Waterford Today | Waterford's free weekly newspaper

The long-awaited decision on the 'Newgate Centre' has been delayed for the third successive time, with a decision being out back a further five weeks after a decision was planned for the 10th March.

There has been feelings of disappointment from both sides of the planning appeal which has been ongoing through a number of delays, submissions and an oral hearing which was held last November.

The decision was delayed to March due to an information request by An Bord Pleanala in relation to the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), in which the appellants could issue a written response after the information was submitted.

The new revised date for a decision in relation to the planning appeal has been set for the 17th April, according to a staff member in the An Bord Pleanala appeals office.

An Bord Pleanala Secretary, Dermot Collins, told Waterford Today

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Two fires last week have left Waterford Gardai trying to establish the circumstances and causes to the blazes in Thomas Street last Thursday evening and to a private bus outside Dooley's Hotel on the Quay in the early hours of Saturday last.

Waterford Gardai are still investigating the fire that took place on Thomas Street last week which effectively destroyed The You Decor store and kept the the street closed off over the ensuing weekend.

Gardai at Waterford Station conducted a technical examination and are still awaiting the results of their investigation while Gardai have said that the enquiries are ongoing also.

A spokesperson for the Gardai in Waterford said they are still appealing for witnesses who may have been in the immediate area when the fire began.

Meanwhile, Waterford Gardai are also

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Local marketing company, B2B Communications, was recently presented with the Agency of the Year Award by the South East branch of the Marketing Institute of Ireland. In the first year of the highly prestigious awards, B2B Communications, a full service marketing company, was awarded the top gong by Dr. Tom O'Toole, Chairman of the judging panel. Dr. O'Toole commented that the company had a clear visual strategy and an excellent portfolio.

Founded by Jonathan Earl, B2B Communications offers a comprehensive marketing and PR service to businesses in the South East and has worked closely with a range of diverse clients such as Mulligans Pharmacy, Sienna Home Furnishings, Waterford Credit Union, Culleton Insurances, Palmer Auctioneers, Byrnes World of Wonder and the Irish Wheelchair Association.

According to Jonathan Earl, "The company has

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Fine Gael TD in Waterford, John Deasy, held the first of his indefinite series of city centre constituency meetings in the Granville hotel last week and told Waterford Today Newspaper that continued presence in the city is the only way to achieve his party's aims of a second seat in the next general election.

On the presence in the city, Deputy Deasy stated: "The necessity for us is to double our vote and win a second seat. That's the key issue for us going forward. There is no recipe or remedy other than a constant presence in the city…I think if we are serious about picking up a second seat, there has to be activity in the city over the next three to four years. There is no other way around it".

Deasy is a critic of the party decision last year

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Barnardos, Ireland's leading children's charity, is calling on toddler groups, Junior Schools and parents to help get those tiny feet ready once again for the Danone Big Toddle for Barnardos 2008! In 2007, almost 800 toddlers from Waterford took part in this event.

Last year 50 toddlers from the Little School of Montessori in Dungarvan helped to make this fundraiser a great success. Catriona Cullinan from the Montessori said, "It was a great day for the younger kids. It was also a learning day. They knew that they were doing something special and they were very proud to be helping other less fortunate children. The parents were fantastic with helping to fundraise. I think they were especially generous because Barnardos is such a good cause and they knew it was about children their own kid's age."

The annual Toddle, now in its

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1100 Patricks (or Patricias) needed to break 'Mohammed' world record and raise 'dough' for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Are you a 'Proud Paddy', a wannabe 'Plastic Paddy', or just simply want to have the best of craic this St Patrick's Day? If so, Irish bakery Irwin's and top 'Irish Chef' Paul Rankin are asking you to stand up and be counted, taking part in a unique St Patrick's Day fundraiser for Great Ormond Street Hospital. The Irish duo are behind the 'Proud 2 B Pat' campaign, which aims to set a world record for the most people of the same name (Patrick or Patricia) in the same place at the same time – and raise much-needed 'dough' for the specialist Great Ormond Street Hospital in the process.

The campaign comes on

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On Saturday, 28th June next, the 7.30 p.m. Mass in Holy Cross Church will be a celebration of the Jubilee of all t hose who were married in Holy Cross Church or in Carbally Church in 1983, 1968 or 1958. It will also be a celebration for all those living in Tramore or in Carbally Parish who were married in those years, even though they may have been married in another church. It will be a Mass of thanksgiving for these couples and of recognition of their commitment to each other. It will also be a way of saving thanks for all those who have benefited from their care over the years. During the Mass a couple will be free to sit in the Church wherever they wish.

After the Mass there will be a reception with light refreshments at which

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The former Workers' Party President Tomás Mac Giolla will address the Annual Easter Commemoration at Green Street, Waterford at 12 noon on Easter Sunday, 23rd March.

Tomás Mac Giolla is a former leader of the Workers' Party, former Dáil Deputy for Dublin West and also served as Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1993 to 1994. He led the party for over 25 years and has been a leading socialist republican for over 50 years.

