Irish author Claire Keegan has been shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize. Keegan’s Small Things Like These, which, at 116 pages, is the shortest book in terms of pages in the prize’s history.
Award-winning writer CLAIRE KEEGAN
Award-winning Keegan is the star of this year’s Write by the Sea festival at Kilmore Quay, September 23rd-25th, when she chats with Dr. Richard Hayes, Head of Strategy, South East Technological University, about writing, teaching, ideas and inspiration, creativity and originality.
This event takes place in the Stella Maris Centre at 5pm on Sunday, September 25th. For tickets, programme updates and more information about the festival and the writers see writebythesea.ie
Keegan, who was brought up on a farm in Wicklow, close to the Wexford border, published her first volume of short stories, Antarctica, in 1999, and it went on to win the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature.
Her other acclaimed works include Foster and Walk the Blue Fields.
The annual commemoration at the UN Peace Memorial at Enniscorthy on Sunday.
By Dan Walsh at Enniscorthy
For the first time in three years the IUNVA (Irish United Nations Veterans Association) annual commemoration took place at the UN Peace Memorial in the Orchard Peace Park at Enniscorthy on Sunday. The first event was held in 2013 and Covid-19 intervened in past years.
Michael O’Neill of Post 31 (Enniscorthy) and chairman of Enniscorthy Memorial Committee welcomed everybody “to honour of our deceased comrades, young men who gave their lives for world peace. They are gone, but not forgotten and never will be forgotten by our organisation.”
Mr O’Neill welcomed Cllr Aidan Browne, Cathaoirleach Enniscorthy Municipal District Council, Cllrs Barbara-Anne Murphy, Kathleen Codd-Nolan, Jackser Owens and John O’Rourke. (Apologies were read on behalf of Cllrs Cathal Byrne and Donal Kenny). Canon Mark Hayden, who read a prayer, Supt. Denis Whelan representing An Garda Siochana, members of ONÉ (National Organisation of Ex-Service Personnel), the British Legion and our own members of IUNVA.
Cllr Aidan Browne said “it is an honour to be with you today together in Enniscorthy with people from County Wexford and those who have travelled from other parts of the country, who have come to pause, reflect and remember the service of our UN veterans.”
William Gilbert, Chairman of Post 3 (Gorey) delivered the keynote address. He said that we, Irish, do not serve our soldiers well and he called for more awareness in the schools and places where our history is told.
AUDIO ADDITION; William Gilbert speaking at the UN Peace Memorial at Enniscorthy last Sunday.
Wreaths were laid by Matt Kavanagh (Post 3) and Joe McGrath (Post 31) on behalf of IUNVA; Richard Wickham on behalf of “the families of the names on the memorial”; Cllr Aidan Browne, Cathaoirleach, on behalf of Enniscorthy Municipal District Council; Supt. Denis Whelan on behalf of An Garda Siochána.
Roll of honour (all names on the memorial) were called out by Frank Shelly and Jim Gilbert, who also acted as master of ceremonies.
The dignified ceremony lasted about 20 minutes and concluded when Anthony Nolan (trumpet) sounded the Last Post and played the National Anthem.
The scene at Craanford village today where a memorial dedicated to Craanford Volunteers and Cuman na mBan was unveiled.
By Dan Walsh at Craanford
There was a large gathering in Craanford village this morning for the special unveiling of a memorial dedicated to the Craanford Volunteers and Cuman na mBan with inscriptions bearing the names of sixty-six people associated with the War of Independence.
Sarah Dreelan, daughter of John Reddy and Paddy Mordaunt, son of Michael Mordaunt and nephew of Mary Ann Mordaunt jointly unveiled the monuments followed by a blessing by Fr Brian Whelan.
On behalf of the Whelan family, Martin’s daughter Catherine and her son Ciarán laid a wreath in memory of Dan Whelan, their grandfather and great grandfather, Dan’s brothers Michael and Pat “corporal” Whelan, Catherine’s grand uncles.
Catherine’s husband Timmy and their daughters, Emily and Orla laid a wreath in memory of Mary Doran, their grandmother and great grandmother and Mary’s brother, Peter, Tommy’s grand uncle.
Piper Michael Roche played a lament in memory of those family members and friends remembered today.
On behalf of the Whelan family, Martins daughter Catherine and her son Ciarán will lay a wreath in memory of Dan Whelan, their grandfather and great grandfather, Dan’s brothers Michael and Pat “corporal” Whelan, Catherine’s grand uncles.
Catherine’s husband Timmy and their daughters, Emily and Orla will lay a wreath in memory of Mary Doran, their grandmother and great grandmother and Mary’s brother, Peter, Tommy’s grand uncle.
