Four favourites oblige at Wexford races

By Dan Walsh at Wexford races

Enniscorthy trainer Paul Nolan had one victory and two second-place finishers at Bettyville Park, Wexford, this evening (Wednesday). Four of the eight races were won by favourites.

JORDAN GAINFORD was amongst the winners at Wexford races.

Nolan’s success came with Hatfield Hammer (4/1) ridden by Caim jockey Jordan Gainford in the second division of the handicap hurdle.

Farfromnowhere (Sean O’Keeffe) lost out to Sunchart (7/4 fav) ridden by Adam Ryan for Andrew Slattery in the rated hurdle and Thedeviluno (Jack Hendrick) was beaten by Strong Link (5/2), bred by William Codd, Mayglass, and ridden by John Gleeson depriving Nolan of an even better evening at his local track.

Jockey Tiernan Power Roche from Tomhaggard rode Lieutenant Mayne (7/4 fav) to victory in the hurdle for Meath trainer John McConnell, but the Wexford connection is that the gelding was bred by Daryl Deacon, Belmont House, Clonroche.

Conor O’Dwyer trains at Friarstown, Co. Kildare, but he was born in Wexford town and delighted to saddle Arnacoeur (7/1) who gained a handicap hurdle victory ridden by his son, Charlie Dwyer, who was claiming five pounds.

Gordon Elliott has a strong strike-rate at Wexford and his good fortune continued with Beacon Edge (1/3 fav.) in the claiming hurdle. Amateur rider Josh Halford was in the saddle.

Breeder, owner and trainer Patrick Cronin made the journey from Doneraile, the village where steeplechasing began in Cork centuries ago, and enjoyed success with Onebrightbluerose (9/4 fav.) ridden by Darragh O’Keeffe.

Peter Fahey from Monastervin saddled Avalo (7/2) who gained a six lengths victory in the maiden hurdle under three-pound claiming jockey Jake Coen.

The Tote aggregate was €101,252.76 (8 races) copard with €91,616.76 (7 races) last year.

Next fixture at Bettyville Park is scheduled for Friday, July 4th which is labelled Cairde Loch Garman Race Day.

3-day farming seminar at Enniscorthy this weekend

ENNISCORTHY CASTLE is one of the venues for the Regenerative Farming Seminar this weekend. (File Pic; WexfordLocal.com)

By Dan Walsh

Moyne Veterinary Hospital at Enniscorthy will host a three-day seminar on Regenerative Farming this weekend with events at the Riverside Park Hotel and at Enniscorthy Castle on Sunday. This will include a very impressive lineup of speakers from various parts of the industry and country.
This is a forum of farmers talking to farmers on how we can produce great quality food, with higher nutrient value and enhance the land. The studies on the nutrient value of the food produced on these types of farms is very encouraging.
Kicking off in the Riverside Park Hotel on Friday, May 30th, will be Mike Walsh – a college lecturer in SETU (South East Technological University) within the Masters of Science in Agriculture programme – the framework of which is Biological and Organic.
David Wallis is a former Teagasc advisor, farmer and coordinator of the DANU project. This is an EU funded 5-year study of 12 commercial farmers who began practicing regenerative or biological farming.
Tommy Tierney is a tillage farmer from Kildare and has stopped ploughing 9 years ago. He uses a ‘no till’ sower, and it has helped him reduce his costs by half – while still getting four tonnes per acre yield as before.
Bronagh O’Kane is a young  beef and sheep farmer from the North of Ireland, who will give her account of the journey so far, 5 years down the regenerative road.
At last year’s seminar, father and son dairy farmers Fraser and Jonathan Rothwell, came to listen, were inspired by the speakers, and have taken up the baton in turn – they will tell their story one year into the journey. On Saturday, May 31st at Enniscorthy Castle, author and lecturer Dr Verner Wheelock will be speaking on the detrimental effects of poor food quality and how we can change it. Well known vet Tommy Heffernan will speak on the microbiome – from soil health to animal and human health. Yvanna Greene will talk on bees and biodiversity.
Sunday, June 1st will feature Alan Poole – dairy farmer ambassador of Farming With Nature – on making a difference through enhancing biodiversity. Silja Harms – herbalist – will do a workshop on how to make your own herbal salves and give a talk on common “herbal hero’s” that are all around us. The concluding speaker will be Mary Reynolds – Chelsea Flower Gold medallist, best-selling author and tireless environmentalist – on how to be “guardians not gardeners”.
There is something for everyone over the three days along with lots of fun activities for the kids with fairy tales, baby-bop, and rock ‘n’ roll dancing.
The events can be booked on Eventbrite – “Ground Rules” for Friday 30th, and “Conversations in the Castle” for Saturday and Sunday.

