Wicklow Voice 31-05-2022

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Killarney Road, Bray, Co Wicklow

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May 31, 2022

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August 3, 2021

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May 31, 28, 2022 2015,wicklowvoice.ie t: 01 901 5556/7, May e: info@wicklowvoice.ie t: 01 901 5565 e: info@wicklowvoice.ie

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‘I want to move on with my life’ A WICKLOW woman who was found not guilty of murdering her husband says she now just wants to move on with her life and care for her family.

Sarah Doyle (32) stabbed her husband Philip Doyle (33) at the home they shared in The Heath, Ramsgate, Gorey, Co Wexford on January 26, 2020 but a jury accepted her claims of self-defence and found her not guilty of his murder.

Both were originally from Bray. Ms Doyle said she is now hoping to move on with her life, following a gruelling murder trial which concluded recently at Dublin’s Central Criminal Court.

Asked if she was grateful to the jury for finding her not guilty, Ms Doyle said: “I am, but that’s all I have to say,” she told the Irish Mirror She said she was unable to

speak about the night she fatally stabbed her husband outside their home, saying: “I can’t speak about that.”

She added that she now has her children to look after.

The week-long hearing had been told how Philip Doyle had died shortly after receiving two stab wounds to his chest.

The jury returned their not guilty finding after just over six hours of deliberations.

Mr and Ms Doyle, originally from Bray, Co Wicklow, had married six months prior to the incident and had two toddler sons together, while Mr Doyle also had a daughter.

Counsel for Ms Doyle had said there was a “history of abuse” in the relationship and his client “producing a knife was a last resort”.

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Andre McElroy with Dublin drag queen Davina Devine at the first public LGBTI held event in Bray in Maison Moli recently

Killarney Road, Bray, Co Wicklow

04| news in brief Danish ambassador visits Wicklow HIS Excellency, Uffe Balslev, Ambassador to Ireland from Denmark, paid a visit to Wicklow recently, with a focus on offshore renewable energy.

The Ambassador was on a fact-finding mission to Wicklow and expressed a particular interest in visiting Wicklow Harbour to find out more about work being carried out in the offshore renewable energy sector. Wicklow County Council works closely with Codling Wind Park and SSE Renewables, along with other agencies in this domain.

Load of waffle EARNING a place among the East Coat’s top culinary locations, Bray has added another food outlet to its stable with a new waffle pop-up to suit all tastes — even dogs’.

The Waffler pop up serves bubble waffles, sundaes, milkshakes with a variety of toppings. Customers can select their own waffle style and from a range of 32 toppings to add to their treat. The business is also dog-friendly and offers ‘woofles’, as a treat for pet pooches. It is located outside Maison Moli on Strand Road.

May 31, 2022

€12k in damages as Colaiste Raithin School’s nearly out - but don’t throw out the books! vandalised Dan Walsh, Stephen Tully, Jonathan Donnelly and Alan Prendergast at the Bray & District Chamber’s Annual Golf Day which was held recently at Bray Golf Club. See opposite page

AS another school year draws to a close, Wicklow County Council is focused on ensuring that schoolbooks and uniforms which students are finished with can find a new home.

The recycling centres in Arklow, Bray and Wicklow town will provide a reuse service, where the public can donate their unwanted books and uniforms.

A sale of the items will then be held on the 6th of August

in the three recycling centres from 2.30pm to 5.00 pm.

The local scouts will get involved organising and running a sale of the books and uniforms, with all proceeds going to scout groups to fund their activities.

Cathaoirleach of Wicklow County Council, Cllr Shay Cullen, welcomed the initiative, saying: “Wicklow County Council has run very successful book and uniform sales in our recycling centres

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in the past, being unique as a local authority in offering this type of service to the public.

“I am delighted to see the scouts partnering with the project. Their work on running the sale is much appreciated and it is great that local troops will raise funds through their work,” he added.

Books and uniforms can now be donated in the three recycling centres at Arklow, Bray and Wicklow town.

Woman cleared of murder

Continued from previous page Ms Doyle told gardai that Mr Doyle had “dragged” her down the stairs by the hair when she returned home on the night of the incident and was “punched” by her husband.

One neighbour of the couple said he had seen Mr Doyle give his wife “a slap on the head” one day when he saw them arguing.

Another neighbour said she saw Ms Doyle with bruising on two separate occasions.

On the weekend of the incident, Mr Doyle’s parents, Jackie and David, visited the couple’s home in Gorey. Jackie and Sarah went out socialising in Gorey on Saturday but they had come home separately.

The jury heard Ms Doyle told her son “don’t ask” when she returned, with calls and texts following between Philip and Sarah. Two texts from Philip said “where the f*ck are you” and “if you wake any of the kids you’ll be sleeping in the front garden”.

