Storm Claudia caused widespread flooding back in November 2025. We awoke to shocking scenes in Courtown Woods when the Ounavarra River burst its banks.

A fallen tree unermined a section of the burrow road.

Huge thanks to all the amazing volunteers out collecting marine litter washed in from Storm Claudia.

And a big shout-out to the Environment Section of Wexford County Council for picking them up for us.

Congratulations to The Courtown Heritage Group who hosted a great night on the History of Courtown.

A very big thank you to Willie Willoughby and members of the North Wexford Historical Society and Wexford Historical Society for an incredibly informative and enjoyable evening at Riverchapel community centre.

We were thrilled to welcome over 50 people to our inaugural event — a fantastic turnout and a wonderful atmosphere. Lovely to see so many familiar faces and some new ones.

A great success!

And this is just the beginning..

In Decemeber we were feeling honored and excited to be nominated in the - Nature Guardian - category at this year’s Ocean Hero Awards 2025.

In December fresh calls were made for a new Coast Guard Base in Courtown.

GOREY GUARDIAN

A Wicklow-Wexford TD had shed light on the hazardous working conditions of the Courtown-Arklow Coast Guard unit and has proposed the quick development of a new station to best address the crew's needs.

Speaking in the Dáil on Tuesday, December 2, Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin proposed the development of a new Coast Guard station for the Courtown-Arklow Coast Guard unit, highlighting the dangerous work the crew undergo without even the basic facilities of toilets available in the current building.

“The Courtown-Arklow Coast Guard unit does incredible work on the Wicklow-Wexford coast and put their lives at risk to protect others. The least they deserve is proper and safe working conditions in a modern workplace in the form of a new Coast Guard station. A total of 23 men and woman had been working out of a 10 ft by 20 ft room in Courtown using the same sink for making tea and coffee as they do to wash up after an incident. They had no toilets, which is unbelievable,” he said.

Although the community has stepped in to offer some amenities to the crew, he said the lack of suitable facilities is insulting.

“Thankfully, they have now been allowed to use the local parochial house on a temporary basis. However, they urgently need a new base,” he added.

He pointed out that for several years, the Department and the OPW have been talking about potential new sites for a Coast Guard station in the Courtown area. With this new building strategy, he and the Coast Guard unit are eager to know if the work that is being carried to date on potential sites in Courtown is still valid or will new market trawls be carried out.

He added that given the dangerous nature of the job, which often sees crew members working over their hours and experiencing fatigue in order to keep the public safe, he finds the government lacking in their appreciation and recognition of their vital role.

“We have highlighted the dangerous working conditions that exist for those in our Coast Guard and rescue services. Twenty-four hour shifts are being under-recorded around Ireland's coastline, resulting in extreme fatigue and safety concerns, which is a reckless approach by the State to peoples' lives. It is unbelievable. The State is simply not valuing our Coast Guard, which does this lifesaving work in really bad working conditions,” he stated.

“We are seeking fair and safe working conditions for our Coast Guard and rescue services staff,” he added.

Johnny Mythen TD also argued that the factoring scheme which sees 24 hour shifts being logged at only 16.5 hour shifts is causing significant fatigue in crew members and putting lives at risk.

“In 2024, the Coast Guard and rescue service responded to 2,554 incidents and 752 missions by helicopter. It provided critical assistance to 537 citizens and 134 air ambulance flights to offshore island communities, including some off the Wexford coast.”

“The aviation safety experts and unions have deemed the use of this method to measure working hours as not fully compliant with safety standards relating to EU law and the working time law and increases the risk of fatigue. Fatigue in these high intense and often chaotic, hazardous circumstances could cause crew members' concentrations to drop, affect their reaction time and distort decision-making capabilities,” he explained.

