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By Waterford City & County Council

Waterford Poetry Prize 2021


The Arts Office, Waterford City & County Council is pleased to announce that entries are now being accepted for the Waterford Poetry Prize 2021. The Waterford Poetry Prize is open to all writers currently living on the island of Ireland.

The winners will be announced at a special online event at the Waterford Writers Weekend on Friday 22nd October 2021 during the Imagine Arts Festival.

There is no age limit and no entry fee for the Waterford Poetry Prize 2021.

The first prize is €400 plus attendance at a designated writing course at the Molly Keane Writers Retreat, Ardmore in 2022. Second prize is €300 plus a writing course in Ardmore and third prize is €200. The closing date for receipt of entries is 12 noon on Wednesday 1st September 2021.

The Arts Office is pleased to have the writer and poet Colm Keegan as judge for the second year.

Online entries only will be accepted this year, with form and guidelines available at the Waterford Submit platform: https://waterford.submit.com/ or via the QR code below.

By Waterford City & County Council

Drama bursaries awarded by Waterford City & County Council

The Arts Office, Waterford City & County Council is pleased to announce the recipients of bursary support to attend the Residential Summer School held by the Drama League of Ireland in the University of Limerick.

They are Emma Walsh, Brideview Drama, Tallow and Samantha Hayes of Curtain Call Productions, Dungarvan who will attend the DLI’s 55th Summer School from the 31st July to 7th August 2021.

By Waterford City & County Council

Waterford Dog Shelter – Restricted Opening Hours

RESTRICTED OPENING HOURS

Friday, 02/07/2021

Please note that Waterford City and County Council Dog Shelter, Bilberry, Waterford will operate restricted opening hours on Friday, 02/07/2021.

For enquiries and access to the Pound please telephone 0761 10 20 20 or e-mail contact@waterfordcouncil.ie

By Waterford City & County Council

Déise customers can quickly access real-time information about their water supply with new location feature on Irish Water website

Déise customers can quickly access real-time information about their water supply with new location feature on Irish Water website

Customers can now avail of quick access to relevant information on their water supply, based on where they live, thanks to the rollout of a newly designed Irish Water website. The changes will allow people around the country to immediately see what works and projects are ongoing in their locality by setting their location at www.water.ie.

This is already proving helpful for customers experiencing issues such as water outages. A quick look at the Irish Water website immediately tells them what the issue is, the areas affected and when it will be rectified. With over 900,000 users on the site ever year, this revamp will ensure water.ie continues to provide an essential public service.

Designed to work on your mobile phone or any other device, the state-of-the-art website lets you set your location with updates and news relevant to your locality served upfront on the homepage. It also enables Irish Water to deliver important public health messages and reassurance to the public that we are working every day to provide a clean and safe supply of drinking water for our customers while returning wastewater safely to the environment.

Head of Customer Operations with Irish Water Yvonne Harris explains how this dynamic, new-look website will better serve customers: “We have upgraded our website so it is more user-friendly. We talked to our customers, we listened to their feedback and made changes to better improve the user experience for all.

“We are now keeping our customers informed, in real time, about any issues that may be impacting their water supply as well as updates on significant projects, leakage works and water quality.

“This new-look version of water.ie takes the effort out of the search for information by giving customers important, relevant, location-based information on the homepage. With one click to set your location or the option to choose a locality, visitors to the site can immediately view key information for their chosen geographical area.

“Now, instead of Donegal residents seeing news for Dublin, or Cork residents seeing information on outages in Offaly, they see local news, supply updates, and information on water quality and projects. And it’s one click to turn it off and return to a national view. In addition, a mobile-first design caters to the vast majority of visitors who use mobiles to access water.ie.”

Yvonne continued: “From research and data analysis, Irish Water’s Communications and Customer teams have a better understanding of what our customers want. The previous site structure meant customers had to undertake separate journeys to check for an outage or find relevant information on water quality or local news stories, making it a laborious process. The team wanted to give our customers the option to get a full picture of what was happening in their locality, all in one place.”

Since its launch in 2013, water.ie has grown and evolved into a key communication channel for Irish Water. Today it is a nationally prominent large-scale, high-traffic, dynamic website visited by over 900,000 users annually. These visitors use the website to find information that is important to them across a wide range of topics.

