate Together national school. Registration and Download will be in a room within the Community Centre, close to the lobby and the toilets. Coffee and Tea should also be available there for a small cost, courtesy of the community centre.

Location courtesy of Open Street Map

View Larger Map

Thanks to all who came to our league event in Dartry Forest, Cootehill on Sunday. There was some rain early on but it cleared up after 11.30 when most people were still starting. Most comments were favourable on a very enjoyable run in the mature forest. Numbers were a bit disappointing, only 4 on the Brown course and very few juniors on the shorter courses. Many in Leinster clubs are reluctant to travel more than an hour, however we did have a few from Fermo and LVO and one or two locals. Also Fingal members, Frank Flood and Ken McCarthy that we haven't seen in a while. Those that did attend will hopefully pick up better league points in the absence of others.

Results are here on the Orienteering Ireland website. Please upload or draw you routes on RouteGadget as it's very interesting for planners and others to see how people tackled the courses.

Thanks to all Fingal members who helped out, Sarah, Tommy, Val, Ian, Ciaran, Eileen, Gabrielle, Bernie, Dave, Anyta, Per, Nicola, Frank, Alan, Eoin, Liam, Chris, Kathryn and Donal.

Mushrooms in Cootehill forest

Fingal Leinster League 2022 round 11 on Sunday November 20th, Cootehill Dartry Forest. Although Cootehill town is in Cavan most of the forest is the other side of the river which is county Monaghan. The forest was mapped by the army back in 1984 but was felled and hasn't been used for a long time. It has matured again and is remapped this summer by Tommy and Val. The area is typical Drumlin hill terrain with the classic teardrop shaped hills. Most of the forest on the drumlin hills is runnable coniferous forest. There are also some sections of mature oak and beech woods. Around the lake shores there are some dense vegetation sections including some rhododendrons. There are no rock features in the forest and very few brambles.

Parking and registration will be at Rockcorry national school on the R188, 54.113803, -7.028206, Eircode H18FD93. Online entry will be open shortly on orienteering.ie. Please enter online as we cannot guarantee maps being available if you turn up on the day.
Adults: €8 Children: €5 Student: €5 Unwaged: €5 OAP: €5 Family: €20.

There will be an extra charge for entry on the day.

Provisional Course Details

Course	Length Km	Climb
Yellow	2.0	10 m
Orange	3.1	25 m
Red	4.4	45 m
Light Green	3.8	50 m
Green	4.9	115 m
Blue	6.9	170 m
Brown	9.5	225 m

Control Descriptions

All courses will be printed on waterproof A4 paper. The scale of the Brown will be 1:15000. The other courses will be 1:10000. Control descriptions will be on the map.

Note that most drainage ditches and extraction rides are not mapped as there are too many of them. On the Brown course a bridge that has to be crossed and the road leading to it may be flooded, but is only ankle deep. The Yellow course is not suitable for buggies.

The area did include Dartry house and Fairfield house but both are just ruins. However Lady Dawson Temple on Black Island is being restored. The Brown and Blue courses will pass close to it.

Location map courtesy of OpenStreetmap

View Larger Map

M14 Leinster Champion Liam O'Donnell

The Northern Ireland and Leinster Championships took place recently. The Northern Ireland Champs were on a new map, Carntogher in South Derry. The terrain was open mountain with some intricate contour detail and old turf cuttings. Luckily the worst of the rain held off while the competition tool place. Fingal prize winners were Eileen Young, 1st W55, Kathryn Walley, 2nd W60, and Val Jones 1st M65.

The Leinster Championships took place in very testing conditions. Rain, mist, and low visibility on Slieve Foye, Carlingford, meant the navigation was very tricky in the rocky terrain. It was an achievement to even find all the controls. Fingal prizewinners were Liam O'Donnell 1st M14, Jean O'Neill 1st W75, and Val Jones 1st M65.

The Munster Championships is in Tramore on the 13th of November.

Pipers at Malahide Start

The final event of 2022 Scatter league took place at Malahide. We had fine dry weather and a large entry including scout groups from Portmarnock, River Valley Swords, and Ardlea Whitehall. Thanks to all who came. We had the prize giving for the league with prizes for the first 3 in each category as well as a few special prizes.

