We welcome the anticipated new Thurles Tourism Office to the building once known as the old National Bank building and gifted to Thurles by Shannon Development under the governance of Thurles Development Association, Shannon Development and Tipperary County Board G.A.A..
Thurles has, it now appears, two Tourist Offices, one new office on Slievenamon road and one other, some 100 metres away in Bookworm on Liberty Square.
Same is being opened at a time when Liberty Square is desolate, being redeveloped/upgraded; at a time when even the Swifts and Swallows have returned back to Africa; in the middle of a COVID-19 virus pandemic; and of course at a time when Tipperary County Council has decided to destroy much of Thurles Town’s valuable heritage, namely the Great Famine Double Ditch monument. Nevertheless we wish those involved, in the Thurles Tourism Office, every good wish for the future.
Thurles To Open A Second Tourist Office.
For those of our readers following our efforts to preserve and retain our heritage, please read HERE to refresh your memories before reading content hereunder.
My reply to Mr David Coleman, (Ethics Registrar, Corporate Services, Tipperary Co. Council.)
Sir, I thank you for your communication of the 23rd instant.
Let me deal with the first part of your communication. You stated: “The appropriate response in the case of your queries should come from the Thurles Municipal District Executive, i.e. the District Manager or the District Administrator. I understand that you have received a reply to your queries from the Acting District Manager.“
Allow me to remind you of the original question asked two months ago: “Will the planned Thurles inner relief road impinge, in a negative way, on the 1846 Thurles “Double Ditch”, which has been a right of way and a Mass Path for almost 175 years and which is the property of the people of Thurles and a national monument?
The reply which came from Ms Janice Gardiner(Acting District Manager) stated:- “Tipperary County Council has reviewed all documentation relating to the planning aspects of the Thurles Inner Relief Road Project and can find no reference to the existence of the feature/path/monument you describe.”
Do you now, Mr Coleman, believe that the above reply from Ms Gardiner(Acting District Manager), answers the original question asked 6 weeks previously?
As you can see from the link HERE, I have requested (on September 17th 2020) from Ms Gardiner, (and referring to the An Bord Pleanala Report PL79.JP00242013; Archaeological Impact Statement; and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Screening Report 2013), quote, “I now request copies of all 3 reports to be sent directly to me, in the knowledge that there is a charge for such copies, which I will pay for, immediately on receipt.”
Mr Coleman, I first made contact with you via Mr Ger Walsh in my effort to obtain answers to questions which seven of nine elected Councillors refused to answer over a then seven week period. The nature of the questions, numbering 1 & 2, were urgent, as developers were already in place, beginning their contractual commitments.
Note: The Standards in Public Office Commission which promotes transparency and accountability in Irish public life, (SIPO) correctly informed me via their Complaints Shared Mailbox on 28th August 2020, at 11:49 : – “Dear Mr Willoughby, Our most up to date records state that the Ethics Registrar for Tipperary County Council is Mr Ger Walsh. This position is one which is required by statute to change frequently however, so it may be prudent to check with the Council who holds the position currently. The Oireachtas should be able to advise you on when a new Committee will be established, the Standards in Public Office Commission has no role in considering Ethics complaints concerning TDs.”
So that there now remains no misunderstanding, having checked with a telephonist at Tipperary Co. Council, (Tel: 0761 065000), I was Informed that Mr Ger Walsh remained the Ethics Registrar.
The functions of any local authority are to provide a forum for the democratic representation of the local community and to provide civic leadership for that community. It is also charged under the Local Government Act, 2001 (section 64) “to promote interest among young people in democracy and local government and in community and civic affairs generally”.
Do you believe therefore that it is in keeping that one elected Council member, namely Mr Michaél Lowry should ask me, 7 weeks after addressing my questions to him twice, quote “Who the f..k do you think you are?”.
Since we now learn that Ms Janice Gardener is the only person that can be approached with queries, why do we need County Councillors on huge salaries at all, latter who hold already alternative 9 to 5 full-time employment, thus wasting taxpayer’s money?
