Autumn is a Special Time at Redmond Park

I love the feel of Redmond Park at this time of year. Gone are the long, hot care-free days of Summer to be replaced with something much deeper, much more subdued. The dew hangs heavy on the grass late into the day and piles of fresh fallen leaves pile up at the gate. With the canopy of leaves diminished there is more light and a feeling of more space. You can almost feel the seasons changing as you stand beneath the old Scot's Pine trees. Shadows lengthen and all is quiet.

Sun Shines on Picnic in the Park

  Redmond Park was a riot of colour, music, dance and laughter last Sunday for the first ever Picnic in the Park. The park, dedicated to the memory of Major Willie Redmond, was donated by the Redmond family for the enjoyment of the children of Wexford. It more than fulfilled that brief last weekend. While parents basked in the sunshine on garden rugs and camping seats the children took over the park. "What to do first?", they asked. Wexford Arts Centre’s “Little Artists” team had them modelling clay and making bubble art; Red Moon Theatre's enclosure was jammed with budding artists painting, modelling and drawing; and ClubVitae took over a section of the playground with their wonderful gym for kids.

   Myriad Dance's Deirdre Grant took a team of beautifully attired “fairies” up by the old pond to work on a dance performance in “Fairy Meadow”;Footworx Dance School put on a series of high energy performances that had the audience enthralled; John Philips and his Chos Tae Kwon do students impressed with a stunning demonstration that really emphasised the “art” in martial arts.
  Meanwhile Menapians’ coach Catherine O’Connor was putting youngsters through their paces on the obstacle course while the Redmond Park Boules Club tried to win some young converts to this elegant sport. A highlight of the afternoon was the extremely witty O’Looney’s Punch & Judy Show – young and old loved this. 

  Throughout the afternoon MC and DJ Paul “Cullie” Cullen kept the show on the road, playing great music and dishing out loads of spot prizes. Mayor Davy Hynes spoke of the many happy days he spent in the park as a lad and how delighted he was to see the place so full of happy faces. Then it was over to r&b and funk outfit “the submersibles” to play out the day with a storming set that sent everyone home with a smile on their face.

  Everything came together to make the first Picnic in the Park a real success. The Love Redmond Park people really rolled up their sleeves in the weeks preceding the event to get the place ready: they weeded, pruned, swept, sanded, painted, power-hosed, removed graffiti and collected litter. The previous weekend park was given a serious short back and sides by a work party from Wexford Christian Community Church. These guys, accompanied by some friends over from the USA, were absolutely fantastic. Committee member Nicola Donovan got on the town and collected a load of spot prizes from local businesses. On the day itself she acted as coordinator to ensure everything ran smoothly. The entertainers all gave their services free with all happy to sign up again for next year. The Civil Defence team arrived with their ambulance and stayed to the very end - thankfully they had a very quiet day! A team of bibbed volunteers stewarded, collected donations and picked up litter. 

  
The Love Redmond Park people are looking on this first Picnic in the Park as part of an overall strategy to draw attention to the valuable resource that is Redmond Park. Events such as this cannot but make people look on it in a more positive light. They are very happy with the support they have received to date from Wexford Borough Council and An Garda Suiochana’s Community Policing division. Local press and radio have also played their part in getting behind the campaign.  

If you have any good images from the Picnic in the Park consider submitting them to the Love Redmond Park page on Facebook or via redmondpark@gmail.com .

Hooked On Redmond Park!

Redmond Park has proven to be an attraction to all sorts over the years - rowdy late-night tipplers (now thankfully a much rarer beast!), frisbee throwers, skateboarders, ball players, boules players, fitness enthusiasts, and, of course, playground-bound children. However today I am delighted to add another activity to that list: fly-fishing! There they were, teacher and pupil. When I first saw them, from a distance, I thought they were endeavouring to get a kite off the ground. "Those guys have never flown a kite before," I was thinking as I strolled closer to get a better look. It was then I saw what they were at. There was no water - the pond is now nothing but a marsh - and there was definitely nothing nibbling! And yet the teacher cast and recast and drew back in, slowly, before casting again. Wonderful it was to watch. He was balletic in his movements. It was like Tai Chi for fishermen! And I'm hooked!!

Badly Needed Rain Comes At The Wrong Time!

There we were last Saturday checking the 3-hour forecast every half-hour, sneaking a glance out the back window over the river and then, not liking what we saw, seeing what the heavens had to say on the park side of the house. This is Wexford dammit, normal weather conditions don't apply here. If the forecast says "sunshine and showers in the southeast" one instinctively knows that Carlow and Kilkenny will get the showers while Wexford gets the sunshine. And then it came down. In a Biblical way. You could almost see the parched yellow-tinged grass greening up before your eyes.

So we called off the picnic. And, as if to taunt us, the sun came out so hot there was steam rising. But at that point we were almost willing the rains to return so as to justify our decision to cancel, to prove we were not being defeatist. And the rains came again.

Today is Mid-Summer's Day. Imagine. Where did that six months go! Local businesses had sold over a thousand tickets for a Mid-Summer's Evening Street Party. And this was to be a street party in the continental sense - beer and food stalls, live music, dancing and everyone wanting to be there. Then the rains came again and everything was moved indoors. But let's not let it end there. I say we organise another street party just to show it can work, and to show we can party like our southern European cousins. The sun will shine, the band will play and the beer will flow. Networking will rub shoulders with romance, fences will be mended, new alliances forged, and all will be right with the world.

As for the Picnic in the Park that is definitely going to happen before the Summer is out. We are talking to The Man in Donegal about the medium term weather prospects. Stand by!

Get Ready for The Picnic in The Park!