When she returned, Sarah said Philip had “dragged” her down the stairs by her hair when trying to remove her from the house.

WICKLOW TD John Brady has called for a ‘multi-faceted approach’ to tackle ‘mindless acts of vandalism’ at a Bray school.

It comes as thugs recently smashed nine windows at Colaiste Raithin, with the school facing a bill of €6,000 to repair the damage — the school had already been targeted by vandals over recent months, with €12,000 worth of damage caused during this school year alone.

The school building is adjacent to the former Bray Golf Club lands, which are due to be developed. It’s believed that the vandals were throwing stones at the building from this area, but did not gain access to the school itself.

Principal Deaglan O Laoire said the situation is “unsustainable” and the school now has to look to install shutters in the affected area, which includes the sports hall and staff rooms.

Commenting on the vandalism, Sinn Fein’s John Brady said: “I am appalled at these mindless acts of vandalism.

I have been in contact with local gardai, and a local property company, in order to prevent access to an adjacent waste ground, the direction from which vandals have

approached every time that they have been throwing rocks at the windows.

“The people responsible for these acts are not just attacking school property, they are attacking the local community.

“Schools are under a lot of pressure at the moment.

Between the impact of Covid, and the funding challenges that they currently face, schools are also being impacted by price hikes on heating fuel etc. They are certainly not in a position to pay out unnecessarily to clean up the mess of mindless vandals.

Coláiste Ráithín is only one of three schools which has been repeatedly targeted in the same area. And while I am no doubt wasting my breath, I appeal to those responsible to stop.

To think of the impact of their actions on their community,” he added.

Deputy Brady said he is also liaising with the developer of the former Bray Golf Club lands about the issue.

He said he is aware of other buildings that have been targeted by vandals in the area, adding he wants to see a more co-ordinated response to the issue from all stakeholders including the gardaí and the landowner.

Avondale Forest Park has received a welcome boost with €100,000 fund to construct a new multi-access trail and a family cycle trail.

The funding is provided to the park to enhance walking trails and cycleways as part of a new five-year strategic partnership between the Department of Rural and Community Development and Coillte designed to boost rural tourism.

The Devil’s Glen in Ashford

will receive €15,000 for trail maintenance and a safety assessment, while €8,000 has been made available for trail surface maintenance and resurfacing of part of the carpark at Djouce Woods in Roundwood. €11,000 will go toward the Sean Lenihan Walk in Aughrim to carry out repairs on a dangerous boardwalk. €10,000 goes toward the resurfacing of the carpark at Crone, Enniskerry.

€100k boost for Avondale’s trails

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May 31, 2022

BrayChamberhostsannualGolfDay

Winner of the longest drive - Gar Nolan (Alpha CC) with President of Bray Chamber Sarah Finnegan, Emma Messit (Permanent TSB) and Vice-President of Bray Chamber Jonathan Donnelly

Overall Winners Team TV International - Richie Murphy, Simon Brady, Rory Vance and Ciaran Vance A day of fun and business networking was had at the Bray & District Chamber’s Annual Golf Day which was held recently at Bray Golf Club.

The overall winning team on the day were RV International, followed closely by the Ardmore Rovers and Bank of Ireland Teams with Gar Nolan (Alpha CC) picking up the prize for the longest drive and Brian McDonnell (Highline) receiving the closest to the pin award.

Speaking of the event, Sarah Finnegan President of Bray Chamber said “The

Annual Golf day is one of the highlights in the Chamber calendar and it's a great way for many of the members and businesses in Bray to come together to network and have some fun. I would like to thank everyone who took part and the team sponsors for supporting the event.”

Team sponsors on the day included Alpha CC, REA Forkin, Hygienic Barber, Benville Robinson, Highline Permanent TSB, R V International, AIB, Bank of Ireland, Irish Adhesive Markings, Finnegan Bray, K Print and Ardmore Rovers.

Winner of the closest to the pin - Brian McDonnell (Highline) with President of Bray Chamber Sarah Finnegan, Emma Messit (Permanent TSB) and VicePresident of Bray Chamber Jonathan Donnelly

Bray Chmaber President Sarah Finnegan with Wicklow Chamber President Matt Forkin of REA Forkin Estate Agents

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May 31, 2022

Extreme weather signals climate crisis A total of five ‘extreme weather events’ were recorded in Ireland last year, serving as an ominous warning of climate change, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has warned.

This time last year, nine weather stations in seven different counties had one or two absolute droughts — a period of 15 or more consecutive days with less than 0.2mm of rain.

Some 14 stations recorded heat-waves, with six stations having heat-waves lasting for 10 days. Even more shockingly for Ireland, two ‘tropical nights’ were reported — a rare event for this island — with temperatures exceeding 20°C. Last autumn also saw the warmest September on record for Ireland, while an unusual extra-tropical cyclone occurred from 26 November, lasting two days, when Storm Arwen brought northerly gales and storm-force 10 winds.