Irish Water is committed to keeping customers informed across multiple platforms 24/7 and we encourage customers to engage with us through our website www.water.ie, Twitter channels @IWCare and @IrishWater, on Facebook and LinkedIn and through our customer care helpline which is open 24/7 on 1800 278 278.

By Waterford City & County Council

Waterford Joins International Celebrations for Canada Day

Waterford City is going red to celebrate Canada Day and its unique historical connection with Newfoundland.  Between 1790 and 1830, 35,000 Irish people entered the colony, with Waterford the primary port of embarkation. Three centuries of shared history with St. John’s means you can travel over 3,500km from Waterford, arrive in St. John’s and still hear familiar accents and colloquialisms from the locals there.

For Canada Day, on Thursday July 1st, iconic landmarks and monuments across the island of Ireland are illuminating red in recognition of the shared history, heritage and cultural connections between Ireland and Canada. Mayor of Waterford City & County, Cllr. Joe Kelly, said he was “thrilled to participate in this celebration with Canada and wish them all the very best on their National Holiday”.  When international travel re-opens Mayor Kelly said “we look forward to welcoming Canadian visitors back to Ireland and invite them to explore Waterford City and County and the strong connections between our two countries.”

Waterford City was twinned with St John’s in Newfoundland in 2003 to recognize and celebrate the historical connections between the two cities. Mass emigration from the South East to Newfoundland from the mid-18th century onwards created strong historical links and many people in St. John’s will know their ancestors boarded ships to Canada on what is now called Canada St. or that their home was called St. John’s after St. John’s Parish in Waterford City. Couples from St. John’s in Newfoundland still return to St. John’s church in Waterford City to get married in the church their ancestors would have know.

Eamonn Murphy, Chair of Ireland Newfoundland Connections, was delighted to be celebrating Canada Day and also highlighted that ‘in Newfoundland the 1st July is also a day of remembrance for the hundreds of soldiers from the Royal Newfoundland Regiment who died on this day in 1916 in Beaumont-Hamel, at the Battle of the Somme, in France during the First World War. It was a very sad day for the nation of Newfoundland, and this Memorial Day was firmly marked in Newfoundlanders calendars before they joined Canada in 1949’.

Waterford is honoured to participate in Canada Day celebrations, in partnership with Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland, to highlight our strong links with Canada and demonstrate a symbol of friendship between the island of Ireland and Canada

Canada Day Waterford 1 Photo Caption:

Photo by Colin Shanahan – DigiCol Photography (c) 2021 – http://www.digicolphotography.com

Mayor of Waterford City & County, Cllr. Joe Kelly (left) and Eamonn Murphy, Chair of Ireland Newfoundland Connections (right) flying the Canadian flag outside St. John’s Church in Waterford City.

Canada Day Waterford 2 Photo Caption:

Photo by Colin Shanahan – DigiCol Photography (c) 2021 – http://www.digicolphotography.com

The Bishop’s Palace and Medieval Museum in the historic Waterford Viking Triangle of Waterford City illuminated in red for Canada Day.

Canada Day Waterford 3 Photo Caption:

Photo by Colin Shanahan – DigiCol Photography (c) 2021 – http://www.digicolphotography.com

Mayor of Waterford City & County, Cllr. Joe Kelly (left) holding the Canadian flag and Eamonn Murphy, Chair of Ireland Newfoundland Connections (right) holding the Newfoundland flag outside St. John’s Church in Waterford City.

By Waterford City & County Council

New Walk Waterford booklet launched

Mayor of Waterford City & County Council, Cllr. Joe Kelly officially launches the new version of the Walk Waterford-From Sea to Mountains booklet, along with an accompanying on-line resource www.visitwaterfordtrails.com at the Anne Valley Walk, Dunhill. Cllr. Kelly was joined for the launch by Mike Walsh, Mary Finn and Bernie Roberts all Dunhill Tourism Walking Trail CLG, Johnny Brunnock, Trails Officer, Waterford City & County Council and Willie Moore, chairperson, Dunhill Tourism Walking Trail CLG. Photo: John Foley Images.

