Securityfirmsbeing hiredforweddings

July 2002

Private security firms are being called in by wedding parties at Barntown’s historic Pugin church because people feel intimidated by the presence of some of a group of Travellers who have set up a camp in the church car park.

Parish officials said people felt intimidated by the presence of some of the group and they were hiring security men for weddings and posting guards during the services at the church, which for the first time in 150 years, is being locked outside of normal service hours.

When they were gently approached by local parish representatives, some of the Travellers reportedly said that they wanted £400 for each of their caravans before they would be prepared to move.

Councillor Phil Roche said the community of Barntown had never harboured racist attitudes towards the Travelling community, members of which are integrated with children from the settled community at the local national school.

‘But for the first time in 150 years, our church is locked all day, and to me that’s totally unacceptable.

‘What I find most offensive is the fact that some of them seem to have no respect for the hallowed ground of our church and graveyard. Some of them are even using the grounds as a toilet. Our Patron is being held next Sunday and people are most upset about this desecration of our church grounds,’ she said.

‘I can understand the concerns of settled residents,’ said Murt Flynn, a member of the voluntary Travellers Accommodation Forum, but he said if Wexford County Council had supplied transient facilities as required under the Traveller Accommodation Act, this problem wouldn’t be happening.

‘If there is law-breaking, it is a matter for the gardaí,’ said Mr Flynn, who planned to approach parish officials to see if a way forward could be found.

Residents have appealed to the gardaí to move the Travellers ahead of the Patron, but the guards said the matter was a civil one and it was up to the church to get a court order.

‘It’s a civil matter in that they are on private property,’ a spokesman said.

They warned that the town centre ‘would begin to decay as an important shopping venue’ if cars continue to be banned from Main Street, and stated that their utmost concern was Wexford’s widespread reputation as a good shopping town.

A spokesman for the traders said that they did not want a situation created whereby it would be attractive for someone to establish an out-oftown shopping centre.

‘We don’t want that,’ he said, ‘ but that could very likely happen. People just don’t want to come downtown with the traffic situation the way it is at the moment.’

He stressed that the majority of traders would be in favour of pedestrianisation if adequate, convenient car parking was made available. He pointed to a number of small yards situated between the Main Street and the quays, which could be developed into car parks. ‘Granted, they’re small,’ he said. ‘But they could be used.’

He also criticised the Corporation and the Traffic Management Committee for their decision to ‘renege on their original agreement’ with the traders. ‘ They agreed that if we didn’t want it, they wouldn’t continue it, but now they are persisting with an extension of six months,’ he said.

The trial period of pedestrianisation on Main Street is losing shops there valuable business, and he could not foresee circumstances where that situation would ever change, he said. on the occcasion of their visit to Rome for an international event.

Cllr Jimmy Curtis, coach of the team, presented his Holiness Pope John Paul II with the trophy they won in the competition. Tommy Elmore, President of the ITA, presented the Pope with a piece of Clarenbridge crystal, to remind him of his visit to Galway in 1979.

Others who were part of the audience with the Pope included Martin Kehoe, Patrick Kehoe, William Kehoe, Michael Corish, Dermot Kehoe, Bill Kehoe, Brendan Kehoe, and Mrs Agnes Curtis. meal at a local Chinese restaurant.

‘We thought they looked like them, but we weren’t sure,’ said Rosaleen Chan of Chan’s Restaurant.

The couple had almost finished their meal before staff at the restaurant plucked up the courage to ask them for an autograph.

Dominic White, from Melrose Court, waitned on the couple while they were in the restaurant. ‘ They were polite, friendly, and nice,’ he said. Vegan Drew ordered vegetarian spring roll and stir fry mixed veg, while finacé Tom ordered egg mayonnaise and sweet and sour chicken.

The couple said they were only in Wexford for the day, but that they really liked the town.