TWO NEW Ross men have begun a campaign to get New Ross moving over the course of the next five years.
New Ross 2020 was ‘launched’ in the upstairs gallery of St. Michael’s Theatre last week with an open meeting that attracted a small but broad cross-section of representatives from the local community.
Spearheaded by Conor Brady and John Caulfield the initiative is aimed at helping the town progress and put itself in a position where it can sustain and increase its attractiveness to visitors and locals in the years ahead – especially when the controversial by-pass is completed.
Addressing the meeting Mr. Brady highlighted the fact that both he and Mr. Caulfield did not have any political agenda and that the meeting and the New Ross 2020 initiative was, and is, purely about bringing the town forward.
Mr. Brady said that when people get employment locally a lot of the time they assume they will be living in Waterford or Wexford.
“It’s when they actually are here they realise that New Ross has a lot to offer,” he said.
He added that the overall perception of the town is something that needs to be changed in a more positive way.
“We decided something needs to be done and there are no agendas here but it’s a question of who is willing to take it on?”
Cllr. Michael Sheehan was the only public representative in attendance commented on negative statements on the New Ross 2020 Facebook page when the idea was made public and highlighted that those responsible for the negativity were not in attendance.
“They expressed negative feelings but are not here to voice them and some of them are not even living in the jurisdiction,” he said.
Mr. Caulfield then commented: “We do not want to be forgotten about when the bypass is done.”
“We want people to keep coming here so what do we do to ensure that?” he added.
One of those in attendance, Padraig Ryan, commented that the eternal flame “is a great asset to the town” and he also praised the likes of the New Ross & District Pipe Band.
Mr. Caulfield said that he and Mr. Brady had discussed prior to the meeting how local groups could be involved in the initiative and said: “The pipe band are world champions.”
“We need ideas to get tourists into the town,” he said.
Tina Saridakis, who runs Bolg Bui, in Mary Street, said people need to unite and said more can be done when the people of the town work together to achieve it.
“We need the Dunbrody but we need to get people into the town too,” she said.
Bettie-Marie Burger-Smit, from Brandon House Hotel, was also present at the meeting and said that at present two specific tourist ‘types’ come to New Ross and that the Dunbrody gets bus tours.
She said the problem with tour busses is that because they are on a set schedule they will not, or cannot, deviate so those tourists come to the Dunbrody, get off their bus, visit the centre, and then get back on the bus again for their next destination.
With regard to her own visitors she commented: “We are on a hill but how do we get them into the town and where do we leave them?!
“That is something that has to be addressed,” she said.
“We need the ones travelling individually.”
Cllr. Sheehan said that all of the groups operating in the town need to come together rather than work in isolation. Suggesting there are as many as 200 different groups in the town and around 300 in the wider district he said: “I think we will still have to come together.”
(For the full story see this week’s print edition of the Echo)
