News and Sport and Events that matter across County Wexford.
The Ukraine Coffee Morning held in the Slaney Inn, Oylegate, last month was an outstanding success, and thanks is expressed to all who supported the event so generously. Ruairí Ryan, Chairman Ógra Fianna Fáil, presented a cheque for €2,450 to Paddy Redmond of Enniscorthy branch of the Red Cross. Minister James Browne and Cllr Willie Kavanagh were in attendance.
By Dan Walsh
Two sitting members of Wexford County Council and New Ross Municipal District Council, Cllr Anthony Connick, outgoing Leas-Cathaoirleach, and Cllr Michael Whelan, incoming Leas-Cathaoirleach, have been bereaved with the sad loss of their, respective mothers, Peggy Connick and Myra Whelan.
Tributes have been paid to the councillors and their families on the deaths of Mrs Connick and Mrs Whelan, both of whom were well-known and popular and will be missed by family, friends and the general community.
FAMILY NOTICE; The death has occurred of Margaret (Peggy) Connick (nee Ryan) Dowsleys Barn, New Ross, and formerly of Milltown, Glenmore / Millbanks, Rosbercon Co. Kilkenny. Margaret (Peggy) who passed away Wednesday 22nd June. Adored wife of the late John and cherished mother of Helen, Seán, Bernie and Anthony. Beloved daughter of the late Laurence and Mary Ryan. Sadly missed by her loving brothers and sisters Tom, Annie, Ned, Pat, Mary and Kathleen. Predeceased by her brothers and sister Richard, Bridget, Jim, John and Larry. Fondly remembered by her sons-in-law David and Anthony, daughters-in-law Lourde and Caroline, grandchildren Mark, Brian, Cora, Niall, Gemma, and Aoife, their partners Michelle, Helena, and Chris, great-grandchildren Mason, Alfie and Áine, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, extended family, relatives and friends. May You Rest Easy In Grace and Love Reposing in Doyle’s Funeral Home, The Old Rectory, Rosbercon, New Ross, today, Friday, from 3pm concluding with Rosary at 8pm. Removal will take place (walking) from Doyle’s Funeral Home at 10.45am on Saturday to arrive at The Church Of The Assumption Rosbercon for 11am Requiem Mass, with burial afterwards in the adjoining Cemetery. House Strictly Private Please.
FAMILY NOTICE; The death has occurred of Myra Mary Whelan (neé Moore), Ballycullane Post Office, Ballycullane. Beloved wife of the late Seamus, mother of John, Joy, Thomas, James, Annette, Michael, Patrick, Paul, Kevin, Eamon and the late Mary and Noel and sister of the late John and Noel. Deeply regretted by her loving sons, daughters, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nephews, relatives and many friends. May She Rest In Peace Reposing at her residence today, Friday, from 12 noon – 10pm. Removal on Saturday to St Martin’s Church Ballycullane arriving for funeral mass at 2pm, followed by burial in Ballycullane cemetery.
This brings to four the number of sitting council members who have lost their mothers since the beginning of the year. Cllr Joe Sullivan from Gorey Kilmuckridge Municipal District Council and Cllr Maura Bell, Wexford Borough District Council. Our prayers are with all of them in their great personal loss.
By Dan Walsh
The Episcopal Electoral College for the Diocese of Cashel, Ferns and Ossory, meeting in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, has elected the Ven Adrian Wilkinson, Archdeacon of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, as the new Bishop of Cashel, Ferns and Ossory. He succeeds the Rt Revd Michael Burrows, who was translated as Bishop of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe last April, following his election to that role in January of this year.
The Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson, Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland, who chaired the Electoral College, said: ‘I am delighted that Archdeacon Wilkinson has been elected Bishop of Cashel, Ferns and Ossory. Ahead lies a most fruitful time for the bishop to get to know the clergy and people of the diocese and to establish him in the wider community of Kilkenny, Waterford and the South East. May God guide and equip Bishop Adrian in the days and months ahead as he embarks on his episcopal ministry in the Church of God.”
The Bishop-elect said: ‘I am humbled and honoured to have been elected Bishop of Cashel, Ferns and Ossory. While I will be sorry to leave Cork, a place where I have served very happily for over twenty years, I look forward to this new chapter in ministry. My childhood years were spent in Cashel, Ferns and Ossory and I look forward to working with the clergy and people there in the years ahead, as we proclaim our faith in word and action.”