The project was the brainchild of Martin ‘Pops’ Whelan who was delighted but kept a low public profile and master of ceremonies Geraldine Murphy commended him and his efforts were greeted with loud applause.
“There are talkers and there are doers in the world, and Martin is definitely ‘a doer’. When he gets a notion, and some might say ‘a mad notion’ into his head, he just ploughs on and sees his projects through to the end. Nothing ever gets in his way, and that is what we call being passionate about things, Said Ms Murphy, who added; “In this case, this is history, history that is in individual minds, which could be lost in time, but it took one person, the where with all, to gather this information, spending hours and hours, I cannot stress the amount of time this project took, but when you sit down today or tomorrow and look through this booklet, you will be amazed at the amount of detail included in it, and realise a lot of clicking and searching on a laptop has taken place to ensure all these details are correct.”
“And as you pass by these monuments, you will be remembering your family, your friends, and your neighbours, which is what this project is all about, as a community, remembering those who were involved in Craanford Volunteers and Cumman na mBan and for that Martin, we all say a big thank you”, concluded Ms. Murphy.
At the start of proceedings, Barry Lacey, Historian-in-Residence with Wexford County Council for the Decade of Centenaries, gave the large attendance a brief overview of events around the time of the War of Independence.
Pádraig Kenny, grandson of Paddy Kenny offered a fine rendition of ‘Shall My Soul Pass Through Old Ireland”.
The attendance included Senator Malcolm Byrne and Cllr Fionntán Ó Súillebháin. Enniscorthy Historical Re-Enactment Society and the members of the Irish United Nations Veterans Association (IUNVA), Post 3 (Gorey) formed a guard of honour.
The Last Post played on trumpet by Anthony Nolan followed by the raising of the flag to full mast, followed by the Reveille and the National Anthem brought proceedings to a conclusion.
Bridgetown trainer Seamus Neville flew the flag for the local punters at Wexford this afternoon when he saddled Brideswell Lad (11/4 fav) to follow up on his Limerick success in July to win the Wexford Racecourse Racing Club Handicap Chase under Caim jockey JJ Slevin.
Speaking afterwards Neville said; “He won pretty handy in Limerick. We were a little bit concerned about the ground today but he handled it okay. He would prefer quicker ground. I doubt if he’ll reach the heights of his half-brother Cloth Cap but with a bit of luck he might. I’ll look at Listowel for him now but it will depend on the ground.”
It was a memorable day for Anthony Bustin who rode his first winner on the track aboard Killoughteen (3/1) in the mare’s maiden hurdle. His two small sons, Harvey and Logan, dressed up in the identical silks to support their Dad and this was a family delighted in Wexford today.
“I rode one winner in a point-to-point in 2013 and then gave it up for six or seven years. I’m back at it now and myself, my brother-in-law and my wife own her. I said I wouldn’t ride again until I had my own horse because there’s no pressure and I can do whatever I want,” said Bustin afterwards.
Leading Waterford trainer Henry de Bromhead got the day off to the perfect start with Magical Zoe (2/1 fav) getting home a length and a half to the good in the maiden hurdle under Conor Brassil.
One of the Three Tenors, Dr Ronan Tynan missed out on seeing his charge Kellies Dream (6/1) win the handicap hurdle for Andrew Slattery and claiming rider Cian Quirke. Tynan, who is closely associated on the racing scene with his singing colleague Anthony Kearns is a regular visitor to Wexford, but not present on this winning occasion.
Donagh Meyler won the handicap hurdle on Sean Says (10/1) for owner and trainer Rodger Sweeney from Castlelyons in Cork and the novice chase only attracted four runners with victory going to the Gordon Elliott trained Tullybeg (4/1) ridden by Davy Russell.
The final race of an interesting afternoon was the handicap chase with success for Ardaghs Choice (9/1) trained by Eamon ‘Dusty’ Sheehy at Graiguenamanagh and jockey Kevin Sexton who had seven lengths to spare over Philip Rothwell’s Walking The Walk.
The going was ‘good to yielding’ with a decent sized Saturday attendance and a small scattering of rain failed to dampen the enthusiasm.
The Tote aggregate was €69,747.96 compared with €46,843.94 last year.
Just two meetings left on the 2022 calendar for Wexford races and the dates to remember are the October Bank Holiday, Sunday and Monday, October 30th and 31st.
A 59-year-old cyclist who sustained serious injuries after a van and a bike collided on the N25 Wexford to New Ross road at Holmestown, near Barntown, has died at Wexford General Hospital.
