News and Sport and Events that matter across County Wexford.
By Dan Walsh
Roadusers are asked to be extra careful on the M11 near the turn off for Enniscorthy and Blackwater following a crash on the southbound lane around 6.30pm this evening.
A number of vehicles are involved including a car pulling a caravan. It is not known if there are any injuries.
One lane remains open. Emergency vehicles and recovery services are at the scene.
A paraglider injured near the Nine Stones car park on Mount Leinster on Saturday evening was transferred to hospital by the Air Corps 112 helicopter.
The South East Mountain Rescue Association (SEMRA) were called to the scene to assist Gardai and ambulance crews attend an injured paraglider with a suspected back injury after falling near the Nine Stones car park on Mount Leinster Carlow-Wexford border.
The casualty was transferred to the National Ambulance Service and then to a waiting Air Corps helicopter.
In a statement SEMRA concluded; “We wish the casualty well and hopefully he can make a full recovery. Another example of multi-agency working.”
By Dan Walsh
In a competition open to all the family, home cooks throughout Wexford and beyond are being invited to join a search to find Ireland’s most imaginative meal-makers.
Leading the search is well-known television cook, Donal Skehan, supported by banana importers Fyffes, whose previous collaborations led to the discovery of Ireland’s most creative banana bread bakers and banana dessert makers.
In the competition two years ago Niamh Goodison, a 20-years old third level student from Wexford Town, won the ‘best vegan recipe’ award for her banana bread creation.
This year, Skehan has broadened his search to include any dish on the menu from first to final course, his invitation being to create the most delicious dish, savoury or sweet, in which a banana is the key ingredient.
Winning creations, to be judged by Skehan, will see rewards presented to the overall winner and best in category entries – including junior entrants, best breakfast, savoury, dessert, no bake and vegan. Entries close August 4th. Details on Facebook (www.facebook.com/FyffesIreland) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/fyffesireland/).
Wexford Ógra Fianna Fail is holding its annual general meeting in the Riverside Park Hotel, Enniscorthy, on Friday, July 15th at 8pm.
Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality with responsibility for Law Reform, James Browne TD will be in the chair.
All are welcome.
By Dan Walsh
Rebecca Doyle, Fethard RNLI’s Volunteer Water Safety Officer, commenced her new role by organising a Swim Safely Clinic given by the RNLI Water Safety Team which was attended by local swim group, Hooked on Swimming and the local Triathlon Club.
Killian O Kelly, RNLI Water Safety Education Manager, joined Rebecca and volunteer Water Safety Officers Declan Roche and Debbie Newport from Kilmore Quay RNLI to offer valuable advice and discuss water safety tips relating to open water swimming.
Speaking at the event, Killian offered the following main points to the swimmers, “Be prepared. Check the weather and tides, choose your spot, go with a buddy or group and have the right equipment with you. Make sure you acclimatise to avoid cold water shock. Be seen by wearing a bright coloured swim hat and take a tow float. Rotate members of the group on shore to act as a shore safety person.”
Killian went on to advise about ‘the importance always having a means to call 999 or 112 for help, in the form of a dry pouch to hold your mobile phone or a pea less whistle if you have someone listening out on shore.’
As the event was attended by two local swimming groups, the Water Safety Team also discussed the huge benefits of the clubs having their own incident action plan, in case a member gets into trouble in the water.
The information offered on the evening was well received by all who attended, and they all received RNLI waterproof mobile phone holders. Speaking after the event, Rebecca Doyle said: “It was fantastic to see all the swimmers on Baginbun listening attentively to the Water Safety Team and taking on board our advice. We spoke about the benefits of having a whistle tied to your tow float while out swimming and I am delighted to say there were quite a few ordered online in the days following our clinic.”
This event marked the first of many that Rebecca will hold in her new role as Fethard RNLI’s Water Safety Officer.
By Dan Walsh
Over half a century ago Enniscorthy founded one of the biggest festivals in the country using local produce as the anchor activity – the Strawberry Fair – and Kilmore Quay has followed a similar festive route with the Kilmore Quay Seafood Festival and the 36th year of family fun and festivities opens tomorrow (Thursday) evening at 7pm.
The festival opens with a colourful and musical parade of local organisations and supporters through the village to the main stage on the quayside where the recently elected Mayor of Wexford, Cllr Maura Bell, will declared the weekend festival officially opened.