I get the impression from your reply that perhaps you and some of your Council colleagues, see me as some kind of asinine, doltish and meaningless, time waster and while I thank you for having contacted 7 of our 9 councillors in terms of their having no regard to and not being guided by the Council’s Code of Conduct, the question remains, have you also contacted senior officials employed on Tipperary County Council’s workforce, from whom replies were also sought and remain unanswered?.
I trust you have familiarized yourself fully with the Local Government Act of 2001 [ Section 174 (i) ] regarding your dealings with Elected Councillors and Council officials. To date 5 councillors and 3 Tipperary Co. Council. officials have failed to reply to me in writing.
Suffice to state that to date, shamefully, two months after the questions were initially asked, I still, today, together with my readers, await even one satisfactory, honest or candid answer, in my dealings regarding this unpalatable matter.
There now appear to be no single person within Tipperary Co. Council, led by Mr Joe MacGrath CE that can conduct, with any real authority, the moral principles that should govern the behaviour or activity of Council officials or Locally Elected Representatives.
Readers will be aware that we received a prompt email from Mr Ger Walsh, Tipperary Co. Council, latter former Ethics Registrar, on the 9th of September last, informing us that “the position of Ethics Registrar has been re-assigned to Mr. David Coleman, Administrative Officer, Corporate Services for the period 1st June 2020 until 31st May 2022” .
Two days ago September 23rd we received a reply from Mr. David Coleman.
Damage already caused to the 1846 Great Famine Double Ditch by Tipperary County Council, with the acceptance of local TD’s and Thurles Municipal District Council.
His email communication reads as follows:-
Sent by Coleman, David david.coleman@tipperarycoco.ie. Time 14:57 to me and dated 23/9/2020. “Dear Mr. Willoughby, I am replying to your complaint regarding three queries you raised with the 9 elected members of Thurles Municipal District Council, of which 2 replied to you. (Personal note: The two who replied were Cllr. Mr Sean Ryan and Cllr. Mr Seamus Hanifin.)
The appropriate response in the case of your queries should come from the Thurles Municipal District Executive, ie the District Manager or the District Administrator.
I understand that you have received a reply to your queries from the Acting District Manager.
Going forward, similar queries should be sent to the District Administrator.
The seven elected members have been contacted in terms of their having regard to and be guided by the Code of Conduct.
I must point out, however, that it is a matter for each elected representative to determine how they deal with their electronic communications, while being cognizant of the Code of Conduct.
Yours Sincerely David Coleman, (Ethics Registrar, Corporate Services.)”
We will be replying to Mr. David Coleman’s communication in the coming days; the reply to be made public.
History is NOT there for you to like or dislike. It is there for you to learn from and if it offends you, even better. Because then you are less likely to repeat it. It’s not yours to ERASE. It belongs to all of us.
According to Tipperary County Council’s online policy statement on heritage, the role of their Heritage Office is, “To promote awareness and appreciation of our rich heritage and to protect and enhance it for future generations”. View HERE.
According to the same Tipperary County Council’s online policy statement on planning the purpose of the Planning Section is “To ensure the protection of the natural built heritage and amenity of the county”. View HERE.
One would believe that same policies should allow for Tipperary dwellers to feel safe, same policies having been signed off on by Tipperary Chief Executive Mr Joe MacGrath. Alas, eight weeks on and no direct written communication from the same Mr MacGrath or his nominee Mr Marcus O’Connor.
We also await communication from the recently re-assigned Ethics Registrar, Mr. David Coleman, Administrative Officer, Corporate Services, (Tel: 0761 065000) with regards to the failure by the above named local councillors to follow their required Code of Conduct.
We gather from the reply by Ms Janice Gardiner or Mr. Eamon Lonergan, (we are unsure of the actual author – View HERE), that it is the full intention of Tipperary Co. Council to destroy the historic 1846 Thurles “Double Ditch”.
Both have stated that the Double Ditch does not exist, but of course it does and its stone clad sides can be viewed with the naked eye. So can be viewed the one step, stone, stile at one end, latter destroyed by Tipperary Co. Co. and the swinging rotary gate at the other end, erected by Tipperary Co. Co.. Do watch the video above again.
