Thurles Information

Food Alert – Listeria monocytogenes.

FSAI warn of recall of specific batches of various French Brie (Cheese) products due to the presence of Listeria monocytogenes.

Alert Summary dated Friday, June 19th 2026.

Category 1: For Action
Alert Notification: 2026.34
Product Identification: Please see table below for product details.
Batch Code: Please see table below for use-by dates.

Message: The below batches of Dunnes Stores Velvety & Mild French Brie and Traditional Cheese Company French Brie is being recalled due to the presence of Listeria monocytogenes.

Recall notices will be displayed at point-of-sale.

Product Name.	Pack Size.	Use-by dates.
Dunnes Stores Velvety & Mild French Brie.	170g.	10/07/2026. 16/07/2026. 17/07/2026.
Traditional Cheese Company French Brie.	160g.	17/07/2026.

Nature Of Danger: Symptoms of Listeria monocytogenes infection can include mild flu-like symptoms, or gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. In rare cases, the infection can be more severe, causing serious complications. Some people are more vulnerable to Listeria monocytogenes infections, including pregnant women, babies, and people with weakened immune systems, including the elderly. The incubation period (time between initial infection and first symptoms appearing) is on average 3 weeks but can range between 3 and 70 days.

Action Required: Manufacturers, Wholesalers, Distributors, Caterers & Retailers:–

Retailers: Same are requested to remove the implicated batches from sale and display recall notices at point-of-sale.
Wholesalers / Distributors: Same are requested to contact their affected customers and recall the implicated batches and provide a point-of-sale recall notice to their retailer customers.
Consumers: Consumers are advised not to eat the implicated batches.

Thurles Special Olympics Basketball Club – 2025/26 Season Concludes.

Club Chairperson Mr Enda Bourke (Secretary) Reports:-

Thurles Special Olympics Basketball Club 2025/26 season concluded with final competitions at the Presentation Sports Hall on Wednesday June 10th.
Medals were presented to the athletes; concluding another successful campaign and the Chairman thanked the athletes for their dedication to training during the year and all the families and carers who support the athletes every week, along with a great group of volunteers.

On Tuesday 16th, Thurles Golf Club hosted our Club, with the Golf Club Professional, Mr Raymond Ryan giving the athletes a clinic on ball striking and putting. Afterwards, the athletes and their families were treated to refreshments in the Clubhouse, courtesy of Thurles Golf Club.

A big thank you to all who supported Thurles Special Olympics Basketball Club during the past year and we look forward to next season, which will commence at the end of September 2026.

Finally, we remember with sadness the family of Ms Mary Long, a long-time member of our Club, who passed away recently. May Mary rest in peace.

Ireland Steps Up Immigration Enforcement As South Africa Charter Flight & IPAS Figures Confirmed.

Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Mr Jim O’Callaghan has confirmed that 42 South African nationals were removed from the State on a charter deportation flight this week.
The flight departed Dublin Airport at 3.30pm on Thursday, June 18th 2026, and landed in Johannesburg at 4.00am Irish time, this morning Friday, June 19th.

Those removed were 9 men, 18 women and 15 children. The Department confirmed that all children were travelling as part of family units.
The operation was the fourth deportation charter flight carried out so far in 2026. Three earlier charter operations this year removed 130 people from the State, including 67 EU citizens removed on grounds of criminality.
This follows six charter operations in 2025, during which 205 people were removed from Ireland. Of these, 182 were people subject to deportation orders, while 23 EU nationals were removed under Removal Orders.
The aircraft for the latest South Africa operation was provided by Air Partner Ltd at a cost of €735,000, excluding VAT, for a return flight. The Department said the total cost of the operation is not yet available, as the invoicing process has not been completed.

Minister O’Callaghan said Ireland’s immigration system must be “rules based and robust”, adding that the enforcement of deportation orders is necessary for the system to work effectively and to maintain public confidence.
He also stressed that the vast majority of South African nationals living in Ireland are legally resident and make a positive contribution to society. He thanked An Garda Síochána and officials from his department for their work in carrying out what he described as complex operations.

