Mr Ryan’s body was recovered almost two years after he had been reported missing, on June 3, 2011, after he left the farm outside Tipperary town and failed to turn up to his place of employment.

Mr Ryan during his lifetime had worked as a lorry driver and also a part-time Disc Jockey at weekends and was well known across South Tipperary by the stage-name, “Mr Moonlight.”

His removal to St John the Baptist Church, Cashel, took place at 7.30pm this evening and his funeral Mass will take place tomorrow, Monday 20th May, at 12.00 noon.

Gardaí launched an immediate murder enquiry following a post mortem on Mr Ryan’s remains.

It is understood that a middle-aged man from Tipperary is currently at the centre of Garda inquiries regarding his untimely death.

First Communion is traditionally an important religious ceremony for Roman Catholic families.  Among those raised in the Catholic tradition, Holy Communion is the third sacrament received from seven sacraments.

The social mission of First Communion is a rite of passage leading to Confirmation and a tradition surrounding same usually include large family gatherings and this was indeed evident in Thurles Cathedral yesterday, with only standing room available for this most joyous of Christian annual events.

Thurles Cathedral Of The Assumption

The Cathedral of the Assumption stands on a site which has ecclesiastical associations since the beginning of the 14th century when a Carmelite Priory was established in Thurles.

About the year 1730 a humble thatched chapel was erected in the vicinity of the former priory, courtesy of the generosity and goodwill of the local Mathew family.  For the next eighty years this simple structure would serve the needs of a poor yet devout Roman Catholic Community.

During the years C.1804 -1807, at a cost of over (Stg) £10,000.00, Archbishop Thomas Bray replaced the thatched chapel with the very impressive “Big Chapel,” of Thurles. Though not formally constituted a Cathedral, this Big Chapel served as the Mother Church to the Archdiocese until, in September 1862, Archbishop Dr Patrick Leahy (Archbishop of Cashel & Emly from 1857 until 1875.) made a decision to substantially renovate and upgrade the then existing building.

The entire cost of the finished project amounted to some (Stg) £30,000.00, with the final design taken in good part from the Cathedral of Pisa in Italy.

Dr. J.Teeling                                      Directions

Thurles born Chief Executive of ISME, Mr Mark Fielding, reports:

This year’s speaker and worthy recipient of the SME Medal, is Dr. John Teeling, who will be guest speaker at this year’s Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) AGM Lunch.

A consistent entrepreneur and a leading pioneer of Irish industry, Dr. Teeling is one of Ireland’s most entertaining and knowledgeable speakers, renowned for “telling it as it really is.”  He is also the founder and chairman of Petrel Resources, Minco, African Gold, Persian Gold, West African Diamonds and Botswana Diamonds, latter all listed on the London Stock Exchange.

An educator at UCD, where he lectured in Business Administration for 20 year, Dr. Teeling is also a former director of Kenmare Resources and a former director of Arcon.  As the founder and Chairman of Cooley Distillery, he oversaw its sale to ‘Jim Beam,’ in 2011 for in excess of  €70 million.

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association’s AGM Lunch will take place on Friday 31st May 2013 in The Burlington Hotel, Dublin 4, beginning at 12.30 p.m. sharp. As usual there will be plenty to discuss and friends to meet and indeed this is one business event not to be missed.

Cost: Individual Places are €55.00 each and Tables of 10 persons are available for €500.

Contact: MARK FIELDING, ISME, Tel: 00353-16622755 or Email info@isme.ie

(Lyrics by Hal David 1966.)

The Industrial Development Authority (IDA), smugly and at every possible media opportunity, boasts of its success in achieving strong net job performance, with 11,766 jobs created in client companies, mainly through foreign direct investment.

In first place, with some 54%, or 6,389 jobs created, was Co Dublin, while  in second place was Co Cork, achieving some 1,979 similar job replacements during the same twelve month period.

Here in the County of Tipperary, the South of the county saw a mere ten jobs put in place, ( Fifth from bottom of the overall list, ) while in North Tipp (Bottom of this list, ) saw not even one single job created, during this same period.

These figures have not been concocted by me, but were provided courtesy of the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mr Richard Bruton, supplied in a written reply to Donegal Fine Gael Deputy Joe McHugh.

Meanwhile, up to 20% more cruise liners are to dock in Dublin this year, providing a boost to this city’s economy. Some 106 cruise ships are scheduled to stop off at Dublin Port in 2013, 18 more than last year. Tourism Minister Leo Varadkar has described the event as a highlight of  “The Gathering,” latter as you will be aware is a year of celebrations aimed at getting Ireland’s Diaspora and other tourists to visit Dublin only.