Our video shown above indicates clearly; as you enter from the College Lane side of the Double Ditch, in Kickham Street, the abject failure by local politicians to attract any industry into Thurles over the past 30 years. The failure to generate even one long term job, can be observed simply by viewing the abundance of graffiti on the walls of an area; same having such a strong bearing and mutual relationship with our past local history.
Tipperary Co. Council has over the years eradicated much of the town’s history. Just two examples are the Moat and Moat Lane and in more recent years Hickey’s pub (Griffins Shop). In both cases using rate payer’s money back then to build the Parnell Street car park and more recently, (yet to open), the new car park. In turn both these tax payer funded projects are being used to generate further taxes, laughably at the expense of the very same tax payers who funded them in the first place; result the destruction of the town centre, through parking charges.
We are now aware, sadly, that some of our local elected representatives and county council officials are faithless; treacherous and deceitful, showing a willingness to act dishonestly, by failing to communicate directly with those who elected them and who pay their wages.
This deceit is further borne out by a communication from Ms Josepha Madigan TD, former caretaker Minister for Heritage, who stated, and I quote, “So far as we understand, there is no direct impact on the “Double Ditch” from any current development. The Department is a statutory consultee in the planning and development process, but our role in this regard is to respond to particular development proposals as referred to us by the planning authority.” Of course we now know that the ‘statutory consultee’ appears to have been misinformed by the “planning authority” as were the staff who provided the Environmental Impact Assessment Screening Report and those involved in the conjuring up of the Archaeological Impact Statement.
Perhaps the time has come for a locally-led task force for Thurles, akin to that same recently appointed force in Tipperary Town.
The Thurles Double Ditch, running from College Green, Thurles to the Mill Road in Thurles, viewed onGoogleSatellite Maps which ‘Roads Capital Section’ says “DOES NOT EXIST”. You can view this map HERE
Yesterday, after almost 8 weeks, the Thurles Municipal District Council has eventually replied to my 3 questions. We remain unsure who actually replied since the email, hereunder, suggests two authors. Not that authors matter since the reply is fallacious, imprecise and dare I say possibly felonious.
Questions asked; as if anyone needed reminding, were:- (1). Will the planned Thurles inner relief road impinge, in a negative way, on the 1846 Thurles “Double Ditch”, which has been a Right of Way and a Mass Path for almost 175 years and which is the property of the people of Thurles and a national monument? (2). What are the future plans for the 1798 memorial statue [The Stone Man], first erected in Liberty Square, Thurles in 1900, and still standing there, awaiting possible removal prior to the new upgrade? Note: [We recently published replies on this matter HERE.] (3). Which Municipal District Councillor is responsible for delaying the Thurles Recycling Civic Amenity, which this town so badly needs?
I refer to your email communication sent to Mr. Joe MacGrath, Chief Executive and the Thurles Municipal District Councillors in relation to a number of queries concerning the Thurles Municipal District and advise that the matters were forwarded to myself as District Manager, consideration and direct reply.
Response to queries as follows: Q.1.Response received from the Roads Capital Section.
Tipperary County Council has reviewed all documentation relating to the planning aspects of the Thurles Inner Relief Road Project and can find no reference to the existence of the feature/path/monument you describe. The relevant reference documents/databases in this instance are:
TCC Planning GIS
Department of Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht – Historic Environment Map Viewer
National Monuments Service – Record of Monuments and Places (RMP)
National Monuments Service Archive Unit – Sites & Monuments Record Archive (SMR)
An Bord Pleanala Report PL79.JP0024
2013 EIA Screening Report
2013 Archaeological Impact Statement
These documents/databases contain no reference to a “Double Ditch”.
Q.2. 1798 Memorial Statue – there are no plans for this monument and it will stay in place during upcoming construction works.
Q.3.Thurles Recycling Civic Amenity – No Municipal District Councillor is responsible for delaying the provision of a Civic Amenity site in Thurles. The provision of a Civic Amenity site in any town is subject to availability of funding from the Department.
