‘No progress’ on access point to Wexford beach as tourism industry dealt massive blow

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Tourism in one of Co Wexford’s most picturesque villages has been dealt a massive blow following news that the council has no immediate plans to install a permanent access point to the local beach. Currently, those visiting Blackwater must use a temporary structure to reach Ballyconnigar Beach, however, that structure, a wooden bridge, is only in place for during certain times of the year.

Having frequently called for a permanent solution to this problem, Councillor Oliver Walsh requested an update at the February meeting of the Gorey Kilmuckridge Municipal District (GKMD). The response he received from senior engineer Enda Brennan was not a welcome one.

“We’ve been concentrating on other areas,” he said. “The long-term solution is to put a permanent bridge there but, at the moment, we have the temporary bridge for nine months of the year. There’s no progress on it right now.”

“I’m very disappointed to hear that,” replied Cllr Walsh, “Ballyconnigar is the main beach we have in Blackwater, we depend on it to bring tourism to the village and the bridge won’t be back there until at least April. Some years it’s been June before we’d had the bridge put back, and then it was taken down in October. We have a car park there, public toilets – which we don’t have at a huge amount of other beaches – it’s ridiculous this is going on for so long, people used to walk that beach every day, and now they can’t.”

"It went out in March last year, and we took it away in November,” said Mr Brennan. “It’s there for nine months maximum, and then we take it in for the winter.”

Consulting his records, Cllr Walsh noted that in December 2024 he was given a timeline of works for a permanent bridge which stated that, by Q1 2026, the project would have reached the “detailed design stage”.

“We’ll see can we progress it,” said Mr Brennan.