Final Scatter league table after 3 events

Apologies for control 111. It was at an alternative location proposed for it, not the location on the map. The courses were adjusted so only 17 counted on the long and 12 on the medium.

More photos here.

Hopefully next year we will return, and revert to 4 events in the league.

2022 Scatter League Table

Scatter league table after 2 events.

Please let us know by email or before the start at Malahide if you are in the wrong category. There will be a prize giving when everyone has finished for first 3 in each category.

Ciaran giving directions at the Start

Thanks to all who came out to the Ardgillan event on Sunday in spite of the weather. The rain really came down just as we were starting at 12. Everyone came back safely if pretty wet. At least it wasn't cold. There's something satisfying in getting out and braving conditions like that.

Thanks to the O'Donnell brothers Liam and Eoin for planning the event, and Ciaran Young for controlling and organising. Also Ian and Chris for SI, Bernie and Nicola for registration, and everyone else for helping.

Results are on the Orienteering Ireland website.

If Con, M90, can do it so can you

The final event will be in Malahide Castle next Sunday, 18th. Lets hope we get better weather. 2 out of the 3 events count towards prizes.

More photos here.

Fingal Scatter Series #2 Ardgillan Castle Demesne

The second event will take place at Ardgillan Demesne (Castle) on Sunday, September 11th, https://ardgillancastle.ie. The third and final event in the league will be at Malahide Park on September 18th.

These are come-and-try-it events and so are suitable for beginners and families, with mass starts at each event at 12PM.

Three courses will be available;
Long (collect 18 out of 20 controls)
Medium (collect 13 controls)
Short (collect 8 controls).

Points will be awarded to competitors at each event and prizes will be awarded to overall winners at the final event in Malahide Park. Entries are open online via the orienteering.ie website https://www.orienteering.ie/fixtures/ardgillan-demesne and will close on 9/9/2022 @23.59PM.

For those using public transport, the 33 bus, which goes to Lower Abbey St towards Balbriggan, alight at the ‘Ladyies Stairs’ between Skerries and Balbriggan, use the stairs to cross over the road and railway and climb the hill all the way to the top of the park. If driving, follow the permanent road signage for Argillan Castle from Balrothery. Parking will be in the overflow carpark, on the grass to the left at the first roundabout once you enter the park.

Toilets are available near to the parking/start, in the normal paved car park area.

For those coming to the event with children, Ardgillan Castle has a tour which can be booked and a playground along with a café.

Please also note that for each of the scatter events, Sportident will be used. SIAC will be enabled (again!).

Scatter League 1 Newbridge House

Fingal Members at Newbridge House

Thanks to all who came to the first 2022 Scatter League event at Newbridge House. We had a fine sunny morning after the overnight rain. It was good to see many new faces as well as the regular Leinster orienteers. Results are on the Orienteering Ireland website. There were a few hicups but they should be sorted now. Let us know of any issue. We have finally moved on from using punch cards for the scatter events. Mind you one guy missed certain advantages of punch cards over SI for these events. It was also good to have the club founder Frank Flood attending.

The 2nd event is at Ardgillan Demesne next Sunday, September 11th. Ardgillan is between Skerries and Balbriggan. There are plenty of brown county council signs to the park from the M1 and from Skerries.

The best public transport option is the 33 bus. Get off at the coast between Skerries and Balbriggan and take the footbridge over the railway into the park, then walk up to the car park.

The event format is the same as at Newbridge House.

The IOA coach Mark Stephens ran the first introduction to orienteering at Newbridge. He will be continuing at Ardgillan.

More photos here.

Fingal Scatter League 2022

The Fingal scatter series is back!

The first event will take place at Newbridge House Demesne on Sunday, September 4th. The second will take place at Ardgillan Demesne on September11th, and the third at Malahide Park on September 18th. These are come-and-try-it events and so are suitable for beginners and families, with mass starts at each event at 12PM.