The new version of the Walk Waterford–From Sea to Mountains booklet, along with an accompanying online resource was recently launched by Mayor of Waterford City & County Council, Cllr. Joe Kelly at the beautiful Anne Valley Walk.

Walk Waterford is a series of 39 recreational walks throughout Waterford, from stunning coastal walks to breathtaking mountain scenery to tranquil woodland settings to picturesque towns and villages and Ireland’s oldest city. In the booklet, each walk has a map, trail description and important trail information that will help visitors plan their visit. The format of the booklet sees trails being grouped into themes such as coastal, mountain, woodland & nature, long distance & Greenway and urban trails. With details about the grading of each trail, it is hoped that the booklet will help people make an informed decision about the trail they choose to visit.

Launching the booklet, Cllr. Kelly said that he was ‘delighted to be able to help formally announce that the booklet was available. It will be a great free resource for people planning their next walk, day trip or holiday to Waterford’.

Cllr. Kelly also went on to say that ‘now more than ever, as we continue to emerge from pandemic restrictions, it is vital for our health & well-being that we keep active and healthy. Where better to do this in the great outdoors. We are very fortunate here in Waterford, in the heart of Ireland’s Ancient East, to have a wealth of trails and amenities to choose from. I look forward to discovering some of the trails myself over the summer!’

The booklet which was prepared by Waterford City & County Council was also supported with funding from the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme which is administered by the Department of Rural and Community Development. Johnny Brunnock, Trails Officer with Waterford City & County Council, who was also in attendance at the launch, pointed out that ‘the project also includes the addition of a dedicated trails section to the Visit Waterford website which promotes all there is to see and do in Waterford, as well as where to stay, what’s on and where to eat.

We would encourage locals and visitors alike to log onto www.visitwaterfordtrails.com where they can download the new booklet, watch newly created videos and find lots of useful information while planning their visit to the outdoors. We would also like to thank all those who contributed to this project and of course all of the voluntary trail development groups around the county, like the local community here at the Anne Valley Walk who manage and maintain many of Waterford’s wonderful walks for all of us to enjoy’.

Walking in nature is without doubt one of life’s most enjoyable experiences and best of all…it’s free! However, with this freedom comes responsibility. Waterford City & County Council and stakeholders involved in this project would like to take this opportunity to remind those venturing into the outdoors to be considerate of your surroundings, land owners and other trail users at all times. Always remember to practice the principles of Leave no Trace. Dispose of waste properly: If you bring it in, take it out. Visit www.leavenotraceireland.org for further information.

The new Walk Waterford booklet will be available from Waterford City & County Council, Tourist Offices, Libraries and other outlets over the coming days and weeks.

Find your trail in Waterford…where Ireland begins.

By Waterford City & County Council

An Comhdháil Cheilteach 2021

AN COMHDHÁIL CHEILTEACH 2021 AR AN ÁRDÁN DIGITEACH

IS eachtra mhór dúinn dul ar-líne leis an gComhdháil Cheilteach 2021, tar éis bheith ‘beo’ le linn breis agus céad bliain.

Tá na téama áirithe a nascann sinn le chéile mar Ceilt scúdaithe againn thar na blianta – Ceol, Teangacha, Cultúr, Logainmneacha, Litríochta, Oileáin, Stair, Seandálaíocht, Mitheolaíócht agus níos mó na san.  Le déanaí dhíríomar isteach ar cúrsaí cumarsáide agus conas a bheith i dteangmhaíl agus i gcabhair ar a chéile níos mó ná ag na comhdhála bhlaintúila.  Thosnáiomar le ríomh phostanna, Facebook, Suíomh Idirlinne, grúpaí WhatsAPP agus cinnte tá buntáistí ag baint le chuile acu.

Is as Aberysthwyth na Breataine Bige a bheidh an Cómhdhail Cheilteach ag teacht chughainn ag an deire seachtaine seo chughainn 2ú- 4ú Iúil.

Sé téama na bliana seo ná “Conas a bheith torthúil agus Ceilteach sa saol ghnó inniu” – agus tugtar deis do cuid des na gnó áitiúla in gach tír físéain bheag a dhéanamh ar a ghnó agus a thaispeáint go bhfuil éileamh ar a gcuid gnó agus iad ag úsáid a dteangacha dúchais féin.  Beidh sibh in ann muintir na Rinne a aithint ag dul i mbun a ngnó i gcuid acu.

