FAO WexicansâŠ
Bandage - has Caroline Kennedyâs oldest daughter Rose travelled? Sheâs a very attractive young girl and one of my biggest disappointments in life is never meeting her when we both lived in lower Manhattan and hung out in trendy bars. Iâm sure you have the same regret from the time you lived there.
Havenât seen her but thatâs not to say she isnât here. The younger generation are represented alright and South East Radio interviewed some male grandchild earlier. Any pictures of her, bro?
Bandage
Very private individual I believe. Not many pics out there.
How long before the new boardwalk in New Ross becomes a Junkie hang out?
The Ross lads havenât the money to become junkies, however they will be delighted with the refurbishment of the amenity area for drinking flagons of Devils Bit
If there is anything worse than Junk its cheap cidar.
i think you will find the also hang out has become the board walk rather than vice versa
Iâve just been âon the townâ, as we say in Wexford town. What a tremendous place on a tropical south east day like today.
People sitting outside cafes, bars, restaurants enjoying the weather and street entertainment.
Street vendors selling strawberries and ice-cream to a grateful public.
The gelato bar owned by Wexford hurler Willie Devereux doing a roaring trade.
A fair few Wexford and indeed Carlow jerseys being worn and locals and tourists alike getting their photograph taken at the Nickey Rackard statue too.
Wonderful scenes.
[quote=âBandage, post: 793911, member: 9â]Iâve just been âon the townâ, as we say in Wexford town. What a tremendous place on a tropical south east day like today.
People sitting outside cafes, bars, restaurants enjoying the weather and street entertainment.
Street vendors selling strawberries and ice-cream to a grateful public.
The gelato bar owned by Wexford hurler Willie Devereux doing a roaring trade.
A fair few Wexford and indeed Carlow jerseys being worn and locals and tourists alike getting their photograph taken at the Nickey Rackard statue too.
Wonderful scenes.[/quote]
Wonderful scenes.
Iâve stopped in Enniscorthy on the way down to absorb the festive atmosphere in mid Wexford. The town is rocking after Delorentos last night and Cry Before Dawn are eagerly anticipated tonight.
Wexford is a glorious county when the sun is shining 
[quote=âBandage, post: 793911, member: 9â]Iâve just been âon the townâ, as we say in Wexford town. What a tremendous place on a tropical south east day like today.
People sitting outside cafes, bars, restaurants enjoying the weather and street entertainment.
Street vendors selling strawberries and ice-cream to a grateful public.
The gelato bar owned by Wexford hurler Willie Devereux doing a roaring trade.
A fair few Wexford and indeed Carlow jerseys being worn and locals and tourists alike getting their photograph taken at the Nickey Rackard statue too.
Wonderful scenes.[/quote]
The uniquely named La Dolce Vita in Selskar mate. Superb on day like to day.
All in all, a wonderful, wonderful town.
[quote=âAppendage, post: 794134, member: 11â]The uniquely named La Dolce Vita in Selskar mate. Superb on day like to day.
All in all, a wonderful, wonderful town.[/quote]
Owned by the wonderful Pons family from Italy.
[quote=âRocko, post: 776253, member: 1â]Rockoâs Review of Wexford, its sights and its peoples
Note, a bullet point synopsis review is available on request. To receive a laminated flashcard with these key points please send a stamped, addressed envelope to:
Rocko
TFK Towers
Peninsula
Fingal
General Points on the County as a Whole:
[LIST=1]
[]Wexford is a lovely part of the world.
[/LIST]
Specific Regional Points
Rosslare:
[LIST=1]
[]Clever idea to split the town into two parts: the industrial harbour and the resort area. Thatâs how I used to build my cities on Sim City back in the day - create a nice residential area by the coast and keep ports and industry a few miles away. Itâs similar to how Dublin is constructed with DĂșn Laoghaire and the industrial heartlands of Sandyford and Cherrywood at a nice remove from the plush resorts of North Dublin and Fingal. Dollymount, Portmarnock, Skerries etc all benefit from their distance from the industrial belt.
[*]Thereâs a strange house on the left hand side on the road to Rosslare Strand just after the road splits between the strand and the harbour. I think there should be a sign saying whether this is just a strange house or whether it has a backstory like a haunting or something.
[]Kellyâs Hotel is an expensive place but itâs perfect for families with children. They should come up with a mechanism to allow you to order room service without using the phone. A little touchscreen device in each room would work wonders.
[/LIST]
Wexford Town:
[LIST=1]
[]An awful lot larger than I expected.
[*]The Bullring badly needs a pedestrian crossing for those walking from the Georgeâs Street Area to the Cistin Eile end of Main Street.
[*]Cistin Eile seems to be spelled as CistĂn Eile in places. This is surprising.
