About Us
Mission
BELIEVE Balbriggan is a community-led initiative that celebrates the people, places, and organisations that make Balbriggan a vibrant and connected town. The Expo brings together local services, groups, enterprises, and residents to strengthen community pride, visibility, and participation, while promoting a strong keep-it-local ethos.
BELIEVE stands for
Belonging
Creating connection and a sense of inclusion for all
Empowerment
Supporting confidence, skills, and self-belief
Living
Enhancing wellbeing, health, and quality of life
Involvement
Encouraging participation and shared ownership
Enterprise
Supporting creativity, learning, and economic opportunity
Volunteering
Giving time, skills, and energy to the community
Engagement
Active connection with people, ideas, and place
These seven values reflect the heart of the project—supporting people to belong, participate and thrive in their community.
What is BELIEVE Balbriggan
A Community Concept Born in Balbriggan – Powered by People
BELIEVE Balbriggan is a new community building concept created in 2025 through the Balbriggan Residents Association Network.
Janette Scott, Community Officer with Fingal County Council saw first-hand how much amazing work was happening across our town—yet how difficult it was for residents to know what was going on, who was doing it, and how to get involved.
With so many services, agencies, sports clubs, cultural groups, and voluntary organisations active in Balbriggan, the challenge was clear:
How do we connect all this information back to the ordinary households that make up our community?
The idea was simple—create a shared space where everyone can learn, connect, participate and BELIEVE in the power of community.
Where It All Started
The Big Expo
The concept took shape at the Balbriggan Residents Association Network meeting, when Aisha Alameen Betro introduced the Aisha AED Initiative. Her goal—to reach every household with lifesaving cardiac awareness—aligned perfectly with the community goal of sharing local opportunities, supports, and services.
Together with Aisha, Mary Osakwe (Chairperson of Taylor Hill Residents Association), and Annemarie Brady (Tidy Towns, Community Council) the idea grew quickly.
A team of four women, with one goal: Bring Balbriggan together under one roof and showcase everything positive happening in the town.
Many meetings later—and with growing momentum—the vision for a major community Expo and community record to improve mental health and combat loneliness was born.
A Leading-Edge Idea
The Balbriggan Community Digital Detox Record
One of the first big ideas was to launch a Community Record Digital Detox—a new and powerful way for Balbriggan to stand out nationally.
We know how addictive screens can be and how much digital overload affects families, young people, older residents, and everyone in between. Loneliness and disconnection can happen to anyone, at any stage of life—and reducing screen time is one of the simplest ways to rebuild real, meaningful connection.
So instead of aiming for a world record (blocked due to account limitations), we created something even better:
Ireland’s First Community Digital Detox Record.
A challenge for every household in Balbriggan to:
Switch off the screens
Give time back to real life
Volunteer, help others, and reconnect
Log their hours across five community categories
See the town’s collective impact grow in real time
This initiative launched on Safer Internet Day – 10 February 2026, supported by a panel discussion on keeping young people safe online.
It is now a legacy project linked to the BELIEVE Balbriggan concept and a model for future community campaigns.
Why BELIEVE Balbriggan Matters
✔ Strengthening community bonds
Creating a central space where residents can meet groups, discover supports, and build real-world connections.
✔ Supporting volunteer groups
The Digital Detox Record directly encourages people to offer time, skills, and energy to the organisations that need them most.
✔ Reducing loneliness in every age group
Loneliness does not discriminate—we all experience it at different times. BELIEVE Balbriggan offers new pathways to get involved, meet others, and feel part of something bigger.
✔ Improving access to local information
By bringing everything into one platform and one annual Expo, residents get clear, easy access to what’s happening.
✔ Celebrating the best of Balbriggan
Showcasing talent, creativity, innovation, and progress across the town.
A Lasting Legacy for Our Town
BELIEVE Balbriggan is more than an event— it’s a long term community movement.
It is built to grow year after year, supporting local partnerships, strengthening neighbourhoods, and giving every resident the chance to be part of shaping Balbriggan’s future.
The BELIEVE Balbriggan team: Check out our team page for the people behind the BELIEVE Balbriggan initiative.