Three courses will be available; long (collect 18 out of 20 controls), medium (collect 13 controls) and short (collect 8 controls). Points will be given to competitors at each event and prizes will be awarded to overall winners at the final event in Malahide Park.

Scatter series #1 Newbridge House Demesne

Entries will open online on 27/8/2022 @11AM via the orienteering.ie website www.orienteering.ie/fixtures/newbridge-house/ and will close on 2/9/2022 @23.00PM.

For those using public transport, the Dundalk/Drogheda train, which leaves from Pearse, Tara St and Connolly stations, goes to Donabate, a 15 minute walk from the park. The 33b bus, which goes to Donabate from Swords, stops outside the main gates of the park. If driving, follow signs for Donabate on the M1. The park is located on the R126 close to Donabate village.

For those coming to the event with children, Newbridge House Demesne also has a farm which can be booked online. There is also a cafe.

Fingal Orienteers are looking forward to seeing you all at our first scatter event since 2019!.

Irish Championships 2022

Some Fingal members after the IOC relays in Killarney National Park.

The Irish Championships finally took place in Kerry on the May bank holiday weekend, 29th April - 2nd May, having been originally planned for 2020.

Cork and Kerry Orienteers put on a great weekend assisted by a few others, including our own Sarah Ní Ruairc. The event was centred in Killarney where plenty of accommodation and other attractions were available. The event probably had the highest ever entries for an Irish Championships. There were visitors from Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland including 2 buses of Scandinavian senior orienteers, mostly in the M/W 60, 65, 70 classes.

Day 1 was a sprint event in Muckross house. Muckross has been used many times going back to the eighties, but I believe it's the first time for a sprint event around the house gardens. The map by Tony Cotter was excellent and it was quite technical and different to the more typical urban or campus sprints.

Day 2 was the Middle Distance championships at Cappanalea adventure center. The Saturday was a lovely sunny day with great views of the Magilicuddy reeks. The terrain was tough going, on open moorland boggy in places and plenty of heather.

Day 3 was the Long Distance or classic Irish Championships. It was held on the more typical West Cork / Kerry open terrain of complex contours and abundent rock features. The final controls on most courses were in a very technical forest. Cork O ran this day on the Crohane Lake map that was used for the World cup event and many Shamrock Oringen events. There was a little bit of drizzle but it didn't impact very much on the competitors.

Day 4 was the Irish Championship Relays held at Knockreer House and surrounding parkland, part of Killarney national park. The slope outside the house was a great location for viewing the spectator control and changeover, but it did add a climb back up to the finish. The terrain was not as technical as Muckross but was a good relay area.

Fingal Prizewinners

Liam O'Donnell 2nd M14 Sprint, 3rd M14 Middle, 2nd M14 Long.
Orla Young 1st Orange Middle
Donal Kearns 2nd Mens Short, Middle
Alan O'Donnell 3rd M40 Sprint, 2nd M40 Middle, 3rd M40 Long
Sarah Ní Ruairc 3rd W40 Long
Eileen Young 2nd Irish W55 Sprint, 3rd Irish W55 Long
Kathryn Walley 3rd Irish W60 Sprint
Val Jones 2nd (1st Irish ) M65 Sprint, 3rd Irish M65 Middle, 2nd Irish M65 Long.
Tommy Burke 3rd Irish M65 Sprint
Jean O'Meill 1st W75 Sprint, 1st W75 Middle

Also there were Eoin O'Donnell, Sean Kearns, David and Ronan Smyth, Gabrielle King, Ian Murphy, Sinead and Ciaran Young

In the relays our junior team of Liam and Eoin O'Donnell and Sinead Young came 3rd in the J48 Class. It's good that we were able to field a junior team again.

We also had 4 other teams in the Premier Open and the Handicap 18 class.

All results are on the Orienteering Ireland website

Photos from the 4 days

Photos by John Shiels Action Photography.

The Rally of the Lakes was taking place in Killarney on the weekend. A lot of the rally followers were cruising around at night showing off their motors. Sometimes it seemed like a competition to see who had the loudest exhaust.

Sean and Jean at JK 2022 in south Wales.

