The seventy acres Mount Congreve Gardens in Waterford have launched a brand new seasonal Nature Trail for children.

The trail offers families an abundance of nature to explore and to ensure that younger visitors engage with the flora and fauna on offer and has been created offering the little ones 15 different questions and challenges as they meander the walking trails amongst the world-famous gardens located just outside Waterford City.

The new looped Nature Trail walk will keep everyone happy, with a buggy-friendly path smaller tots can snooze while older ones enjoy the series of questions for them to solve along the way. In total, the Nature Trail is a 1.5km walk and can be completed in approximately 40 minutes. The little ones can fill in their nature trail answers on the back of their map along the way in order to complete the challenge.

The gardens at Mount Congreve consist of intensively planted woodland gardens, a four-acre walled garden with 16 km of walking trails. The gardens are located 10 minutes from Waterford City Centre overlooking the majestic River Suir.

The new Nature Trail is included in the Mount Congreve Gardens ticket price. The gardens are open from Tuesday to Sunday from 11 am to 5.30 pm. Last entry to the gardens at 4.00 pm. Tickets must be booked in advance, for further details see www.mountcongreve.com

Waterford Suir Valley Railway reopened in style on Wednesday, 1st July. The new livery on the locomotive Enterprise 3 and two carriages were unveiled to the approval of the board of directors, staff and volunteer crew.

This is all part of a wider rebranding programme for the Waterford Suir Valley Railway (WSVR) to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of this innovative Social Enterprise project. The changing of the train livery to the new colour palate for the company was in conjunction with the development of a new logo, website, brochure and signage. The rebranding project is grant aided by Waterford Leader Partnership LTD Rural Development Programme.

At the launch, WSVR Chairperson John Norris said, “As the company celebrates 20 years since it was founded, we felt it was the right time to refresh the brand. The railway has been transformed in the past 20 years from a concept to a working railway and tourist attraction. With the opening of Waterford Greenway in 2017, it gave the project a whole new lease of life and brought about the need for extra services for Greenway users and the opening of the Whistlestop Café in 2019 at Kilmeadan Station. The brand needed to reflect these changes.” John, continued, “We are delighted with the work Totem have done, they followed the brief and presented us with a vibrant, friendly, fresh new image that will represent the WSVR’s ethos going forward. We are also very proud of the how the maintenance crew, led by James Kelly and David Darlington took the project on board, repainting the rolling stock to show off the new colours.”

The railway will now operate daily until the 1st November. New protocols have been put in place to mitigate for Covid-19. The capacity of the train has been reduced considerably. Visitors are encouraged to book online on the new website www.wsvrailway.ie, bookings are also taken by telephoning the ticket office on 051 384058. Perspex partitions have been put in between the open compartments. Only one family/couple/individual will be booked in to each compartment. All staff and volunteers have under gone training in the new protocols. They take their temperature on arrival to work, wear protective face shields and disinfect the train compartments between trips, along with following government guidelines for social distancing and hand washing.

Maria Kyte, Manager, of Waterford Suir Valley Railway said, “We had great plans for 2020 with the launch of the new brand and the first full year operating the Whistlestop Café. It has been a disappointing start to the year but it has also made us rethink how the railway operates and it is so uplifting to see how all the crew have come on board with the new way of operating in such a positive manner. We now look forward to welcoming all our visitors to both the railway and Waterford Greenway and to make the most of the next few months. The most important thing is that we all behave in a safe manner to protect ourselves, our customers and our loved ones.”

Further information on Waterford Suir Valley Railway is available on the new website www.wsvrailway.ie or calling 051 384058.

In February 2020, workLAB continued its expansion by adding 12 new units to its state-of-the-art workspace offerings. 

The new offices range in size from seven one-two person offices, to a number of larger bespoke spaces that were designed after working closely with clients to meet their specific needs.

“We worked closely with clients and our design team to ensure the new spaces delivered exactly what the companies wanted while staying with our vision of offering a high-end workspace for professionals in Waterford,” said Alicia Maguire, General Manager of workLAB.

If you are looking for a short term office space contact Alicia on 051 3761980 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to discuss your requirements.

It has been a record year for the Higher Diploma in Television and Media Production at the National Student Media Awards 2020. Eight students from the Waterford Institute of Technology and Nemeton TV course were nominated in three categories for their imaginative and compelling films and went on to win two of the top awards. “These are absolutely fabulous quality productions from WIT” announced the SMEDIAS host on the night.

Acclaimed Dungarvan photographer and videomaker John Foley has won the Údaras na Gaeltachta Award for Best Irish Language Production for his film Díoltas | Revenge. This moving docu-drama traces the brutal kidnapping, imprisonment and eventual execution of RIC District Inspector Gilbert Potter during the War of Independence. “I’m delighted that my film Díoltas got two nominations. Thank you to everyone in Nemeton especially the other students and lecturers for the wonderful experience”. Following the successful broadcast of ‘Díoltas’ on TG4, John is currently planning his next historical documentary.

County Meath filmmaker Helena Keane has won the TG4 BLOC Award for Best Bilingual Short Film for Dosheachanta | Inevitable. Starring fellow filmmaker Eannaí O Sullivan from Cork, the spooky drama is a thriller with a twist! Helena has made great use of the skills that she acquired on the Nemeton TV and Waterford Institute of Technology course. She is delighted to be pursuing her dream of working in drama on Macalla’s feature film Mo Ghra Bhuan and TG4’s long running drama Ros na Rún. “I wasn’t expecting to win at all, all the other films nominated from our course are really fantastic” said Helena when the award was announced.