Following confirmation of the election by the House of Bishops, the Bishop-elect will be consecrated as a bishop on a date to be determined.
Biography of Archdeacon Adrian Wilkinson
The Venerable Adrian Wilkinson (aged 53) was born in 1968 and ordained in 1994. He initially served as Curate in Douglas Union with Frankfield, in the Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross (1994-1997), and then as Rector of Dunboyne Union, in the Dioceses of Meath and Kildare (1997-2002), during which time he was also Chaplain at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, and a Minor Canon in the Chapter of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. He was also Rector of Rathmolyon with Castlerickard, Rathcore and Agher, in the same diocese (2001-2002), before returning to Douglas Union as Rector in 2002 and serving in that role since then.
He has been Archdeacon of Cork, Cloyne and Ross since 2014. Archdeacon Wilkinson is a member of the General Synod and its Standing Committee, the Representative Church Body and its Executive Committee, the General Synod Board of Education (Republic of Ireland), and the Priorities Fund Committee. He has also served on the Governing Council of the Church of Ireland Theological Institute.
Archdeacon Wilkinson is married to Jacqui, who is lecturer in teacher education at the Church of Ireland Centre at Dublin City University, and they have three grown-up children – two sons and a daughter. He graduated in geography and sociology from Trinity College Dublin before training for ordination, and his interests in his free time are walking, travel and reading.
SUMMER FEELS is a free family event taking place in Ferns St Aidans GAA Park on Sunday, June 26th from 1 pm to 4 pm. It promises to be a great day out with plenty of entertainment and activity.
This is being funded through Wexford County Council and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport & Media through the Local Live Performance Scheme 2022.
By Dan Walsh
The sod was turned at the site of a new continental cheese facility being built at Belview in south Kilkenny today. The sod-turning was performed by Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue.
This strategically important national project will support the incomes of over 4,500 family farms, 80 jobs and 400 construction jobs in the south-east.
The new facility will be one of the most efficient and sustainable continental cheese production facilities in Europe. It is planned that the first continental cheese will be produced for global markets at the facility in 2024.
The facility, which is being built by Kilkenny Cheese Ltd, a joint venture between family-owned Dutch dairy producer Royal A-Ware and Glanbia Co-op, will have a footprint of 18,000 square metres. It will produce over 50,000 tonnes of continental cheese per year, including Edam, Gouda and Emmental cheese varieties which will be brought to market by Royal A-ware through their established channels.
The production facility will utilise approximately 450 million litres of milk from Glanbia milk suppliers each year.
The Tanaiste said; “It’s an honour to be in Belview today to turn the sod on this brand new €200m continental cheese facility. It’s a huge boost for the south-east which has experienced significant and long overdue investment and jobs growth in the past year or two. The UK’s decision to leave the European Union was a seismic event for Ireland’s agrifood sector and the over 163,000 people it employs here.
Minister McConalogue said; “It is a real honour to be in Belview to turn the sod on this really exciting project. It is great to see this really important project finally come to fruition. This is a great day for the 4,500 Glanbia farm family suppliers as well as for the wider Irish agriculture sector and Irish farmers as a whole.”
Glanbia Co-op CEO Jim Bergin, said: “We are delighted to partner with Royal A-ware, a leading global producer of continental cheese, to build this world-class facility in the south-east of Ireland. The joint venture approach brings expertise in continental cheese production and a new route to market for our farmers. Today marks a significant step on the road to diversifying our product offering post-Brexit.”
Royal A-ware CEO Jan Anker said: “When we first announced our partnership with Glanbia Co-op in 2019, we said we were taking another step towards achieving our goals of working with strategic partners to build innovative and sustainable agri-food chains and offering our customers an enhanced product portfolio. Today’s milestone will see our company bring high-quality continental cheese produced through a local supply chain into the marketplace. We look forward to this great new facility opening in 2024.”
Kilkenny Cheese Ltd will invest in highly advanced carbon-efficient processing technology and its enhanced sustainability design ensures it will be a best-in-class facility.
The new facility delivers new continental cheese products for new markets, providing diversification opportunities from the UK cheddar market and supporting the incomes of over 4,500 family farms.