Fingal on Tour @ JK2022

Background

Jan Kjellström International Festival of Orienteering 2022 Wales

15th April - 18th April

The JK” is named after a young Swedish orienteer, Jan Kjellstrom, who was instrumental in starting off orienteering in Britain. He was the son of the founder of the Silva compass company but he was killed in a car accident in 1967. The JK is held in a different region every year but hasn’t happened since 2019 due to Covid. In 2011 the JK was held in Northern Ireland. The competitions consist of a sprint, middle, long and relay over the four days, starting at Swansea University, then two events on areas of open limestone hills and old mine workings, followed by a relay in an army camp. It’s a great event to attend if you’d like a taste of big international competitions. 110 Irish travelled to the JK and 10 Fingal Orienteers club members participated over the four days.

Day 1; Sprint

Day 2; Middle Distance

Day 3; Classic (Long) Distance

Day 4; Relay

Trip Report by Eoin O’Donnell (M16)

My experience of the JK this year was great. I discovered that Wales has a beautiful landscape and definitely one of the greatest places to travel on holidays or sightseeing. The event was also amazing because I got to meet new people. It's been a while since I had seen crowds that big and there was plenty of time after my race to meet new people and become friends.

There is a big set up for the events and it was very well organised, with shuttle buses up to the start and afterwards when you're done your race there were food stalls and shops orienteering kits, o-shoes and compasses.

The orienteering itself was great and was a different terrain than what I was used to but when I wasn't orienteering we went on hikes, built a campfire and went camping in a tent. The orienteering courses were tough and sometimes when I was out on the course I was so focused on not losing contact with the map that I forgot the little things like checking out the number on the markers.

I feel it's a big step up to the level of the courses set at the Jk but if you stay in contact with your map and keep a good pace you could perform very well. But my overall experience of it was great and I would do it again next year.

JK coordinator's report

Results

Photos From organisers and attendees

Planner, Controller, and Orgainiser, Ian, Angus, and Alan.

Great day and great sunny weather by the sea in Cahore on Sunday. Thanks to all who came to our Leinster League event. Everyone seemed to enjoy the courses planned by Ian Murphy and controlled by Angus Tyner of Setanta. Thanks to Alan O'Donnell on his first role as orgniser. Therewere no significant problems on the day. The main complaint was that people forgot how energy sapping running on soft sand can be. But there were plenty of runnable paths and times were generally fast. Some people were caught out by overshooting when to leave a path to hit the controls. Thanks again to all the helpers on the day.

Result are here at orienteering.ie

More photos here.

Cahore / Old Bawn beach.

The next Fingal Event is a Leinster League Event at Cahore South beach, Co. Wexford. The event is on Sunday March 27th. We have only used the Cahore sand dunes twice before, for the 2013 Leinster Championships and a league event in 2015. The regular 7 league courses will be available. Ian Murphy is planning with Angus Tyner of Setanta controlling for us.

The event is open to everybody. Courses are designed to suit all ages and levels of experience. You don't have to be a member of a club to take part.

Course	Length	Controls
Brown	9.3	31
Blue	7.2	20
Green	5.1	17
Light Green	3.8	15
Red	4.7	16
Orange	2.8	12
Yellow	1.4	11

Control Descriptions.

Climb is variable depending on route but not significant.

Entry is online only though the IOA website. There will be no entry on the day.

Click here to enter.

SI Air will not be enabled. Currently the forecast is looking good so come along and enjoy. Will any brave bodies attempt a swim afterwards?

Location map

Grid Reference of Parking - T 217 462

Directions - From North / Dublin Take M/N11 South. After Arklow take exit signposted for Ballycanew and follow R741 to Ballycanew. At Ballycanew take road left/east and follow to the end at a T Junction with the R742. Turn right, ignore left turn for Cahore, follow R742 through Ballygarrett. 2 Kilometers after Ballygarrett turm left, sigposted for Old Bawn. Drive 2 kilometers to Old Bawn beach.

From South - From Enniscorthy take R744 East and follow signs for Kilmuckridge. From Wexford take R742 North to Kilmuckridge. At Kilmuckridge take R742 North for ~6 Kilometers, then take right turn, sigposted for Old Bawn. Drive 2 kilometers to Old Bawn beach.