December saw the arrival of Storm Barra, a long-lasting wind and rain storm which saw violent storm-force 11 winds

Leah Quish (9) at the launch of Round Up for Ronald McDonald House in Crumlin Hospital. Pic: Andres Poveda

(more than 80km/h).

The WMO said that while extreme weather is the “dayto-day face” of climate change, the broken records are “yet another clear sign that human activities are causing planetary scale changes on land, in the

ocean and in the atmosphere, with harmful and long-lasting ramifications for sustainable development and ecosystems”.

According to the new report, the last seven years have been the warmest on record, with global warming reaching 1.1

Louise O’Sullivan and Jason O’Neil from Riverdance at the launch of LauraLynn Children’s Hospice with the show, which is celebrating its 25th witha run at the Gaiety Theatre this summer. Pic: Andres Poveda

degrees over pre industrial levels last year.

The organisation plans to roll out Early Warning Systems to help all its member countries adapt to climate changes, which will hit even harder over the next five years.

Dog owners: please respect our beaches

WITH summer upon us and people thronging to the beaches, dog owners are being encouraged to ‘leave only paw prints in the sand’ and please pick up after their pets.

The UCD Acclimatize Project has now identified dog faeces as one of the greatest causes of water pollution on our beaches, which can result in temporary bathing prohibition notices being issued by local authorities.

Testing has allowed local councils to differentiate between human, bird and canine faecal contamination and according to the findings, the dog faeces marker was the most frequently detected and “at times reached very high levels” on beaches.

People are more likely to come into contact with dog faeces on beaches during the bathing season, which runs from 1st June to 15th September.

Contact with dog faeces can have serious health impacts, including diarrhea and other nasty tummy bugs, and it can even cause blindness in

Number of jobless falls by 3,900

Carmel O’Boyle (82) and Margaret Meldon (85) celebrating National Arts in Nursing Homes Day. Pic: Maxwells

Snap to it as photo competition opens BUDDING photographers and enthusiasts, here is your chance to have your work seen by all as the Clean Coasts 13th annual Love Your Coast photography competition has officially opened for entries.

The Love Your Coast competition asks for amateur photographers to capture and celebrate the uniqueness of our coastal communities as well as our waterways, for those who live inland.

While Ireland has some of the most spectacular coastlines in the world there is no doubt that the rivers, lakes and waterways also deserve to be photographed

children. Even one dog foul can result in contamination the size of a tennis court.

Councils have advised that ultimately, dog owners may face increased restrictions on beach use as well as more frequent patrols by dog wardens in an effort by local authorities to keep our coastal waters clean and safe for use.

Bylaws may also be reviewed in an effort to improve bathing water quality.

And hefty fines are now looming for offenders who are caught leaving dog poo behind them.

The UCD Acclimatize team has released an animated video entitled ‘Leave Only Paw Prints’ illustrating the direct link between dog fouling and poor beach water quality.

They want to highlight the potential harm caused by dog mess and encourage pet owners to take responsibility for cleaning up after their dogs.

For more information on this initiative, log onto: www. acclimatize.eu/dogs.

in all of their beauty. So photographers are encouraged to pick up their cameras and explore what your county has to offer this summer.

Last year, 15 images scored top places in the competition, with Declan Roche’s image from the Wildlife and Underwater category, entitled ‘Let Me Out’ (taken at the Wexford Harbour Quayfront in County Wexford) winning the overall Love Your Coast title for 2021.

Photographers have until Monday, 29th August 2022 to enter. For more information, go to: www.cleancoasts.org/ our-initiatives/love-your-coast/

THE numbers on the live register in April have fallen to 177,100, down 3,900 from March.

Some 55% of people signing on in April were men, while 45% were women; 9.7% are under 25 years of age, while 90.3% are 25 years of age and over.

It comes as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) scheme has now ended and recipients have either transferred to a Jobseeker’s scheme or had their PUP claim closed. A total of 436,056 people on the Live Register were benefitting from the PUP or other supports.

Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys said the latest figures are very encouraging and reflect the reopening of the economy and the growth in employment.

She said numerous employers are seeking to increase their workforce as we move into the summer season, providing jobseekers with opportunities in a broad range of services and other employments.

May 31, 2022

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Youth of Wicklow reunite

THE young people of Wicklow, who missed learning new things and meeting friends over the last two years, are delighted to finally reunite at their local Foróige Clubs after the nationwide youth organisation was able to open its doors again.

A recent study showed 53% of young people are yearning for more ‘in person’ social opportunities, while 60% of Irish children really missed extracurricular activities during the pandemic.

Foróige plays a vital role in youth development in Ireland supporting thousands of young people. The clubs are run with the generous help of volunteers.

