homes & businesses WICKLOW WE DELIVER!- for 30 years to 44,500 Delivered LOCAL NEW BUS SHELTERS HEALTHY CLUB PETER O’CONNOR page 4 page 6 page 17 DELIVERED TO HOMES & BUSINESSES IN: SHANKILL, ENNISKERRY, BRAY, GREYSTONES, DELGANY, KILCOOLE, NEWCASTLE, KILQUADE, ASHFORD, KILPEDDER, NEWTOWNMOUNTKENNEDY, KILMACANOGUE, LARAGH, MONEYSTOWN, ROUNDWOOD. TimesRATHNEW, WICKLOW, GLENEALY, BRITTAS BAY, AVOCA, WOODENBRIDGE, ARKLOW, SHILLELAGH, TINAHELY, REDCROSS, BALLINACLASH, AUGHRIM, RATHDRUM, DONARD, DUNLAVIN, CARNEW, COOLATTIN, BALTINGLASS, BLESSINGTON. Tuesday‘STAY 12th January 2021 First Floor, The Boulevard, Quinsborough AT Road, Bray. A98 R6D7 . Tel:HOME’ 01 - 2869111 E-mail: [email protected] www.wicklowtimes.net While Wicklow has the lowest Covid-19 incidence rates in the country, the rate in Wicklow doubled in just one week. Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly has urged people in Wicklow to 'Stay at Home' to help drive Covid numbers down. On 6th January yes exercise and obvious- going because our Wicklow had a Covid-19 ly essential workers will behaviour has a real incidence rate of at 273.1, need to go to work but we impact on the lives of (the lowest in Ireland) also need to be doing others. ahead of Tipperary 288.3 everything we can to limit “Covid cases in this and Leitrim 365.1. our contacts at the third wave are rising However, on December moment. faster than ever before. 29th the rate in Wicklow “The situation right “Right now, we have was just 130.6 which now is extremely serious more than 1,100 people in means the rate in and while Wicklow as a our hospitals and over Wicklow more than county has been doing 100 in ICU with Covid. doubled in just one week. well, all that can all The only way we are Minister Donnelly said: "I change over one going to reduce those would like to make an weekend.” numbers is by following urgent appeal to the He added: “I know the guidelines.” people of Wicklow to people are exhausted and The Minister added: please stay at home. fed up with the restric- “It's important to 'Yes, go for a walk and tions but we need to keep remember there is hope as St. Columcille’s Hospital Nurse Manager, Martina Byrne, St.Annes Ward, receiving the 1st vaccine at the hospital from nurse and Practice Co-ordinator, Orla Wright. See more, page 3 we are now rolling out can to keep each other the vaccine. As soon as safe by maintaining social we get the vaccines deliv- distancing, wearing a ered to us we will be giv- mask and washing your ing them to those who hands.” need it the most. While we know that the “Just last week we got new UK strain of Covid an early delivery from 19 is in Ireland and Pfizer and we were able spreading rapidly it was Your Local Enterprise Office to increase the number of also revealed that the Wicklow has now launched the vaccines being adminis- South African strain has tered from 20,000 to also been found in 2021 Spring/Summer Training Schedule 35,000. Ireland. “We are now seeing the However, the good for small businesses & the self-employed first residents of nursing news is that the Covid-19 in Co. Wicklow homes in Wicklow being vaccine from Pfizer and Practical, short & high quality training for small businesses! vaccinated. BioNTech protects “Also last week we against both new mutant Start Your Own Business Courses received the first variant that are causing SPECIFIC COURSES ON: Moderna vaccines which rapid spread according to • Business Planning & Accessing Finance will allow us to increase a new study. The pharma- • Design Your Own Social Media for Beginners the rate at which we will ceutical giant and be able to vaccinate still researchers from the • Trading Online Voucher Seminar • Bookkeeping for Small Businesses further. University of Texas car- • Essential Idea Exploration: Proven Tools & Techniques to Test the Market “The only thing that ried out lab tests on the • How to Maximise Your New Website & many more. will hold back the rate at strains, one of which For further details or to book GO TO: which we will be deliver- originated in the UK ing the vaccines will be while the other originated www.localenterprise.ie/Wicklow/Training-Events/Online-Bookings how quickly we can get in South Africa. The Local Enterprise Office Wicklow, Wicklow County Campus, Rathnew, Co. Wicklow them. variants contain muta- Phone: 0404 30800 Email: [email protected] “In the meantime, tions including N501Y, an please do everything you Continued on page 3 WICKLOW 2 NEWS TimesLOCAL Tuesday 12th January 2021 Wicklow most generous county in terms of new donors to charity ActionAid Ireland, which works with women and children in the developing world, has announced that Wicklow has become the second most generous county