The festival is run under the auspices of Kilmore Quay Community Development Association and Festival Chairman, John Nunn, told WexfordLocal.com; “The Seafood Festival is a wonderful celebration of the summer, the sea and local community that offers four fun-filled days for all the family, but it is also the main annual fundraiser for the close-knit village and the proceeds help fund important local initiatives.”
On opening night the winners of the hotly contested Seafood Platter and Seafood Chowder competition will be announced. Battling for top honours will be Kehoe’s Pub, the Wooden House, Saltees Coast Hotel, Rathangan Bar, Mary Barry’s, Coast Hotel Rosslare, the Red Door Café and the Coal Bunker.
Fish vans selling fresh ocean produce for fish lovers will be located in the harbour area, seafood platters will be available in the Stella Maris Centre and the existent outlets will have their doors opened for business. So plenty for everybody.
Some interesting maritime features on the vast programme of events (available on www.kilmorequayseafoodfestival.ie) such as environmentalist Jim Hurley’s lecture on ‘Local Whales and Dolphins’ and the Kilmore Walking Trail.
Kayaking will be held on the Little Beach on Friday and Saturday and the 5k Road Race under the auspices of Kilmore Athletic Club will be the highlight on Saturday evening.
Wexford Camera Club will hold an exhibition of works by its members in the Stella Maris Centre and that will be available all weekend.
By Dan Walsh
Fethard RNLI launched its inshore lifeboat on Wednesday evening to assist the crew of a broken down 8-metre yacht in Bannow Bay.
The volunteer crew were requested to launch their inshore lifeboat by the Irish Coast Guard just after 9.15 pm. The crew proceeded to Fethard Dock where they launched the lifeboat and made their way to an area north-east of The Windy Gap.
Weather conditions were good with a light Force 2 north-westerly breeze, calm sea conditions and good visibility.
The crew arrived at the broken-down anchored vessel at 9.40 pm. The lifeboat crew assessed the situation, decided to establish a tow line and retract the keel, before towing the vessel to the safe water of Bannow, north of the Cockle Strand.
This launch marks the first shout for volunteer crew member Mick Cooper, as well as Mick Roche’s first launch as Helm.
Speaking after the shout, volunteer Helm Mick Roche said: “The crew of the yacht did everything right. They were well equipped with lifejackets, navigation tools, means of communication and great local knowledge, but were unfortunate to have engine difficulties. The crew did the right thing by alerting the Irish Coast Guard at the earliest opportunity.
“This call highlights the importance of always carrying a means of communication when involved in any water activities in or by the sea,” concluded Mr Roche.
By Dan Walsh in Wexford town
Two hundred people attended the enlargement and opening of a spacious extension to Red Books, a popular local bookstore in Wexford’s St Peter’s Square last Tuesday evening.
In an age when many had written off physical bookshops as being feasible, veteran bookseller Anton O’Broin, who cut the ribbon on the new building, said that Wexford would never abandon the written word.
“Books have run hand in hand with the development of our nation,” said Mr O’Broin, who added; “From Thomas Davis distributing the Nation in the 1840s to the fact that many of the leaders of the 1916 Rising, locally and nationally, were writers and poets. They were drawn by the power of the written word, just as we are today.
“Our extension doubles the size of Red Books and increases our stock to a quarter of a million books,” Wally O’ Neill, the owner of Red Books, said. “It also affords us much needed space for book launches, writer groups and the many other events that happen around bookstores like ours.”
Red Books began life in a converted bulls-shed in Bridgetown village five and a half years ago. It has since grown rapidly, expanding into Wexford town in 2019, and now doubling its size this year, despite pandemics, lockdowns and inflation.
“It’s gone from being the smallest bookshop in Ireland to being one of the largest independents,” Kieran O’ Brien, another local bookseller and MC for the launch, said. “It rivals anything in the big cities now, and many of them don’t even have a good independent bookshop left,” he concluded.
As well as being a bookstore, Red Books is also a publisher of local books, recently launching two new anthologies, the third issue of the Wexford Bohemian and the latest copy of Wexford Women Writing Undercover. Mr O’Neill told WexfordLocal.com that he anticipated that the bookstore would produce at least five more publications before Christmas, saying they were overwhelmed with the incredible array of diverse and powerful writing talent coming into the store every day.
