Residents in the Wexford Borough District are so desperate for someone to listen to their concerns that they are turning to Rosslare councillors for assistance. Despite being part of the Wexford Borough, those living in Hayestown and Coolballow have been repeatedly contacting Councillor Lisa McDonald for help as their own councillors are seemingly unwilling to provide support.
Volumes two and three of
On Our Own Ground: County Wexford Parish by Parish were officially launched during a live video-conference call hosted by County Librarian Eileen Morrissey last week.
The books follow on from the first volume, which was released in 2013, and detail the natural heritage of County Wexford through the centuries with photography, drawings and maps to compliment the detailed text .
All 3,000 townlands in the county are featured and, according to Dr Culleton, the aim was to present as much information as possible in a relatively straightforward fashion. My aim was to publish material on the archaeology of Wexford in a manner which ordinary people can understand, he said at the launch. Some of the jargon of archaeology can be very difficult to understand, so I simplified some of it.
The Dual Mandate system, allowing TDs and Senators to also serve as councillors, was abolished by the Local Government Amendment Act of 2003, in time for local elections the following year.
But that is not stopping Independent TD Verona Murphy from keeping her ear close to the ground and her finger on the parochial pulse by taking the unusual step of attending county council and district council meetings in the county, which have recently been held on Microsoft Teams.
Members of the public are entitled to attend local authority meetings by prior arrangement with officials and some people avail of the opportunity if there is a particular issue they are interested in.