Thursday 17 January 2013

Bray Town Council funding towards a new clubhouse for Bray Boxing Club is welcomed

Bray Sinn Féin Councillors John Brady and Rossa Murray have welcomed
the provision of €40,000 in funding for a new clubhouse for Bray
Boxing club which is the home of Olympic gold medalist Katie Taylor.
This funding is on top of the €190,000 that was allocated towards the
new facility in December through the Sports Capital Funding programme.

Speaking after the Bray budget meeting which was held on Tuesday
evening Cllr Brady said "I warmly welcome the provision of €40,000
towards a new clubhouse for Bray Boxing club. There is fantastic
talent in the club and this money coupled with the €190,000 the club
received in December through the sports capital funding will go along
way towards building a state of the art facility for the club which is
home to the Olympic champion Katie Taylor. A site has been identified
in Ballywaltrim for the development of the clubhouse which must now go
through the planning process.  Unfortunately due to an illness in the
family i missed the meeting on Tuesday but i fully support and welcome
the provision of the funding".

Cllr Murray added "The funding from the council coupled with the
provision of a site has to be welcomed. It has been a long process and
for many years the club received no support at council level and only
for the work and continued pressure from my party colleague councillor
John Brady the club would have never got its current facility in the
harbour and probably would be still homeless. It has to be said the
added interest in the club since Katie won gold last year has sped
things along and ultimately helped secure this funding. Whilst i had
to vote against the overall budget on Tuesday because of the Home Tax
and the councils provision of €82,000 to pay Phil Hogan and the
Government the tax for the councils housing stock, i however fully
supported the inclusion of the €40,000 for the Boxing Club".

Cllr Brady concluded "Hopefully things can now move along smoothly and
swiftly to ensure the new clubhouse is constructed to cater for the
club and its new members who have taken up the sport because of the
exploits of their hero Katie Taylor. The allocation of the funding is
little more than the club deserves from the council and is a
recognition of the excellent talent within the club from the boxers to
the coaches".

Brady slams vulgar fake letter claiming to be from Little Bray Residents

Sinn Féin councillor John Brady has reacted angrily to a letter that
has been posted to a number of media outlets in Wicklow and to at
least one school and to other public representatives. The vulgar
letter which claims to be from Little Bray Residents objects to the
flood protection scheme on the Dargle River and claims councillor
Brady is the guest speaker at a protest on 26th January to oppose the
scheme.

Cllr Brady speaking after a tip off from a local school said "On
Monday last i was contacted by the principle of a Bray school who
received a copy of this very vulgar letter in the post. The principle
brought it to my attention because they were so concerned about the
content of it and the fact that my name was attached to it. I
immediately got a copy of the letter and i am truly appalled at its
content and i am very angry that my good name has been included on the
letter which claims to be from the Little Bray Residents. The letter
strongly objects to the ongoing never ending works on the river
Dargle, however it is not signed by anyone or no contact details are
given. The letter goes onto to name other locals in Little Bray and
claims there is a protest on the 26th January to oppose the works and
that i am the guest speaker. Since Monday i have been informed that
the letter has also been posted to some media outlets within Wicklow
and to some of the TD's"

Cllr Brady continued "Firstly it has to be said that i am fully
supportive of the Dargle River flood protection scheme having
campaigned and worked tirelessly for many years to get it to the stage
its at. I have also worked with campaign group SWAP and the community
of Little Bray to ensure that the scheme is done to the highest of
standards which will ensure the people of Little Bray are protected
from the risk of flooding. Secondly i am not aware of any group in
Bray, particularly from the Little Bray area that is campaigning
against the scheme and certainly i have never been asked or indeed nor
would i agree to speak at a protest to stop the works on the Dargle.
There are some concerns from local people about elements of the work
such as noise from trucks at night time, the height of the wall in the
Peoples Park and the width of footpaths. However i am working with the
officials from the council and engineers from SIAC to have these
issues addressed"

Cllr Brady went onto say "I have spoken to many constituents, friends,
family and supporters from the Dargle area who are also puzzled by
this bizarre letter and they are also unaware of its origin and they
are also appalled at its vulgar content and certainly don't agree with
its content. It is quite clear that whoever was behind this letter
does not enjoy the support of the community which it claims to come
from, nor does it have any support from me or Sinn Féin and i totally
disassociate myself from it".

Cllr Brady concluded "I am taking the sending out of this letter with
my name on it very serious. It appears that someone for some reason,
whether its politically motivated or not is trying to bring my good
name into disrepute. They have gone to some effort typing out this
letter, handwriting envelopes and posting out these letters, however
they are very cowardly as they would not put their name to it. I have
taken legal advice on the matter and i will get to the bottom of who
sent these out and i urge anyone, any group or organisation who may
have received one of these letters to please contact myself and to
ignore the fabricated non existent protest that is advertised for the
26th January"

Friday 11 January 2013

Demolition of Dawson's Amusement eyesore begins on Bray Seafront


Sinn Féin County Councillor John Brady has welcomed the commencement of work on the Seafront in Bray to demolish the old unused Dawsons Amusements which is located at the Bray Head end of the prom. In 2012 Bray Town Council gave permission for the demolition of  the unsightly building and the instillation of 130 surface carparking places.

Speaking after the commencement of works on site Cllr Brady said "I must welcome the fact that over the next few weeks we will see the old Dawsons Amusements building removed from the landscape. The buildings was erected in the 1980's and it received enormous amounts of controversy because of its appearance and its proximity to Bray Head. In 2012 Bray Town Council gave the go ahead to demolish the unsightly building and to construct a new surface carpark. This week has seen the contractors move on site and the process of stripping the old building has begun".

Cllr Brady continued "Once the eyesore is removed it will visually enhance the area. Other plans that had been in place to erect apartments on site have been shelved and any long term plans to redevelop the area must go through the planning process and be respectful of the location. For now however there are plans in place to enhance the area and to make it vibrant again and this has started with the demolition of the old amusements"

Cllr Brady concluded "Whilst everyone will be happy to see the back of the unsightly structure, one must bare in mind the amount of employment it did provide over the years particularly to young students during the summer months. This really is the end of an era for many reasons".