A Wexford man is grabbing international headlines having been sensationally nominated for the ‘greatest athlete of all time’ award.
The ‘greatest athlete of all time’ accolade is awarded in recognition of athletic achievement in the World Games, a non-Olympic international sporting competition with contestants from as far afield as Russia and the USA.
JAMES KEHOE
James Kehoe, (63), from Ballycullane, is an acclaimed tug o’ war champion, and has won numerous medals in international competitions. Sports include powerlifting, canoeing, archery, and in James’ case, the tug o’ war.
The Games run every four years, and having competed in nine out of ten of them, Kehoe, from Boley Tug of War Club, has brought home two gold, three silver and five bronze medals.
On top of that, the Wexford man has over 100 national tug of war titles under his belt, and has won a grand total of 25 gold, 22 silver and numerous bronze medals in international competitions over the years.
Kehoe currently resides on the family farm in Boley where he was born. He is keeping fit and preparing for his next brave international challenge.
There are 23 other candidates from 23 other sports in the running for the award. Voting ends on February 1st.
Irish Water and Wexford County Council have successfully repaired a burst water mains that affected the supply to consumers in the Enniscorthy areas of Templeshannon, Clonhaston, Fr. Murphy Park and Hempfield today.
Meanwhile, Irish Water and Wexford County Council are asking homes and businesses to check for leaks in order to reduce overall demand for drinking water. There has been a steady increase in demand over the Christmas period spiking in the past few days following the recent cold spell that saw sub-zero temperatures over a number of days. Following freezing temperatures and the subsequent thaw the public water network has experienced a higher than normal volume of bursts.
Speaking to WexfordLocal.com, Brian O’Leary, Regional Operations Lead, Irish Water, said: “We are currently addressing bursts across the network with our partners in Wexford County Council but we are also appealing to homes, businesses and those responsible for unoccupied buildings to check for leaks whilst adhering to current public health regulations and advice, and to turn off water where it’s not needed. We ask that they check outside pipes in particular that can become frozen and burst during periods of cold weather and report leaks they see on the public network to us. We are also asking the public to conserve water where possible and to only use what they need whilst continuing to adhere to public health advice on hand washing and hygiene regarding COVID-19. We have seen demand creeping up in recent weeks, spiking over the past few days. Safe, clean, treated water is not in unlimited supply and we all have to play a part in conserving it for essential use.”
There are lots more tips on how to conserve water in your home, business or school on our website at https://www.water.ie/conservation/ To report a leak please contact Irish Water on 1850 278 278.
Illegal roadside dumping has always been a major challenge for the local authority, but in recent times, the issue has escalated to epic proportions and was described as “an absolute disgrace” at last Monday’s January meeting of Wexford County Council held under Covid-19 guidelines by Microsoft Teams.
This photograph was taken this afternoon showing a number of dumped items beside the railway line outside the tunnel and bridge entrance at Mill Park Road, Enniscorthy.
Cllr Barbara-Anne Murphy told the meeting that after Christmas every year rural roads and urban areas are absolutely destroyed by dumping and fly tipping whether it is a bag of rubbish from their Christmas turkey or a bag of rubbish from their shed dumped all over our towns and villages and rural roads. “It’s an absolute disgrace,” she thundered and questioned whether fines or legal activity is happening in this regard.
Cllr Murphy felt that contacting householders and asking how they are disposing of their rubbish has been done and has been effective, but more needs to be done.
“Every householder should be asked what they are doing with their rubbish and be able to prove what they are doing with their rubbish because it is our countryside that is being destroyed and it is causing Wexford County Council a small fortune to clean it up,” concluded Cllr Murphy.
Cllr Pat Barden said the dumping and fly tipping had worsened since he joined the Council a year and half ago. “Then you might see a bit of dumping on a back road or a side road or at the edge of a forest. Now every road in the county is absolutely destroyed.” Cllr Barden suggested getting a special committee together to ‘think outside the box’ to see if we can do something about this terrible blight on the landscape.
CEO Tom Enright said he understood the members frustration about the matter, but he felt it was unfair to say that nothing was being done about it. “A lot is being done about it. People have been prosecuted and fined and costs awarded in our favour. We try to use public awareness and take strong action where we have identified who the culprits might be.”
TOM ENRIGHT, CEO.
Cllr Barden felt enough is not being done. “I was on the road from Clonroche to New Ross a couple of days ago. It is a dump! On the N25 going from Adamstown to New Ross there is fly tipping everywhere. It is a massive problem!”
Cllr John Fleming recalled the previous week that his local road had a fridge freezer and cooker and half the road was blocked. He reported the matter to his local Garda Station, but felt that GDPR was causing problems in identifying the culprits.
Cllr Fleming noticed that after Christmas the bottle banks was full and people were leaving clothes and other rubbish beside them. He suggested that maybe a different approach were needed or some company could come in with a barcode system!
Cllr Bridín Murphy asked that the Council increase the frequency of collection particularly in rural areas during the current lockdown as more people spend time at home. Overflows are quite a significant issue over Christmas and New Year and I was in contact with the environmental department to have the banks cleared.
The 2021 Point-to-Point season has been suspended with immediate effect and no upcoming fixtures will take place until further notice following updated Government guidelines clarified by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Paul Murtagh, Registrar of the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee (INHSC), said: “Point-to-Points should not take place until further notice, recognising the difficult situation the country finds itself in presently. “We will now begin to investigate the options available to us around the fixture list and race programming for when we are permitted to recommence. We will continue to liaise closely with HRI on this matter and will remain racing-ready to run Point-to-Points once we get the green light.”
