Latest news with #Wicklow
Irish Examiner
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Davy Burke steps down as Roscommon boss after three years in charge
Roscommon are on the lookout for a new senior football manager following Davy Burke's decision to step down after three years on Friday evening. Kildare native and former Wicklow boss Burke had led The Rossies back into Division 1 but leaves following a disappointing championship run in which they failed to qualify for the knock-out stages of the Sam Maguire Cup after a final round defeat to Cork earlier this month. Roscommon reached the quarter-final stages last year having been beaten by Cork in the preliminary quarters the season before in Burke's first year in charge. Roscommon chairman Brian Carroll thanked Burke for his efforts: 'I have witnessed first hand the effort, dedication and commitment Davy has put in since his appointment in October 2022. 'I want to thank Davy most sincerely for everything he has done for Roscommon GAA. We have had highs and lows over the three years but Davy's ambitions and goals for our players, supporters and our County was always to be the very best we could possibly be.' Burke added: 'After careful consideration, I have decided to step down as Roscommon Senior Football Manager, bringing an end to my three-year term. 'I would like to thank the Roscommon County Board in particular County Chairperson Brian Carroll, for his unwavering support and loyalty through the highs and lows over the last 3 years. I appreciated it more than you will know.' As well as acknowledging the players, Burke praised his management and support teams: 'During my tenure I have had the privilege of working alongside a fantastic group of people in my backroom team. "While there are too many to mention individually, I want to express my heartfelt appreciation for your professionalism, dedication and loyalty to Roscommon Football.'
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Wicklow Cumann na mBunscol update: students represent county in Croke Park
Well done to all who played in the Give Respect Get Respect Exhibition Go Games for Under 12s in Croke Park on June 22. Those who represented Wicklow and wearing white included Kai Lynch, Oisín Duggan, Liam Byrne, Danny Byrne, Jack Harrington, Michael Moran, Kya Dickinson, Heidi Devlin, Grace McGillycuddy and Freya Murphy Cullen. In blue were Daniel MacNamara, Luan Bruggeman, Sean Roche, Callum Armstrong, Matthew O'Brien, Alex Finnegan, Darcy Odlum, Zara Kavanagh, Maria Stella Palma and Clodagh McCormack. Thanks to coaches Eamonn Hughes, Tomás Mac Aodha, Sinéad Wallace, Brian MacNamara, Áine Quinn, Gary McGillycuddy, Pat Dunne and JP Moran. These moments will become unbelievable memories that the boys and girls will always have to treasure, and they can already say they have represented their county.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
LGBTQ+ inclusivity: Plan for effective removal of rainbow pedestrian crossing leads to official clash
Plans by Wicklow County Council for the effective removal of the State's first rainbow pedestrian crossing have led to a clash between the council and the Department of Transport. Rainbow crossings, which feature rainbow colours painted each side of a pedestrian crossing, are designed to signal inclusivity and respect for diversity, particularly to members of the LGBTQ+ community. Wicklow County Council's Arklow Municipal District was the first local authority in the State to install a permanent rainbow crossing. The rainbow colours were painted on either side of the white lines of a pedestrian crossing on Arklow's Main Street in December 2021. Stakeholders and vulnerable road users such as visually impaired advocacy group the NCBI were consulted on the design. However, in May, members of the municipal council were told the colours would be allowed to wear away. READ MORE The council said it was 'not in a position to refresh the paint, having regard to current legislation'. The council said 'pedestrian crossings are regulatory road markings, and as such, it is not open to Wicklow County Council to ignore the detailed specifications set out'. Asked what specifically has changed in legislation since the rainbow crossing was installed, the council told The Irish Times: 'All road markings are undertaken in accordance with the Traffic Signs Manual (updated December 2024). This manual, published by the Department of Transport , constitutes a direction given by the Minister of Transport to Road Authorities under Section 95 (16) of the Road Traffic Act 1961 in relation to the provision of traffic signs.' However, the Department of Transport responded that the only change made to the Traffic Signals Manual since 2021, which updated the manual in 2024, was in relation to the use of orange flashing lights, known as Belisha beacons. The beacons require electricity and more complex installation, making them more expensive than signage. The update said the beacons could be replaced by signage, but was silent on the installation of rainbow crossings. [ A quarter of major US corporate backers pull out of Dublin Pride over Trump fears Opens in new window ] The council also appeared to clash with a response from Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien 's office, which said: 'At present, the department does not intend to revise the guidance in relation to the current layout and road markings for pedestrian crossings, guidance which was in place at the time of first installation of the crossing [in Arklow] in question.' In a Dáil reply to Wicklow Wexford Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne, Minister for State at the Department of Transport Sean Canny said rainbow crossings 'are installed at the discretion of the individual local authority'. Arklow based film-maker Dave Thomas, who campaigned for the installation of the rainbow crossing, said the council 'wrongly cited legislation as the reason – yet the Minister for Transport has confirmed the same legislation that permitted the crossing in 2021 still stands today. The NCBI have also clarified they have no issue with such crossings if guidelines are followed.' He said it was 'appalling' and 'deeply hurtful' that Wicklow County Council 'would announce this at the start of Pride Month'.
