WexfordLocal.com

Nature restores the beauty of Clone Strand

By Dan Walsh at Clone Strand

Problems with flooding in the vicinity of the Ahare River and a cascading steam across Clone Strand preventing access to the beach and difficulties with spawning beds and access to the Inch River may have been solved… by nature itself!

Concerns raised at a recent public meeting held in the Golden Anchor, Castletown, and consistent lobbying by local public representatives, especially Cllr Joe Sullivan, but credit also to Cllrs Diarmuid Devereux, Anthony Donohoe and Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin, has elevated the North Wexford coastal difficulties into the public arena and calls for action from Wexford County Council.

On March 31st, WexfordLocal.com exclusively talked with Cllr Sullivan on Clone Strand surrounded by a two-metre sand cliff and a fast-flowing river that “placed public access in doubt” unless “a channel was cut allowing the river flow into the sea.”

A few days later and a direct river to sea channel naturally opened and, consequently, nature succeeds where the local authority has failed! Nature has of its own accord guided the river on a direct channel to the sea, replicating a tradition once operated by the locals until undermined by regulation.

**MARCH 31st… CLLR JOE SULLIVAN standing on Clone Strand beside a cascading river and a two-metre sand cliff top. (Pic; WexfordLocal.com**

Consequently, the newly created river through the beach has been eliminated and the sandy cliff is being met by sand drifted in from the sea and safe access from the public road to the beach has reopened. People were taking advantage this afternoon.

Another consequence is that stagnant water beside the Ahare River, at the bridge, has disappeared, there is no water on the road and the adjoining grassland is drying out.

This is a good news story, but undoubtedly the matter will be on the agenda for the special meeting dealing with climate change, coastal erosion, coastal flooding and rising sea levels taking place at Wexford County Council headquarters at Carricklawn, Wexford, on Tuesday.

Revenue sends 150,000 letters to property owners

By Dan Walsh

Revenue have published statistics on Local Property Tax (LPT) for the first quarter of 2023, detailing LPT collection of €314 million so far for 2023. The current payment compliance rate of 90% shows that most property owners have met their payment obligations.

Commenting on the importance of property owners making sure that they pay their LPT liability or set up a payment method now, without delay, Ms. Katie Clair, Head of Revenue’s LPT Branch, said:

‘’All residential property owners were required to set up their 2023 payment method by 10 January at the latest and the vast majority did exactly that. However, some property owners haven’t yet paid or set up a payment arrangement and they now leave themselves open to collection and enforcement action by Revenue.

“We have issued 150,000 letters to property owners who haven’t yet paid or set up a payment method to pay or arrange to pay. Property owners who fail to do so may be subject to a range of collection and enforcement actions by Revenue including mandatory Deduction at Source (DAS) from salary or pension, withholding of tax clearance certification, the application of surcharges on income tax, corporation tax and capital gains tax returns or offsetting of other tax refunds against LPT arrears.”

“I urge all property owners who haven’t made arrangements to pay their LPT to take immediate action and use this opportunity to ensure they are fully compliant with their LPT obligations,” concluded Ms. Clair.

Dog rescued from rocks off Ardamine

By Dan Walsh

Courtown RNLI were requested by the Irish Coast Guard on Thursday afternoon to rescue a dog that got separated from its owner and got stuck on the rocks below Ardamine Church.

The inshore lifeboat with helm Robbie Ireton and crew members Peter Browne and Amy Dowdall was launched around 2pm and arrived on the scene at 2.45pm.

On arrival Courtown Coast Guard’s shore unit were on scene but were not in reach of the dog due to the steep rocky terrain.

The conditions were favourable at the time with partial cloud and a slight wind.

Crew members Browne and Dowdall to managed to climb up on the rocks and work together to fasten a harness around the large dog. Due to its size and the slippiness of the rocks, this proved challenging, and the crew had to work to carry the dog carefully from rock to rock, until they managed to hand it safely over to the Coast Guard, who then reunited the dog with its relieved owner.

