Committee member Miriam Sweeney, who is the woman behind our Skerries Beach Toy Library, writes:

On the lovely sunny morning of Sunday 7th July 2024, the Skerries Beach Toy Library was launched. It is located on Skerries South Strand, on the beach, at the bottom of the path between the main public toilets and the lifeguard’s hut. A small sign on the fence at the footpath points the way.

Beach toy libraries put unwanted toys to good use and help reduce plastic waste. They also help parents save money and avoid the need to carry lots of toys on beach trips. Simply borrow the toys from the box, play with them, and return them when you are finished.
This initiative stemmed from a suggestion in the Chat4SustainableSkerries WhatsApp group; where a member spotted a beach toy box in Clogherhead, Co. Louth, and mentioned how great it would be to have something similar in Skerries.

The Sustainable Skerries Committee agreed and sprang into action. Councillor Karen Power got the go-ahead from Fingal County Council, the Men’s Shed kindly agreed to make a signboard and the Foróige group volunteered to design the sign.

Then we only needed a box and some toys to launch for the summer holidays! We got a great response, with many likes and positive comments on social media.

On the launch day, we were delighted to welcome local families, passers-by members of the Skerries Community Association, Skerries Tidy Towns, of our own committee, and people generously bringing toy donations. You may have seen some photographs of children happily playing with the toys on our social media, this even made the Skerries News the following week.

You may also recall that Tuesday 9th July was very stormy, more suited to kitesurfing than playing with beach toys. We are grateful to the thoughtful person who put stones on the lid of the toy box to stop it from blowing open.

Since then, the toy library has seen great use, not just by the many visitors to the beach but also by the sand beetles found sheltering underneath it one day when moved for maintenance! The box is already showing some wear and tear though, we’ve been patching it up but we intend to put something sturdier in place in the medium to longer term. If anyone could help with that, we would be delighted to hear from you.

We are also happy to accept further donations of good-quality beach toys. They can be dropped directly into the box. If it happens to be full, please let us know, and we’ll keep the toys in reserve to replace worn ones.

Thanks again to the many people who contributed to this great initiative, which we aim to run from April to September annually.

Would you like to join the Chat4SustainableSkerries WhatsApp group, where this initiative started? Send your name and phone number in an email to sustskerries@gmail.com and we’ll add you!