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Paedophile sports coach (91) becomes one of the oldest people ever jailed in Ireland
A newspaper article published in February 2007 was the trigger that resulted in former sports coach James O'Reilly, last week becoming one of the oldest individuals ever sent to prison in Ireland at the age of 91 for sexually assaulting four young gymnasts under his care. In the interview, the well-known figure in sporting circles in Arklow, Co Wicklow, through his role as a Community Games organiser and coach of gymnasts and soccer teams, remarked that: 'It my firm belief that they (kids) will not come to any wrong if they are involved in sport.' Advertisement Reading those words proved the incentive for one of O'Reilly's victims to report the abuse she suffered from him to gardaí, whose subsequent investigation established that her experience was far from being unique. At a sitting of Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court last week, the elderly grandfather, who is blind, partially deaf and confined to a wheelchair, was sentenced to 12 months in prison with Judge Terence O'Sullivan branding the nonagenarian as a 'sexual predator.' Last February, O'Reilly – a widower with two adult children from Fernhill, Arklow, Co Wicklow – pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting four young girls in the south Wicklow town over 30 years ago. The admissions by the Mullingar native and retired painter and decorator – one in relation to each of his four victims – were made in front of a jury of seven women and five men who had been sworn in to hear his trial at Bray Courthouse. Advertisement Just 24 hours earlier, O'Reilly had pleaded not guilty before the same jury to a total of eight charges of indecent or sexual assault and one charge of attempted sexual assault at St Mary's College Sports Hall in Arklow in relation to the same four young females whom he trained. The offences occurred on dates unknown between January 1st, 1990 and December 31st, 1994, when the accused ran a club for training gymnasts with his late wife, Sadie, who died in December 2021. Although he became fully blind in 1996, O'Reilly continued to participate in training and organising competitions for the Community Games – a role he began in 1978 – until he stood down just three years ago. In a victim impact statement, the woman who reported O'Reilly after seeing his interview in the Irish Independent said reading it 18 years ago had given her the drive to pursue getting justice. Advertisement She described the article as one which 'glorified' O'Reilly and was all about 'your great deeds which you have done for the children of Arklow.' 'Every cell in my body was repulsed by this interview,' she told the court. Addressing O'Reilly, she stated: 'You were trusted to provide a safe space for me and the other children. You took this power and used it for your own gratification.' She added: 'There are no words to describe the level of fear, embarrassment and shame that I experienced that day.' Advertisement 'The level of fear when you would enter the girls' changing rooms – no child should ever have to experience,' she observed. The woman said that 30 years later, she still has the same fear of being seen and has to hide away in social situations. She outlined how she still instinctively folds her arms and covers her chest 'to this very day,' which she said was the same device she would use to protect herself from O'Reilly as a child. The court heard that the thought of having to stand up as a witness and give evidence in front of a jury had made her physically ill, and she attributed his guilty pleas to 'a stroke of divine intervention.' Advertisement As a mother now of three young girls, the woman explained how she had repeatedly refused requests from one of her daughters to join her friends in gymnastics. 'In my eyes, once you put on a leotard, you became a target,' she commented. The woman, who is now in her 40s, said it was only when her own daughter turned nine that she realised the true extent of what O'Reilly had inflicted on her. She also accused the former coach of robbing her of the joyful experience of parenting because she sensed danger for her own children when there was none, because of the sexual abuse she suffered. 'Due to your actions, my thoughts were that people in authority did not have good intentions,' she remarked. In a separate victim impact statement, another woman (42) said the trauma of what happened never goes away. 'I learned to deal with it as a child, but I never thought I would carry it through to my adult life,' she remarked. She added: 'No person should ever have to go through that sort of trauma or carry that shame through their life because of the actions of another person.' Although the woman welcomed the fact that she had got justice for herself and others, she acknowledged that O'Reilly's age and illnesses would be taken into account in sentencing him. She continued: 'I want to state that my age wasn't taken into account when he chose to lay his hands on me many years ago.' Another of O'Reilly's victims, who was abused when she was about eight, told the court that she had been left 'extremely confused, frightened and ashamed' by what he did to her. The woman said she did not tell any adult about what happened as she did not have the words or understanding at such a young age. 