Organisers anticipate that more than 500,000 people will visit Wexford town between the 4th and 11th of August.

Many of these visitors will congregate around the town centre and Wexford Quay.

Although the situation remains “fluid”, organisers are said to be concerned about the possibility of a crowd crush if it rains.

Crowd crushes can occur when too many people move into one area at the same time.

To avoid such an incident, the roof on Monck Street may be left permanently open during the festival.

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Imbolc is one of the lesser-known festivals of the ancient Celts, but it was one of the four most important festivals in the Celtic calendar and it is set to be revived and celebrated at the 800-year-old lighthouse on February 2nd, 3rd and 4th 2018.

On Friday evening, February 2nd multi-platinum selling singer and songwriter Brian Kennedy will host a unique concert in the ancient lighthouse tower. The chart-topping singer is known for his ballads and toured with the legendary Van Morrisson and has shared the global stage with some of the all-time greats – Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles amongst much more and has toured the world performing his chart-topping songs.

Getting the weekend’s festivities off to a start on Saturday, February 3rd is a sunrise tour of the ancient lighthouse at 7.00 am. Guests will be treated to the dawning over the spectacular South East coast while enjoying a bespoke lighthouse tour and savouring bucks fizz, prosecco, fresh tea, and coffee along with a selection of breakfast canapés made from the finest local produce, including Ballyhack smokehouse smoked salmon on homemade brown bread. This adult only tour must be booked in advance by calling 051 397055.

In the afternoon storyteller Baya Salmon-Hawk who will offer free storytelling sessions for children telling ancient Celtic tales from 2 pm to 4 pm, she will also be assisted by Captain Hook.

On Saturday evening at 5 pm, ‘A Fire in the Head’ spoken word event will commence celebrating the turning of the Celtic year; poetry, stories, and song will be shared by candlelight, all under the theme of fire and water. The story of St. Bridget of Kildare will also be shared. A spoken word event will take place with an open invitation to storytellers, poets, rappers and all wordsmiths to join the occasion the ‘word’ competition around the theme of Imbolc, this spoken word event will be judged by none other than best selling author Cat Hogan and the winner will be awarded tickets to the Kieran Goss concert which is due to take place at the lighthouse in the summer.

On Sunday a Celtic Goddess Ceremony on the theme of ‘quickening’ is set to take place. The word Imbolc means literally “in the belly” in the old Irish Neolithic language, and is symbolic of the beginning of the season and signals the ‘quickening of the year’. At 12 noon on Sunday, Baya Salmon-Hawk will perform a Celtic Goddess Ceremony on the theme of ‘quickening within you’ commencing the ceremony at St Dubhan’s Well located at Dubhan’s church ruins and walking to lighthouse into garden cobbled maze, in the centre of maze participants can tie Spring wishes on the Imbolc tree sculpture surrounded by the fire-baskets lighting in maze garden.

On Sunday afternoon from 12 to 4 pm children’s entertainment fun and games will be on offer with Captain Hook and Cafe specials will include Pancakes filled with seasonal berries and sweet sharing plates. All weekend Art with Rose including specials Bridget’s cross Celtic goddess art will also be on offer.

All Imbolc Festival events at Hook Lighthouse are available to enjoy free of charge apart from the Brian Kennedy Concert (tickets €30pp), Sunrise Tour and Art Workshops with Rose. Sunrise tour tickets are €45pp and Art with Rose is from €5. For further details and ticket booking see www.hookheritage.ie or call 051 397 055.

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Pictured at the launch of the 2018 Wexford Has Talent competition is Danielle Reck from Lioness Aerial Fitness.

Over 70 acts have pre-registered for a free audition place over the weekend, however, organiser’s say that there are still some spaces for those wishing to arrive and register freely over the weekend between noon and 6 pm on Sunday.

A panel at least three judges from a total of 15 judges will help performers through the audition stages, the competition is open to all ages and all manner of talents. It is free to enter the competition process and the winner will walk away with a €2,000 prize fund and two additional prizes of €500 are added to the prize pot for two runners-up.