In a report that investigated Irish youth activity during Covid-19, it was noted that young people became extremely reliant on technology and screens for their social interaction.

During this time, they missed out on building crucial social skills that set them up for the years ahead.

Foróige has been a cornerstone for youth development in Ireland since 1952 and is constantly on the look-out for new volunteers.

If you wish to volunteer, or find your nearest branch, go to: visit www.foroige.ie

May 31, 2022

‘Mad proposal’ to close train level crossing PLANS to permanently close the level crossing at Bray Train Station have been described by one local councillor as “mad” and “shocking”.

The possible closure of the level crossing is being looked at as part of the development of the Dart+ Coastal South project.

If successful, it would mean all traffic — as well as cyclists and pedestrians — would be forced to make their way to the seafront via Seapoint Road and under the bridge at the Harbour Bar. Members of Wicklow County Council’s transport special policy committee received an update on the Dart+ Coastal South project during a recent meeting, where Cllr Joe Behan, who is a member of this committee, expressed his shock at the proposals.

In a post on his Facebook page, Cllr Behan said: “This is totally unacceptable for many reasons but especially because Seapoint Road can’t cope with the traffic there now, never mind the huge extra traffic generated by this mad proposal . . . Shocking!!”

The level crossing at Bray Dart station, which is threatened with closure

An Irish Rail spokesperson said “the removal of level crossings on the southside Dart line is a well-established principle” of the programme and any changes to level crossings, including at Bray,

would be decided during the planning process.

Meanwhile, no date has been agreed for the next stage of the planning process for a major public bridge in the town, which aims to provide a link road

and river crossing for public transport, and pedestrians at the harbour. Concerns have been raised about the impact on the swans, safety at Seapoint Court and building on the floodplain on the former golf club lands.

Blue Flag loss a big blow for Bray

While Brittas Bay and Greystones maintained their Blue Flag status for the summer, there was shock for Bray beach as it lost its coveted award.

Bray South Promenade lost its Blue Flag status as its water quality was downgraded from ‘Excellent’ to ‘Good’, the second highest classification available based on analysis of bathing water samples over the past four bathing seasons.

Commenting on the implications for visitors and Bray residents alike, Sinn Fein TD for Wicklow, John Brady, said: “The blue flag symbol is

an internationally recognised symbol of high standards of water quality, environmental management, education and safety for beaches.

“It is a much-coveted award, and the loss of this status must be afforded the seriousness which it deserves.

“It is now important to determine the reasons why the water quality has been adjudged to have deteriorated, and address it as soon as possible,” he added.

A total of 85 Irish beaches were awarded Blue Flag status, including Greystones South, Brittas Bay North and South.

Youth Orchestra’s debut

it’s going to be a big day for Wicklow Youth Orchestra as the members brace for their debut performance at Greystones’ Whale Theatre.

Some 21 musicians, all from north Wicklow and aged between 12 and 18, will take to the stage on June 5th at 4.00pm.

Music Generation’s Wicklow Youth Orchestra was formed in February this year and is based in

the Ashford Heritage and Community Centre.

Conductor Aine Gell has recently taken part in the National Concert Hall’s Female Conductor Programme. A number of other young musicians who aren’t part of the Youth Orchestra will also be performing on the day.

Tickets €60 from whaletheatre.ie, or call the booking office on 01 2010550.

HSE facility opens in Bray

A new HSE Primary Care Centre and Integrated Care Hub was officially opened in Bray recently, as part of the nationwide rollout of the Enhanced Community Care programme.

The new healthcare facilities were unveiled by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and include mental health and community services, along with specialist services for older people and those living with chronic diseases.

Speaking at the opening event, Minister Donnelly said: “The national Enhanced Community Care programme is at its core a reform programme, representing an investment of €240m to develop and enhance care in the community. It has been developed under the Sláintecare Programme to ensure all HSE primary and community care services work together effectively.”

The new Primary Care Centre on Killarney Road, offers a range of primary care, mental health and community services within a single modern facility.

Lions promote sustainable lifestyle

BRAY Lions Club has launched a ‘Little Green Book’ to promote sustainable living by outlining what the global warming crisis is and offering suggestions on conservation, travel, waste disposal, fashion and other environmental issues.

The 68 page full-colour book — which was researched and written by Frank Corr, Bray Lions Club’s Environmental Officer — was launched recently at a gathering in the Headlands’ award-winning Community Garden, on Putland Road in Bray.

It offers “disturbing facts, but [we also offer] practical suggestions.”

The project was initiated by the Bray Lions Club Environmental Team which is planning many more environmental initiatives this summer.

Bray Lions Club is distributing 1,000 free copies of the ‘Little Green Book’ in the Bray area.