Gardai are appealing for witnesses to the collision which occurred around 5.45pm on Wednesday evening.
Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed this collision to come forward. They are also appealing to road users who were travelling on the N25 in the Holmestown area between 5.30pm and 6pm with camera footage (including dash cam), to make it available to them.
Anyone with information can contact Wexford Garda Station on 053 9165200, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.
A man in his 20s has died in a single vehicle road traffic collision at a level crossing on the closed Rosslare Strand to Waterford railway line at Mayglass in south Wexford. It happened around 10.25pm last night (Friday).
Gardai and emergency services attended the scene, where the driver and only person in the vehicle was pronounced dead.
The scene was preserved for a technical examination by Forensic Collision Investigators but has since reopened.
Gardai have launched an appeal for witnesses to contact them. They are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed this collision to come forward. They are also appealing to road users who were travelling in the Mayglass area between 10.15pm and 10.45pm with camera footage (including dash cam), to make it available to them.”
Anyone with information can contact Wexford Garda Station on 053 9165200, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.
Seventy-seven horses will face the starter in seven races on the all-jumps card at Bettyville Park tomorrow (Saturday). The first race is off at 2.10pm.
WEXFORD RACES at Bettyville Park on Saturday. (File Pic).
Ground conditions are described as “good”and the feature race is the €16,500 novice chase with five runners and the best punters choice is the 8/11 favourite Upping The Anti for Waterford trainer Henry de Bromhead and top jockey Rachael Blackmore.
The card is as follows;
2.10pm; The Adare Manor Opportunity Handicap Hurdle, two miles (12 runners).
2.45pm; Dan Byrne Memorial Handicap Hurdle, two miles (12 runners)
3.10pm; Download The BoyleSports App Handicap Hurdle over 2 miles 4.5 furlongs (13 runners).
3.55pm; Wexford Mares Maiden Hurdle, three miles (11 runners).
4.30pm; Kehoe Agri & DIY Enniscorthy Rated Novice Chase, two miles and four furlongs, (5 runners).
5.05pm; Wexford Racecourse Racing Club Hnadicap Chase, two miles and four furlongs, (12 runners).
5.35pm; Racing Again October 30th and 31st Handicap Chase, three miles and one furlong, (12 runners).
A steam train leaving Enniscorthy for Rosslare last August. Senator Malcolm Byrne is calling for more investment for the Dublin to Rosslare railway.
By Dan Walsh
Senator Malcolm Byrne has called for an urgent plan of investment in the Dublin to Rosslare railway line following a report from Irish Rail that warned that parts of the line are at long term risk of falling into the sea as a result of coastal erosion and flooding.
The Irish Rail report states that due to the increase in storm incidences linked to climate change, action to protect the line is needed over the next decade to ensure that trains can continue to run on the coastal route.
“This is a vital transport link between Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford. We need to encourage greater use of trains. It is critical that we protect the rail infrastructure.” Senator Byrne told WexfordLocal.com and he added; “Climate change and rising sea levels have serious consequences. We are now seeing the direct impact. We will be spending a lot more on mitigating measures in the near future.”
The Irish Times reports that infrastructure works costing at least €230 million are required to protect parts of the South Dublin Dart line between the Merrion Gates and Greystones in Co Wicklow from collapsing into the sea, according to Irish Rail assessments.
The East Coast Railway Infrastructure Protection Projects scheme is designed to defend the Dublin to Rosslare coastal rail line, which carries Dart and mainline services, from erosion and flooding for the next 50 to 100 years.
Incidences of “track washout” where the sea has eroded the land under the rail line, and wave “overtopping” on to the tracks, have increased in the last 20 years, Irish Rail said. “These instances have had significant performance impacts and safety consequences as well as major losses of land and habitats.”
Some of the most vulnerable sections of the line are around Dalkey and Killiney, as well as sections between the Merrion Gates and Dún Laoghaire Harbour, and Bray Head and Greystones.
From Enniscorthy to Wexford the line runs beside the River Slaney while the Wexford to Rosslare portion of the track is coastal and is vulnerable to flooding and serious storm damage.
A 59-year-old cyclist sustained serious injuries after a van and a bike collided on the N25 Wexford to New Ross road at Holmestown, near Barntown,
Gardai are seeking witnesses to the collision which occurred around 5.45pm on Wednesday evening.
The injured man was cared for at the scene before removal to Wexford General Hospital by the National Ambulance Service.
The road was closed for a time and a Garda forensic collision investigator carried out a full technical examination of the crash scene. The road re-opened later.
Anyone with information should contact Wexford Garda Station on 053 9165200, the Garda Confidential number on 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.
WexfordLocal.com 