The Kilkenny Cheese joint venture was announced in January 2019 and was scheduled for commissioning in 2022. It is now on track to commence cheese production early in 2024.
Following the discovery of a body of a man in Killurin today (Wednesday) a missing person appeal in respect of Sean Carr, (18) has been stood down.
An Garda Síochána would like to thank the media and public for their assistance in this matter.
By Dan Walsh at Gorey Kilmuckridge Council meeting
The detailed report on the Creagh Water Quality incident at Creagh Water Treatment Plant, near Gorey, last August, was published and presented at the monthly meeting of Gorey Kilmuckridge Municipal District Council yesterday (Tuesday) where Jim Fitzgerald apologised on behalf of Irish Water “for making 46 people sick” but acknowledged that “huge lessons have been learned from the Creagh incident”.
A statement issued on Tuesday evening read: “Wexford County Council again wishes to most sincerely apologise to all those people affected by this incident.”
Cllr Pip Breen thanked the authors of the report and said; “We are very lucky there were no casualties” and he was happy that the recommendations were either completed or in progress.
Cllr Joe Sullivan complimented Minister Darragh O’Brien for his quick action and credited him with taking a serious look at the 46 people who were impacted.
Cllr Fionntán Ó Súilleabhain queried the ‘overuse’ of chlorine in the water and asked why rivers and lakes are not checked for quality of the water? However, Cllr Ó Súilleabhain was told that the chlorine input was controlled nationally and the HSE were responsible for any infections arising from water content!
Cllr Diarmuid Devereux described the report as “very detailed, very honest, frank and held nothing back” and he indicated that he is satisfied that it will not happen again. “There has been a lot of checks and balances and I am happy that it will not happen again,” he concluded.
Cllr Andrew Bolger said communication is the key for a quick response maintenance and it was very positive, and he now had confidence in the Gorey water supply. Cllr Joe Sullivan also expressed “confidence in the safety of the Gorey water supply.”
Irish Water was represented at the meeting by Jim Fitzgerald, Regional Manager, Richard Ó hEadhra, Regional Communications and P.J. Rudden of Angus Consulting Ltd who compiled the report. Fionnuala Callery, Senior Engineer, and Eamon Hore, Director of Service with responsibility for water and roads at Wexford County Council were also in attendance and Mr. Hore outlined the details contained in the report and answered members questions.
The Report is the outcome of a comprehensive examination conducted over several months by P.J. Rudden of Aengus Consulting Ltd who was commissioned by Wexford County Council to examine all the circumstances that led to the water quality incident in Gorey in August 2021.
The report sets out in great detail the facts and causes of the incident, examining everything from the site alarm systems, the frequency of plant servicing, standard operating procedures, staffing on site, communication problems, to the Service Level Agreement between Wexford County Council and Irish Water. Irish Water is the national water utility company which is responsible for the operation of all public water and wastewater services including Creagh Water Treatment Plant, which is operated under a Service Level Agreement by Wexford County Council.
A day-by-day incident outline and the sequence of events which led to the serious water quality incident are also systematically chronicled and investigated.
The comprehensive report carried out by Aengus Consulting Ltd highlighted deficiencies in a number of areas including equipment and operation of the Water Treatment Plant and human error. The report has formed the basis of a comprehensive way forward by Wexford County Council and Irish Water to carry out the required improvements at the plant which will guarantee that such a serious incident will not transpire again.
The water quality incident arose from a power failure at the plant during the late evening of Thursday 19th August last. The chlorine dosing pumps failed as a result of the power outage. The impact of the power failure was compounded by human error and a lack of supervisory oversight that allowed water, without the appropriate level of disinfection to enter the public water supply at Gorey for a period of 4 days from 19th to the 23rd of August 2021. The HSE subsequently reported that the number of people who fell ill from the water incident was 46, all of whom attended their GPs, and one person was eventually hospitalised.
Further issues highlighted by the report were the requirement for ongoing training by plant operators to take account of changes in treatment processes and the limited compliance with Irish Water Standard Operational Procedures.