There is good news for anyone interested in producing, directing and editing short drama, documentary film or digital marketing content. This award-winning Higher Diploma in Television and Media Production will commence again this September 2020 with an exciting and innovative brand new blend of practical workshops and online classes. The eight-month course is uniquely tailored to the needs of students and is particularly suited to those who wish to develop their skills while also working.

The industry-focused nature of the postgraduate course attracts participants from all over Ireland who are keen to avail of workshops which are led by film and television professionals with extensive experience. Masterclasses are also presented by award-winning filmmakers, including producer Paddy Hayes (Rúbai, Eipic), writer Darach Mac Con Iomaire (Corp + Anam, Red Rock) and director Paula Kehoe (Deargdhúil – Anatomy of Passion, Hiroshima, My Bright Love). Further specialist workshops are provided by sound designer Keith Alexander (Ireland’s Deep Atlantic, Starboard Home), director of photography Cathal Watters (Peaky Blinders, Finding Joy) and composer and musician Dawn Kenny who has collaborated with U2 and Brian Eno. 

Not surprisingly, the postgraduate course is highly regarded in the media sector and has an excellent employment record. Graduates go on to work in TG4, RTÉ, the BBC and in top companies such as Tyrone Productions, Nemeton TV, Independent Pictures and Magamedia. Alumni include producer Rebecca Speer (David Brophy’s Choir of Ages, Cleas Act), assistant director Aoife Doyle (Cursed, Into the Badlands), producer Edel Fox (Noel Hill – Aisling Gearr, Gradaim Cheoil), editor Alan Devitt (Dr. Eva’s Portuguese Adventure, Goggglebox), director and editor Oisín Mistéil (Ar Thóir na Crown Jewels, Ros na Rún), director and cameraman Craig Speers (Out of their League, Pet Surgeons) and producer Caroline Dalton (Drivetime, The Ray Darcy TV Show).

Graduates also combine their new-found skills with existing talents.  Musician and accountant Iarfhlaith O Domhnaill graduated from the course in 2020 and has now found employment as the Financial Manager and Documentary Film Editor at the Irish Traditional Music Archive.

The high-quality films produced on the course are broadcast on TG4’s series Céad Seans | First Chance and achieve recognition at festivals around Ireland. They have been winning at the National Student Media Awards since 2014.

The Higher Diploma Course Television and Media Production is run by the Waterford Institute of Technology in association with Nemeton TV, one of Ireland’s leading production companies, and Udarás na Gaeltachta. The next course commences on September 21st 2020.

Hapag-Lloyd Ireland has launched a new route from Waterford to Rotterdam. The weekly container feeder service will be carried on the existing BG Freight Line route, operating out of Waterford since mid-2019. This connects businesses in southeast Ireland with the deep-sea global shipping hubs of Rotterdam and Liverpool.

The close proximity of Waterford to continental Europe will provide these customers with a more cost-effective service and reduce their reliance on Dublin or Cork for their shipping needs.

Frank Ronan, CEO, Port of Waterford welcomed the new service which he said “adds to the options we can provide current and prospective customers moving containers to and from the UK, continental Europe and onwards globally”.

The winners of the annual 'Marketing Student of the Year' awards 2020 were announced last Wednesday at an online ceremony. Award recipients were chosen based on their academic results and overall contribution to class.

The winners were Jan O’Dwyer (BA (Hons) in Marketing & Digital Media) and Aideen Cummins (Bachelor of Business (Hons) – Marketing specialisation).

Granville Hotel Support
Ann and Liam Cusack, proprietors of the Granville Hotel have been sponsoring these awards for the past 27 years. At the ceremony Ann & Liam stated that "the Granville Hotel is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year and we are delighted to be associated with the leaders in Marketing in the South East. Our long standing relationship with WIT in supporting business events shows our commitment to community involvement during these very challenging times. This year with Covid-19 and social distancing we had to put on our Marketing hats, and it was decided to use Social Media, Zoom & Facebook for the presentation. A huge thank you to all involved. We would like to congratulate the Award Recipients and all the Students, Lecturers and WIT for making this happen. Great teamwork.”

In his address to the students Dr Thomas O’Toole, Head of the School of Business stated that “The School of Business is delighted that Liam and Ann Cusack, Proprietors of the Granville Hotel have been involved in honouring the best of our Marketing graduates, particularly given that their own expertise is in the area of Hospitality Marketing. Their support has been crucial to hosting these awards for the past 27 years. Students have shown resilience and determination in completing their final year during a global pandemic. WIT is very proud of the achievements of our students and we wish them the best of luck in their future careers.”

Support of lecturers
Jan and Aideen each spoke individually on acceptance of their awards paying tribute to family, friends and their Marketing lecturers at WIT for their help and support over the past number of years. In addition to the overall winners, Marketing Commendations were awarded to the following students:

BA Marketing & Digital Media
Nicola Carroll, Chloe Clince, Michael Clince, Michael Ennis, Sean Fanning & Laura McEnery.

BBS
Karen Cloke, Robert Ryan, Conor Moore, Niamh O Brien, Niamh White & Amber Quigley.

Related Courses
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Marketing & Digital Media Bachelor of Business (Honours) in Business (Marketing) Master of Science in Digital Marketing Practice Winners. Jan O’Dwyer: BA Marketing & Digital Media.

We are delighted to announce Munster and Ireland Rugby star Jack O'Donoghue as our new Brand Ambassador for Mercedes Benz Passenger Cars.

Jack is seen here picking up his new Mercedes Benz A-Class Saloon from Dealer Principal Barry Murphy.