[*]The food in Cistin Eile is terrific. Excellent quality and great value. A mark docked for a lack of baby changing facilities but 9/10.
[*]I was disturbed to witness an incident of shoplifting in the Name It boutique on Main Street. This is a baby clothes store and a gang of young girls (perhaps 13/14) arrived in and ripped tags off some clothes and left with some, much to my bemusement. The poor shop assistant was unable to intervene due to the volume of scamps involved. I subsequently saw said girls outside the pub at the Bullring (the Undertaker or something like that?). This was a black mark against the town.
[*]There isnât much to the Opera House from the outside.
[*]There are plenty of anglicised street names and a COI church on Main Street. I did spot a few Celtic jerseys though but I feel a minor uprising is required to fully divest the town of historic British rule.
[*]The Pikeman is a wonderful statue.
[*]Itâs a long enough trek back from the Maxol on Trinity Street to the Tesco just to get an ATM. I couldnât even find the ATM at Tesco when we went back there. Naturally I didnât ask anyone and just went without.
[*]A helpful gentleman gave me his parking ticket with over an hour remaining on it as I was parking. This was just one example of a general courteous nature that was prevalent not just in the town, but in the county as a whole.
[*]A couple of the aforementioned lads in Celtic jerseys seemed to be having a grand time drinking cans and smoking against a wall near some houses on some obscure network of roads I found myself driving along. They were a group ranging in age from about 12 to about 40, all having a good laugh in the splendid weather. And why not.
[*]Mr Duffyâs Traditional Sweet Shop is a nice little distraction. Still working my way through a bag of Black Jacks and a pound of Rhubarb and Custard.
[]Johnstown Castle is terribly picturesque but not sure why you have to pay in. Thereâs no mention of the fact you canât actually go into the castle until youâve paid. I rather foolishly also paid into the Irish Agricultural Museum, just for a laugh. The famine exhibition there was reasonable but I felt it was overly sympathetic to the Brits. Mrs Rocko said I was just looking to be offended and it was perfectly balanced.
[/LIST]
New Ross and its Environs:
[LIST=1]
[]I was warned not to go to New Ross but I wanted to see the Emigrant Ship and was pleased I overruled the advice proffered.
[*]My time there had an ugly beginning with a ridiculous wait in Super Valu while some lady in front of me in the queue at the express checkout spent over 10 minutes paying for about 25 items, paying for each individually. It was a bizarre series of transactions that didnât upset anyone else so Iâm sure it was a regular occurrence with some explanation. I thought at first she was buying on behalf of residents of an old folksâ home or something but she was using a central pool of cash and putting everything back into communal bags so it made no sense at all to me. She also didnât weigh anything that required weighing. My impatience was increased because I didnât want to buy anything. I entered the store hoping to purchase a Wexford People and to use an ATM but found the shop had neither. I picked up a bottle of sparkling water so I wouldnât have to walk past the closed registers which is something I hate doing and that took an age thanks to that lady.
[*]There is actually a decent selection of automatic ATM machines nearby with two through the back of the car park on Main Street, and of course the BOI only a 100m further along the quays, which machine I availed of.
[*]The famine/emigrant ship is a worthwhile tour. I recommend it to anyone in New Ross with an hour or two to spare.
[*]The coffee shop at the centre is surprisingly high quality and the staff there were most courteous and helpful.
Areas That I Am Including in New Ross, Though This Might Not Be to Everyoneâs Taste:
[*]Drove up to the JFK Homestead afterwards only to find it closed. Bit shit that itâs been shut for over a year (re-opening next month for the 50th anniversary of JFKâs visit home) but thereâs no mention of that on any of the signage.
[]As a result we went on to the JFK Arboretum. I was a little put out at being asked to pay âŹ3 each for entry to a park with trees but the weather was stunning and we had a very enjoyable stroll around the area before driving up to Sliabh Coillte to enjoy the breathtaking views. I saw one member of the Horsewood GAA team jogging around the area: I believe the rest of his team completed a run there last weekend but this tubby lad was lagging behind.
[/LIST]
Onwards to the Coast:
[LIST=1]
[]A trip to Fethard on Sea was universally recommended by all on here and it was worth the drive.
[*]Arriving in the village, a small cluster of buildings appeared at first glance to be nothing special but once inside the Londis it became apparent that the original type of Milk Teeth (i.e. the powdery type, not the modern rubbery type) were on sale. I purchased 25 of those motherfuckers and enjoyed 23 of them - I felt obliged to pass 2 to Mrs Rocko.
[]We enjoyed a scenic drive out to Hook Head and the imposing, yet graceful lighthouse. Unfortunately the baby was fast asleep at this stage so we were not able to take the tour. I was recommended to visit Loftus Hall but I have little interest in old buildings, particularly when I suspect much of their history is just paying homage to some gentry.