At the ceremony a wreath will be placed on the wall of the former military barracks, Green Street, site of the execution of Michael Fitzgerald and Patrick O'Reilly by a Free State firing squad in 1923. A bugler will play the Last Post and the Proclamation will be read. The commemoration will be chaired by Councillor Davy Walsh.

On Easter Saturday wreaths will be placed on the Republican Plot

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Residents of Mount Sion Crescent took centre stage as they were the special guests at City Hall last Wednesday night after the area won the National Council for Social Housing Community Housing Award for 2007.

The residents, from various age profiles and nationalities, arrived with their children to mark the occasion with the Mayor of Waterford, Cllr Mary O'Halloran at the Mayor's office with members of Waterford City Council's housing department also in attendance.

The social housing initiative, which finished as joint winner with a social housing estate in Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin, won the award after the development in the old Military Barracks was completed just over three years ago.

With CCTV facilities in the estate, the Mount Sion Crescent development commented on by the National Council for Social housing

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In the countdown to the St. Patrick's Festival Weekend, MEAS, the alcohol social responsibility organisation behind drinkaware.ie, is urging people in County Waterford to follow a few simple steps to ensure they don't end up missing the celebrations, or making a public nuisance of themselves.

It has been 95 years since St. Patrick's Day last fell in Holy Week, but that's no reason to make a holy show of yourself.

MEAS is urging people to consult the website www.drinkaware.ie where they find a few simple tips to follow that will ensure their head won't be green, even if everything else is!

Fionnuala Sheehan, Chief Executive of MEAS says, "St Patrick's Day is our national holiday is and the one day of the year on which the world's attention turns to Ireland. While we want everyone to go out and enjoy themselves, I would

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Waterford City Council began tackling graffiti in January of this year. Graffiti has become a huge problem in urban areas in recent years. As well as being visually intrusive, it also gives the impression that the area is uncared for.

A team of two members of Waterford City Council staff first priority is to tackle graffiti on an ongoing basis. The method of removal varies according to the material that has been defaced and the type of ink used. Once the graffiti has been removed, a protective coating, similar to a wax, is applied. This coating protects the surface, allowing further graffiti to simply be washed off.

Graffiti removal can be time consuming. For example, it took five hours to remove graffiti from Flaggy Lane. Other areas that have been targeted to date include the playground in Railway Square, the William Vincent

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Waterford City Council Library Service, in association with Waterford County Council Library Service celebrated the launch of a new edition of Charles Smith's "The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Waterford" in Central Library, Lady Lane on Thursday 6th March.

The new, revised and updated edition was launched by the Mayor of Waterford City, Cllr Mary O'Halloran.

The original book, colloquially known as Smith's History of Waterford, has been substantially edited by Mr Donald Brady, Waterford County Librarian. Copies of the original book, written in 1746, are rare and difficult to source. This new edition, with numerous amended footnotes, is beautifully presented in clear English with excellent quality maps and illustrations.

Charles Smith ran an apothecary business in Dungarvan in the mid 18th Century and was a member of the Physio-Historical Society. He produced a number of publications on

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FG City Councillor Jim D'Arcy says that knife crime must be tackled as a matter of urgency. He says that his party is calling for a special Garda operation, which would include dedicated officers concentrating on areas with high incidents of assaults, over a specific time frame. "We are calling on the government to mount a targeted six-month operation to take the knives out of communities. The most effective Garda operations have been well-resourced, strategic programmes with specific goals." Cllr. D'Arcy says that an urgent review of the availablility of knives and offensive weapons is required, in conjunction with better emphasis on community policing. "There should be a special grade of community Garda to make community policing an attractive career option, and incentives to encourage Gardai to live in the community they serve." He says that the growing knife culture

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The resignation of Ian Paisley, First Minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly last week came as a political bombshell in Ireland and the UK. The 82 year old made his announcement shortly after his son Ian Paisley Jnr. was forced to resign from his Junior Ministry over alleged connections with a Northern Ireland developer. There is no doubt that his son's resignation was a bitter blow to the father's pride in his self-image of probity and moral rectitude. Whilst there is no proof that Ian Paisley Jnr. was guilty of improprietry of any sort the plethora of allegations was sufficient to force him out of his position which was allocated to Jeffrey Donaldson. Shortly after this speculation rose to fever pitch about Ian Paisley's personal intentions as First Minister.

We didn't have to wait very long as he announced he was

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When is the Shamrock not the Shamrock?

Controversy has raged for hundreds of years about the identity of the 'true' shamrock – so much so that in 1892, one Nathaniel Colgan, a botanist with the Dublin Naturalists' Field Club, set out to solve this mystery once and for all. He invited specimens of the "true shamrock" from every county in Ireland for identification. More than that, he also set out to establish the past history of this little plant and instituted a laborious survey of the literature which led him into a wealth of curious legend and fact. His findings were published and are still referred to today as the definitive work on this plant.

The early Irish literature refers to it as 'shemroch' but it had become 'scothemrach' by the 14th century and in the 16th century it was first named

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