Co.Wexford - Enniscorthy

[Del.Monte]

Good to see several of Enniscorthy's buildings getting a makeover under the 'The Enniscorthy Walls Project'. A number of large scale murals on being applied to buildings throughout the town. The scheme which proved very successful in New Ross and Waterford should brighten up the town considerably and lets hope they are left alone by the village idiots who have their own version of wall art. Pity the council wouldn't take the lead in cleaning up the graffiti instead of expecting property owners to do it.

[schmittel]

I don't know Enniscorthy but I've driven through it countless times. I've always thought it had everything going for it - location, on the train line, picturesque and fabulous built heritage/streetscapes.

But it always feels a bit grim and down at heel, and there are other towns that have none of the natural advantages that are far more appealing. Always confused me a bit.

[Del.Monte]

Some good news - for me anyway - as Permanent TSB are to takeover the Ulster Bank premises on Rafter Street. Since they sold up on the Market Square I've had to physically travel to Gorey anytime that I need to transact any urgent business.

[esdras]

Would anyone know if there is an Enniscorthy Local History Society?

[Del.Monte]

Not as far as I know, but the Wexford Historical Society http://www.wexfordhistoricalsociety.com/ publishes an excellent journal that often includes Enniscorthy topics.

[Del.Monte]

Not a fan of on street dining I was persuaded by two friends, down from Dublin, to give "Cafe Harmonica" on Wafer Street a try-out. My friends enjoyed their sandwiches and I settled for a coffee - also good. However, the recently erected outside dining platform was chilly and the frequent passing traffic does nothing for the ambience. I don't understand where all the traffic is coming from and at times it's almost back to pre-bypass levels. I won't be in a hurry to 'dine' outside again and really something needs to be done to get the traffic out of the town.

[Del.Monte]

It's well over ten years since I started highlighting problems around the town and in particular the state of the playground on the Promenade. Little has changed over the years save that, apparently, over €100k was spent on the new additions to the playground. A visit today showed some of the new equipment is already being defaced while some of the original items are in a disgraceful state - again!


There's hardly a seat the length of the Prom that could be described as well maintained - a simple annual task - but the council seem hell bent on committing all their resources on aimless grass cutting. How much would a couple of pots of varnish cost?


The Urrin river footbridge (below) which the Council installed at great cost less than 10 years ago is in poor condition and in line for replacement.


However, it is the council's intention to destroy the unspoilt area between the footbridge and the bridge adjacent to Davis' Mill that alarms me the most.


Currently a narrow gravel path wends its way from the footbridge up to St.John's Road - a haven for wild birds and flora - is to be replaced by more concrete, grass, lamp poles and bins.....I despair.

The Enniscorthy thread on Boards used to be by far the most active on the Wexford forum and I expect this to be too when it dawns on the posters there that something major happened over there....

[Del.Monte]

A welcome addition to Slaney Street which, as always, is in a permanent state of flux with businesses appearing overnight and disappearing just as quickly. Some sort of serious effort is needed by the Council if the street is to come back to life. The take-out menu looks inviting but I can't put it up as Facebook is broken (for me anyway) this morning.

[Del.Monte]

The 'new' Enniscorthy website is like a poorly made Junior Cert project or perhaps you think otherwise. Even the website of the developer Burford Web Designs https://www.burfordwebdesigns.com/ has disappeared.

I hope that it didn't cost much as it's based on a FREE Wordpress product. Spelling mistakes, woeful photographs, hard to read text.....The whole embarrassment was sponsored by Wexford County Council and Enniscorthy Chamber of Commerce - why am I not surprised. https://shopenniscorthy.ie/

[Del.Monte]

Halloween seems to have started even earlier than usual in town tonight judging by the amount of fireworks being set off. Nobody about to notice them but the pigeons don't like it.

[Del.Monte]

I paid an early morning visit to the 'Orchard Peace Garden' today having heard that the village idiots had been busy since my previous visit. Utterly shocking is the only way to describe the state of the place which was opened at a cost of €150,000 in 2019.