The Autumn fixture list was completed ‘behind closed doors’ Two fixtures were planned for this weekend. The Ballinagore Harriers fixture at Ballycrystal, Kiltealy, was penciled in for next Sunday, and the Shillelagh & District Hunt’s fixture originally intended for January 10th, but postponed due to weather conditions, was resheduled for next Saturday.
Aldi Ireland is to create 34 new jobs for its stores in County Wexford, including 24 permanent positions across Aldi’s seven Wexford stores located at Gorey, Enniscorthy, New Ross and Wexford town.
Aldi has witnessed a surge in sales and customer footfall in the last 12 months, with sales growing by 15.2% and with over 1.4 million households shopping at its stores. Additional staff are required to help meet ongoing customer demand across its store network.
Niall O’Connor, Group Managing Director Aldi Ireland told WexfordLocal.com; “Our stores have seen a major increase in customer footfall since the Covid-19 pandemic began and our staff have played a central role in ensuring people have had access to essential best value groceries in a safe environment.
“With ambitious plans to open more stores across the country, we require 1,050 new staff to join the Aldi team this year, so we can continue providing the best shopping experience in Ireland. This includes recruiting 34 new employees for our stores in County Wexford. We need the very best people to join the Aldi team to help us continue to deliver the highest level of customer service and lowest grocery prices in Ireland.”
Full details of the different roles available in each county are now available at:
Fianna Fáil representative in the Rosslare Municipal District Council region, Cllr. Lisa McDonald has called for Wexford County Council to engage urgently with providers to tackle the large number of broadband black spots in rural areas of Co. Wexford.
At Monday’s monthly meeting of Wexford County Council, held under Covid-19 restrictions by Microsoft Teams, Cllr. McDonald called for the Broadband Officer to liaise with providers, in particular Eir, as a matter of urgency as the country goes back into lockdown.
Cllr McDonald said; “As the country re-enters tough but necessary Level 5 restrictions, many people who need functional high-speed broadband are deprived of it. Members of our communities who are ‘cocooning’ may not be able to video call their loved ones, secondary school students may miss out on vital online classes and employers and employees may not be able to connect to important work-related meetings, all because of the abysmal broadband speeds in these black spots.”
CLLR LISA McDONALD
Cllr McDonald added; “The failure of successive governments to prioritise the roll-out of high-speed broadband to rural areas is now leading to preventable inequality within society. For example, students studying from home in these black spots in rural Wexford should be on a level playing field with a student studying in an urban area, but unfortunately this is not the case.”
“I am happy to confirm that the Broadband Officer of Wexford County Council has agreed to my suggestion and am hopefully that this important issue will be addressed urgently,” concluded Cllr. McDonald.
Wexford County Council headquarters on Wexford’s Newtown Road at Carrcklawn may be used as a Vaccine Centre if the need arises. It is one of a selection of suitable facilities around the county that will be made available to the HSE should a mass vaccination programme be rolled out.
Chief Executive Officer Tom Enright addressed the matter at today’s January meeting of Wexford County Council held under the Covid-19 restrictions by Microsoft Teams.
Cllr John Hegarty opened a debate on the current situation and asked if the Council were doing enough during the Level 5 lockdown and could more be done to reassure people and wondered if stricter measures are necessary?
WEXFORD COUNTY COUNCIL HQ
Mr Enright said; “We have been meeting with the HSE and the Gardai asking people to abide by the rules. We have another meeting with the HSE tomorrow (Tuesday). The rules are out there. The vast majority of people are doing what is asked of them. We are playing our part, but unfortunately, there are a small number that are not. Numbers in Wexford are exceedingly high compared with other counties. We will know more tomorrow on the public health issue after meeting the HSE and we will issue a media statement afterwards if it is deemed necessary.”
Cllr Davy Hynes said some of the problems from the Covid-19 situation was associated with alcohol sales.
Cllr Jackser Owens called for a test centre to be opened in Enniscorthy. “People are frightened out there. People are very frightened. We have a big district (Enniscorthy), and I am calling on the Council to provide a Test Centre?
Cathaoireleach Cllr Ger Carty offered his support and requested that Cllr Owens would send related correspondence to the HSE.
The CEO added that the Council had made arrangements with the HSE to make property available in Enniscorthy “if and when it is needed for testing.”
“It is ready and fit for purpose, if and when it is needed.” He added that there is other ‘temporary centres’ set up by the HSE in some of the particular locations where there is a peak in the numbers of people being infected.
Cllr Michael Sheehan said there is a test centre in New Ross “but it is on again, off again!” They may not be of great benefit for the town. The one in New Ross has been closed more that it is open!
However, Cllr Sheehan had concerns about the roll-out of vaccinations in the community. He felt more involvement could be assigned to local organisations, LDF, Order of Malta, Civil Defence etc. “People are rightfully afraid, and people are rightly concerned,” he concluded.
18 years old Festy Ebosele who played his football with Moyne Rangers made his first-team debut for Derby County, coming on in the 64th minute, in Saturday’s FA Cup 3rd Round game against non-league side Chorley, who won 2-0, in freezing conditions at Victory Park.
FESTY EBOSELE wearing the Ireland shirt. (Pic; Derby Telegraph)
His former Enniscorthy club issued the following statement last night; “Congratulations to former Moyne Rangers player Festy Ebosele on making his 1st team debut for Derby County today in the 3rd round of the FA Cup. Making his return from a three-month injury Festy showed his potential when introduced and hopefully he can finish the season strongly and break through and cement his place in Wayne Rooney’s (English and Manchester United legend) squad. Well done today Festy and all the best from everyone associated with our club.”
WexfordLocal.com 