The dream of Wexford’s Bertram Allen and his Ireland showjumping team-mates of Tokyo Olympics glory has been shattered after Ireland have taken decision to pull out of the qualifiers for the team showjumping final after Shane Sweetnam’s mount Alejandro had a horrible experience.
Shane Sweetnam, Bertram Allen and Darragh Kenny (Pic; Horse Sport Ireland)
Bertram Allen and Darragh Kenny did not compete as there was no point as qualification was impossible.
Sweetnam, who replaced Cian O’Connor after his horse Kilkenny suffered a nose bleed at the individual qualifers on Wednesday, was the first of the Irish riders in the ring, but he came off the horse after barrelling into a number of fences and he lost a shoe in the process.
Qualification for the final with just two riders was a virtually impossible task and the decision was taken not to continue.
It was a hugely disappointing end to years of preparation and qualification, however, that is sometimes the outcome in equestrian sport.
Revenue officers at Rosslare Europort have seized around 88kgs of heroin, worth over €12 million following an intelligence led operation at the port yesterday (Thursday).
Detector dog FLYNN
The discovery was made when a truck and low-loader trailer, arriving from mainland Europe, was stopped and searched.
The drugs were discovered concealed in machinery being carried on the low-loader.
The search was carried out with the assistance of Revenue’s mobile x-ray scanner and detector dogs Sam and Flynn, along with ongoing support from assistance of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau.
Anyone with information regarding smuggling can contact Revenue’s confidential phone number on 1800 295 295.
The equestrian sport eyes of the world will be focused firmly on Equestrian Park at the Tokyo Olympics this morning as Team Ireland compete for medals and the local interest surrounds the participation of Enniscorthy-born Bertram Allen.
Son of Bert Allen and Geraldine Fitzgerald, Bertram celebrated his 26th birthday last Sunday and has plenty of family connections to cheer him on, including his siblings, Harry, himself a promising young showjumping rider, April, Lucy and Grace. The family home is at Enniscorthy, but they also own Ballywalter Farm, near Kilmuckridge.
When news of his nomination broke in June, Bertram Allen told WexfordLocal.com; “I am most grateful to be nominated to represent Team Ireland at the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer together with my team-mates Cian O’Connor, Darragh Kenny, Shane Sweetnam and Michael Duffy. To compete for my country on the Olympic stage is a tremendous honour for me! “I am also incredibly proud of my Irish bred partner Pacino Amiro, who has kept on getting better and better this season to reach the highest level despite his young age!”
Now the great moment is nigh! The latest news is as follows thanks to Horse Sport Ireland.
SHANE SWEETNAM, BERTRAM ALLEN and DARRAGH KENNY… Team Ireland in the Olympics today. (Pic; Horse Sport Ireland)
London Olympic bronze medallist Cian O’Connor is out of the team after his horse Kilkenny suffered a nose bleed in the Individual Jumping on Wednesday where he finished in seventh position.
Team manager Michael Blake has called up Cork native Shane Sweetnam who makes his Olympic debut with Alejandro, a 12-year-old gelding owned by Sweetnam along with Spy Coast Farm and Seabrook LLC. A reliable source told me that Sweetnam has Wexford family connections in the Clough area of Gorey, but I have been unable to confirm this news!
Sweetnam will be first of the three Irish riders to jump and will be followed by Bertram Allen with Pacino Amiro (ISH), while Darragh Kenny will be last of the Irish to jump with VDL Cartello.
The full list of teams and the order to go is as follows:1, Czech Republic; 2, China; 3, Japan; 4, Israel; 5, Mexico; 6, Argentina; 7, Morocco; 8, New Zealand; 9, Ireland; 10, Egypt; 11, France; 12, Sweden; 13, USA; 14, Great Britain; 15, Brazil; 16, Switzerland; 17, Belgium; 18, Germany; 19, Netherlands.