The report goes onto outline 13 separate recommendations to ensure that there is no recurrence of the Creagh incident. The recommendations include the provision of an alarm system for power failure, a standby generator to guard against any future power failure, a return to quarterly specialist maintenance of mechanical equipment, changes to the remote monitoring system (SCADA), a review of staffing and duties at the plant, implementation of automatic plant shutdown in response to water quality issues, an upgrade of the chlorine dosing system, replacement and servicing of the sand and filtration system, the full implementation of Irish Water Standard Operation Procedures, an audit of all treatment plants in the county and a review of incident management. All these recommendations have been taken on board and are being addressed by Wexford County Council and Irish Water and many have already been put in place.
Since the incident last year €200,000 has been invested by Irish Water in upgrading the plant at Creagh with another €2 million committed to fund further agreed planned upgrades already underway. Staffing changes and a reorganisation of duties have also been carried out in line with the recommendations of the report
“Wexford County Council is fully satisfied that the works already carried out and the further upgrades committed to by Irish Water will ensure that there will be no repetition of this Water Quality failure at the Creagh Plant,” said a statement from Wexford Council that concluded; “Wexford County Council again wishes to most sincerely apologise to all those people affected by this incident.”
By Dan Walsh at Vinegar Hill
June 21st 2022 – the longest day of the year- and the 224th anniversary of the Battle of Vinegar Hill was remembered with dignity and ceremony this evening.
Jimmy Cooper (piper) led the Enniscorthy Historical Re-enactment Society members in period dress along the lane leading to the hill where a few speeches were delivered.
The speakers included Cllr Barbara-Anne Murphy, Chair of the National 1798 Rebellion Centre, Sean Doyle, also a member of the Centre committee and Cllr Cathal Byrne, Cathaoirleach of Enniscorthy Municipal District Council in one of his final duties in the position as the annual general meeting happens next Monday.
Also in attendance were Deputy Johnny Mythen, Cllr Aidan Browne, Leas-Cathaoirleach Enniscorthy Municipal District Council, and Cllrs Kathleen Codd-Nolan, John O’Rourke and Jackser Owens.
Newly elected Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council Cllr George Lawlor attended and made his own piece of social history by performing a beautiful rendition of Boolavogue, and not to be out done, Enniscorthy singer and re-enactor Tim Corrigan was equally brilliant singing The Croppy Boy.
Newly installed Administrator at St. Aidan’s Cathedral, Fr Tom Dalton, was joined by Rev. Leslie Crampton (retired) representing Rev. Canon Nicola Halford, who is enjoying her holidays, from the Church of Ireland who spoke with inspiration and a prayer.
Cllr Barbara-Anne Murphy and Emily Murphy, grand-daughter of the Enniscorthy Historical Re-enactor Society founder Ray Murphy, both laid wreaths at the information plaque. Derek Meyler recited some history and acted as master of ceremonies and the ceremony, which was open to the public, ended with Jimmy Cooper playing the National Anthem on the pipes.
By Dan Walsh at Gorey Civic Centre
Fianna Fail’s Cllr Donal Kenny from Craanford is the new Cathaoirleach of Gorey-Kilmuckridge Municipal District Council following the annual general meeting held in the Civic Centre, Gorey, this afternoon.
Cllr Kenny’s name was put forward by Cllr Andrew Bolger and seconded by Cllr Willie Kavanagh while Cllr Diarmuid Devereux was proposed by Cllr Oliver Walsh and seconded by Cllr Anthony Donohoe
Following a vote Cllr Kenny was declared the winner by six votes to three and was congratulated by outgoing Cathaoirleach Cllr Pip Breen and took charge of the chains of office.
Cllr Kenny said it was “a huge honour” to be in the position and he thanked “my team” in Gorey, Cllr Bolger who proposed me, and my wife Helen and Danny, who were present in the chamber. Cllr Kenny is looking forward to progressing projects in Gorey town and district and is planning an ‘in-house’ meeting with his fellow members to format a plan of action for the coming year.
Cllr Diarmuid Devereux is the Leas-Cathaoirleach for 2022-23. Cllr Devereux was proposed by Cllr Donohoe and seconded by Cllr Walsh while Cllr Mary Farrell was proposed by Cllr Willie Kavanagh and seconded by Cllr Andrew Bolger. The Fine Gael member triumphed by six votes to four.
Good wishes were expressed by all members to the Cathaoirleach and Leas-Cathaoirleach and Philip Knight, Administrator, on behalf of the staff.
