Autumn in the Park

I Shall Not Pass This Way Again

Through this toilsome world, alas,
Once and only once I pass,
If a good deed I may do,
If a kindness I may show
To a suffering fellow man,
Let me do it while I can,
No delay for it is plain
I shall not pass this way again.

Stephen Grellet (1773-1855)

Open-Gate Policy

Any regular visitor to Redmond Park will have noticed that the gates are now open around the clock. The decision to go with the open-all-hours policy was taken last month by the Council. We expressed our strongest reservations at the decision.

Picnic brings carnival atmosphere to Redmond Park

Love Redmond Park hosted its annual Picnic in the Park Last Sunday. The event had been re-scheduled from its original date due to adverse weather.

Picnic ... Take 2!

If at first you don't succeed, put your faith in the Child of Prague! The weather got in the way of our initial effort to put on our annual Picnic in the Park. We are happy to report that, following ostentatious scenes of unseemly and obsequious beseeching at the altars of the Sun Gods, backhanders to pliable weather forecasters, even intercessions to a wax-coated Infant Jesus of Prague statue, Picnic in the Park goes ahead this Sunday.

While the forecast for the afternoon to be dry it is worth remembering that we are now into the 'season of mists and mellow fruitfulness'. Bring coats and ground-sheets / camping chairs.

Picnickers can look forward to a lively mix of entertainment including a fabulous puppet show, a children’s arts zone, obstacles races, football skills, live music, hoola-hooping, face-painting, hair-braiding and much more.

The organisers encourage everyone to bring a picnic basket and a rug or camping seats. Civil Defence will be on hand to deal with any minor emergencies.

Picnic in the Park Postponed Due to Inclement Weather

Our annual Picnic in the Park has been put back to Sunday, Sept 4. The weather today was not conducive to outdoor picnicking!

Plans for mini community garden for Wexford move step closer to fruition

Plans to develop a small community garden in Wexford Town are well advanced. The project is part of GIY's 'Together We Grow' initiative. Wexford County Council is supporting it. The Chamber of Commerce along with a number of local community groups will do the heavy lifting!

End-of-Summer Party at Redmond Park

Summer is nearly over and that means only one thing ... it's Picnic in the Park time at Redmond Park. This year’s Picnic takes place on Sunday, August 21 (2-5pm).

The Children's Memorial Park, to give it its formal title, has been hosting an end-of-Summer party since 2011. The event is now a firm favourite with Wexford families.

This year's Picnic has a jam-packed programme with puppet show, children’s arts zone, obstacles races, football skills, live music, hoola-hooping, face-painting, hair-braiding and much more. 

All you need is a picnic basket full of goodies, a big rug or deck chairs, and a couple of free hours to chill out. Bring a book, a guitar, bongos, a frisbee ... whatever.

There will be ice cream, coffee, water and soft drinks available on-site. 

Civil Defence will be on hand to deal with any minor emergencies.

(The all-action image above was captured by Wexford photographer Des Kiely at a previous Picnic in the Park.)

Council puts land at Parklands on market and blocks access to Redmond Park

Wexford County Council recently made a decision to sell a field which borders Parklands estate on one side and Redmond Park on the other. Some Councillors expressed reservations about this decision at their last meeting. Expect the matter to be on the agenda again for September's meeting.

Wexford Community Garden - an idea whose time has arrived!

The Council has cleared off the field that runs along the bottom of Parklands (backing on to the rear of the houses on Hill Street). For years this field has quietly lain there growing wilder and more impenetrable. Look at it now!

We have spoken with the Council on a number of occasions over the years about the possibilities for this space. Most recently, as part of our proposed plan for improving Redmond Park, and following consultations with local residents, we said that this space should become a new Community Garden for Wexford. 

We will shortly call a public meeting in order to get the process of establishing the Community Garden project off the ground. In the meantime we encourage you to have a look at the space and let your imagination run riot. We need ideas! We also ask that you contact your local Councillor to ensure that he/she is on side.

Safer Access Route into Park

The Council has done some work at the Parklands corner of Redmond Park. There is now a proper gravelled path for people entering the park from Parklands.

Time for Action!

We had a very productive meeting last night at which we discussed improvements we want to bring to Redmond Park. Apart from local residents the meeting was attended by representatives of Wexford in Bloom, Wexford Tidy Towns, Future-Proof Wexford, the arts community, event organisers, local business and the Council.

Meeting to discuss overhaul of Redmond Park

Everyone knows that Redmond Park is a wonderful amenity for the town of Wexford. However, after eight decades of valuable service to the community it is looking a tad tired. Last year we got a commitment from the Council to invest in necessary, even essential, improvements to the park. Sometimes such commitments can take their time in arriving at the implementation stage! 

With this in mind we reckoned it would be opportune for us to call a public meeting to hear how the people of Wexford would like their park to look. This meeting takes place at Fusion Café, Monck Street on Wednesday, February 10 at 7pm. We have asked the Council to send a representative so that we can find out what are their present plans are for the park. We have also asked members of the Council to attend.

We hope this meeting will prove constructive and that it will serve to shunt forward the process of getting work started on the park. Please wear your 'positive' hat to this meeting as we want to make things happen!

I posted this message on our Facebook page on Christmas Day:

Splashy and soggy mid-Winter greetings from your favourite Wexford town park! But look, Spring cannot be far away ...