A second print run is planned for later this year. Copies can also be obtained by sending an e-mail to littlegreenbook@ lionsclubs.ie.

May 31, 2022

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May 31, 2022

VANgoghexhibitioncomestoRDS

Images from Van Gogh – An Immersive Journey in the RDS which runs until August - the immersive art experience is the first digital art experience of its kind to ever open in Ireland

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May 31, 2022

ninenottomiss book review book of the week tv show of the week with Audrey Bracken @fable_books

Our Wives Under the Sea

by Julia Armfield Miri thinks she has got her wife back, when Leah finally returns after a deep sea mission that ended in catastrophe.

It soon becomes clear, though, that Leah may have come back wrong.

To have the woman she loves back should mean a return to normal life, but Miri can feel Leah slipping from her grasp.

Published by Pan Macmillan, this is the deliciously strange debut novel from the critically acclaimed author of salt slow.

Our Wives Under the Sea is a story of falling in love, loss, grief and what life there is in the deep, deep sea…

At its heart, Our Wives Under the Sea is a tender love story that straddles two worlds.

With evocative and lyrical prose, Armfield has spun a fantastic tale positively soaked with eerie atmosphere.

An ominous feeling pervades the novel with Armfield deftly weaving both Miri and Leah’s points of view skilfully throughout.

Miri’s perspective is grounded in the everyday, whereas Leah’s is told in a series of dreamlike, claustrophobic flashbacks of her time trapped in a submarine at the bottom of the sea.

The mysterious Centre for Marine Inquiry looms in the shadows; a malevolent and unnerving presence throughout.

Armfield shows great skill and dexterity in sketching her characters, managing to convey a lot with little.

The exchanges between Miri and her mother, although not part of the main action, are pitch perfect and their strained relationship injects a little humour.

Not for those who aren’t willing to engage in a little suspension of disbelief, but a sublimely beautiful book that moves inexorably towards an inevitable, perfect end.

This spectacularly disturbing book will crawl under your skin and linger for a long time to come.

HOROSCOPES

film of the week

What Eden Did Next

by Sheila O’Flanagan ey

conversations with friends RTE1, 9.35pm, Wednesday June 1

firestarter Cinemas nationwide

ANOTHER recommended beach read from this best-selliing author. Eden found perfect love with Andy but how it ended was shocking. For the five years since, her little daughter Lila — and Eden’s secret letters to Andy — have been all she needed. And Andy’s family like it that way. Rafe wants nothing more than to start a new life back home in Ireland. It’s time for him to turn the page on his own tragedy. And every woman in the neighbourhood is ready to help a single dad settle in. When Eden and Rafe meet, it seems that everyone has a good reason for thinking their tentative relationship is a bad idea . . .

AS Frances and Nick grow closer things become tense between Bobbi and Frances, as Bobbi senses a change in her friend. A visit from Melissa’s agent raises tensions in the villa. Meanwhile, back in Ireland, tensions remain unresolved with Bobbi, while Frances visits her mother, but a bout of terrible pain leads her to be rushed to hospital. If none of this makes any sense to you, then you have either chosen to ignore one of the biggest TV dramas in recent years, or, like some of drab and miserable characters in the series, couldn’t really be arsed either way.

IN Firestarter, Zac Efron must protect his pyrokinetic daughter once the government discover her secret powers . . .say what?

Pyrokinesis, it’s one of the more unusual superpowers. And in Blumhouse’s re-imagining of Stephen King’s Firestarter novel, Charlie McGee (Ryan-Kiera Armstrong) is born with the super-power, but her father Andy (Zac Efron) taught her how to quell her power. This works until Charlie turns 11, and suddenly her power is getting harder and harder to contain and as you can imagine, all Hell breaks loose.

stream of the week

RECIPE of the week

album of the week

Aries- This week is a 7 Do the groundwork to realize a vision. Strategize and review priorities.

Postpone travels, and take care of business behind the scenes.

Taurus- This week is an 8 Friends help out.

Collaborate on the structural and logistical details. Make sure you’ve handled the basics before elaborating.

Gemini- This week is an 8 Navigate a professional challenge by focusing on organization, discipline and coordinated action. Work completed now can have long-term benefit.

Cancer- This week is an 8 You can get what you need to take a trip. An older person makes an interesting proposition. Don’t overlook what loved ones need.

Leo- This week is an 8 Investments made now can have long-term benefit.