'I knew what O'Reilly had done to me was wrong. I carried the weight of that secret for years,' she added. The court heard that discovering at 16 that she was not O'Reilly's only victim caused her both relief and anger. She continued: 'Relief that I wasn't alone but deep sadness and anger that this had happened to more children; that other adults were aware at the time and that he had been allowed to continue holding positions or respect and influence in our community.' The woman said she found it 'devastating' when O'Reilly was given a 'People of the Millennium' award for his work with children in Arklow. She told the court that she could still describe to this day what the accused's hands look like. 'The experience changed the course of my life. It stole a sense of safety, trust and joy that every child deserves,' she added. She expressed hope that with the court case that O'Reilly's name could be recorded for what he is – 'a prolific abuser of children.' Speaking after O'Reilly was sentenced to 12 months in prison, one of his victims who had told the court she expected he would not be jailed because of his age said it was hard to see an elderly man being wheeled out of court by prison guards. However, she added, 'That same man was not sorry for what he had done to us. He showed absolutely no remorse.' The four victims also said they had been let down by others in Arklow who knew what O'Reilly was doing but who chose to protect him rather than vulnerable young children. Ireland Former gymnastics coach (91) pleads guilty to sexu... Read More 'It's bittersweet. I do feel down, as it was widely known within the community. We were just little girls, and people chose to turn a blind eye,' said one woman. 'I don't feel like this is a celebration, but we finally got our justice,' she observed. O'Reilly, who was born on New Year's Day in 1934, is likely to mark his 92nd birthday in prison. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape C ri sis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at or visit Rape C ri sis Help .
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Health
- Irish Times
Greystones bungalow offers sea air and sumptuous views
Address : San Salvador, Ennis Lane, Windgates, Greystones, Co Wicklow Price : €1,075,000 Agent : DNG View this property on In the 18th century, doctors prescribed seashore visits for patients with respiratory problems. They knew that salty air had benefits but it wasn't until years later that science understood this was from iodine, magnesium and other ions, such as potassium and calcium, that encourage respiratory health. Conditions such as asthma, sinusitis and allergies have all been proven to improve from living by the sea, as sea air is heavier so it tends to clear out the nasal cavities, as anyone who's taken to dunking their head under the seawater can attest. That's before you take in the aesthetic values of sunsets, sunrises and even stormy nights as tempests bellow while you're safely inside by a roaring fire. San Salvador, a detached bungalow on Ennis Lane in Greystones , has just been launched to market by DNG, seeking €1.075 million. Its maritime setting on 0.64 of an acre, with uninterrupted views of the sea, is a rare offering along the Dublin and Wicklow coastlines. According to its current owner, who moved here in 1975, previous owners (who built the house) wanted a unique name for their home as the house back then 'was in the middle of nowhere ... They had been a very charitable family and had spent time in El Salvador, so decided to call their home after its capital city,' the owner says. When the current residents moved in 50 years ago, they decided to retain the name. READ MORE Entrance The house is elevated to maximise views Sea views from inside Family room Livingroom Location over the sea It is in need of a refresh, but offers a gem of an opportunity for those who love the sea. As the property includes a 152sq m (1,636sq ft) four-bedroom house, with a further 29sq m (312sq ft) in a garage and outbuildings, there is huge potential to develop a dream maritime home. In its current layout it has three reception rooms, a kitchen and three bathrooms. The property lies in rolling greenbelt farmland so is protected from future development. According to selling agent DNG, 'The views you enjoy today are the views you'll enjoy tomorrow and for years to come,' making it an attractive option. Its elevated position catches the full drama of the coastline, and its owner says her friends come to stay for the full moons that light up Greystones, providing wonderful reflections over the sea. Though it may seem like its miles from anywhere, Lidl and Tesco are within a five-minute drive. Greystones centre will take less than 10 minutes to reach. You can step out the front door, and be at the Cove, where locals swim from 5am onwards, in about a 20-minute walk. And if sailing, boating or fishing are your thing, the town's marina lies at your disposal. Though you might never want to leave, it is 350m to the Dublin Bus stop on Windgates Road, and 3.3km to the Dart station in Greystones. This is a unique offering in an extraordinary setting, and as it's in Greystones, which has become the poster child for quality of life living near the capital, it will be sure to draw interest. San Salvador has a Ber rating of E1 and is on the market through DNG, seeking €1.075 million.