This latter information is provided by Dublin Port, which has also given more details on a planned major redevelopment at Alexandra Basin and after Transport Minister Mr Leo Varadkar launched the Dublin Port Company’s Master Plan 2012-40, which sets out a framework for this long-term development of Ireland’s largest and most important port. Implementing this plan we, here in Tipperary, are told it will cost in excess of €600m over the next 30 years.

On Sunday September 15th, more than 30 different types of aircraft, including military, vintage and large commercial carriers, will fly as low as 1,100 feet for “FlightFest,” an Irish Aviation Authority and Dublin City Council’s joint venture. Up to a quarter of a million people are expected to line the quays along the River Liffey for this event. This sustained flypast through the capital will start at 2.00pm and take two hours to complete, with flights arriving at five-minute intervals. This will provide the people of Dublin, and those visiting the city, with an opportunity to see, at close hand, some of the best aircraft in the world, while contributing to attracting domestic and international tourists to where?  Yes Dublin.

Today, the voluntary tourism group Hidden Tipperary received their annual request from CIE Tours International, seeking the admission rates for the year 2014 for St Mary’s Famine Museum.  Included in this emailed request comes the statement, and I quote; “The 2012 season was a strong one for CIE Tours International.  Our overall numbers increased significantly, resulting in more departures and a higher average number of passengers on each departure.  Once again our plan is to continue to increase our volume of business into 2014.  We must remain conscious of keeping our brochure selling prices as competitive as possible to allow us increase our passenger volume and for us to do this in 2014 we would ask for all our suppliers to hold their 2013 rates into 2014.”

This comes from a transport umbrella organisation that increased their rail fare price, from Thurles to Monasterevin, by over 100% in April 2011 last and from an organisation whose International tours have never visited Thurles in, at least, the last 10 years. (Note: Thurles.Info emailed Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Mr Leo Varadkar T.D. regarding this price increase in 2011 and as expected we received no reply.) So where is the Derrynaflan Hoard and other stolen Tipperary treasures which would attract some of CIE Tours International bus tour business? Correct again, it is in Dublin.

Today we know why rail fares were increased. The contract has now been signed for the start of the new Luas Cross City line and someone, least likely to benifit, must contribute to pay for Dublin’s rising economic activity. Work begins almost immediately on this 5.6 kilometre stretch from the Green line at St. Stephens Green to Broombridge, connecting it with the Red Line.  Some 40 million people a year take the Luas in Dublin presently and this new connection will now add another ten million to that number. Meanwhile back home here in Thurles the potholes grow daily larger each day and the town becomes more and more suffocated by large vehicles, due to the failure to progress the long awaited Thurles By-Pass.

Today a leading outsourcing company Capita has announced plans to employ 800 new staff, thus doubling its existing workforce in Dublin. The Finance Minister Mr Michael Noonan stated; “It adds to what has been happening in Dublin recently and I think it’s the start of something that will create quite a buzz.”  

Expect no “Buzz,” from elected Tipperary Fine Gael and Labour Oireachtas representatives, who continue to remain silent on the obvious development issues outlined above, but worst of all, expect no “whimper of discontent” either, from Tipperary taxpayers and those presently unemployed, for what can only be described as a deliberate and systematic destruction of Co Tipperary, by those who would now rule over us.

It is understood that both these Garda representative bodies are cautiously welcoming the Labour Relations Commission’s new deal on premium payments and allowances, which are to remain untouched. Instead Gardaí will in return undertake 30 hours of free overtime.

This required GRA ballot could take up to six weeks to finalize, which immediately raises the question of whether the July1st deadline set down by the government for achieving necessary savings, can be now met.

The GRA’s Central Executive Committee have stated that these savings will now have a direct benefit to the State and will minimise the impact on an already stretched police service.

In April last Justice Minister Alan Shatter announced he would delay hiring more Gardaí, following the then rejection by unions of Crokepark 2, stating that without an agreement on the public-service pay deal, he would have no funds to pay for new recruitment.

The Minister had hinted earlier that he was to begin a new enrolment campaign towards the end of this year and whether this extra recruitment and funding will now emerge will be of much interest to the economy of Templemore, Thurles, which is home to the Garda  Training College.

Earlier this year the General Secretary of the Association of Garda Superintendents had warned that the strength of the Garda force was at a critically low level. Superintendent Pat McCabe used the AGSI annual conference to call for Garda recruitment to begin again as soon as physically & financially possible.

Will these extra hours, if agreed, remove the need for new recruitment?

Canadian Astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield, whose beautiful 26 year old daughter, Kristin, presently attends Trinity College, Dublin, has bid farewell to the International Space Station, by making a cover version of David Bowie’s Space Oddity & posting numerous photographs, taken from space, of Ireland, as his successful five-month mission comes to an end.