Strengthen by reinforcing foundations and supports.

night sky Amazon Prime MARRIED couple Franklin (J.K Simmons) and Irene (Sissy Spacek) York are growing old together, living a seemingly quiet life. However, they share a secret: their back yard contains a portal to another planet. Thus we become witness to a mystery the couple have been trying to get to the bottom of for yonks. While the two leading starrs — excuse the pun — carry this interesting plot well, Night Sky is essentially built around a decent idea for a 100-minute movie, which it then stretches to eight hours and may prove a little plodding for some.

charity of the week

summer meatballs www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/summermeatballs-spaghetti

We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong Sharon Van Etten

EVERYONE loves a meatball. So what’s the difference between a summer meatball and a winter meatball? Not a lot, really, apart from summer vegetables throw in to green it up a little — in this case, courgettes. The pork mince is also mixed with garlic and fennel which combine wonderfully with the courgettes. Toss the pasta and meatballs with the courgette ribbons in the pan with a ladleful of pasta water and add a good dash lemon juice and a scatter of parmesan.

WRITTEN in the lockdown, this homerecorded (sixth) album sees her work her way through her roles as a parent and musician, and battle her demons. The pandemic arrived with bad timing for the musician, who had uprooted her life and moved to Los Angeles – she’d lived in New York for 15 years – when she found herself stuck indoors like the rest of us. The 10 songs on We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong land quite hard and may not be summer listening, but like her best work, they take on the meanings that her listeners always need.

wine of the week

wine of the week

Virgo- This week is an 8 Collaborate with your partner to realize a shared dream. Strengthen infrastructure. Find an inspiration that sings for both of you.

Libra- This week is an 8 Keep your fitness goals.

Disciplined action builds long-term strength and health. Demands for your attention abound.

Scorpio- This week is an 8 Keep practicing to improve your game. Focus on technique, and learn through repetition. Get coaching from a trusted expert.

Sagittarius- This week is an 8

Make repairs and renovations. Coordinate with your family for shared priorities. Get creative.

dungarvan pride festival Saturday, June 18th

dirtbirds — no filter Friday, June 3, www.theatrero

Dungarvan’s first ever PRIDE Festival will take place in Walton Park, Dungarvan. A celebration of LGBTQ+ people and culture, the event boasts a fun and exciting programme filled with music, food, family fun, magic and drag! Emilene Stafford, one of the committee’s co-chairs, is looking forward to Dungarvan’s inaugural PRIDE Festival. “While the day is about celebrating LGBTQ+ people, it is a day to be enjoyed and celebrated by everyone.”

Picutred: Kerrie Bedell, proprietor of Ballot Flowers and John Gomes-Rea Dungarvan Pride

IN a world where women are expected to have the patience of mother Teresa, the arse of Jennifer Lopez, the social media profile of Kim Kardashian and the BMI of Elle McPherson the pressure is relentless. Dirtbirds the comedy duo and internet sensation present their hilarious new show ‘No Filters’ which takes a close look at the barrage of bull we are subjected to on a daily basis and reminds us that despite what we’re told there is no such thing as perfect.

Côtes du Rhône Villages 2020, Lidl — €8.50 www.lidl.ie IF FRANCE is your dream destination and you can’t make it there this summer, then the words Côtes du Rhône will no doubt come to in mind, as it is a staple wine in restaurants and on supermarket shelves. Easy-drinking, food-friendly wines that don’t cost a packet, this little gem from Lidl is described as a medium- to full-bodied wine, with soft rounded strawberry fruits – this would go down well with beef or lamb stews, or baked Mediterranean veg.

Capricorn- This week is an 8 Capture brilliant ideas as they inspire you. Intellectual discovery provides a thrill.

What you uncover now has long-term implications.

Aquarius-This week is a 9 Abundance is available.

Gather up more than you spend for a positive balance.

Make agreements, and sign contracts.

Pisces- This week is a 9 Take ground with a personal project. What you do now can have long-term benefit.

Provide the leadership to take it to a new level.

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May 31, 2022

May 31, 2022

opinion&comment

House prices to fall - but here’s the bad news

F

irst the good news: house prices in Ireland will soon start to fall and sky-high rents will be rolled back.

Service industries will be able to fill their job vacancies and it will be possible to find an electrician or plumber to work on your home.

Now the bad: these developments will be caused by an international recession which will hit Ireland harder than most.

House prices will fall because few people will want to buy them; the same process will drive down rents. Unemployment will rise and employers will find it easy to fill vacancies, even at lower levels of pay.

The recession will be caused by the phenomenon known as stagflation, where workers are awarded pay increases to compensate for inflationary price hikes. The inflationary cycle, if not broken at an early stage, becomes impossible to control; industrial output falls and the economy stagnates, savings are eroded and anyone on a fixed income is faced with the prospect of penury.

Am I certain about these harrowing predictions? Not entirely certain, to be honest. But, unlike almost everyone in Government or Opposition, I have seen it all before. Ireland went down this rocky road in the 1970s and 80s. We are on that path again and I don’t hear anyone shouting ‘stop!’.

In the early 1970s Ireland was enjoying a phase of relative prosperity. Industrial output was up, along with exports and wages. Our position was enhanced by impending membership of the then European Economic Community, which we joined in 1973.