Speaking following the call out, Jim Murphy, Courtown RNLI Deputy Launching Authority said; “This was the first call out of the year and we were delighted to assist in reuniting the dog safe and well with its owner.

“We would encourage pet owners to keep their animal on a lead when close to cliff edges, and slippery surfaces. If your pet does go into the water or gets stuck on rocks, don’t attempt a rescue yourself, they will probably get out themselves. If you are worried and need help, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coast Guard,” concluded Mr. Murphy.

Easter Commemorations

Improved water quality in Curracloe

**JOE CARROLL, Infrastructure Delivery Programme Manager at Uisce Éireann is replacing aged mains with modern pipes in Curracloe from next week.**

By Dan Walsh

Uisce Éireann, working in partnership with Wexford County Council, today announced that it is replacing almost 1.5km of aged water mains with new modern pipes in Curracloe.

The project, which will commence next week, will provide a more reliable water supply, improve water quality, and reduce the amount of treated drinking water lost to leakage.

These works are being carried out by Shareridge Civil Engineering and Wexford County Council on behalf of Uisce Éireann and is expected to be completed in July.

This essential project will see works taking place in Ballinesker and Barnablake in Curracloe. The works will also involve laying new water service connections from the public water main in the road to customers’ property boundaries and connecting it to the customers’ water supply.

Speaking to WexfordLocal.com Joe Carroll, Infrastructure Delivery Programme Manager at Uisce Éireann, explained; “Old and damaged water mains are a huge source of leakage and continue to impact communities right across Ireland, causing low pressure and supply disruption. Replacing these old water mains in poor condition will eliminate existing leaks and significantly reduce the amount of clean drinking water lost into the ground.”

Mr. Carroll added; “I would like to thank the local community in advance for their patience and co-operation during the works. We know that based on previous experiences the short-term inconvenience will be overshadowed by the long-term benefits.”

Where water mains are being constructed traffic management will be in place, but the area of works will be limited to short sections to minimise the impact on customers. Local and emergency traffic will be always maintained.

Uisce Éireann’s customer care helpline is open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also make contact on Twitter @IWCare with any queries. For updates please visit the Water Supply Updates section of the Uisce Éireann website or set your location on the website www.water.ie

Tirlán opens regional HQ in Kilkenny

Pictured at the official opening of Tirlán’s new headquarters and collaborative hub at Abbey Quarter, Kilkenny is Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney TD who officiated at the opening with from left Tirlán Chairman John Murphy; Tirlán Office Facilities Manager Mary Banks and Tirlán Chief Executive Jim Bergin. (Pic; Dylan Vaughan).

By Dan Walsh

Tirlán, formerly known as Glanbia Ireland, the world-class food and nutrition co-operative, with a diverse portfolio of quality ingredients, leading consumer and agri brands, today officially opened its new headquarters and collaborative hub at Abbey Quarter, Kilkenny.

The new offices are designed as a blended workplace in line with Government aims on flexible working and the regeneration of towns and cities. The Tirlán headquarters and collaboration hub is located within the Abbey Quarter Development, which is an urban regeneration initiative between Kilkenny County Council and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF). It is based on the site of the former Smithwick’s Brewery and St Francis Abbey.

Speaking at the official opening, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney TD said: “I wish to congratulate all involved in this new venture. Regional Growth and the Rural Economy are central to the Government’s policy on the regeneration of towns and cities. In line with the policy priorities of the Government’s White Paper, the new Abbey Quarter places sustainability at the heart of its core values. Tirlán’s commitment to farmers and society at large as well as the wider food and nutrition sector outlines how they intend to work towards a fully sustainable future in line with the Government’s Climate Action Plan.”

Tirlán Chairman John Murphy said: “Today’s opening marks the next step on the Tirlán journey. It was an extraordinary time in the history of our co-operative. We are delighted to say that Tirlán is 100% farmer-owned and holds strong ambitions for farm families, our people and our fantastic portfolio of nutritional products and award-winning brands. We believe the Abbey Quarter collaboration hub will be a fantastic place to work together to build an even stronger future.”