“Wexford is certainly going through a literary renaissance,” he said. “You can’t throw a stone in this town without hitting a writer, poet, historian, artist, or musician, and all of them are contributing to the rich culture of the locality. We’re very proud to be part of all of this.
John Updike said that bookstores “were lonely forts spilling light out onto the sidewalks. Well, thanks to our wonderful bookshop community, we’re a not so lonely fort on a hill, spilling books and poets, quare-hawks and visionaries out onto the footpaths of Wexford.”
Red Books is open seven days a week in Wexford’s St Peter’s Square.
By Dan Walsh
The Wexford Literary Arts Festival is taking place over the weekend in Enniscorthy and Wexford town with a number of events occupying a busy programme.
A number of events happened on Friday with Margaret Galvin providing poetry workshops and the 2022 Wexford Literary Arts Festival Awards Night was held in the Presentation Art Centre on Friday night.
Congratulations were expressed to everyone who entered the competitions, were longlisted and shortlisted, and for those whose entry was placed in the top three, as follows:
Eoin Colfer International Short Children’s Story Award
Marie Day, of Wales, Winner for the story Monsters In The Snow.
Billy Roche International Short Play Award
First place: Megan O’Malley, of Wexford, for the play Unforgettable.
Second Place: Alice Lynch, of Cavan, for the play The Girls.
Third Place: Eamonn Dolan, of Waterford, for the play Aunty Maggies Remedy.
Anthony Cronin International Short Poem Award
First Place: Angela Patten, from Ireland living in Vermont USA, for the poem Shine.
Second Place: Derek Sellen, of Kent, England, for the poem G is for Grey.
Third Place: Liz Bryne, from Dublin living in Greater Manchester, England for the poem I Long To Lift A Saxophone.
Colm Tóibín International Short Story Award
First place: David Butler, of Bray, Wicklow, for the story The Witch.
Second Place: Gráinne Daly, of Tallaght, Dublin, for the story Little Jerome.
Third Place: Fergal O’Byrne from Ireland living in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the story Sweetpea.
Sponsorship of these Awards is from Wexford County Council who has been a fabulous supporter for ten years, and from the entry fees from the competitors.
Book launches were the order of the day yesterday (Saturday). Derville Murphy launched her latest book in the Book Centre, Wexford, and the Underground Women’s book launch with Red Books by Deirdre McGarry took place at the same venue on South Main St., Wexford.
The festival continues today (Sunday).
By Dan Walsh at the Battle of Enniscorthy
Shots rang out on Castle Hill this morning as the Battle of Enniscorthy was re-enacted exactly a century after the event – July 2nd 1922 – and descendants of some families involved were present to witness the historic commemoration which was the highlight of the Wexford Library Arts Festival taking place this weekend.
Aside from the re-enactment which featured members of Enniscorthy Re-enactment Historical Society and Lord Edwards Own with action emanating from Enniscorthy Castle pouring out onto the street, there were a number of speeches. Historian Barry Lacey acted as narrator and Maria Nolan was master of ceremonies.
Enniscorthy Municipal District’s Cllr Aidan Browne, who took over the chains of Cathaoirleach from Cllr Cathal Byrne, last Monday, welcomed the guests and the good sized attendance on the street, and offered some sobering words about the battle of a century ago.
Deputy Sean Haughey, grandson of former Taoiseach Sean Lemass, was the keynote speaker, while there were also contributions from Minister James Browne, Carmel Smyth, author of ‘Monteith-The Making of a Rebel and representative of the 1916 Relatives Committee.
Guests included Paul Kehoe T.D., Cllr George Lawlor, Cathaoirleach Wexford County Council, Cllrs Barbara-Anne Murphy, Kathleen Codd-Nolan, Jackser Owens, John O’Rourke and Cathal Byrne. Anne Gilpin and Carmel Long represented the Literary Festival Committee, Bernie Quigley, Enniscorthy District Council and the Council staff were also praised for their co-operation and encouragement in the staging of this novel event.
Rev. Canon Nicola Halford read a prayer; Liam Doyle played a piper’s lament; Maria Nolan read a prose extract and the pleasant ceremony concluded with the National Anthem.
Afterwards the re-enactors marched to the Post Office where Colm O’Brien and Orla McKeown laid wreaths at the site where Patrick (Paddy) O’Brien and Maurice Spilanne were shot during the Battle of Enniscorthy in 1922. Their memory is preserved by a plaque on the Post Office wall.
WexfordLocal.com 