As a country we were earning more, but also borrowing more. The prospect of European membership made borrowing easier and Irish governments began to provide better services for our citizens on a ‘live now, pay later’ basis. The economy worked like one of those centrifugal wheels you see at funfairs where everyone sticks to the wall so long as it keeps spinning. When it slows down they all slide off.

In 1974 international trade stopped spinning.

OPEC, the organisation of Gulf states that supplied most of the West’s oil, imposed an embargo on the US because of its support for Israel in a war with Egypt.

The ban extended, in a patchy fashion, to much of Europe, including Ireland.

The price of oil doubled , then quadrupled, pushing the cost of almost everything else through the roof. Workers demanded commensurate pay increases, but they were worthless because prices kept rising and even the money they were paid with was losing its value.

Because that country does not go in for collective bargaining and has relatively few public service employees,

Michael Wolsey

“I

What we need now is a collective will to ride out this crisis. There should be pay rises, of course, but not acrossthe board rises aimed at matching price hikes

America suffered badly at the time but recovered quickly. In Ireland, where powerful public service unions set the pace, the problem went on for years. Pay demands followed price hikes and were usually conceded only after costly, disruptive strikes.

Before Ireland had escaped the cycle, the world was plunged into a new one, when the Iranian Revolution of 1978 caused another oil shortage.

The rate of inflation in Ireland had fallen that year to 7.71% (about what it is now) but leapt to 13.3% the following year and hit 18.15% in 1980. I was then half of a young couple who had just bought a house and our mortgage repayment rate at one stage topped 20%.

Many of these factors are in play today.

EU backing has allowed our heavilyindebted exchequer to borrow at will and exceptionally low interest rates encouraged the Government to splash the cash in response to the many problems thrown up by the Covid pandemic.

True, the Irish economy is much stronger than in 1974 - nevertheless, we are living wildly beyond our means, as we were then.

The war in Ukraine has, like the OPEC embargo, led to a fuel shortage and pushed up the price of everything.

Unions are responding with inflationary wage demands. Public sector unions are leading the charge and the Government is showing no will to resist them.

Irish governments could not resolve the inflation crisis of the 1970s and 80s, that depended on factors beyond our borders. But a lot of the things they did made matters worse.

What we need now is a collective will to ride out this crisis. There should be pay rises, of course, but not across-the board rises aimed at matching price hikes. Government aid should be targeted at those who suffer most: people in very low -paid jobs and on social welfare and other fixed incomes. To pay for that, the Government should cut back on every other form of spending that is not immediately necessary.

We will all suffer but a short shock is better than a lingering malaise. For Ireland, the inflation crisis of 1974 lasted more than a decade.

We should learn from our mistakes, not repeat them.

have you got something to say? if you would like to write on this page, then contact us e: info@ wicklowvoice.ie

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We must move now to build the maternity hospital

reland does not have a good track record when it comes to religion and women’s reproductive health.

It has a poor and dark history. Women rightly demanded that when it comes to our new national maternity hospital there can be no religious involvement whatsoever at any point, now or into the future.

Women and, indeed, men are right to demand that. People for very understandable reasons demanded absolute assurances that all legally permissible services are provided, and they were right to make those demands.

All these services are provided in Holles Street today. The same clinicians are going to provide these new services in the new hospital.

Those of us who campaigned for repeal of the eighth amendment said we must listen to the midwives, nurses and doctors working in our maternity hospitals.

That is what I asked people to do in Wicklow when I walked up and down the streets and knocked on doors week after week.

The resounding response from them was they wanted and needed a state-of-the-art maternity hospital built as soon as possible.

Crucially, the medics who will be running the new hospital have been closely involved in setting up the regulations under which it will run.

Those clinicians, who have been leaders in modernising women’s healthcare are adamant they wanted the NMH to be progressed.

A new and modern hospital building is urgently needed to replace the Victorian conditions women are forced to cope with today.

An essential requirement was that the new hospital should be built beside a major adult hospital to ensure women will have access to the widest possible range of healthcare.

And the new hospital must be fully clinically independent and there must be no religious influence, now or in the future.

It was also agreed, the new hospital must provide all services and all procedures that are permissible under law.

This deal is a partnership between the State, the National Maternity Hospital and St. Vincent’s Healthcare Group.

The National Maternity Hospital will provide all the clinicians, who will move from Holles Street to the new building, and the National Maternity Hospital will run the new hospital.

The State will fund the construction of the new hospital building and retain full ownership of the building as an asset, while St. Vincent’s Healthcare Group will provide lease ownership to the State for 300 years at a cost of €10 a year.

This answers the argument the State should buy the land - we have control of the land in much the same way you own your apartment in a block of flats.