Commander Hadfield, NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn and Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko boarded their Soyuz capsule and undocked from the station at 7:08 p.m. for a planned landing on the Central Asian steppes of Kazakhstan at 10:31 p.m.

We wish you a safe landing & welcome home Commander.

The survey was called the “Down Survey” by Petty, because the results were set down in maps; ‘admeasurement down,’ was the term used and is referred to by that name in Petty’s own last Will and Testament.

The Barony of Eligurty ( Eliogurty ) As Described By William Petty’s Survey

We accompt to be a third part meadow ground and arable lands but much spent by tillage, another part there of woody, heathy pasture, Turbarries, pastureable bogg and mountaine and the other third part to be deep unprofitable curraghs or shrubby bogg, much of the said unprofitable lands being mixed with meadows, arable and pasture lands. In this halfe baronye are seaven castles and three stone houses all wanting repaire, besides the castles and stone houses which within Thurles are returned by themselves. There are likewise the castle and stumpts hereafter mentioned out of all repaire. In this halfe barony runneth the river of Shewer and severall other rivoletts and brookes. The said river of Shewer springeth out of the mountaine called Baneduffe on the East side, and from thence runneth southwards nyne or ten myles to Noddstowne in the Barony of Middlethird. There are upon this river two stone bridges vizt: The one in Thurles and the other in Hollycrosse; on the North side of the said mountaine of Baneduff springeth the river Feorr and runneth from thence foure or five miles eastwards of this barony until it meets the Barony of Upper Ossory in the County of Kilkenny.

This Down Survey Project has now brought together for the first time in over 300 years, all surviving maps, same being digitised and made available as a truly valuable public on-line computer resource and lovers of history can access this new website by simply clicking HERE

The armies of the English Commonwealth, commanded then by Oliver Cromwell, had emerged victorious and began immediately to undertake an ambitious project of social engineering, underpinned by a massive transfer of this landownership from Irish Catholics to English Protestants. To allow this to happen, the land had to be accurately surveyed and mapped, a task overseen by the surgeon-general of the English army, William Petty, (1623-1687,).

Copies of these maps have survived in dozens of libraries and archives throughout Ireland, Britain as well as in the National Library of France.  This is thanks partially to several of the manuscript and other works in the collection of Mr. James Weale, latter who died in 1838, being purchased through the enlightened and liberal intervention of Sir Robert Peel, latter who entered politics in 1809, at the young age of 21, as MP for the Irish Rotten Pocket Borough of Cashel, here in County Tipperary and visited by Queen Elizabeth II in May 2011.

Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet ( 5th February 1788 – 2nd July 1850 ) was a British Conservative statesman, who later went on to serve as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from ( 10th December 1834 to 8th April 1835 ) and also from ( 30th August 1841 to 29th June 1846 ).

While he was Home Secretary, Robert Peel helped create the modern concept of our modern day police force, leading to officers being known as “Bobbies” (In England) and “Peelers” (In Ireland). This was also the same Prime Minister Robert Peel who was to appoint a brilliant young man of unimpeachable integrity, named Charles Edward Trevelyan, to oversee relief operations during the Great Famine period in Ireland. The latter would become the single most important British administrator during the Great Famine years, here in Ireland.

Irish Simplified Tax Return For 2013

An employee working on the Property Tax Helpline has been suspended, amid allegations of unauthorised use of credit cards according to Breaking News.ie

The employee, a member of staff at Cork-based Abtran appears to have unnecessarily asked some 11 callers for their credit card numbers, however it is understood no credit card holder suffered any financial loss. It is understood however that the individual involved did attempt to effect transactions but failed to do so.

The Revenue Commissioners gave this contract for running the Property Tax Helpline to a private call centre, despite opposition from its own civil servants. Revenue awarded a one-year contract to the Cork-based company Abtran, following  its previous role in processing College Grant Applications. (We do not know how much the latter cost taxpayers.)

Lower paid civil servants had argued that it was a waste of public money to outsource this work, when there was already enough staff  in the public service to undertake same, however Revenue insisted it did not have enough available staff. It claimed that this private call centre gave it the best chance of responding to the exceptional pressures expected during the initial roll-out of this tax.

Abtran are supplying some 40 staff, who deal with daily calls from the 1.6 million liable households, while complex enquiries are being  passed directly on to current Revenue employees.

The cost to Revenue is based on how many calls Abtran handles daily, but expectations are that the cost to taxpayers will total €4.9m.

Following these allegations of unauthorised use of credit cards, Gardaí & the Data Protection Commissioner have now been informed.

Anybody with concerns can call a dedicated Revenue Tel number, 1890-22-63-36, from 9.00am today.

