Road closure on the R772 (old N11) between Blackstoops (seen here) and Scarawalsh roundabouts this evening. Diversions in place.
By Dan Walsh
Two people have been taken to hospital following a two-vehicle road traffic collision on the R772 (the old N11) between the roundabouts at Scarawalsh and Blackstoops on the northern outskirts of Enniscorthy town.
The collision occurred around 12.30pm today and emergency vehicles were quickly on the scene including the Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 117.
Two people were taken to hospital but their condition is “unknown” at this time.
The R772 remains closed and traffic is being diverted between Scarawalsh and Blackstoops roundabouts through Enniscorthy North Business Park.
Any witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage of the incident are asked to contact Enniscorthy Garda Station on 053 9242580.
Traffic was seriously disrupted on the outskirts of the N25 ring road at Wexford between the Maldron Hotel and the Whitford Hotel roundabouts this afternoon after two trucks collided.
It is understood that a flatbed truck flipped onto its side after colliding with a truck towing a flashing warning message for hedge cutting which was taking place on the hard shoulder.
Emergency services were quickly on the scene. It is reported that the truck driver received minor injuries while the driver of the signage vehicle escaped unharmed.
Gardaí took charge of directing traffic and large tailbacks built up over a few hours.
Iarnróid Éireann is informing the public of essential railway maintenance works in Enniscorthy during night-time hours on Saturday and Sunday, October 1st-2nd between 11pm and 6am.
Enniscorthy tunnel
This is essential linear track maintenance works involves the use of heavy machinery and can only be carried out at night when trains are not running.
Iarnróid Éireann assures that every practical effort will be made to minimise the impact on and the disruption to local residents.
A written notification has been delivered only to local residents in proximity to the railway work area, however, further information is available on the website; https;www.irishrail.ie/news/iarnrod-eireann-night-time-track-works
CATHAOIRLEACHJ of Rosslare Municipal District CLLR LISA McDONALD with members of Rosslare Harbour Memorial Park and Gardens committee proudly display their Green Flag Community Award 2022/23. (Pic; Wexford County Council).
By Dan Walsh
Rosslare Municipal District assisted the entry of three community parks -Rosslare Harbour Memorial Park & Gardens, Our Lady’s Island and Foulksmills Community Park – in the 2022 Green Flag Community Awards Scheme which was open to parks and gardens across Ireland.
Following site visits and the completion of the An Taisce judging process, Rosslare Municipal District is delighted to report that as per the official announcement made by An Taisce recently that all three parks have been accredited Green Flag status for 2022/23.
Cllr Lisa McDonald, Cathaoirleach Rosslare Municipal District told Wexford Local.com that it is “a great success story for the District considering only 19 Community Parks were recognised for this award nationally.”
The scheme is only open to freely accessible public green spaces and is enthusiastically received by Park and Garden Management as it delivers major wins for the delivery of quality green spaces by respective parks and park departments.
Strategically these include: Co-ordinating the improvement and sustainable development of parks and gardens; Delivers recognition for well-run community green spaces; and provides a network for acquiring and disseminating best practice for park management and development.
Green Flag Community Award applications are judged against the following seven criteria; • A Welcoming Place • Healthy Safe and Secure • Well Maintained and Clean • Environmental Management • Management of Biodiversity, Landscape and Heritage • Community Involvement • Management “The Rosslare Municipal District Members would like to acknowledge the achievement of the three communities involved with the excellent management and delivery of these fantastic public spaces”, concluded Cllr McDonald.
Tobacco, beer and wine with a combined value of €300,000 has been seized over the past week in three routine operations at Rosslare Europort.
Last Saturday, Revenue officers seized approximately 77.5kgs of ‘roll your own tobacco’ and over 500 litres of wine, with a combined estimated retail value of €61,000, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of €46,000.
The smuggled tobacco and alcohol were discovered with the assistance of Revenue’s mobile x-ray scanner, following the search of an Irish registered truck and its accompanying trailer that had disembarked a ferry from Le Havre, France.