The Olympic Show Jumping team qualifier starts at 11am Irish time today (Friday). RTE 2 will show each of the Irish riders in action, while the entire competition can be watched on the Eurosport Player/Discovery+ (subscription required).
Wexford Fianna Fáil Senator Malcolm Byrne has written to the Taoiseach Micheál Martin and to Arts & Culture Minister, Catherine Martin, calling for the Minister and senior Government officials to meet with representatives of the arts, live events and entertainment sector before the end of next week and to agree a clear roadmap for reopening.
He again expressed frustration that “arts and entertainment are not being given sufficient priority, in spite of the fact that those involved have been among the worst impacted by Covid over the last eighteen months.”
SENATOR MALCOLM BYRNE
Senator Byrne stated that it was “welcome and appropriate that there was high level engagement with the tourism and hospitality sector, as well as with sporting bodies to ensure safe reopening” but added; “Like so many involved in the arts, I am tired of constantly having to seek clarity on cultural and music events after government announcements and worse, not having any sense of priority being given to the safe reopening of these activities.”
“Theatres and arts venues are controlled environments. They are happy to work within clearly defined safety guidelines; they do it all the time. Arts professionals – be they involved in production or dance or drama classes or event management – have a constant awareness of health and safety.”
“I do not accept an aspiration toward having some kind of roadmap at the end of August represents any sort of coherent government policy. There should be the same level of engagement now as we have seen with the tourism and hospitality sector.”
Although the magnificent outdoor facilities at Killeens, Wexford, are being enjoyed and open to the public for more than a year now, the official opening of the €4 million Min Ryan Park was performed last weekend by Mayor of Wexford, Cllr Gary Laffan. It had been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the official opening of Min Ryan Park; Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council, Cllr Barbara-Anne Murphy, Elisabet Berney, 100 years old daughter of Min Ryan, and Mayor of Wexford Cllr Garry Laffan.
Mayor Laffan announced future plans to develop the park even further, including a skate park, and he told the invited gathering “the park is a huge asset not just for the town but for but also the entire county and its people.”
Elisabet Berney, the 100 years old daughter of Min Ryan, was a special guest, and she spoke about her mother who was born in 1884 and grew up in Tomcoole, not too far from the park that commemorates her memory and serves as a reminder that she played an important role in the 1916 Rising.
Ms Berney unveiled the Min Ryan Park plaque and cut the ceremonial ribbon in the company of Richard Mulcahy, the Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council, Cllr Barbara-Anne Murphy, and other public representatives and invited guests.
CEO Wexford County Council, Tom Enright outlined the amount of work that went into developing the public park and stressed its importance for the town and county as a public amenity.
Wexford rider Bertram Allen, and his Team Ireland colleagues Darragh Kenny and Cian O’Connor put in fine performances but finished out of the medals in the individual jumping final at the Toyko Olympics this morning.
BERTRAM ALLEN
Bertram needed a fault-free round to keep his medal hopes alive. Aboard Pacino Amiro they started strongly and was travelling well over the first five fences before cutting a corner and knocked down the first of three combination fences.
He dropped another bar towards the end and finished with eight penalties in a time of 84.64, he was out of the medals and finished 15th overall in a field of 30.
Great Britain’s Ben Maher won gold after the jump-off with silver going to Sweden’s Peder Fredricson and Maikel van der Vleuten of the Netherlands taking the bronze. Cian O’Connor was best of the Irish and finished in seventh overall.
Over €900,000 worth of grants have been approved for 62 coastal community groups and micro enterprises, four in the South East and two in Co. Wexford.
HOOK HEAD
Bannow Historical Society received over €10,000 for training in Maritime Heritage Preservation and Celebration.
Hook Head received 60% towards the Hike to the Hook 2020 event, and social media development for the attraction, coming in at just over €2,500.
Funding is provided by the Fisheries Local Action Groups set up under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Programme.
South-East as a region received the lowest amount of funding, at just €38,236 – compared to the €306,000 that the north region received for 10 projects.