As such, he is calling for variable recording of actual working hours, adherence to Irish and EU law, including a fair rostering programme and rest standards, and introducing independent audits

Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin TDJohnny Mythen T.D. Wexford‍ ‍Malcolm ByrneBrian Brennan TD‍ ‍OPW - Office of Public WorksIrish Coast Guard

TRAIL SECTION CLOSED December 2025

With continuous bad weather, we were saddened to share that erosion has forced the closure of part of the Courtown–Kiltennel Walking Trail, between emergency markers #19 - #20 (Glennagloch) until further notice. Both Wexford Walking Trail and Coillte were notified.

It’s disappointing news, especially as our trail counter has logged 73,844 trail users in the past 12 months. We’re hopeful that a safe re-route for this section will soon be in place.

Also in December we were delighted to officially unveil our new Fáilte go Séipéal na hAbhann/Welcome to Riverchapel sign.

It is a small but meaningful addition that helps celebrate our community and create a strong sense of place for everyone who lives here or visits.

Thanks to members of the community who brought this suggestion to us at our AGM last year and worked with us to make it possible.

Finally, thanks to Pobal and Wexford County Council for their support and funding, which made this project possible.

A huge thank you to Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council Joe Sullivan Cathaoirleach of the Gorey–Kilmuckridge District Donal Kenny, and District Manager Anita McLoughlin for their support and assistance with the installation of our new heritage trail signs, further enhancing the visitor experience in Courtown.

Our website activity shows a strong interest in local history and folklore www.courtown.org and we’re excited to build on this in collaboration with Courtown Heritage Group.

This project was funded through the ORIS scheme, managed by Wexford County Council on behalf of the Department of Rural and Community Development.

The Courtown–Kiltennel Walking Trail continues to go from strength to strength, with approximately 74,000 trail users recorded in just 12 months since its installation. A fantastic amenity for North Wexford!

For more inforemation on the Heritage Signs, see here https://www.courtowncommunitycouncil.org/general-1

Wexford Cathaoirleach Joe Sullivan, CCC chair Linda SInnott, District Manager Anita McLoughlin and District Cathaoirleach Donal Kenny launching the Heritage Trail

On January 5th 2026 members of the Courtown Heritage Group unveiled a new commemorative information stand celebrating Master Engineer Alexander Nimmo, the man who designed and oversaw the building of Courtown Harbour as well as many other significant engineering projects in Ireland 200 years ago.

January 2026 River Stabilisation Works

Many thanks to Wexford County Council for carrying out stabilisation works on a section of the Ounavarra River bank in the Burrow, Courtown, which was damaged during Storm Claudia last November.

Coastal Erosion

Thanks to Deputy Malcolm Byrne for raising this urgent matter in the Dail. The evidence-based data that we have helped to gather, clearly shows that climate change is a real emergency. Courtown is losing 1–2 metres of its soft shoreline each year, with erosion reaching up to 5 metres annually in isolated areas of our Natural Heritage Area, north of the village.

Coastal Erosion Article Gorey Guardian

Coastal Erosion

Thanks to Deputy Fionntan O’Suillebhain for also raising this urgent matter in the Dail for Courtown.

Huge thanks to everyone who joined us for our Spring Beach Clean 2026!

We were blessed with a beautiful morning and the turnout was fantastic. Everyone did an great job tackling all kinds of litter and helping keep our coastline looking it's best.

A special thank you as well to the Courtown/Arklow Coast Guard Unit for their support on the day.

Willow Planting Project

The #CleanCoastsRoadshow head ed to Wexford to join Courtown Community Council for an #InternationalDayofForests celebration last weekend and launch of their Riverbank Restoration Project.

Joined by #CleanCoasts Region al Officer Róisín and Biodiversity Officer Liane, this dedicated group harvested native willow slips from nearby trees and replanted a section of the riverbank which was recently repaired following damage during last years storms.

This initiative aims to help stabilize and strengthen the riverbank, protect community access to the beach by reducing erosion along the roadside, and create a valuable habitat for wildlife and biodiversity.

Winter / Spring 2026

Summer / Autumn 2025