Tributes were paid to the outgoing Cathaoirleach Cllr Pip Breen who, in turn paid tribute to the staff and outlined a long list of eventful occasions along the way. “We had our good days and our bad days,” said Cllr Breen who recalled the Water Treatment Plant episode in August, the floods on Christmas Day, the tragic death of Council worker Billy Kinsella during Storm Eunace at Ballythomas in February – “it was a shock to everybody and we send our sympathies to Rita and Conor -the events on St. Patrick’s Day, the visit of the Ukraine Ambassador, Polski-Éire Day, the opening of the enhancement at Courtown Harbour, events at Boolavogue and Wonderworld and Active Tribe who “left the woods as they were and will honour all the commitments given.”
Philip Knight, who became District Administrator, during the lifetime of the last Council thanked Cllr Breen and Liz Stanley “for taking me under their wing.” He also gave a visual presentation on many of the community events that were revived after the pandemic lockdown.
By Dan Walsh at Wexford County Council annual general meeting
Veteran Wexford town and Labour Party member Cllr George Lawlor was elected as the 125th Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council at the annual general meeting held in the council chamber at Carricklawn, Wexford, this afternoon. He defeated Fine Gael’s Cllr Frank Staples by 21 votes to 8.
Cllr Lawlor said his election was “a singular honour for his family and the Labour Party” and he thanked the members for their support. Cllr Lawlor’s wife Yvonne and his daughter Rachel were present in the chamber, while using modern technology, two other daughters, Ruth in Edinburgh and Sarah in Dubai and preparing for a flight to Dallas were able to congratulate their proud Dad on his great achievement in a history-making link up on the big screen.
Cllr Lawlor outlined his aims for the coming year and stated his wish to be “a Cathaoirleach across the county” and promised to support projects in Enniscorthy, New Ross, Gorey-Kilmuckridge and Rosslare with the same vigour as his native Wexford.
Cllr Lawlor was proposed by Cllr Maura Bell, who described him as “vastly experienced, was Mayor of Wexford four times, a role he performed with “dignity and ability” and in a light-hearted gesture she referred that he could be “better known for singing!”
Cllr Ger Carthy seconded Cllr Lawlor. “He was almost 18 years on the Wexford Borough Council, 14 years on Wexford County Council, Mayor of Wexford on four occasions and was “very well positioned to take the chair.”
Cllr Cathal Byrne proposed Cllr Frank Staples for the position. He was on the old Wexford district council in 2014, re-elected in 2019 in the Rosslare district and was Mayor Wexford in 2017 and had done sterling work for mental health.
Cllr Oliver Walsh seconded Cllr Byrne’s proposal. “Cllr Staples was Mayor of Wexford and Chair of Rosslare District; I think he would make an excellent chair and I am happy to second the proposal.”
When the roll-call vote was computed Cllr George Lawlor came in with 21 votes, and declared elected Cathaoirleach, while Cllr Frank Staples received eight votes.
The position of Leas-Cathaoirleach was bestowed on Cllr Michael Whelan, proposed by Cllr John Fleming and seconded by Cllr Michael Sheehan.
His opponent was Cllr Bridín Murphy, the outgoing Cathaoirleach of New Ross Municipal District, proposed by Cllr Jim Moore and seconded by Cllr Kathleen Codd-Nolan. Cllr Whelan defeated Cllr Murphy by 21 votes to 8.
Cllr Whelan thanked the members for their support and pledged his support as understudy to Cllr Lawlor over the coming year.
At the meeting tributes were paid to the excellent work of the outgoing Cathaoirleach Cllr Barbara-Anne Murphy and Leas-Cathaoirleach Cllr Anthony Connick for their work during 2021-22. Cllr Murphy said she enjoyed “a very busy year” coming out of the Covid restrictions and outlined a long list of achievements. “I attended 40 events, not including meetings, since May 1st,” she added.
Chief Executive Officer, Tom Enright, paid tribute to the work of Cllr Murphy and he also welcomed Cllr Lawlor to the chair. He described it as “an exceptional year”.
Tributes were also paid to the family and friends of Council worker Billy Kinsella who lost his life while on Council duty near his home at Ballythomas on February 18th during Storm Eunance and sympathy and remembrance were conveyed to his wife Rita and son Conor and, also, his work colleagues.
Attendance at the annual general meeting included Deputies Brendan Howlin and Verona Murphy and Senator Malcolm Byrne.
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