New Cillian Murphy film all set for New Ross

The walking area at the Astro Active, Bellefield Road, Enniscorthy, is open during operational hours for use by the public. Access from Bellefield Road is via the preschool pedestrian gate up until 5.30pm midweek and access through the Astro Active Centre footpath.

Walking is a great form of exercise as it is low impact and enjoyable for all the family. The walking loop is wheelchair and buggy accessible and is ideal for small kids to practise on their scooters or balance bikes!

Exercise equipment was added in March 2021 and these are stationed in two areas along the walkway. Ask any of the staff to show you how to use these if you are unsure. And there are play swings for the younger kids up to age ten years, and don’t forget that after your walk you can enjoy a hot beverage in the cafe upstairs in the centre, which is open Monday-Friday until 8pm and 5pm on Saturdays.

For the winter months the pitch lights will be turned on early to keep the walkway accessible, so no excuse not to get out and about! n

A new Cillian Murphy movie based on the prizewinning book, Small Things Like These, by local, multi-award-winning author Claire Keegan is set to start shooting in New Ross next month.

The book was the winner of the Orwell Prize as well as the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year for 2022 and concerns coal and timber merchant Bill Furlong as he does his rounds in New Ross in the lead up to Christmas 1985.

Last November, the movie production team visited New Ross to scout locations, and even called into the local St Mary's school much to the excitement of the pupils there.

The Booker Prize judges, speaking about Claire Keegan’s work, said she is "measured and merciless as she dissects the silent acquiescence of a 1980s Irish town in the Church’s cruel treatment of unmarried mothers – and the cost of one man’s moral courage,” adding that, "The book is not so much about the nature of evil as the circumstances that allow it.” n