The judges and MC’s include well-known personalities from around the county along with Councillor George Lawlor as the guest MC. Organiser’s say there is still time to book an audition appointment in advance at www.wexfordhastalent.com or turn up on the day to queue for an audition time.

Pictured at the launch of the 2018 Wexford Has Talent competition is the Wexford Has Talent Competition MC Councillor George Lawlor, Brian Furlong, Marion Roice, Killian Duignan, Kevin Carty, Philly Cullen and Ciara and Rachel Furlong.

From this audition process, a shortlist of between 24 and 30 acts will go forward to take part in the live audience semi-finals at Clayton Whites of Wexford. Two semi-finals will take place; these will be on Saturday, January 20th and Saturday, January 27th, 2018 and the Grand Final will take place on Saturday, February 24th 2018. All shows will take place at Clayton Whites Hotel.

Tickets to the fourth annual Wexford Has Talent Semi-Finals and Grand Final are now on sale at Clayton Whites Hotel priced at €10 for each Semi-Final of Wexford Has Talent and €15 for the Grand Final. All live shows commence at 8 pm sharp.

For further details and Wexford Has Talent news see www.wexfordhastalent.com or join the event on Facebook.com/WexfordHasTalent and Twitter – @WexHasTalent

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Hook Lighthouse juts out to sea at the tip of the Hook Peninsula on the corner of Ireland’s Ancient East, there is there is no better place to take in the vast seascapes and glorious colours of Ireland’s Celtic Sea.

Visitors will be welcomed with a fresh bucks fizz and taken on a bespoke guided tour experience. Step back in time as you ascend the well-worn steps of the medieval tower, see it’s heritage come to life as visitors meet life-sized figures of the Monk who first established the beacon at the site in the 5th century followed by the Knight who built the tower; William Marshal some 800 years ago and hear of life as a light-keeper before stepping on to the top floor, take in the 360 degree sweeping panorama on the outdoor balcony and take in the views stretching across the Southeast of Ireland.

Tours culminate in the enclosed glass watch-room with spectacular panoramic views of the rolling seas stretching out while the sun rises and visitors savour bucks fizz, prosecco, fresh tea, and coffee along with a selection of breakfast canapés made from the finest local produce, including Ballyhack smokehouse smoked salmon on homemade brown bread.

The New Year Sunrise Tour Experience at Hook Lighthouse is now available for booking via Hook Lighthouse, call 00353 (0)51 397055, tickets are €45 per person. This is an adult only experience. For further details see www.hookheritage.ie

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According to the Council, a quantity of the substance has recently been found at the Raven, Curracloe. While the source of the material has not been confirmed, it is believed that the Palm Oil may have part of a consignment which came off a ship in the English Channel about 18 months ago. The congealed substance has been turning up recently on beaches and coasts in Ireland and the UK following the incident.

The Council believes the “fatbergs” were washed ashore in Wexford following recent storms.

“The material is a solid white substance which is known as a ‘Palm Oil Fatberg’” said Wexford County Council spokesperson David Minogue. “Individual deposits can range from the size of a golf ball to as big as a boulder and we are asking the public to be vigilant as this substance can be particularly harmful to dogs.”

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The incident took place yesterday at a property in Watson Road in the suburb of Padstow. Walsh, who was from Enniscorthy, was found with a stab wound to his neck.

Police had been called to the area after they received reports that a fight had broken out between a group of people. Despite the efforts of paramedics, father of three David (29) passed away at the scene.

A 25-year-old Irish woman and a 36-year-old local man were arrested at the scene. The woman, who was known to the victim, has been charged with his murder and is due to appear in Parramatta Local Court tomorrow. The man is still being questioned by New South Wales Police.

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Performers from as young as 13 showcased top class skills in music, singer songwriter performances, dance performance and harmonic music and it was the group of singers and musicians who together form 7th Fret who took the 2017 title.

The guest MC Councillor George Lawlor introduced the finalists on the evening as they took to the stage to battle it out in front of the panel of four judges, which included Sophie Wilson, Catherine ‘Biddy’ Walsh, Vicki Clancy and Carmel Corish Wallace along with a full house of a 600 strong audience.