Entering from the Irish Street entrance (gates open at 8.30am) one is greeted by pieces of broken granite on the pathway, a seat covered in graffiti that I won''t post here, and at the first flight of steps the wooden handrail has been smashed off leaving just the ironwork. Further up the park, drink cans, and blocks of concrete strewn about with more seats covered in graffiti. Things are a little better nearer the Presentation Centre end of the park which is more visible to the school and the public road.

It has to be asked when is something going to be done to take the place in hand? Do we have to wait until more serious damage is done and ends up costing thousands to put right. Given that the park is locked at night and opened in the morning why can't the person charged with opening up at least pick up the beer cans? The place will rapidly turn into a no-go area for humans if something is not done very soon. I am really mad!! Emails to TDs and councillors in hand..........

[Del.Monte]

Sad to report further damage at the Peace Park this morning.
Here's a novel idea, why doesn't the adjoining St Aidan's Parish Primary School adopt the Park and look after it since the Council seem incapable?

[Del.Monte]

Another tenant for a long vacant shop unit on Castle Street. How long will this one last given the huge rent sought by the owner - €1,500 per month according to Sherry Fitzgerald https://www.sherryfitz.ie/let-commercia ... ord-191994 - throw in the rates, electricity and public liability insurance and why would you?

[Del.Monte]

More positive signs of recovery with two new shops on Castle Street. "High St. Style", a ladies & gents outfitters opened last week;



and "The Hidden Gem" is opening in the old Siopa Brog premises on Castle Street shortly, with renovation work well in hand.

[Del.Monte]

Water, water everywhere, and divil a drop to drink - Good old Enniscorthy/Wexford County Council turned the water off without warning last night and was still not back at 9am this morning. I found a number to ring and spoke to a friendly Indian (?) gentleman who took all my details and was about to look into it when I told him to cancel the enquiry as I could hear the water starting to run in the kitchen. However, what I did not know was that a boiled water notice had also been issued for Enniscorthy and proceeded to wash my teeth in the stuff. Since then, quite by chance, I learnt on an unrelated FB page about the boiled water notice - marvellous!

The town water supply is regularly switched off but I never remember a boiled water notice before. The water is muck at the best of times and I only ever drink it boiled. The rest of the time I use bottled water for everything and tell myself that it's safe - at least it's always clear unlike the town supply.....rant over.......and I'm still above ground.

[Del.Monte]

Halloween returned to Enniscorthy again tonight with yet more fireworks being let off in the Castle Hill area.

[Del.Monte]

From:
https://www.independent.ie/regionals/we ... 21969.html

Some good news at last. The Boil Water Notice is now lifted from today, Friday, November 5. The plant has been back in satisfactory operation since Tuesday, November 2, with low turbidity and clear water off the filters. The scouring and sampling in the network has been ongoing throughout all this week. We have completed 4 days of bacteria sampling – there was 1 coliform detected on October 30, but we have had 3 days of clear sampling since then. Wexford County Council took 5 crypto samples over the Boil Notice period- the sample on 30th had 1 Crypto Oocyst- however this sample was taken when the plant was still in operational difficulty. This one bad sample delayed the lifting of the notice until today.

However, since then we have had 3 clear samples for crypto. We are now entirely satisfied that the plant is operating satisfactorily and that the water in Enniscorthy is safe to drink. Wexford County Council consulted with the HSE and Irish Water today and it was agreed by all that the notice should be lifted. The HSE commended the efforts of all involved to get this issue resolved as quickly as possible and the notice lifted. This unusual event impacting the Slaney and the raw water entering the Water Treatment Plant for Enniscorthy took a number of days to clear. We believe that the very low levels in the Slaney prior to the Orange rainfall event were a contributory factor as the dilution levels in the river were very low. This lead to the treatment plant being overwhelmed with dirty water by October 29 when the treatment difficulties began. The District staff of Enniscorthy and the water compliance team worked tirelessly over the last week to get this notice lifted and they should be commended for their work. Wexford County Council will contact schools and creches to notify them that the notice is now lifted.