Hey, wanna join us at the Picnic in the Park? The venue is, you guessed it, Redmond Park and it happens on Saturday next 2-6pm. All you need is a picnic basket full of goodies, a big rug and a couple of free hours to chill out. Bring a book, a guitar, bongos, a frisbee, a baseball ... whatever. There will be live jazz and trad music, Irish dancing, Spanish/Arabian dancing, art for kids, rounders and novelty races for kids, and loads more. If you want to keep right up-to-date with the Picnic programme become a Friend at www.facebook.com/loveredmondpark.

Students Chillin' Between Exams

What better place to do a little pre-exam revision!

Attempt to Sabotage Picnic in the Park!

Hey, just to say a big thank you to those charming folk who tried to burn one of the picnic benches in Redmond Park this afternoon. No seriously, that's just the ravaged look we have been looking for. Yeah I know we just painted it last week but that's alright. Looks kinda more authentic now. Fair play to ye!

Commemorating Willie Redmond 94 Years On

Today marks the 94th anniversary of the passing of Major Willie Redmond M.O., Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. Redmond died on June 7th, 1917 having been injured in action at the Battle of Messines in France. He is buried in the graveyard of the Catholic Hospice at Locre. Our picture shows Wexford Councillor Jim Allen at the memorial to Willie Redmond in Redmond Park this evening.

If it looks cleaner that's because it is cleaner!

Redmond Park Celebrates Neighbours' Day

Redmond Park celebrated "Neighbours' Day" this morning in glorious sunshine. Over coffee and muffins we did what good neighbours do: we talked about the weather, we talked about the park and how well it is looking, we praised the coffee, and we got back to the weather. After the dark clouds and the strong winds of the past few days it was lovely to simply feel warm sunshine on the skin. The press photographers turned up and snapped like crazy. Not much else on at this time of the day. Historian Jarlath Glynn called people to order and spoke about the Redmond brothers Willie and John, about their father, and about the general legacy of the family. Retired solicitor Jimmy O'Connor recalled the strong friendship that existed between his uncle Fintan and John Redmond. Councillor Jim Allen mentioned that his mother remembered a circus act in the park - some dare-devil jumping off a high ladder into a small pool. Imagine if he had missed! Some one else remembered when there was ballroom dancing in the park. And the sun kept on shining. What a lovely way to spend a morning.

"Andrea Woz 'Ere"

"People writing graffiti here will be executed. If you agree please sign below." We spotted that in the playground this evening. And we removed it, along with many more less inspired scribblings. WBC provided us with cans of magic spray which we figured would make the graffiti dissolve before our eyes. If only. Suffice to say that much elbow grease was applied. Still we got rid of most of the nastier stuff. All in all a good evening's work.
Our Town Sargeant arrived to lock the park gates around 8pm. While we give him 10/10 for locking the gates we cannot be so generous regarding his efforts to ensure the park is vacated first. This evening he left two small parties of revellers inside. Even the sight of a big 1/2 German Shepherd, 1/2 Alsatian dog, belonging to one of the parties, racing around the park did nothing to trigger a more proactive approach from the keeper of the key. With this laissez-faire attitude we really have no choice but to push for a lockable gate at the Parklands corner of the park, this being the only entry/exit point for the public when the main gates are locked.

Boules, Skate-boarding and Rounders at the Park

 The park has had a sleepy feel to it thusfar this year with nature pretty much having a free run at doing what it does in it's own quiet way. However, with the arrival of Summer the place is becoming more alive. The playground is much busier at weekends; the skate-boarders are there every evening using the park benches in their manoeuvres (an awful pity the skate-board park proposed for here was never actually brought in); there are regular soccer games on the top lawn; and just yesterday there was a mammoth game of rounders in the same space. Meanwhile the weekly sessions of boules continue as normal.
 The weekly clean-up on Wednesday mornings (9.15am) is making a real difference. On one particularly productive outing bags of old cans and bottles were removed from the pond area. A couple of other volunteers have been pressure hosing the front walls, pillars and gates with spectacular results. Weather permitting cleaning, sanding and painting of benches and gates will commence this week (from 6pm each evening). We would like to have the place looking well for "European Neighbours Day" on Friday (May 27).
 The "No Alcohol" and "No Dogs" signs should also be going up at the front gates in the week ahead. To be honest there have not been too many infringements in these areas of late. I think the message is getting through!
 We noticed, to our delight, a small yellow-breasted bird using one of the bird boxes during the week. Keep your eyes peeled and report back any sightings. Now if only we could get water back in the pond and ducks back on the water we would be made!

Redmond Park - Wexford's Children's Park

This charming and leafy oasis right in the heart of Wexford town has so much to offer. Children love it - and rightly so as it is, officially, Wexford's children's park. Adults love it, many remembering the happy days they spent there in their youth. Working together we want to give the park a make-over and get folks to realise what a gem they have on their doorstep. WE WANT THE KIDS TO RECLAIM THE PARK!
So how did Redmond Park or, to give its official title, the Children's Memorial Park, come to be where it is? A declaration of trust made on 16th September 1933 stated that certain lands and a building acquired at Spawell Road be turned into a public park for the children of Wexford. The park would also serve to commemorate Major Willie Redmond M.O. Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. Redmond died in the Great War, having been injured in the Battle of Messines, on 7th June 1917. Trustees were appointed and entrusted with the job of maintaining and improving the park. At some later time the duties of the trust were taken over by Wexford Borough Council. The latter now looks after the upkeep of the park and is responsible for ensuring that the park operates within the terms of the trust. In Spring 2011 a volunteer group consisting of local residents undertook to work with WBC to help maintain and promote the park.