In the individual showjumping qualifier at the Tokyo Olympic Games Wexford rider Bertram Allen with his Ireland teammates Darragh Kenny and Cian O’Connor all jumped clear rounds today and all three are certain be among the 30 riders through to Wednesday’s Jumping Individual Final.
BERTRAM ALLEN and Pacino Amiro are into the Individual Final at the Toyko Olympics. (Pic; Kaitlyn Karssen)
The trio got around with zero penalties. O’Connor, a bronze medallist at London 2012, clocked a time of 88.66, while Allen finished in 85.18 with Kenny the fastest in a time of 82.01.
Bertram Allen, who partnered Pacino Amiro and Cian O’Connor on Kilkenny, spoke to RTE Sport about the importance of having no faults. “The main thing was to be clear, the time was only going to come into it if we weren’t clear. You have to jump a clear round now in qualifying with the new format.”
The top 30 from the 73 starters in today’s competition go forward to tomorrow’s (Wednesday) individual final which starts at 11am Irish time and will be broadcast live on RTE 2.
The RNLI will present three lifeboat crews in the South-East with gallantry awards for their role in a rescue last October that saved nine lives and prevented a 100-metre cargo vessel, carrying 4,000 tonnes of coal, from hitting rocks at Hook Head.
The Coxswains of Dunmore East RNLI, Kilmore Quay RNLI and Rosslare Harbour RNLI are to receive RNLI Bronze Medals for Gallantry – one of the highest awards presented by the lifesaving charity – while the volunteer lifeboat crews who responded to the callout will each receive Medal Certificates.
Following a meeting of the RNLI’s Board of Trustees, the RNLI has made the following recommendation. ‘For their fine display of seamanship and boat-handling skills in atrocious weather conditions, in securing a tow and determination to succeed resulting in the saving of nine lives. It is recommended that the Bronze Medal for Gallantry be awarded to:
Coxswain (Dunmore East) Roy Abrahamsson
Coxswain (Kilmore Quay) Eugene Kehoe
Coxswain (Rosslare Harbour) Eamon O’Rourke
HOOK HEAD
The lifeboat crews of Dunmore East RNLI, Kilmore Quay RNLI and Rosslare Harbour RNLI will all receive Medal Service Certificates’;
Dunmore East RNLI crew: Roy Abrahamsson (Coxswain), David Murray (Mechanic), Neville Murphy (Navigator) and crewmembers Peter Curran, Jon Walsh, Luka Sweeney and Kevin Dingley.
Kilmore Quay RNLI crew: Eugene Kehoe (Coxswain), Philip Walsh (Mechanic), Aidan Bates (Navigator) and crewmembers Trevor Devereux and Sam Nunn.
Rosslare Harbour RNLI crew: Eamon O’Rourke (Coxswain), Mick Nicholas (Mechanic), Keith Miller (Navigator) crewmembers Padraig Quirke, Michael Sinnott, Eoghan Quirke and Paul McCormack.
The station Coxswains were informed of the awards by RNLI Area Lifesaving Manager Joe Moore who commented; ‘In recommending these awards, the RNLI Trustees recognise the difficulty of the service, the challenges that were faced by the lifeboat crews during their twelve hours at sea and the tragedy and environmental disaster that was averted off the Irish coast.’
In reviewing the service, the RNLI also recommended a Medal Service Certificate for the crew of Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 117 for their top cover and reassurance to all the crews below for the duration of the service. Signed letters of appreciation will also be presented to the staff of the National Maritime Operations Centre in Dublin and the Master and crew of the tug Tramontine.
RNLI Director of Lifesaving, John Payne said; “Those crew involved demonstrated that unique blend of courage, selflessness, dependability, and trustworthiness, at their best, in the most demanding of conditions. Without question their combined actions saved lives at sea. Conditions onboard the lifeboats were unpleasant in the rolling and pitching seas. The volunteer crews displayed fortitude, perseverance and courage to remain focused whilst under the most testing conditions, often up to their knees in water and heaving decks. The unity of purpose and sense of “One Crew” displayed by all contributed significantly to the successful outcome in a protracted 12-hour service.”