Also on Saturday, Revenue officers seized almost 26,000 litres of beer following the search of a Polish registered truck that had disembarked a ferry from Dunkirk, France. The smuggled alcohol had an estimated retail value of over €103,000, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of more than €48,000.
Last Tuesday, Revenue officers seized almost 11,300 litres of wine with an estimated retail value of over €137,000, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of more than €73,000, following the search of an unaccompanied trailer that had arrived on a ferry from Zeebrugge, Belgium.
ROSSLARE EUROPORT (File Pic)
Investigations are ongoing following these operations.
These seizures are part of Revenue’s ongoing operations targeting the shadow economy and smuggling. If businesses, or members of the public, have any information regarding smuggling, they can contact Revenue in confidence on Confidential Phone Number 1800 295 295.
A few matters relating to Enniscorthy town centre were raised by members at last Monday’s monthly meeting of Enniscorthy Municipal District Council held in the Presentation Centre with Cllr Aidan Browne in the chair.
Cllrs Jackser Owens and Cathal Byrne were concerned about the bin collection taking place while people were trying to enjoy outdoor dining and the inappropriate occurrence of tasty bacon and eggs competing with the nasty smell of waste bin contents. They wondered if the bin companies could leave it later in the day to clear the town’s waste collection? This matter had been on the agenda before, and the councillors requested an update.
Acting Manager Bernie Quigley told the meeting that the Council had written to the contractor asking for bins to be collected earlier, but there is no reply yet! “We are awaiting a reply,” stated Ms Quigley.
Cllr Cathal Byrne raised the concerns of street cleaning and footpaths and asked if Parnell Road and the old Dunnes Stores car park were included.
Senior Engineer Tadhg Ó Corcora reported that Market Square, Wafer Street, Castle Street, Castle Hill and Slaney Street were cleaned recently.
Cllr Jackser Owens spoke strongly against the possibility that the Christmas lights could be affected in the town in December. “The Christmas lights must not be turned off,” thundered Cllr Owens, who quipped; “They will be trying to stop Santy next!”
Director of Services Carolyne Godkin informed the meeting that no decision has yet been made regards the Christmas lights. She said the Council would be guided by whatever decision on the matter taken at national level. “It will not be a local decision. Any decision taken at national level we will follow,” concluded Ms. Godkin.
1993 Booker Prize winner RODDY DOYLE at the Write By The Sea festival in Kilmore Quay on Saturday.
By Dan Walsh at Kilmore Quay
One of the country’s leading literature festivals, Write By The Sea, was officially opened in the Stella Maris Centre, Kilmore Quay, earlier this evening by Prof. Kevin Rafter, Chair of the Arts Council of Ireland, and it continues on Saturday and Sunday with more than 40 writers taking part.
Saturday’s highlight is the presence of Dublin-born Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle, award-winning novelist, writer of short stories, screenplays and dramatist, son of a Wexford mother (Ita Bolger Doyle), will be in the Stella Maris Centre at 5pm.
Roddy Doyle is the author of eleven novels, a collection of stories, and Rory & Ita, a memoir of his parents. He has written five books for children and contributed to a variety of publications including The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, Metro Eireannand several anthologies. He won the Booker Prize in 1993, for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. Roddy has written for the stage and his plays include Brownbreadand Guess Who’s Coming For The Dinner. He co-adapted with Joe O’Byrne his novel The Woman who Walked into Doorsand he co-wrote with Bisi Adigun a new version of The Playboy of the Western World.
He also wrote the screenplays for The Snapper, The Van, Family, When Brendan Met Trudy and co-wrote the screenplay for The Commitments. He lives and works in Dublin.
The Sunday highlight will happen in the Stella Maris Centre at 5pm on Sunday when author Claire Keegan makes an appearance soon after being 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 Keegan chats with Dr Richard Hayes, Head of Strategy, South East Technological University, about writing, teaching, ideas and inspiration, creativity and originality.
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.