Think I'll continue with the bottled water for everything from now on - I've always been dubious about the health benefits of drinking Bunclody's sewerage.

[Del.Monte]

This turned up in my Facebook feed earlier this week....

By Dan Walsh

Minister for Housing and Local Government Darragh O’Brien T.D. and Cllr. Barbara-Anne Murphy, Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council, in a virtual event, signed a UN Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) designating the High Performance Building Alliance (HPBA) as a designated UN Centre of Excellence in Enniscorthy at the recent COP 26 Climate Change Conference.



The initiative signals Ireland’s commitment to the sustainable and energy efficient development of buildings in an initiative led by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe outlined by Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary and Scott Foster, Director of Sustainable Energy at the UNECE.

Wexford County Council (WCC) and Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board (WWETB) worked together to establish the centre of excellence as the first local authority provider of NZEB social housing and the first Education and Training Board to provide NZEB training nationally with over 1,000 people trained to date at the WWETB NZEB training centre in Enniscorthy.

Cllr. Barbara Anne Murphy-Chair addressed the COP 26 event and outlined how the High Performance Building Alliance aims to be a leader and champion of high performance energy buildings and to increase knowledge, capacity and demand for low carbon emissions buildings. In particular the HPBA will advance innovation and lead in the use of sustainable solutions through collaboration with the global Network of Centres of Excellence.

The UN Centre of Excellence at Enniscorthy is already named as a key driver in reducing carbon emissions in the built environment and providing training for the construction industry in the National Development Plan. The UN status now elevates the HPBA to represent not just Ireland but to be a global leader working in collaboration with UN centres from other Nations...... Full story here: https://wexfordlocal.com/2021/11/17/un- ... niscorthy/

I asked on FB what it all meant and, of course, the explanations did not really address the question - was this all just another photo opportunity or is Enniscorthy going to be a world leader in preventing climate change?

[Del.Monte]

[Del.Monte]

Due to a failure to communicate I had to drag myself shank's mare to the mail centre in town today and in the process could easily have been killed or maimed by Mr.Magoo on a pedestrian crossing. Fortunately I treat all road users, cars, trucks and cyclists as idiots and potential killers so am ultra careful crossing roads. I checked traffic to my right, nothing, stepped out onto the crossing and had reached the centre and wisely halted as I could see a motorist who clearly was oblivious to the crossing or my presence on it. He sailed across without seeing me and disappeared...a motorist behind him stopped to commiserate with me but it's all in a day's walk in Enniscorthy.



It really has reached a stage where many motorists need to be retested and taken off the road until such time as they have passed same. Between people who never sat a test, those who are too old to be driving, those who are too busy talking/texting to pay attention to where they are going it's amazing there's as little carnage on the roads as there is.

While I'm in rant mode, why is it that there are so many disgusting pigs who cannot dispose of their plague ridden face masks in a public bin? I counted 12/15 of them in my short walk.

[Del.Monte]

Slaney has burst its banks again - high tide due at 10.15pm this evening.



https://wexfordlocal.com/2021/12/25/enn ... dal-surge/

[Del.Monte]

The new Technology Centre at Enniscorthy - apparently it is nearing completion but why did it have to be built on such an elevated site overllooking the Slaney and standing out from the surrounding countryside. Presumably it's so the County Council and Chamber of Commerce can can wave their collective willies and say "isn't Enniscorthy wonderful and progressive".

[765489]

The new Technology Centre at Enniscorthy - apparently it is nearing completion but why did it have to be built on such an elevated site overllooking the Slaney and standing out from the surrounding countryside. Presumably it's so the County Council and Chamber of Commerce can can wave their collective willies and say "isn't Enniscorthy wonderful and progressive".

Is it just me or does that building look like a bit of an eyesore ?

[490808]

Is it just me or does that building look like a bit of an eyesore ?

Willy waving normally is an eyesore.

[Del.Monte]

Where's the Guardian Office gone? I'm pretty sure it was still on Slaney Place about a week ago but today found it has been replaced with this exciting looking business.