Tirlán Chief Executive Jim Bergin said: “Our new collaboration hub is a core part of our vision for the future of our €3 billion world-class nutrition and food business. It is a symbol of our focus on working together which is enshrined in our values. Our business makes a difference to our communities, with a significant economic multiplier effect driving further local employment and prosperity. It is in line with our comprehensive ‘Living Proof’ sustainability strategy, which sets out clear ambitious targets and is our commitment to farming, food and the future.”

The hub has a footfall of over 650 employees a week, as the state-of-the-art facilities and meeting rooms are available for collaboration by those working across the 11 Tirlán high-tech processing facilities and 52 agri-branches throughout Ireland.

Tirlán recently marked a year since it acquired the full ownership of the dairy and grain operating business, formerly known as Glanbia Ireland. The now 100% farmer-owned co-operative trades under the new identity of Tirlán. It operates as an entirely separate entity to Glanbia plc, which retains its current name.

Tirlán’s portfolio includes many of Ireland’s best known and most loved Irish dairy brands, such as Avonmore, Kilmeaden, Premier, Wexford and international brands such as GAIN Animal Nutrition, Truly Grass Fed, Millac and Solmiko nutritional milk proteins. As a co-operative, Tirlán is 100% farmer-owned, with 11 high-tech processing facilities, 52 agri-branches, over 2,100 employees and sales revenue of over €3 billion.

Fiadh loses brave battle against illness

By Dan Walsh

Easter will be a sad occasion of public heartbreak interspersed with tears, prayers and compassion, and bottomless grief at the news of the sad passing of Fiadh O’Connor, Kilbride, The Ballagh, that occurred peacefully at her home short of celebrating her 5^th birthday.

Beautiful Fiadh, who had a public and media profile because of her terminal illness so bravely borne, surrendered her fight for life and died in her Mammy’s arms, holding her Daddy’s hand, surrounded by love.

Those who loved Fiadh described her as “an amazing, clever, kind, fun and most treasured and loved child who captured everyone’s heart.” R.I.P.

Fiadh will be forever loved and remembered by her parents Rory and Laura, her adored younger brother Páidí. Fiadh is predeceased by her beloved Grandad Jim and will be lovingly remembered by her Grandad Richard (Butch) O’Connor, nana Ger O’Connor, nana Mary Murphy, Great-Granny Peg Murphy, aunties Ciara, Sarah, Katie and Orlaigh Murphy and Ciara, Emma and Orla O’Connor and her uncles Eóin and Paul Murphy. Fiadh loved her cousins Séimí, Jay, “big” Conor, Sophie, Aoife, Fionn, “little” Conor, Ellie and Millie and they will always love her. She will be greatly missed by her Godfather James, Mikey, extended family, friends, teachers at Tara’s Montessori and all who supported her throughout her illness.

FAMILY ARRANGEMENTS; House for close family and friends from (today) 2pm on Thursday 6th April. Fiadh will be reposing in her home (Y21 N1K8) on Friday 7th April, 12-8pm – open to the public. Removal on Saturday morning to St. John the Baptist Church, The Ballagh, arriving for Funeral Service at 12 noon with burial afterwards.

House private on Saturday morning please.

New Wexford play revisits Civil War

By Dan Walsh

It is curtains up tonight (Thursday, 8pm) at Wexford Arts Centre for the Irish premiere of a play by home-grown talent Eoghan Rua Finn, titled Amongst Men which is a gripping theatrical production delivering powerful performances from stars of stage and screen, Mark Lambert and Noelle Brown.

Directed by Deirde Dwyer, Amongst Men is the latest play commissioned by Four Rivers theatre group and is set in the1960s in a tight-knit rural community in Wexford still riven by the legacy of the Civil War.

Eoghan Rua Finn is a playwright and a poet and is one of eight participants in the Wexford Playwrights Workshop, supported by Four Rivers, Wexford County Council and Wexford Arts Centre. Amongst Men is the fifth play Eoghan has written about Irish history. The Blackstairs Trilogy and Sons of Thunder were produced in 2016. Having worked so intensely on stories set against the backdrop of revolution, he felt like had no more to say on those topics, at least from a theatre perspective.

