Community News - Thurles Information

Death Of Michael Ryan, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

It was with great sadness that we learned of the death, today Friday 21st April 2023, of Mr Michael Ryan, St. Bridget’s Terrace, Abbey Road, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, and formerly of Ballybeg, Littleton, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

Pre-deceased by his wife Josie (née McCarthy), his daughter Marion, son David and brother Pat; Mr Ryan passed away peacefully after a short illness, while in the care of staff at Tipperary University Hospital.

His passing is most deeply regretted and sadly missed by his loving family; daughters Yvonne (Shortt) and Lucy (Moore), sons Michael, T.J. Joseph and Paul, grandchildren, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, brother Donal, nephews, nieces, brother-in-law, sisters-in-law, extended relatives, neighbours and friends.

Requiescat in Pace.

Funeral Arrangements.

The earthly remains of Mr Ryan will repose at the home of his son Paul, No 1 Childers Park, Bawnanattin, Thurles, (via Abbey Road) on Sunday afternoon, April 23rd, from 4:00pm until 7:00pm same evening.
His remains will be received into the Church of Our Lady and St. Kevin, Littleton, Thurles, on Monday morning, April 24th, at 11:00am, to further repose for Requiem Mass at 11:30am, followed immediately afterwards by interment in the adjoining graveyard.

The extended Ryan family wish to express their appreciation for your understanding at this difficult time and have made arrangements for those persons wishing to send messages of condolence, to use the link shown HERE.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílís.

Death Of John Kelly, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

It was with great sadness that we learned of the death, yesterday Thursday 20th April 2023, of Mr John Kelly, Cassestown, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

Pre-deceased by his wife Kathleen, his sons Liam and Brendan; Mr Kelly passed away peacefully after a short illness, while in the care of staff at Tipperary University Hospital, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.

His passing is most deeply regretted and sadly missed by his loving family, daughters Margaret (O’Meara) and Deirdre (Cassidy), sons Sean and Noel, daughter-in-law Bernadette, sons-in-law Martin and Thomas, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, sister Kathleen, nephews, nieces, extended relatives, former colleagues in Thurles Sugar Factory, members of his card playing circle, good neighbours and many friends.

Requiescat in Pace.

Funeral Arrangements.

The earthly remains of Mr Kelly will repose at Hugh Ryan’s Funeral Home, Slievenamon Road, Thurles, on Saturday afternoon, April 22nd, from 5:00pm until 7:00pm same evening, before being received into the Cathedral of the Assumption, Cathedral Street, Thurles at 8:00pm.
Requiem Mass will be celebrated on Sunday morning, April 23rd at 11:00am, followed by interment immediately afterwards in St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Moyne Road, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

For those persons who are unable to attend the funeral service for Mr Kelly, same can be viewed, streamed live online HERE.

The extended Kelly family wish to express their appreciation for your understanding at this difficult time and have made arrangements for those persons wishing to send messages of condolence, to use the link shown HERE.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílís

Death Of Maura Ryan, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

It was with great sadness that we learned of the death, yesterday Thursday 20th April 2023, of Mrs Maura B. Ryan (Simon) (née Hickey), Ballydaff, Borrisoleigh, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

Pre-deceased by her husband Simon; Mrs Ryan passed away while in the care of staff at Fenor Hill Nursing Home, Urlingford, Co. Kilkenny.

Her passing is most deeply regretted by her family; John, Billy, Beth (Maher), Bridget and Simon, daughters-in-law Trish, Anna and Kate, sons-in-law Sean and Stephen, grandchildren Ailish, Eimear, Simon, William, Padddy, Ellen, Simon, Sean, Hannah, Jacob and Simon, great grandchild Gabriel, brother James, nephews, nieces, extended relatives, neighbours and friends.

Requiescat in Pace.

Funeral Arrangements.

The earthly remains of Mrs Ryan will repose at O’Dwyer’s Funeral Home, Upperchurch, Thurles on Saturday afternoon April 22nd, from 4:30pm, with removal at 7:00pm same evening, to be received into Ileigh Church, Knocknaharney, Ileigh, Borrisoleigh, Thurles, Co. Tipperary. .
Mrs Ryan will further repose for Requiem Mass on Sunday morning, April 23rd, at 11:00am, followed by interment in the adjoining graveyard.

Suaimhneas síoraí dá h-anam dílis.

EPA Announces Increased Funding Of €16m For Research To Address Climate & Environmental Challenges.

EPA announces increased funding of €16m for new environmental and climate research.

Research proposals are invited for research across the following areas:

Nature-based solutions that can benefit the environment and society.
Advancing climate science in an Irish context.
Identifying effective options to adapt to climate changeThe use data of and digitalisation for environmental protection.
How society can be enabled in its transition to a sustainable future.

Successful researchers will work closely with policy makers and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that the research is impactful and effectively informs environmental policy in Ireland.

Environmental and climate research in Ireland today received a boost with the announcement by the EPA of up to €16 million in funding for new research projects, representing a significant increase over previous years. The EPA is inviting proposals from the research community for innovative research projects to support the development and implementation of environmental policies in Ireland.

Announcing the EPA funding call, Dr Eimear Cotter, Director of the Office of Evidence and Assessment said: “Scientific research and innovation are playing an increasingly important role in informing how governments and society can respond to the challenges posed by climate change and environmental degradation. Today’s EPA research call will address knowledge gaps, both current and future, and ultimately will provide robust evidence to support the implementation of effective environmental policies in Ireland.”

Areas of research include exploring how nature-based solutions can benefit the environment and society, advancing climate science in an Irish context, and identifying effective options to adapt to climate change. Cross-cutting areas are also highlighted, such as how data and digitalisation can be utilised for environmental protection and how society can be enabled in its transition to a sustainable future.