Midweek racing comes to Wexford

By Dan Walsh

Racing takes place at Bettyville Park, Wexford, on Wednesday evening. The first race is off at 4.55pm which is earlier starting time than originally advertised.

There has been a large entry so the original seven-race card has been extended and now eight races will be run – seven over hurdles and an INH Flat Race.

They were watering earlier in the week, but with rain on Tuesday and more expected before the tapes go up on Wednesday evening, the going is expected to be ‘Good…good to yielding in places’.

Stop the lights at Gorey Bridge

By Dan Walsh at Gorey Kilmuckridge Municipal District Council meeting

Plans to replace the temporary traffic lights on Arklow Road at the Ballytegan Road junction and before the railway bridge with a permanent set of traffic lights were discussed at last Tuesday’s monthly meeting of the Gorey Kilmuckridge Municipal District Council.

Cllr Joe Sullivan raised the matter at the meeting and said he had received many complaints about the decision to locate traffic lights at this junction and told the meeting he “had a responsibility and an obligation to represent the views of the people who elected him.”

CLLR JOE SULLIVAN received a large number of calls from the public regarding the location of new traffic lights on the Arklow Road in Gorey.

Cllr Darragh McDonald noted that the temporary traffic lights were placed there ahead of the smart traffic lights.

Referring to Cllr Sullivan’s remarks about the lights slowing down people’s journeys and driving people to Arklow for shopping, Cllr Anthony Donohoe remarked “wouldn’t be worse if there were no traffic in town?”

Cllr Donal Kenny stated to “Give it a chance. Let it be done.”

Roads Engineer Joanne Kehoe explained to the members that “we don’t have space for a roundabout as the road is to narrow at this junction.”

Cllr Craig Doyle stated on social media; “I’ve raised the issue of sight lines with the roads engineer at the district council meeting on Tuesday so she is aware of the issue. I agree it’s only sheer luck that there hasn’t been a crash there during the roadworks.”

The works are finished, and only the lights need fitting and road markings completed for the new traffic layout to be operational.

Peter Haughton, proprietor of Haughton School of Motoring in a social media comment stated; “The traffic lights are positioned after the bridge on the Gorey side. As we have witnessed, the traffic builds up out as far as the Maxol garage. When this traffic builds up, it creates a serious blind spot for traffic turning right from Gorey side of the Arklow road towards Ashdown Park Hotel and Coach Road.

“The traffic coming from the Arklow side has right of way when turning left onto Coach Road, but people ignore this and plough on through!, added the statement.

Driver behaviour and patience during busy times can significantly impact traffic flow through the town.

Burst water main in Gorey 

By Dan Walsh

Uisce Éireann crews are currently working to repair a burst water main which has constricted flow to the Creagh Water Treatment Plant in Gorey.

The burst is affecting water supply to Uisce Éireann customers in Gorey and the surrounding areas.

Crews are on site and are working to repair the burst. It is estimated that repairs will be complete and supply will return to normal levels this afternoon.

Uisce Éireann’s Padraig Lyng has assured affected customers that supply will be restored as quickly as possible.

“We acknowledge the inconvenience caused to customers by unplanned outages and we want to thank affected homes and businesses for their understanding while our crews work to repair the burst and restore normal supply,” said Mr. Lyng.

Typically, it takes two to three hours following repairs for normal supply to restore to all customers affected by an unplanned outage. However, it may take longer for normal supply to be restored to customers at the end of the network or on higher ground as the system recharges.  

Substantial losses at Enniscorthy Car Park

By Dan Walsh at Enniscorthy Municipal District meeting

Car parking has always been a contentious issue in Enniscorthy town, however, figures released recently show that the car park at Mill Yard Lane, also known locally as the Clinic Car Park has been operating at a substantial loss to Wexford County Council.

The matter had been raised at a recent meeting of Wexford County Council, but a statement from Eamonn Hore, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Services at Wexford County Council was circulated at last Tuesday’s monthly meeting of Enniscorthy Municipal District Council.

“This car park has been in place for a number of years at a cost of €22,500 per annum rental. The total income for the year 2022 was €4,327 representing a loss of €18,173.

