Sir, – My daughter, sister-in-law and I had the joy of spending a week at Powerscourt last year. We had spotted Kennedy’s gourmet food shop in Enniskerry on our way to the hotel and made it our first stop the next morning.

The owner, Santina Kennedy, warmly welcomed us, as did the mostly women patrons. We found some of the best coffee and fresh scones and muffins we had ever tasted. As a bonus, the patrons and Santina decided we should be introduced to real historic sites, and the people and places in Ireland off the tourist bus routes. Kennedy’s became our first stop every morning where the group debated where our adventure would lead us that day. We were sometimes sent off clutching a piece of butcher paper with a hand-drawn map to guide us.

Due to their thoughtfulness, we came back to the United States with a deep appreciation of the history and beauty of Ireland and its people. And Santina Kennedy, her shop and the people of Enniskerry were the highlight of our trip.

We were delighted to find the article [http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/magazine/2011/1001/1224304827811.html]about the struggle and now success Santina and her husband Andrew are enjoying with their shop (Magazine, October 1st). They took a chance on her dream and with a huge amount of hard work, and faith in each other, it has paid off.

We three from the United States keep hoping one of us will win the lottery; if that happens we will be on the first plane back to Ireland. In the meantime, we are saving up for our next trip just in case the lottery doesn’t come through for us! – Yours, etc,

PAT (CURTON-LANDERS) LEHMAN,

Manlo Drive,

Wichita, Kansas, US.

“To See” – video images of village features and surrounds such as the Clock Tower, churches, Victorian buildings, Powerscourt Waterfall, etc

“To Do” – video images of local golfing, walking, cycling, fishing, etc.

“To Eat” – video images of local cafes and restaurants.

“To Shop” – video images of shopping facilities in and around Enniskerry.

“To Rest” – video images of local accommodation facilities.

The video will consist largely of attractive, high quality video of the above features, set to appropriate music. We are also considering the possibility of adding some short, verbal testimonials from Enniskerry visitors at the conclusion.

If you have any suggestions as to things that should feature in the video or please email enniskerryforum@gmail.com now. We are particularly offering all local consumer-facing businesses the opportunity to take advantage of the promotional opportunity offered by featuring in the video. It promises to be a great opportunity for Enniskerry to entice more visitors to our village through a powerful visual medium.

The video will be featured on the Enniskerry and Cautious Train websites, as well as on sites such as Youtube and Vimeo for added exposure. Filming commences shortly, so if you are interested or have any ideas, please email enniskerryforum@gmail.com today and we will take it from there. Filming will be a simple and non time consuming process. Even if you don’t wish to feature in the film, please do let us know if you think there are other aspects of Enniskerry that we can showcase to visitors.

Thank you!

Enniskerry Forum

“THIS AWARD IS A MASSIVE RECOGNITION OF THE QUIET HARD WORK PUT IN OVER THE YEARS BY THE COMMUNITY OF ENNISKERRY AND NORTH WICKLOW INTO CREATING A FUN-FILLED, SAFE, DYNAMIC FOOTBALL CLUB FOR THE GIRLS AND BOYS OF OUR COMMUNITY”.

Winning the award is a great boost to all sport in the community of Enniskerry (we have an excellent GAA club, St Mary’s, as well as Tennis, Tag Rugby, Community Games, Running Club and more) and is a recognition of the enormous amounts of hard work put in by volunteers, parents and our sponsors to make soccer fun for the 300+ children in the club.

For more information on the award see http://www.fai.ie/domestic-a-grassroots/club-of-the-month.html

Clock Tower
St Mary’s church
Powerscourt church and graveyard
Powerscourt school
Powerscourt House and Estate
Powerscourt Parochial Hall
Bog Meadow
Knocksink  Wood
Library
Forge
Powerscourt Arms
Knocksink Bridge
Bridge at the Bog Meadow
Lovers Leap
Estate House

If anybody has any comments on this list or wishes to contribute, please send them to either Heather O’Connell or Richard Bird by the 31st January 2012.

Heather O’Connell – heatheroconnell@eircom.net
Richard Bird – carolrichard@eircom.net

Traffic Tables
Following the community traffic survey, independent traffic audit and the public meeting the Forum engaged with Wicklow County Council (WCC) to establish a plan to commence implementation of various initiatives voted on and supported by the community. The installation of traffic tables was a key safety priority and the Forum worked closely with WCC to secure funding through the National Transport Authority (NTA) to have these tables installed. We were successful and 2 of 3 tables have already been installed. Unfortunately the funding for the 3^rd table was cancelled by the NTA and this is now a 2012 priority for the Forum. There has been some feedback from the community in relation to the tables and the Forum would like to clarify a few points:

 - We did not have any input into the design or specific location of the tables; this was the sole responsibility of WCC who have the resources and expertise to determine these matters. We were advised that the tables would be installed based on current best practice and design.

 - The key objective was to improve traffic safety at dangerous junctions and the feedback we have received would suggest that this objective has been realised.