“However, when Wexford County Council asked for submissions in January 2022 to write a play around the theme of commemoration and Wexford’s role in the Irish Civil War, an idea came to me, and one that would allow me to explore the period through a different lens,” Eoghan told WexfordLocal.com.

“How might a woman, a participant of the three conflicts between 1916 and 1923, feel decades later when the dust had settled on the revolution but her vision for a more equal and compassionate Ireland had not come to pass?”

“With the assistance of Wexford Library and the Wexford County Archive, I began to research the Civil War period in Wexford to get a greater understanding of the people and events of the time.

“Killurin, in the parish of Glynn, is an ancestral home of mine. My maternal grandmother was born next to the railway track at Killurin Bridge and my grandfather worked for CIE as a goods inspector. Reading about the importance of Killurin as a point of attack during the War of Independence, and later the Civil War, there was no question as to where the play would be set.”

Amongst Men, with a cast of Mark Lambert, Noelle Brown, Arthur Riordan and Dylan Kennedy, is at Wexford Arts Centre from April 6^th-8^th and 12^th-15^th, starting at 8 pm. Contact the BOX OFFICE at 053 9123764 or boxoffice@wexfordartscentre.ie

Midweek winners for Wexford stables

By Dan Walsh

Midweek point-to-point races are rare enough but today’s Killeagh Harriers fixture went ahead at Ballyknock, Co. Cork, and returned handling victories for Wexford neighbouring stables of Colin Bowe and Sean Doyle.

**SEAN DOYLE enjoyed a point-tp-point winner in Cork today.**

First timer BD Cooper from the Monbeg Partnership and Sean Doyle’s Ballindaggin stables was the two lengths winner of the maiden race for four-year-old geldings with Jamie Scallan, Tomhaggard, up, beating Bowe’s Prends Garde A Toi ridden by Barry O’Neill. Handler Doyle saddled his 16^th winner of the current season, equalling last year’s total for the season, so a seasonal best is a likely bet with about eight weeks left to the end of the 22-’23 season.

But the O’Neill-Bowe partnership were compensated later when Painted Wolf, running in the colours of Benjamin Halsall, achieved a six lengths success in the maiden race for five-year- old geldings. Number 25 of the season for the reigning champion handler from Kiltealy.

€75,000 for ’98 Rebellion 225th commemoration programme

**The NATIONAL 1798 REBELLION CENTRE at Enniscorthy to host the 1798 Rebellion Summer Conference to mark the 225th anniversary of 1798.**

By Dan Walsh

Wexford County Council today announced that the Planning Department has received funding support of €75,000 from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media for the development of a countywide commemorative programme to mark the 225^th anniversary of the events surrounding the 1798 Rebellion in Co. Wexford in the coming months.

The funding, administered through the Decade of Centenaries Historical Strand, will support some specific projects related to commemoration such as public talks, walking tours, demonstrations, and a 1798 Summer Conference in Enniscorthy as part of the extensive countywide commemoration programme.

A local steering group has been established to oversee the funding with representatives from Wexford County Council, VisitWexford tourism and the National 1798 Rebellion Centre.

The significant dates for the commemorations programme are from May 26^th to June 21^st marking the historical anniversary of pivotal battles that took place at Oulart Hill, the Three Rocks, Wexford, New Ross, Carrigbyrne and Vinegar Hill in 1798.

Minister James Browne TD commented; “I am delighted the Department is supporting this programme of events. As an Enniscorthy native, I am delighted to see the programme will culminate with a Summer School to mark the 1798 battle at Vinegar Hill. The National 1798 Rebellion Centre will be the focus of the Rebellion Summer School with talks, walks and demonstrations and will be a key asset promoting heritage tourism in 2023”, added Minister Browne.

Cllr. George Lawlor, Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council, stated; “There will be a countywide programme of events to mark this important 225^th anniversary throughout the five municipal districts and we look forward to attending these.”

Wexford County Council has promised WexfordLocal.com that the programme of events will be published and will soon be available in print and on social media.