Yours faithfully, Mr. Eamon Lonergan, Acting District Manager, Thurles Municipal District.
Email Message Ends
My same-day-reply to Ms Janice Gardiner, bore the following message:- George Willoughbygeorge.willo@gmail.com 00:06 to Janice
To: Ms Janice Gardiner, Madam, Thank you for your communication via Mr Eamon Lonergan. For the moment please view this link http://www.thurles.info/2020/09/16/more-news-on-efforts-to-destroy-thurles-heritage/ Keep in mind that in November of last year (2019) I asked Ms Róisin O Grady(Heritage Officer and Creative Ireland Coordinator) walking on the ‘Double Ditch’to have the area declared a National monument. I now believe it is perfectly fair for me to believe that she has been prevented from achieving this goal by Tipp. Co. Council officialdom. So we must continue to ask questions and seek the truth.
Yours sincerely George Willoughby
Email Message Ends
We have constantly discussed the waste of Tax and Rate payers money by Tipperary Co. Council and we now ask Ms Gardiner, as Thurles Municipal District Manager, to request that any fees paid to or generated by: (1) An Bord Pleanala Report PL79.JP00242013. (2) Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Screening Report2013. (3) Archaeological Impact Statement; be immediately refunded to Thurles Municipal District, since all three reports forwarded by them were complete works of fiction or deliberately influenced by officialdom to deceive the people of Thurles town.
I now request copies of all 3 reports to be sent directly to me, in the knowledge that there is a charge for such copies, which I will pay for immediately on receipt.
Please inform the Roads Capital Section; Mr Eamon Lonergan; Mr Marcus O’Connor and Mr Joe MacGrath, that if so much as one blade of grass is touched on the Thurles Double Ditch; costs incurred courtesy of the National Monuments Service will be greater than the compensation cases being defended currently by Tipp. Co. Council; which I understand are estimated at €22 million Euros, if same cases are upheld by the courts.
Warning: The content printed hereunder may be upsettingto some of our readers.
“A man of the name of Leahey died [townsland of Moyny, (Maoiní Láir)] in the parish of Dromdaleague (Co. Cork) about a fortnight ago; his wife and two children remained in the house until the putrescent exhalations from the body drove them from their companionship with the dead; in a day or two after, some persons in passing the man’s cabin, had their attention attracted by a loud snarling, and on entering, found the gnawed and mangled skeleton of Leahey contended for by hungry dogs.” Source: Cork Southern Reporter, of Jan. 26th 1847.
“I started for Ballydehob, (Coastal Village Co. Cork) and learned upon the road that we should come to a hut or cabin in the parish of Aghadown, (Murrahin South, Co. Cork)on the property of Mr Long, where four people had lain dead for six days; and, upon arriving at the hut, the abode of Tim Harrington, we found this to be true; for there lay the four bodies and a fifth was passing to the same bourne. On hearing our voices, the sinking man made an effort to reach the door, and ask for drink or fire; he fell in the doorway; there, in all probability to die; as the living cannot be prevailed to assist in the interments, for fear of taking the fever.” Source: Illustrated London News – Saturday February 13th 1847.
“Deaths here are daily increasing. Dr. Donovan and I are, just this moment, after returning from the village of South Reen, (Co. Cork) where we had to bury a body ourselves that was eleven days dead; and where do you think? In a kitchen garden. We had to dig the ground, or rather the hole, ourselves; no one would come near us, the smell was so intolerable. We are half-dead from the work lately imposed on us.” Source: Illustrated London News – Saturday February 13th 1847.
One hundred and forty have died in the Skibbereen Workhouse in one month; eight have died in one day! And Mr McCarthy Downing states that“They came into the house merely and solely for the purpose of getting a coffin.” Source: The Illustrated London News January 16th 1847.
My Question Was: “Will the planned Thurles inner relief road impinge, in a negative way, on the 1846 Thurles “Double Ditch”, which has been a right of way and a Mass Path for almost 175 years and which is the property of the people of Thurles and a National Monument?”