The Forum will be reengaging with WCC and the NTA early in 2012 to do all we can to have the 3^rd traffic table installed and to progress the other issues identified by the community and supported by way of the vote at the public meeting.

On the subject of WCC and roadworks, you may have observed work being carried out on footpaths, etc around the village and at the entrance to Powerscourt Estate in recent months. Unfortunately, despite the fact that we are developing a continuously improving relationship with WCC, the Forum was entirely unaware of these works in advance of their commencement and had no input to this project. We hope that WCC will advise us of such projects in future so that we can advise the community in advance and channel feedback to WCC in a coordinated manner.

Flooding
There have been a number of flooding situations around the village in recent weeks and a number of individual residents have taken the matter up with WCC. The Forum is supporting these residents and we are putting an Enniskerry emergency weather plan into place which will be ready before year end. This plan will consist of the following:

- We have identified all the locations in and around the village that are at risk of flooding.

 - To the extent that we can we have identified the probable cause of the flooding in these areas and are in dialogue with WCC regarding rectification and improvement.

 - We are keeping a record of flooding events to keep pressure on WCC and to help them prioritise remedial action.

 - The Forum are also putting together a list of volunteers who would make themselves available to assist neighbours and traders who have to deal with flooding during or following heavy rain and with other weather emergencies such as heavy snowfalls.

We believe that by coordinating the village approach to WCC and working together as a community to deal with individual flood situations we can alleviate to some extent the overall flooding impact. It is important to point out that, as with all issues the Forum is engaged in, the Forum is acting in support of local traders, residents and the Enniskerry community on this matter.

The Forum is also engaged in other ongoing initiatives and projects and we intend to issue further bulletins on a regular basis. We welcome comment and feedback as this helps us work better for the community. We would also welcome names and contact details for anyone willing to volunteer to assist with emergency weather situations – or, indeed, anyone wishing to contribute to the Forum’s action fund.

Finally, the Enniskerry Forum would like to take this opportunity to wish everybody a very happy and safe Christmas.

]]> http://enniskerry.ie/blog/1322-enniskerry-roadworks-and-flooding-update/feed 0 http://enniskerry.ie/blog/1315-enniskerry-gallery-annual-christmas-gift-shop http://enniskerry.ie/blog/1315-enniskerry-gallery-annual-christmas-gift-shop#comments Sat, 03 Dec 2011 09:15:20 +0000 timbo http://enniskerry.ie/?p=1315 Continue reading →]]> The Enniskerry Gallery on Church Hill in Enniskerry has just opened its annual Christmas Gift Shop in aid of the Rose of Sharon Orphanage and School in Harare, Zimbabwe.  All profits generated go to fund the orphanage and school.  In fact about 70% of the running costs of the orphanage come from funds raised in Ireland, primarily through the

Christmas Shop, donations and an annual Walk in the Wicklow Mountains.

The Shop is open daily until 24 December from 11am to 6pm with late night opening on 14 December.

You can enjoy hassle free Christmas Shopping ranging from cookware to executive gifts, jewelry and much more.

Most importantly, SANTA will be arriving on Sunday 4th of December to see all the children.

A percentage of all profits made on the day will be donated to Barretstown Camp charity.

For more information please click here.

]]> http://enniskerry.ie/blog/1310-powerscourt-arms-christmas-fair/feed 0 http://enniskerry.ie/blog/1306-winter-wandering http://enniskerry.ie/blog/1306-winter-wandering#comments Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:49:09 +0000 timbo http://enniskerry.ie/?p=1306 Continue reading →]]> The Enniskerry Walking Association has just updated it’s News/Events page with details of some great walks between now and Christmas.

So if you want to spend a couple of hours amidst beautiful Wicklow scenery and clear the head of all thoughts recessionary, why don’t you visit http://enniskerry.ie/walkingassociation/newsevents/ and join them some Saturday afternoon!

Here is how it works:  You bring in 6-10 unwanted books in good condition along with 10 euro and you go home with the same number of different books that you choose at the swap.  If you want to bring in more than 10 books then you can just add 10 euro for every 10 you trade!  It is a great way to get new reading material for the Holidays!!

The Book Swap will be held Friday, Nov. 25 from 9am to Noon.  There will be coffee, tea, and treats to eat as well as a raffle with some lovely prizes. 

If you need more info please contact Lisa at 0851138312 or lisa@makeawish.ie

Wednesday 2 – Friday 4 November 

2 hour sessions from 10.30am – 12.30pm and 2.00pm – 4.00pm

Join artist Ashleigh Downey for these creative visual art workshops designed for children aged 5+. Children can create their very own crazy creature, spooky Monster Dolls, or make a book complete with scary stories and Halloween tales.

The workshops will take place at Galerie Lisette, Church Hill, Enniskerry Village, Co. Wicklow.

Monster Dolls, Creepy Crawly Creatures & Halloween Tales                      

For further information or to book a place, please contact Ashleigh at 087 7478470 or email connect@ashleighdowney.com.