in Ireland per percent- age of the population, moving up from fourth place. Wicklow was the most generous when it came to people newly signing-up to become supporters of ActionAid. Siobhán McGee, CEO of children dropping out of school and see the difference your support has ActionAid Ireland, said: "This has in child marriage, globally. Thank on their community over time. been a very tough year, for every- you to the people of Wicklow for Sponsorship from the Irish public one, but we are heartend by the con- continuing to care about these global provides children with opportunities tinued generosity of the Irish people, issues and for all of those who began to transform their lives. This year especially people in Wicklow, where supporting our work this year." despite very challenging circum- people not only stuck with us but Over the last 20 years almost stances we continued to work close- many began supporting us for the 25,000 child sponsors have helped ly with communities and helped to first time. We are expecting 2021 to ActionAid transform the lives of protect vulnerable people from the continue to be difficult for the com- some of the world's poorest people. pandemic - including by providing munities that we work with, as the Child sponsorship is a special rela- water, sanitary items, and effects of the pandemic on global tionship - when you become a child trainings.For more information economies become worse. Already sponsor you join your child in their about sponsoring a child visit action- this year we have seen an increase in fight for a better life and you get to aid.ie. Tiney celebrates 100th birthday in style Sugarloaf Lions support Tiney (Margaret) Timmons recently celebrated her 100th birthday with a drive-by at Moneystown Church surrounded by family & friends. Tiney was born on the shortest day of the year on the 21st December, 1920. Tiney was the daughter of Thomas and Catherine (Harvey) local families in need Graham and grew up near Glenwood, Croneybyrne with her six siblings, Tommy, Mary, Johnny, Lizzie and Kitty who have all sadly passed away and her younger brother Michael who is still On 18th November Sugarloaf Lions Club members distributed vouchers for food and fuel and hail and hearty at the great age of 95 and who lives close by to his sister in Moneystown. Tiney launched an appeal to raise funds to help earlier this week we achieved our goal. We had managed to raise the funds (€10,000) necessary to fill married Jim Timmons and they raised their seven children in Kilmullen, where she still resides meet the needs of local families in financial difficulties at Christmas. the gap that our Christmas Food Appeal had customari- with her son Seamus and daughter-in-law Mary. Sadly her first born, Sonny who was born in the ly filled and some 200 families had been provided with big snow of 1947 passed away in 2015. Two of her children, Vincent and Catherine reside in the Traditionally Sugarloaf Lions Club had collected food and fuel vouchers in time for Christmas. UK and the remainder of her children, Seamus who she lives with and Marie, Margaret and food and money with the help of local "Sugarloaf Lions are very grateful to everyone who Bernadette all live close by. Tiney is well thought of in her community and loved by her children, supermarkets like Dunnes Stores, Tesco and Supervalu helped us in reaching our target and ensuring that a grandchildren, great grand-children and nieces and nephews, some of whom who live abroad and but Covid-19 meant that this time their normal little festive cheer could be brought to those who are were so disappointed, due to Covid they couldn't travel to be with her on this momentous day. fundraising channels were all closed off. less fortunate, in these strange and difficult times. Tiney is pictured above with nephew Pat O'Neill and her brother Michael Graham. "Our appeal was to help us raise the funds to provide "A particular word of thanks is due to all those who support for families in need living in Greystones, hosted static collection buckets for us, especially the six Delgany, Newtownmountkennedy, Kilcoole, Newcastle local pharmacies in Greystones, Kilcoole and and Kilmacanogue and was widely promoted Newtownmountkennedy: Fiona Roche Pharmacy, Grangecon trainer among should cover what you would hope to exhibit if you throughout the locality and via social media. Dodds Pharmacy, Adrian Dunne Pharmacy, were successful. A minimum of six images is "Over the past 5 weeks as funds came to hand and McGleesans Pharmacy, Sam McCauleys, and Kilcoole winners at Leopardstown required (in digital format), clearly marked with on occasion working with St Vincent De Paul, our Pharmacy." your name and title of the pictures.