Fingal and friends group at Dundalk IT.

Eileen organised a training event for us at the Dundalk institute of technology campus. Nice sprint practice around the campus on Eileen's new map of the campus using Maprun.

Night-O Controller, Planner, and Orgainiser, Val, Chris, and Ian.

Thanks to all who came to the Night O event and the Sunday event at the Sports Ireland Campus.

Both events went off well in good weather conditions for January. The Saturday night wasn't too cold, there was a full moon, dry, and no wind. The Sunday event was nice and sunny. Attendance was good for both events and there were many newcomers at both trying out both the night orienteering and the come and try it on the Sunday. There were also many familiar faces including new Sports Ireland chief Una May at the Night-O.

Sunday Orgainiser, Planner, and Controller, Ian, Sean, and Eileen.

Result are here at orienteering.ie

Abbotstown House.

More photos here.>

Sports Ireland Campus

The next Fingal events are a night event and a come and try it event the next day on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th of January. The events are both in the Sports Ireland Campus, Snugborough Rd., Blanchardstown. (D15 EPN4).

They are on a new map redrawn by Eileen Young. December 2021 from the 2020 map updated by Val Jones and Eileen Young, from the original by Laurence Quinn and used by kind permission of Orienteering Ireland. The events take place entirely in the Sport Ireland Campus and does NOT cross into the Tolka Valley Fingal map. The area is a mix of campus-style buildings, playing pitches, and green forested areas. Map scake : 1:5000

Directions to both Events

The event is located at the Sport Ireland Campus, Blanchardstown, Dublin, which is close to the M50 and N3/M3

This can be found HERE

The Start and Finish of both events are located at Abbotstown House in the centre of the Sport Ireland Campus, NOT at the National Aquatic centre by the main entrance. This is not simple to get to, so here are detailed directions from the main gate. O-Signage will be available from the main Sport Ireland Campus gate.

Please leave plenty of time to get there to be assured of a start as the M50 and Blanchardstown areas can be notoriously jammed up.

If driving or cycling you will need to pass two barriers. One is at the first roundabout and should lift automatically - no need for payment. The second should always be up at the first right turn. When coming back (carefully) change lanes as the barrier at the right turn will not lift. However the barrier at the roundabout will lift ( again no payment required at any barrier ). There is ample car parking and Abbotstown House is brightly lit at night.

If using public transport there are several bus options 220, 238, 38, 38a from the City Centre and Blanchardstown shopping centre. Walk through to Abbotstown House which should take about 15 mins from the main gate.

Control Descriptions for both events

You can download and print the control descriptions. There will be no loose descriptions at the event but they will be on the front of the maps.

Sunday Come And Try it event details

Start times : 11:00-13:00
Courses available ( PRE-ENTER ON orienteering.ie ONLY)

Short : 2km
Medium : 4km
Long : 8km

Climb is negligible on all courses

SI will be used for timing and rental SI cards will be available on the day

The short course will mostly be on paths with some controls slightly off paths, having to go through grass or unpaved to reach these. The medium course is a mix on paths and off, not too difficult. The long course has a bit of everything and will go through woods at different stages so full leg wear is recommended.

Organiser : Ian Murphy
Planner : Sean Kearns
Controller : Eileen Young.

Saturday Night Event details

Start times : 18:00-19:00

Classes available ( PRE-ENTER ON orienteering.ie ONLY

Short : 4K km
Long : 8K km

Climb is negligible on all courses. SI will be used for timing. Rental SI cards will be available.

Please note that this is NOT a sprint event, the long and short courses make use of the National Cross Country running track areas and forest so dress as for normal orienteering.

This is night orienteering so a torch is REQUIRED.

Organiser : Ian Murphy
Planner : Chris Slattery
Controller : Val Jones

NEWS 2022

Scatter League 1 Newbridge House

Fingal Scatter League 2022

Irish Championships 2022

Fingal Prizewinners

Fingal on Tour @ JK2022

Trip Report by Eoin O’Donnell (M16)