Also, a Compulsory Purchase of the site was not guaranteed to succeed in the courts and would have delayed the project indefinitely.

Under the new deal each party will appoint three directors to the board of the NMH, and

Stephen Donnelly, Minister For Health the NMH will, in turn, appoint directors to the board of St. Vincent’s Healthcare Group.

The two hospitals will be physically connected to ensure seamless access to care for patients, which is especially important for critically ill patients.

Both hospitals will provide shared services to be used throughout the healthcare campus.

Many clinicians will work in both hospitals, as they do now.

The national maternity hospital will be fully clinically, operationally and financially independent.

It will have its own constitution and its own operating licence with the HSE. All procedures that are currently carried out at the National Maternity Hospital in Holles Street will be provided at the new national maternity hospital.

The new hospital will provide all maternity, gynaecology, obstetric and neonatal services that are legally permissible.

These include, but are not limited to, terminations, tubal ligations and gender-reaffirming procedures. Religious involvement in St. Vincent’s Healthcare Group has ended with the transfer of shares.

As a triple lock the Minister for Health will have a golden share which would allow them to intervene in the unlikely scenario any services were not being provided.

Religious involvement in the National Maternity Hospital will also end.

For example, the chairperson of the National Maternity Hospital since its foundation has been the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin.

Religious influence of any kind is expressly prohibited in the new national maternity hospital. There is no mechanism for any religious involvement, now or at any time in the future, in either St. Vincent’s Healthcare Group or the new national maternity hospital. On the issue of the inclusion of the phrase ‘clinically appropriate’ it’s important to make clear the HSE asked for that term to be added to protect services for women.

It is there to stop gynaecological services being pushed back if St Vincent’s comes under pressure which unfortunately is what often happens. To be crystal clear it does not provide a back door for refusing services such as termination of pregnancy.

Our new NMH is about putting women and the health of women first- something that has sadly not always been the case in this country.

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May 31, 2022

| 15

May 31, 2022

We take a look back at extracts from old newspapers to see what was in the news this month in years gone by

Evening Her 01/05/1939

Dublin Evening Mail, 29/05/1934

Irish Press 09/05/1946

Freemans Jrn ……22/05/1868

16 |

wicklowvoice.ie May 31, 2022

opinion&comment

Pat Devlin deserves respect

B

ack in the early days of our League of Ireland membership, particularly in seasons when we were in the Premier Division and fighting to stay up, the headline ‘Battling Bray’ would get a frequent airing in newspaper reports of our games.

Hard-won points away from home. Dogged displays that frustrated more illustrious teams. The small-town club punching above their weight against big city sides.

I thought of the headline when we came from behind not once but twice (courtesy of Kieran ‘Marty’ Watters and Paul Fox) on May 13 to frustrate Treaty United.

It’s been a dogged kind of season; seven draws have been ground out (more than anyone else in the First Division) from the 15 games played – in fact we’ve produced those seven draws in our last 10 games, as we

Brian Quigley won two and lost three of our opening five.

The club branched out into more exotic headlines as the years went on; I’m thinking in particular of the ‘North Korea’ one from a few years back.

Thankfully we survived that era and are in a position after the merger with Cabinteely to build for a sustainable long-term future.

The lack of a home win so far this season has been frustrating, but we battle on.

Nobody embodies that battling spirit more than Pat Devlin - the first home win will come soon and a push for

Th Bray Wanderers team that drew 2-2 with St Patrick’s Athletic recently a play-off place will come too.

I can’t let what happened at the end of Bray’s draw in Wexford recently pass without comment. For those who haven’t seen the video clips circulating of what happened, Pat Devlin confronted some travelling Bray fans who were

calling for his removal and sung some vile chants.

Objects were thrown at Pat and he was led away by stewards.

I wasn’t at the game due to work commitments, but I’ve attended enough Bray away games over the decades –

including many games where we haven’t done as well as the travelling fans would have hoped – to know what frustration feels like.

I’ve travelled back from Cobh and Derry and other far-flung places over the years after beatings and I can sympathise

with the fans for feeling frustrated.

What I can’t condone though is harnessing that frustration into abusing the greatest manager the club has ever had.

Pat is an emotional man, and the abuse will have hurt him deeply. Maybe those abusing Pat have forgotten the nightmare years the club endured between 2014 and 2018. Maybe they weren’t there.

For those who were there, surely where we are now is more than we could have dreamed of when we were threatened with extinction by those who wanted to put a hotel on the Carlisle.

Bray aren’t going to get automatic promotion this year but that’s not the end of the world.

We’re only a couple of results off a play-off spot, though, and securing one of those spots would be enough to satisfy me.

I’m a realist. We need to stabilise under the new structure before we can drive on for a return to the top flight.

Pat needs time – the full 2022 season – to achieve this stability and position us for 2023.