****Tá togha agus rogha againn sa chlár, Ceol, Caint, Craic, Léachtanna, Spioradáltacht, Ranganna, Ciorcail Comhrá agus níos mó.  Más suim agaibh blaiseach den Chomhdháil Cheilteach a fháilt is féidir logáil isteach don nasc seo http://cyngresgeltaidd.cymru/ .

Is féidir ticéíd a cheannach don deire seachtaine ar fad ar bheagán, (£20 don teaghlach ar fad), agus geallaimse go mbeidh luach bhúr gcuid airgid agaibh.  Ná fanaigí go dtí an nóiméad deiridh.

By Waterford City & County Council

Pop up “walk-in/no appointment necessary” COVID-19 test centre in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford

As an additional facility, the HSE will be operating a free “Pop up, walk-in/no appointment necessary” COVID-19 test centre on the grounds of Dungarvan Community Hospital, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford on Thursday 24th, Friday 25th and Saturday 26th of June.

The pop up test centre will operate on the grounds of Dungarvan Community Hospital from 11am to 7pm on all three days and caters to all ages (under 16s accompanied).

The HSE is concerned at an increase in cases of COVID-19 recorded in Co. Waterford over the last week and is encouraging people in communities throughout West Waterford to avail of this temporary facility in Dungarvan. People can avail of testing if they have concerns about Covid19, whether or not they have symptoms at the moment.

The HSE reminds everyone at this time of “the basics” in protecting one’s self and others from the spread of COVID-19. In particular, if you have symptoms, even if they are mild, do not attend work or social gatherings and get tested for Covid19 – see https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/covid19/preventing-the-spread/

Tá an HSE ag lonnú ionad tástála sealadach do COVID-19 ar an láthair ag Ospidéal Pobail Dhún Garbháin, Co. Phort Láirge ar Déardaoin 24ú, Aoine 25ú agus Sathairn 26ú lá Meitheamh. Ní gá aon choinne a dhéanamh ach teacht ar an lá agus tá an seirbhís saor in aisce.

Beidh an t-ionad ag Ospidéal Pobail Dhún Garbháin oscailte ó 11rn go 7in ar an trí lá úd. Gheobhaidh gach aois-ghrúpa freastail (ach caithfear cuideachta ‘bheith leo iad siúd fé 16).

Is ábhar imní don HSE an t-árdú tagtha ar chásanna COVID-19 i gCo. Phort Láirge le seachtain agus táthar ag moladh dóibh siúd i bpobail in iarthar Phort Láirge úsáid a bhaint as an áis sealadach seo.

Meabhraíonn an HSE do gach duine ag an uair seo áird a thabhairt ar na gníomhachta bunúsacha maidir le bac a chur ar leathnú COVID-19 – féach https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/covid19/preventing-the-spread/

The HSE’s COVID-19 Testing Centre located in Kilcohan, Waterford continues to operate as normal and can also be attended on a walk in, no appointment necessary basis.

(ends)

NOTE:·       You can get a test if you have not tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 9 months – only get another test if you have symptoms of COVID-19

·       Do not bring a child to a walk-in centre if they are a close contact in a school setting. The contact tracing team will arrange the test and will contact you with the details.

·       You need to bring photo ID and provide a mobile phone number.

For further information, see also https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/testing/covid-19-walk-in-test-centres.html

By Waterford City & County Council

Freedom of Waterford (Honoris Causa) conferred on Henry de Bromhead

Freedom of Waterford (Honoris Causa) conferred on Henry de Bromhead

Issued: 16th June 2021

Mayor of Waterford City & County Council, Cllr. Damien Geoghegan today conferred the Freedom of Waterford on Waterford’s eminently successful racehorse trainer, Henry de Bromhead.

In a ceremony held at Tramore racecourse, the Butlerstown based sportsman joined the likes of Waterford sporting heroes John Treacy and Séan Kelly in having his name added to the Freemen’s Charter Roll, first established at the turn of the 18th century.