Rescue of the Lily B off Hook Head last October (Pic; RNLI/Roy Abrahamsson)
On October 20th 2020, Dunmore East RNLI, Kilmore Quay RNLI and Rosslare Harbour RNLI, along with Rescue 117, conducted a joint rescue operation off the Wexford coast. The Lily B, a 100-metre general cargo vessel with nine crew and carrying 4,000 tonnes of coal, had lost all power, just two nautical miles from Hook Head. Conditions on scene were force eight with severe force nine gusts and wave heights between eight and ten metres. The Lily B was drifting and in danger of striking rocks on Hook Head or capsizing in the heavy seas.
The 12-hour service in challenging conditions saw multiple attempts by the lifeboat crews involved to establish a tow between the casualty vessel and the lifeboats. With the crew of the Lily B unable to stay on deck for long in the poor conditions and with language difficulties, two of the lifeboats were eventually successful in passing a rope on deck by using a rocket line and pulling the cargo vessel clear of the rocks. The lifeboat tow was maintained for three hours with waves continually crashing over the decks until the tug vessel Tramontine from Waterford Port arrived on scene and took up the tow. The three lifeboats stayed with the Lily B until they reached the safety of the Waterford Estuary. The rescue operation was finally stood down after 12 hours at sea for the lifeboat crews.
Details of the arrangements for the presentation of Bronze Medals for Gallantry and the Medal Service Certificates are to be arranged in consultation with the awardees and will be released nearer the date.
The death has taken place of popular radio journalist Paul Rowley, (62), who was the voiceof South East Radio news and sport over many years. Many tributes are accumulating from his legion of friends and colleagues.
Sunday Sports Hour presenter Aidan Delaney and reporter Liam Spratt paid tribute to Paul Rowley on this evening’s programme. “Plenty of good memories being shared by people who knew Paul and he will be sadly missed,” said Aidan, who added; “Condolences to his brother Michael. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam.”
PAUL ROWLEY
A graduate of St. Peter’s College, Wexford, Paul Rowley had worked with pirate radio stations in Wexford before local broadcasting was legalised and he joined South East Radio in the newsroom when the station first went on the air in October 1989.
He was Head of News at South East Radio from 1989 for 14 years, also worked as a newsroom journalist with Today FM, FM104 and 98FM, before spending many years behind the microphone on Saturdays and Sundays as the presenter of South East Radio’s Weekend Sport.
Paul was very thorough in his work and a tough disciplinarian, however, he was fair and recognised best efforts with dignity and appreciation. He trained many broadcasters (including this writer) in the rudimentary system in the days when technical issues were complex, editing was a slow process and communications was by phone or old-fashioned pen and paper. He strived for good radio listening at all times!
He had an encyclopaedic knowledge of sport and his enthusiasm and interest covered not only the popular sports, but the minority sports too! He got great satisfaction from explaining the scoring system of the cricket matches, a challenge that was beyond many who enjoyed watching the game.
Paul was a volunteer with Wexford Order of Malta and was a regular at the horse racing meets at Bettyville Park looking after the welfare of the jockeys who were not jumping with the fluency required and were having a bad day!
He was a talented broadcaster, blessed with an articulate voice that that was warm and inviting to the listeners, and he will be sorely missed by all who knew him and were privileged to be in his company or those who simply knew Paul Rowley through his voice on the radio. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam.
FAMILY NOTICE; The death has occurred of Paul Rowley, William Street, Wexford. Beloved son of the late Maureen and Owen. Brother of Michael. Former Presenter on South East Radio. Sadly missed by his brother, extended family, friends and former work colleagues. May he Rest in Peace.
Due to Government advice regarding public gatherings, a private family funeral shall take place on Wednesday, August 4th followed by private cremation.
WexfordLocal.com 