[/LIST]
Kilmore Quay
[LIST=1]
[]For every silver lining thereâs a cloud. For every Horsebox, thereâs a Carryharry. For every Runt, a Rintintin. This was certainly the lowlight of a very enjoyable sojourn in the Sunny South East.
[*]We arrived in the town nice and early at about 9am, looking forward to spending a day there as recommended by all and sundry. The thatched buildings on the route into the town promised much but the town was all window dressing and no substance. It reminded me an awful lot of Fran: very pretty to look at but fuck all going on.
[*]We walked out the pier, always getting the feeling we were in the way of fishermen types, and then walked back again and that was it. Not really sure what else we were supposed to do. We could see the Saltees but theyâre no Lambay Island and Irelandâs Eye as viewed from the Velvet Strand.
[*]We were told to get fish and chips there but it was 10am by the time we were getting bored and the chipper doesnât open until 1, understandably. It felt like weâd been duped into spending a day in a town that was fit only for passing away an afternoon.
[]We left soon afterwards with the thought that the town should have warning signs on approach roads, advising tourists not to visit before 1pm and to only factor in perhaps 90 minutes or so for a visit. Itâs all very well attracting people to Wexford, but itâs important to persuade them to return.
[/LIST]
General Points Pertaining to Driving in Wexford
[LIST=1]
[]Thereâs a lot more pulling in to the hard shoulder to allow cars to pass than Iâd have encountered in other parts of the country. This is probably a good thing but sometimes I felt it was overdone.
[*]Thereâs a very straight but hilly stretch of road between Fethard on Sea and Wellingtonbridge, just after you turn right onto the road to Wellingtonbridge. I think more could be made of this - invent some sort of race or road bowling variant and hold it here annually and pretend itâs been played there for centuries. At least put up some sort of sign saying âWelcome to a straight stretch of roadâ so the more passive motorist will notice it.
[*]The shortcut from Rosslare to Wellingtonbridge is signposted when leaving Rosslare but not the other way around. Likewise thereâs a sign from Kilmore Quay showing the more coastal route back to Rosslare but no sign in Rosslare advising of that route to Kilmore Quay. (Perhaps the sign in Rosslare only appears in afternoons which would be advisable and to be welcomed).
[*]There was one of those private speed camera vans doing the rounds in Wexford. It was just outside Enniscorthy on Sunday (canât remember which side). Then on Monday it was on the road into Wexford Town just past Celtic Linen, and on Tuesday it was on the road into New Ross from Wexford. Think I was ok each time but that was a lot of speed cameraderie.
[*]On the road from New Ross to Fethard on Sea, there must be at least 5 right turns that direct to Campile and show it as being 5km away. Iâd say thereâs 20km at least between the first of these and the last of these.
[*]It was lovely to see the strawberry sellers out and about.
[/LIST]
Overall Mark: 8.9/10[/quote]
Bump for @Spidey
Edit. Oh and bumped for @Sandymount Red. Spidey didnât request the bump but I think heâd enjoy the read anyway.
[quote=âRocko, post: 872070, member: 1â]Bump for @Spidey
Edit. Oh and bumped for @Sandymount Red. Spidey didnât request the bump but I think heâd enjoy the read anyway.[/quote]
Great write up Rocko. I have to say Iâm leaning towards Wexford, Iâd say there will be more for the youngfella to do down there. I had a great time when I was in Kilmore Quay, but I went sea fishing, great spot for that.
You should be very proud of your County. A lovely place to do business.
This is a wonderful thread, full of wonderful people admiring a wonderful county. To Wexford
I see Wexford Opera House has been selected to host the Sinn FĂ©in Ard Fheis.
A party spokesman said: âItâs an event that garners international attention and so require a momentous venue - what better venue to host it in than the iconic Wexford Opera House.â
Wexford Opera House:
Lads, booked two nights in Ashdown Park in April for going to a wedding in Marlfield.
As a former local Iâve never stayed there or used the facilities. Is it daycent? The photos look nice enough.
[quote=âThrawneen, post: 892365, member: 129â]Lads, booked two nights in Ashdown Park in April for going to a wedding in Marlfield.
As a former local Iâve never stayed there or used the facilities. Is it daycent? The photos look nice enough.[/quote]
stayed there for some cunts wedding a while back. decent spot, nothing outrageous or bad about it. general run of the mill hotel really.
[quote=âThrawneen, post: 892365, member: 129â]Lads, booked two nights in Ashdown Park in April for going to a wedding in Marlfield.
As a former local Iâve never stayed there or used the facilities. Is it daycent? The photos look nice enough.[/quote]
Its grand, nothing spectacular but solid and reliable, with the obvious benefit of close access to the Bridge.
Do you generally like to stay in hotels 15 miles away from where the wedding is?