The talented bunch included’ ballerina Sorcha Finn, singer Éabha Carty, 7th Fret harmony group, singer Will Troy Walsh, singer Caoimhe Troy, singer Jirat O’Neill, operatic singer Emma Hore, singer Hayley Crosbie, singer and guitarist Aaron McStein, pole artist Danielle Reck, 19 year old singer Adi Roche O’Leary, 15 year old musical theatre performer Caoimhe Boyle from Foulkesmills, 13 year old singer Aoife Goodison, 19 year old singer from Wexford town Luke Hayes and hip hop dance troupe from Wexford town ‘Hysteria’.

The members of 7th Fret David McDonnell from Kilmore, Ciara Cullinane from Wexford town, Holly Rossiter from Barntown, Robert Murphy from Barntown, Hazel Devereux from Wexford town and Daniel Furlong from Taghmon walked away with the 2017 Grand Final title and she was presented with €2000 cash prize by the sponsors Jim Hayes from The Wexford People plus two runner up prizes of €500 were awarded to pole dancing performer Danielle Reck and dance troupe Hysteria which includes Shauna Brady, Shona Kavanagh, Corey Lacey, Ashligh Godkin, Sarah Boyle, Stephanie Nolan, Cathlain Stamp and Ava McGarry all from Wexford town.

The musical harmony group ‘7th Fret’ sang ‘Send Me On My Way’ by Rusted Roots at the Grand Final. The group formed after they all performed together in a school production of Les Miserables in late 2015. Since then they have performed at many charity gigs, most notably at Wexford Spiegeltent Festival and Cycle against Suicide and they recently went on to win Taghmons got talent. Last year 7th fret made it to the final of Wexford Has Talent.

This was the third year of the competition the winners of the inaugural competition in 2015 were Wexford based band ‘Fit For Kings’ who have since gone on to release their successful debut single ‘Heartache’. Gymnast Tara Doyle Robinson won the title in 2016 and has since gone on to perform at select events and in top class acrobatic circuses. Tara took to the stage and wowed the audience at the Wexford Has Talent Grand Final while the judges deliberated on their very difficult decision on Saturday evening.

Commenting on the evening, one of the event organiser’s Kilian Duigan said, “We are delighted with the massive hit that this show has been; we would like to offer our congratulations to all of the finalists, we know the judges had a very tough decision to make on Saturday evening. We would also like to thank all the contestants from the very beginning, right from the auditions to the final, our judges, our MC George Lawlor, our kind sponsors and all the Sarsfields crew, without whom we would not have been able to run such a professional series of shows.”

For further details on the event see wexfordhastalent.com

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A total of 15 finalists will take to the stage from 8pm to battle it out for the title of the champion of Wexford Has Talent 2017 and walk away with a cash prize of €2,000. Two runner up finalists will also be announced and each will be awarded €500.

Sorcha Finn on stage with MC Clouncillor George Lawlor pictured at the Wexford Has Talent 2017 Semi Final.

Singing, Ballet, Opera, Hip Hop Dance, Harmony Group performances and Musical Theatre performances will all be showcased at the Grand Final event.

Taking to the stage will be ballerina Sorcha Finn, singer Éabha Carty, 7th Fret harmony group, singer Will Troy Walsh, singer Caoimhe Troy, singer Jirat O’Neill, operatic singer Emma Hore, singer Hayley Crosbie, singer and guitarist Aaron McStein, pole artist Danielle Reck, 19 year old singer Adi Roche O’Leary, 15 year old musical theatre performer Caoimhe Boyle from Foulkesmills, 13 year old singer Aoife Goodison, 19 year old singer from Wexford town Luke Hayes and hip hop dance troupe from Wexford town ‘Hysteria’.

The judges for the Wexford Has Talent Grand Final are Vicky Barron, Carmel Cornish Wallace, Sophie Wilson and Catherine ‘Biddy’ Walsh and the MC Host on the evening is Councillor George Lawlor.

Tickets for the Grand Final are €15 and are now on sale at Clayton Whites Hotel; the show will commence at 8pm sharp on Saturday, February 11th.