“The total income for the year 2023 was €2,499.40 representing a further loss of €20,000.60.

“The income for the year 2024 (January to May inclusive) was €968.30 representing a loss over these five months of €8,406.70.

“As can be seen from the figures presented, the losses based on income over rental cost are significant.

“The occupancy of this car park is extremely low. The actual numbers using the car park (8.30am to 6.30am) is approximately three cars over the busiest five-hour periods or fourteen or fifteen cars per day.

“The Mill Yard Car Park is currently in poor state of repair. If Wexford County Council was to continue use of the car park, then the current rough, uneven surface should be repaired and surface dressed. Public lighting should also be considered.

“In its current format, with the current rental cost and current low usage, it does not make sense to continue with this site,” concluded Mr. Hore.

Call for Burial Wall at Enniscorthy Cemetery

By Dan Walsh at Enniscorthy Municipal District Council meeting

At last Tuesday’s Enniscorthy Municipal District Council meeting, a request was made to build a wall in the cemetery for families to place ashes of cremated loved ones, known as a Columbarium Wall for cremated remains!

CLLR PAT KEHOE (Pic; WexfordLocal.com)

Cllr Pat Kehoe stated that several families had contacted him regarding the issue. He mentioned that many deceased individuals are now cremated, and families are seeking a small memorial to honour them.

The Council has promised to investigate what’s involved and report back at a future meeting.

Cllr Kehoe has succeeded in persuading Wexford County Council to provide a properly functioning public address system shared between St. Mary’s Cemetery and Enniscorthy Cemetery during the Patron ceremony in August.

Cllr Kehoe said; “People have been concerned about the need to have speakers available to allow them hear services and prayers when they are at the graves of their loved ones in the new cemetery.

“I am happy to say I met with the local senior engineer Neville Shaw, as well as Fr. Tom Dalton and the relevant contractors to work out a solution. A cable has now been brought across the road to the new cemetery which means speakers can be used as and when they are needed in the new cemetery.”

Treble for the Doyles

By Dan Walsh

A double success at Inchydoney in Cork for Sean Doyle and a single success at Ballingarry, Co. Tipperary, for Cormac Doyle made it a day to remember for the Monbeg brothers at today’s point-to-point fixtures.

SEAN DOYLE saddled two point-to-point winners today.

Sean’s double was for the Monbeg Partnership with Shinealight who finished alone in a field of three in the maiden race for four-year-old mares and Fiyero scored by two lengths in the maiden race for four-year-old geldings. Duncormick rider Sean Staples partnered both winners.

Cormac’s winner was I Walk The Line for the Monbeg Farm Racing Partnership in the maiden race for four-year-old geldings ridden by Darragh Higgins. Five and a half lengths the winning verdict. It was Cormac’s 11th winner of the season and a personal best.

Woman (20s) dies in road crash

ENNISCORTHY GARDA STATION (File Pic; WexfordLocal.com)

By Dan Walsh

A female pedestrian in her 20s has died following a road traffic collision at Curragraigue, Ballindaggin,  yesterday (Saturday) afternoon.

Gardaí and emergency services responded to reports of the collision involving a car and pedestrian, which occurred on the R702 Kiltealy-Enniscorthy road at approximately 3pm. 

The pedestrian, aged in her late 20s was removed from the scene in a serious condition to Wexford General Hospital where she later passed away. 

The male driver of the car, who was also aged in his 20s received medical assessment at the scene.  

Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to this incident to come forward. 

Any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) and were travelling in the area between 2.30pm and 3.30pm Saturday 24th May 2025, are asked to make this footage available to investigating Gardaí. 

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Enniscorthy Garda Station on (053) 9233534, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station. 

Investigations are ongoing.

Woman (20s) injured near Ballindaggin

ENNISCORTHY GARDA STATION (File Pic; WexfordLocal.com)

By Dan Walsh

A pedestrian, a woman, aged in her 20s, was seriously injured after being struck by a car on the R702 at Curragraigue, Ballindaggin, today. It occurred at approximately 3pm.

She was taken Wexford General Hospital for treatment.

The male driver of the car, aged in his 20s, received medical assessment at the scene.

No other injuries were reported,

The road is currently closed for technical examination by Garda forensic collision investigators, with local diversions in place.

Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to this incident to come forward.

Any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) and were travelling in the area between 2.30pm and 3.30pm today are asked to make this footage available to investigating gardaí.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Enniscorthy Garda Station on (053) 9233534, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.

Investigations are ongoing.