It may be a bit late for bookings, but for tickets, programme updates and more information about the festival and the writers see writebythesea.ie
RICHARD FINN proudly exhibiting the hull of the replica Helen Blake Lifeboat Project at Fethard-on-Sea in advance of next Sunday’s Open Day.
By Dan Walsh at Fethard-on-Sea
“We have reached the milestone of completing the construction of the hull of the replica Helen Blake and holding an Open Day next Sunday,” Richard Finn, Director of the Helen Blake Community Group at Fethard-on-Sea has told WexfordLocal.com and the hope is that a large number of people will come along to view the progress of this exciting project.
The group are building a replica of the Helen Blake Lifeboat which sank off the Keeragh Islands, off Fethard-on-Sea in 1914 with the loss of nine crewmen. The boat is being constructed by hand using traditional methods to replicate the original.
The focus of the project is to develop community skills in boat building, carpentry and marine tourism. The boat is being built by a team of participants from the Ballycullane Community Employment Scheme, Wexford Local Development TÚS workers and volunteers, under the guidance of master shipwright and craftsman, John Colfer.
The boat is currently in the latter stages of construction, with the boat anticipated to be completed and seaworthy by 2023.
AUDIO ADDITION ; RICHARD FINN, Director, The Helen Blake Community Group taking to DAN WALSH about the project.
Work has commenced this week on replacing ageing backyard water mains and providing new service connections for customers in Drumgoold Villas in Enniscorthy.
The works in Drumgoold Villas involve the decommissioning of ageing back yard water mains and the delivery of over 190 metres of new water mains constructed along the public road.
Outlining the benefits the Backyard Service Replacement Project will bring, Joe Carroll from Irish Water, explained to WexfordLocal.com: “Replacing these old and problematic pipes in Drumgoold Villas will reduce the drinking water lost by leakage and will bring an all-round improvement to water quality for the local community.
Mr Carroll added: “In partnership with Shareridge Ltd and Wexford County Council, we have been engaging with the residents and aim to complete the works with as little disruption as possible. However, the works may involve some short-term water outages, but our project team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48-hours’ notice prior to any planned water outages.
“Where watermains are being constructed, traffic management may be in place. Parking spaces may be temporarily closed in order to complete works. Local and emergency traffic will be maintained at all times,” concluded Mr Carroll.
JOE CARROLL, IRISH WATER; “Replacing these old and problematic pipes in Drumgoold Villas will reduce the drinking water lost by leakage and will bring an all-round improvement to water quality for the local community.”
These latest water mains replacement follow hot on the heels of crews who were in Pearse Road, St. John’s Villas and on the Old Dublin Road in Enniscorthy where hundreds of new water mains were constructed along the public road, bringing a safer and more reliable supply to residents there.
The project involves the replacement of water connections, typically made of iron or lead, that were installed in the back gardens of some older housing estates. The pipework, due to age and deteriorating condition, are a significant source of leakage and reduced levels of service.
Backyard services are usually shared, running through several neighbouring properties, making it difficult to detect and repair leaks. Since all properties share a connection, leaks and bursts affect all properties; usually resulting in low pressure.
Irish Water’s customer care helpline is open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on Twitter @IWCare with any queries. For updates, please visit the Water Supply Updates section of the Irish Water website or set your location on the website www.water.ie
They are now calling it the alleyway, the natives will know it as the Tanyard Lane, but Wexford County Council has announced closure of the narrow passageway from Parnell Road (old Dunnes Stores) car park to Rafter Street effective from next Monday, September 26th to Friday, October 14th.
TANYARD LANE at Enniscorthy will be closed for three weeks from Monday.
Members were informed of the temporary disruption to normal pedestrian traffic at last Monday’s monthly meeting of Enniscorthy Municipal District Council and they say it is to facilitate essential resurfacing works.
“No pedestrian or vehicular access to the alleyway will be facilitated for the duration of the works. Pedestrian detours will be in place via Parnell Road and onto Weafer Street for the Market Square area.
“These works are weather dependent and as such start/completion date may be subject to change.
Apologies from Wexford County Council for any inconvenience caused during this time.”
WexfordLocal.com 