Dr Darragh O’Neill, EPA Research Manager, said, “In this year’s call, we are pleased to include both targeted and open topics to support the research community to address specific evidence needs as well as to explore emerging research areas relevant to environmental policy. With up to €16m available under this call, we look forward to receiving proposals for innovative and impactful projects.”

The EPA Research Programme is a Government of Ireland initiative funded by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. Under this year’s call, the EPA is delighted to be partnering with the Geological Survey Ireland, National Parks and Wildlife Service and Met Éireann to co-fund projects in areas of mutual interest.

Further details about the 2023 EPA Research Call are available HERE

Chief Executive Of Tipperary Co. Co. Breaks Silence To Respond To Thurles.Info.

In a reply, received from Mr Joe MacGrath (Chief Executive of Tipperary County Council), through his Secretary Ms Evelyn Harty, Mr MacGrath breaks a 3 year silence to discuss road craters on Thurles Roads.

Mr MacGrath has specifically requested that we publish his reply, now shown hereunder in full.
To refresh the memory of our readers, please read HERE, the blog which we published seven day ago, highlighting the current state of just about every road in Thurles town, and to which Mr MacGrath now replies.

But First It’s Competition Time:

**Guess on what road surface this 15.24 centimeter *(6 inch)* deep crater exists in Thurles. Answers can be posted** **HERE**.
**A prize of a €20 Eason book token awaits the first person to identify the spot.** **Competition** **is open to all** **Tipperary Residents**.

The reply sent by Mr MacGrath via his secretary Ms Evelyn Harty was composed on Tuesday April 18th at 10:02am, but did not arrive in my mailbox until yesterday morning April 19th.

Note: A copy of my initial email correspondence to Mr MacGrath HERE was carbon copied to Mr Eamon Lonergan, Ms Sharon Scully (Thurles M.D) and engineer Mr Thomas Duffy, by Mr MacGrath or an instructed staff member.

In accordance with Mr MacGrath’s wishes, please find his reply printed in full hereunder:

“Dear Mr. Willoughby,
Thanks for your email in relation to damage to roads at various locations in Thurles.
I have arranged to have these locations examined and can advise that:
The first photo is an Uisce Eireann excavation which is not the responsibility of Tipperary County Council.
The second photo is on the N75 bridge crossing in Thurles. TII has programmed works for this section of road which we expect will be undertaken by the end of May.
The third photo is Clongour which is on the 2023 works programme to get a full road reinstatement within the next month.

I note that you have published this matter on social media in advance of giving the Council an opportunity to respond, which is disappointing.
Please confirm that you will publish the full text of this response on the same social media outlets to ensure that a full, fair and balanced picture is conveyed to readers.

Best regards,

Joe.

In a reply sent today, we seek to thank Mr MacGrath for his reply and indeed we express our surprise at receiving such, since over the past 3 years; and despite forwarding a complaint to the Standards In Public Office Commission (SIPO), Mr MacGrath had failed to reply to information requests sent directly to him.
Complaints were also sent to SIPO regarding elected local councillors and their officials, but to no avail. Please see full details in relation to SIPO published on September 8th 2020, HERE and HERE.

Instructions sent by Corporate Services, at Tipperary Co. Council, in September 2020, regarding the then Code of Conduct by local Municipal District Councillors, their local officials, you Mr MacGrath and Mr Marcos O’Connor, in relation to the destruction of Thurles Heritage, namely “Great Famine Double Ditch”, were totally ignored; hence the need to publish “this matter on social media in advance of giving the Council an opportunity to respond” and which you describe as “disappointing”.

Your intending ‘chastising statement’, quote “I note that you have published this matter on social media in advance of giving the Council an opportunity to respond, which is disappointing”, is viewed by me personally as being gravely duplicitous, since you and your officials have refused to respond to any previous queries sent by me in the past.

In relation to all pictures in our report; Thurles.Info identified where the craters were to be found, in order to allow your engineers to quickly grab a shovel.
I should confirm that Picture No. I was not caused by operations undertaken by Irish Water, and was repaired on same day as was reported by us, (on April 13th, I am reliably informed on Facebook).
Irish Water or not; please look at the picture again while noting that Tipperary Council retains responsibility for Irish Water and queries continue to be accepted by the Water Services Section of the Council.
This initial pothole repair was undertaken by ‘Highway Maintenance’, before it ravelled yet again and was left for some 5 weeks, before local residents got fed-up driving around it.

The crater on Photo No. 2, at the Barry’s Bridge crossing, latter the main escape route out of Thurles when seeking employment, and which you expect to be fixed by the end of May next, was fixed two days ago, having existed since before Xmas.

The crater on Photo No. 3; one of a multitude of such on Clongour Road, caused by machinery which operated on the now sinking, newly built, Slievenamon Road area, (between Thurles Shopping Centre and Lidl); local residents are happy to note that same “will get a full road reinstatement within the next month”. However, based on my experience, we warn residents of that area about holding their breath.

We now invite Mr Joe MacGrath, when driving next to Nenagh District Office, “To Halt Awhile” here in Thurles and view the state of our current road structure.
We haven’t identified the area of the crater posed in the Competition Picture shown above, other than to state that same is on a roadway in Thurles. By failing to identify the positioning of same, it is hoped that those responsible for road maintenance in Thurles, may be stirred into action, thus winning our Eason book token.

Competition Clue: The crater in the picture above has existed since at least November of last Year (2022).
Same further confirms that Thurles residents get nothing in return for paying vehicle road tax and nothing for paying local property Tax (LPT), as successive governments continue to permit the ‘skinning’ of motorists through the purchasing of diesel, petrol, electricity and parking charges.