Wexford Has Talent 2017 is kindly sponsored by The Wexford People. For further details and Wexford Has Talent news see www.wexfordhastalent.com or join the event on Facebook.com/WexfordHasTalent and Twitter – @WexHasTalent

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The range of projects to be funded from the increase in LPT include:

Gorey

• New large-scale commercial offices and innovation centre
• Redevelopment of Market House
• Redevelopment of Showgrounds Public Park

Enniscorthy

• New Business/Technology Park
• Town Centre Tourism Project
• Templeshannon Revitalisation Project

New Ross

• Advanced Factories and Enterprise Cente
• Redevelopment of New Ross Port Area
• Town Centre Tourism Project

Wexford

• Trinity Wharf Business Park
• Wexford Quay Front Refurbishment
• New Wexford Neighbourhood (Min Ryan) Park

There is also funding being provided for urban renewal projects in a number of locations throughout the county and for improvements to county roads.

Wexford County Council Chief Executive Tom Enright presented a detailed report to the Members setting out the various financial options and implications associated with possible variations in the Local Property Tax. Speaking after the meeting, Mr. Enright said “The decision of the Members to increase the rate of LPT by 5% will create a fund in excess of €600,000 which will be ring fenced to supplement existing expenditure commitments by the Council aimed at improving our economic and community infrastructure and providing funding for the repair and maintenance of the county road network. It is vital that we increase our investment activity in economic development and tourism promotion as these represent County Wexford’s main job creation opportunities. We know from the extensive research that we have carried out that there is a severe shortage of property solutions to facilitate local companies growing or to attract new companies here and we need to lead and deliver these solutions where the private market has failed to do so. ”

He continued “Unemployment is a real problem in County Wexford where the rate of unemployment is much higher than the national average and this places a major burden on the provision of public serices. Almost every household in the County has been impacted one way or another by unemployment or emigration. A large proportion of young people do not return to County Wexford after completing their third level education due to the lack of job opportunities in their home county.

We can no longer wait endlessly for inward employment opportunities to come to Wexford – we must seek them out by investing in an economic development programme that will create a strong attraction for investors and jobs to our county and we must be the catalyst for the development of property solutions for existing Wexford-based companies to expand into. The additional funding that will result from this small increase in the LPT will help to fund an investment of 17 million euro and I am confident that on completion, this ambitious economic development programme will act as a catalyst to bring real job creation opportunities to the county.”

Commenting on the decision to apply a 5% increase, Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council Councillor Paddy Kavanagh said “In making this decision the Members carefully considered all aspects of potential increases and decreases and our decision is, I believe, based on a need to strike a balance between the impact on property owners, the need to fund job creation opportunities and incentives, and the overall financial impact on Council services. As a county, we are deficient in our economic infrastructure and today’s decision is a strong message from Wexford County Council that we recognise this deficiency, it is our duty as elected members to address it and we are absolutely committed to doing so”.

Total LPT income to Wexford County Council amounts to approximately €11.9m per annum, representing more than one-eighth of the Council’s total annual income.

The decision by Wexford County Council to adopt a 5% variation in the Local Property Tax will now form the backdrop to the Council’s 2017 Budget preparations. The Budget will be prepared over the coming weeks and will be considered in detail by Members of the Council at a Special Meeting in November.

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Filming is scheduled to take place in October in the Clongeen area while the legendary Loftus Hall will also be used as a location. The Council has advised that some road closures are likely to be in place in the general area to facilitate production.

Wexford County Council has enjoyed recent success in attracting and facilitating film production in the County – most recently with the highly successful Oscar-nominated Brooklyn, much of which was filmed in Enniscorthy Town and surrounding areas.

Welcoming the news of the filming of The Lodgers, Wexford County Council Development Officer Carolyne Godkin said ”We are delighted to see that Tailored Films have found locations and supports in Wexford to bring this production to life. Film production brings very tangible economic spend into a location and Wexford has benefited from this in the past – most recently with the success of Brooklyn. In addition, the use of some of Wexford’s most iconic locations and buildings as movie sets can bring a long term tourism benefit, which helps promote our county and region and thus maintains employment in the wider tourism sector”.

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