Speaking at the well-attended ceremony, Mayor of Waterford City & County Council, Cllr. Damien Geoghegan said:

“It was a great honour for me during my time as Mayor to put forward a proposal to confer this honour on Henry de Bromhead.  Like everyone interested in the sport of horse racing, I watched in admiration last Spring as Henry’s horses enjoyed unprecedented success at both Cheltenham and Aintree, establishing his stable as one of the best in Britain and Ireland.

Henry is such a humble man and a total professional in what he does … he works incredibly hard behind the scenes and is a credit to his industry and to Waterford.  I had no hesitation in putting forward this proposal, for what is a most fitting and truly deserved honour.”

Tramore Councillor Lola O’Sullivan, who formally proposed the honour referred to Henry de Bromhead’s commitment to his sport and his perseverance in his chosen field.

“Despite the unusual and sometimes terrible last 18 months or so, Henry and his team have scaled new heights and set new standards within the sport of national hunt racing.  His achievements place him now at the very pinnacle of a highly competitive sport and he and his team are folks we should be very proud of.”

Councillor John O’Leary, who seconded the Freedom proposal, joined the sentiments of all present, touching on the magnificent feat of sportsmanship seen recently when de Bromhead’s horses won all 4 major national hunt races in the one season.

“Within four unprecedented days last Spring, your stable pulled off a magnificent feat in winning Cheltenham’s Holy Trinity of races with Honeysuckle in the Champion hurdle, Put the Kettle On in a dramatic Champion Chase and Minella Indo completing the set the Gold Cup.

Three weeks, this time in the Aintree Grand National, you again trained the winner, where the ground-breaking jockey, Rachael Blackmore became the first female past the post in that race.”

Thanking the Mayor and those in attendance for the honour, in an interview with Kieran O’Connor, Henry de Bromhead touched on his unprecedented season

“It’s a great honour which I accept on behalf of not just myself and my family, but on my whole team here in Waterford.   Thank you everyone for the goodwill and support you have shown us this year.  I’m happy that we’re here in Tramore too, with my family connections with the racecourse going ack to my Grandfather’s time.  This year has been a terrific experience.”

 

Photographs of the event from Noel Browne will be syndicated, through Waterford City & County Council.

ENDS

By Waterford City & County Council

Waterford Dog Shelter – Restricted Opening Hours

Waterford Dog Shelter – Restricted Opening Hours

  • THURSDAY 17th June 2021 TO FRIDAY 18th June 2021 – Restricted opening hours will apply
  • SATURDAY 19th June 2021 CLOSED

For enquiries and access to the Pound please, telephone 0761 10 20 20 or e-mail contact@waterfordcouncil.ie

MONDAY 21st June onwards – Usual opening hours apply

  • Monday to Friday 11am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm
  • Saturday 11am to 1pm

By Waterford City & County Council

Facebook friend request from “Waterford Council”

FRIEND REQUESTS FROM WATERFORD COUNCIL

We are hearing several reports of “friend requests” from a profile purporting to be Waterford Council. Please note these are fraudulent and should not be accepted.

A business ‘page’ cannot send friend requests to an individual’s ‘profile’.  Someone else is after your info !

Please report incidents such as this to Facebook and to ourselves.

By Waterford City & County Council

Local Property Tax adjustment factor

The Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended), makes specific provision that elected members of a local authority may pass a formal resolution to vary the basic rate of the Local Property Tax for their administrative area by a percentage known as the local adjustment factor.

The members of Waterford City and County Council meet each year to consider this matter. They may set a local adjustment factor within the range of +/- 15% of the basic rate, or may decide not to adjust the basic rate, on an annual basis.

Waterford City and County Council welcomes written submissions from the public on this matter specifically covering the potential effects of varying the basic rate of the Local Property Tax on businesses, individuals and on local authority services.

To make your submission you can write to: Local Property Tax Consultation, Finance Section, Waterford City and County Council, City Hall, Waterford. OR Alternatively submissions can be made by email to LPT@waterfordcouncil.ie or by online submission at: http://bit.ly/LPTAdjustment-2021

All submissions must be received by 30th June 2021. There is no prescribed format for a submission.

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