The map shown above; Cllr. Mr Michaél Lowry (Lowry Team) informed me verbally that the above map was only “drawn up to purchase land”
I am now asking the people of Thurles to look carefully at the map shown above, latter supplied by Tipperary County Council themselves. Find the word “Start” (Pink colour on map above) and travel in a straight direct line to the word “Finish”. Is there something I am missing or are the 3 straight lines representing the “Double Ditch” shown on THEIR map, being dissected by the proposed inner relief road?
Then ask why Co. Council Officials and some County Councillors, elected by you the public, are choosing to NOT reply to questions over an almost eight week period.
Here in the town of Thurles, Co. Tipperary, the situation during the Great Famine 1845 – 1849 was totally different to the source extracts posted above, thanks mainly to the Thurles Relief Committee made up of responsible business people and Clergy of both denominations; all working closely together to defeat a 19th century pandemic of a somewhat different nature than the one being experienced today.
No memorial walls have been built to honour the famine committee, and no streets in Thurles town has been named after any one of them, but here we dare to name men of great integrity and compassion, hereunder:-
Thurles Famine Food Committee 1845 – 1847
Nicholas V. Maher MP, [Member of Parliament and Justice of the Peace, (Chairman)]; Revd. Wm. Barron (P. P., Thurles); Revd. Dr Henry Cotton, [C. of I. Rector, Thurles (Vice Chairman)]; Francis O’Brien Esq. (Justice of the Peace); Revd. Wm. Baker(C. of I. Curate); Revd. Martin Laffan(C.C. Thurles); Revd. D. K. Lanigan(C.C. Thurles); Revd. Thomas O’Connor(President St. Patricks College Thurles); Robert C. Knaggs Esq. [Medical Doctor (Secretary)]; Revd. Patrick Leahy, (Professor, St. Patricks College Thurles); Joshua Lester Esq; John Gore Jones R. M. (Magistrate); John Brachan Esq.; Alfred Gahan Esq. (Civil Engineer), James B Kennedy, (Thurles Board of Guardians Secretary).
Archdeacon Revd. Dr. Henry Cotton, on behalf of the above named Thurles committee sent a final report from Thurles to the then British Authorities in Dublin, following the closure of the committee in 1847, by the British authorities.
In a part of that final report, he writes:- “The committee constituted by the Lieutenant of the County, in March last (1846) pursuant to the directions of the Act 10 Vic. Chap 7 commenced its labours immediately and continued them with a steady perseverance of men who were conscious of the magnitude of the task imposed on them. The greatest harmony prevailed among the members. The same spirit animated both Protestant and Roman Catholic, all appeared to remember that poverty and misery know no distinction of sect and that it was the duty of all to unite in alleviating that calamity which providence had thought fit to send upon our land. Nor can we admit that the amount of relief (though great) was adequate to the overwhelming mass of destruction which covered the land. But at all events we have the happiness of feeling assured that innumerable lives were saved by the prompt and benevolent exertion made; and although many of our poor have fallen under the complicated privations of the last twelve months, we of this district have mercifully been spared those heart rending scenes of death from actual starvation which are said to have occurred in other parts of the country.”
Suffice is to state, the above named committee instigated and funded the building of the “Double Ditch“, granting wages of 8 old pence per day to men and boys, who were then able to put bread into the mouths of their starving Thurles families.
This is the same “Double Ditch” that I believe Tipperary County Council, are anxious to demolish, using taxpayers money.
This evening I received a long overdue email reply from the email address of Ms Janice Gardiner(Tipperary Co. Council); the contents of which have now confirmed my worst fears. But pecularly, while it was sent by Ms Gardiner, it is signed by one, Mr. Eamon Lonergan, latter Acting District Manager, Thurles, Municipal District. (Perhaps a paste and copy error, but nevertheless confusing.) In the interests of “transparency, integrity, conduct andconcern for the public interest,” the details of Ms Gardiner’s email of this evening will be published and dealt with publicly over the coming days.
“We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” Extract from “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” by author J.K. Rowling, OBE, FRSL.
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