Page 32 - Simon Bourke News Today

Wexford is well represented in this year’s An Post Book Awards with six authors and poets shortlisted across the 19 categories. Claire Keegan has been nominated for Library Association of Ireland Author of the Year alongside Sebastian Barry, Liz Nugent, Joseph O’Connor, Lucinda Riley, and Catherine Ryan Howard, while her latest book So Late in the Day is shortlisted for Eason Novel of the Year.

As war continues to rage in the Middle East, over a hundred people have gathered in Wexford town centre to express their support for the people of Palestine. Organised by the South East Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) and the Wexford branch of the Connolly Youth Movement (CYM), this peaceful demonstration was organised in direct response to the fighting which has broken out in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas assault of Israel on October 7.

The annual St Ibar’s/Shelmaliers 6k run/walk takes place on Sunday, October 22 at 10 a.m, from Hollymount GAA Complex. The proceeds from this year’s event will go towards supporting the camogie club and Cottage Autism Network, Wexford CLG.

To mark its tenth anniversary, SK Fitness, led by owner Sharon Martin, will host a Big Pink Breakfast event to support breast cancer awareness on Sunday, October 22. Beginning at 10 a.m. in SK Fitness’s premises in Drinagh Retail Park, the event will include a short walk followed by tea, coffee and lots of snacks in the gym.

Heather Hadrill’s career has seen her direct operas in Prague, tour with the Travelling Light Theatre Company, and been artist-in-residence at the Wexford Arts Centre. But now she is, quite literally, back where it all started. As a native of High Street in Wexford town, Heather grew up listening to the sounds of opera and was embedded in theatre almost before she knew what it was, what it meant.

Football referee Michelle O’Neill will perform the opening for Wexford Mental Health Association’s (WMHA) annual Creativity Counts art exhibition on Wednesday, October 18. Showcasing more than 80 original works, the exhibition will be held in the WMHA premises on Henrietta Street from 7 p.m. on Wednesday evening and will feature work submitted by Michelle herself.

In the murky world of Irish politics nothing is sacred, everything can be used to your advantage, and campaigns and causes can be adopted or abandoned depending on how likely or unlikely they are to appease voters. Being on the right side, on the side of justice and equality, is tantamount, more important than speaking your mind and standing up for what you believe in.

The long-term residents in Wexford town and Rosslare Strand were recently shocked to hear that Maura Meyler (nee O’Brien) died in the USA after a brief illness on September 17, 2023. Maura had been a well know hairstylist in the area for over 20 years before emigrating in 1995 to the USA with Pat and their family.

There was a discussion on the radio recently about the young people of today and whether they will be the first generation in decades to be worse off than their parents. Comparisons were made between now and the 1980s, the 70s, any era in which there were houses to live, and the general consensus was that to be aged 18-30 in the 2020s was to have pulled the shortest of straws.

In a world where tech giants continually bamboozle us with their latest creations, where artificial intelligence is outstripping our own, and machinery is rendering more and more jobs obsolete, there is something incredibly reassuring about stepping into the premises of Neiland and Creane Organ Builders in south Co Wexford.