The original decision to close the Erin Foods Factory came about after a group-wide review by the then parent company, Premier Foods, in November 2007, to consolidate the manufacturing of a number of its key brands. The plant closed the following June with the loss of 95 jobs.

Thurles Town Council had granted initial permission for the planned development on September 13th last year, subject to 19 conditions to the original plans submitted, which related mainly to the size of the property and the required modifications to various road and access routes.

Baycross Developments Limited had put forward the plans for the demolition of the old Erin Foods factory, replacing it with a retail development which had included a Fast Food drive-through outlet, a Supermarket, Restaurant, two ESB Substations, Vehicular and Pedestrian access, a Cycle Track, the provision of two Roundabouts and other associated development works on the Slievenamon Road, Clongour, Thurles Town Parks area of the town.

The initial plans had attracted considerable local opposition from the Thurles’ business community, with concerns that such a large-scale complex proposed, would delete footfall from Liberty Sq, Thurles, with many understandably fearing that this new complex would now destroy the character and commercial activity, once so vibrant in the town centre.

Over a period spanning some 15 years to date, Thurles has lost some 1,700 jobs due to factory and other business closures, with none of these jobs having been replaced to-date .

Two communications sent recently by the tourism group Hidden Tipperary, to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mr Richard Bruton, in the hope of generating serious debate on the current jobless plight of Thurles, have as yet only received standard token acknowledgements.

Acknowledgement received:
Dear Mr Willoughby,

I wish to acknowledge receipt of your email to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mr Richard Bruton TD.
I will bring your correspondence to the Minister’s attention at the earliest opportunity.

Yours sincerely
Helen Pyke.
Minister Bruton’s Office.

Derrynaflan Hoard

Meanwhile the decision required to seek the repatriation of the Derrynaflan Hoard back to its home here in Thurles Co.Tipperary, now remains shrouded in secrecy. No information to-date has been made available to the public confirming an earlier communications from Noel Coonan TD, (Dated April 15th. last ) which stated that the matter would be decided by North Tipperary Co Council and Thurles Town Council, following the disclosure of  ‘imaginary meetings,’ some two weeks previous.

It would appear, confirmed by local press reports, that our current Tipperary elected representatives are only interested in individual political point scoring, continuous waffling and the further enhancement of a political culture that in no way helps to expand mature public interest amongst their voting public.

This supercilious self-importance must immediately be haulted and remember you the voting public can immobilize this unashamed arrogance, beginning at the next local elections.

Nora Owen, Michael Lowry, Michael Noonan, & Former Taoiseach John Bruton visiting Thurles in better times.

An Taoiseach Enda Kenny has once again ruled out a request to the Moriarty Tribunal to examine the financial transactions of Independent North Tipperary TD Michael Lowry, following the recent controversy that has become publicly labelled “The Lowry Tapes.”

The Lowry Tape Narrative

On Feb 24th, the Sunday Independent published a transcript of a phone conversation that reportedly took place between North Tipperary TD Mr Michael Lowry and a Northern Ireland land agent, Mr Kevin Phelan. The reported taped conversation which was recorded from a date back in 2004, had been recorded without Mr Lowry’s knowledge and during a time when the Moriarty Tribunal was investigating Mr Lowry’s financial relationship with a businessman Mr Denis O’Brien.

This facet of the tribunal were then enquiring into whether Mr Lowry had interfered in the awarding of a second mobile phone licence in 1995, while he then served as Minister for Communications in a Fine Gael led government. Land agent Mr Kevin Phelan, who appears to have been involved with both business men, refused to travel from his home in Northern Ireland, to give requested evidence at this enquiry.

Early in 2013, following a disagreement with Mr Lowry, Mr Phelan reportedly conveyed this taped conversation to a journalist M/s Elaine Byrne, which the former claimed was this same recorded phone conversation, the transcript of which was later published by the Sunday Independent.

A recording of the Independent TD discussing a sum of £250,000 ( Sterling ) now emerged on this tape recording, released after the tribunal had already issued its final report.

Labour Party TD Kevin Humphreys who works for the constituency of Dublin South East, believes that the present Government, of which he is a member, should now ask the Moriarty Tribunal if it had already assessed this sum referred or if this was new money, not previously examined.  While Mr Kenny said he understood fully Mr Humphrey’s concerns, he would not reopen the tribunal to deal with this new issue, stating that Gardaí were examining it, but it wasn’t for him to comment further or indeed reopen the Tribunal in question.

The present Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan stated last month that detectives must fully engage with “a key witness,” before a decision could be taken regarding whether Mr Lowry had indeed any case to answer.

Deputy Lowry has claimed that the payment discussed in this taped conversation, was indeed fully tax compliant.

Photo courtesy G.Willoughby