The Department has also confirmed a significant increase in deportation orders in recent years. In 2025, 4,700 deportation orders were signed, a 96% increase on 2024. Up to June 12th 2026, a further 2,108 deportation orders had been signed.
Departures from the State have also increased. In 2024, 1,122 people left Ireland through enforced deportation, voluntary return or other mechanisms. In 2025, that figure rose to 2,111, an increase of 88%. Up to June 12th, 2026, 1,034 people had departed through these pathways.

However, voluntary return remains the Department’s preferred method for removing people who have no legal status in the State, including those refused international protection. In 2024, 934 people availed of voluntary return. That increased to 1,616 in 2025, while 712 people had used the voluntary return process up to June 12th, 2026.

Separately, new figures show there have been 27 critical incidents at International Protection Accommodation Service centres so far this year.
Minister O’Callaghan confirmed the figure in a written Dáil reply to Independent Ireland. The 27 critical incidents recorded to date in 2026 compare with 62 in all of 2025, 55 in 2024, 50 in 2023, 37 in 2022 and 14 in 2021.
The Minister said the figures should be viewed in the context of the large increase in the number of people living in IPAS accommodation. Current resident numbers are approximately 33,000 across 305 centres, compared with just over 7,000 residents at the end of 2021.
Overall, 2,568 incidents have been recorded at IPAS centres so far this year, compared with 5,725 in 2025.
The Department said incidents in IPAS accommodation can range from general or minor issues, such as complaints about behaviour or noise, to critical incidents involving mental health, self-harm or the unexpected death of a resident.

Minister O’Callaghan said IPAS teams engage with centre management when incidents occur and that providers are expected to comply with incident response policies. He also said centre management maintain ongoing contact with local Gardaí and that An Garda Síochána are contacted where there are concerns about violence or criminal activity.

The Minister also confirmed that 1,909 warning letters have been issued to IPAS residents so far this year. This compares with 4,127 warning letters in 2025 and 3,170 in 2024.
There have also been 239 transfers between IPAS centres so far in 2026, compared with 544 transfers in 2025 and 521 in 2024.

In a separate Dáil response; Minister O’Callaghan said the Department’s allocation for IPAS accommodation in 2026 is €1.1 billion. This compares with spending of €1.27 billion in 2025.
He said this is the first time in five years that the budget for international protection accommodation and supports is lower than the previous year.

Further charter removal operations are expected to take place during 2026.

The Rose.

Lyrics: American singer-songwriter and actress Ms Amanda McBroom.
Vocals: American-Irish folk group The Kells recorded on their album “Celtic Echoes“.

The song hereunder is the much-loved ballad “The Rose,” with lyrics by the American singer-songwriter and actress Amanda McBroom. It is a song that speaks gently but powerfully about love, hope, and the courage to open the heart again.
This version is performed by the American-Irish folk group “The Kells“, whose warm harmonies and Celtic feeling bring a tender new colour to this song. It reminds us that even through darkness and silence, love can still bloom.
So grab a tea/coffee, sit, close your eyes and listen.

The Rose.

Some say, “Love. It is a river,
That drowns the tender reed”.
Some say, “Love. It is a razor,
That leaves your soul to bleed”.
Some say, “Love, It is a hunger,
An endless aching need”,
But I say, “Love, It is a flower,
That grows in the wild green fields,
Beneath the ancient Irish Sky,
Where the soft rain kisses the stone,
Through the longest winter nights,
A single bloom finds its way home”.
When the night has been too lonely,
And the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only,
For the lucky and the strong.
Just remember in the winter,
Far beneath the bitter snow,
Lies the seed that with the sun’s love,
In the spring becomes the rose.
It’s the heart afraid of breaking,
That never learns to dance.
It’s the dream afraid of waking,
That never takes the chance.
It’s the one who won’t be taken,
Who cannot seem to give,
And the soul afraid of dying,
That never learns to live.
Beneath the emerald hills of Erin,
Where the wild roses softly grow,
Through the mist and morning dew,
Hope awakens, soft and slow.
Like the shamrock in the meadow,
Or the fire in an old stone hearth,
Love will bloom when least expected,
And heal the weary heart.
It’s the heart afraid of breaking,
That never learns to dance.
It’s the dream afraid of waking,
That never takes the chance.
It’s the one who won’t be taken,
Who cannot seem to give,
And the soul afraid of dying,
That never learns to live.
When you feel the cold wind calling,
And the darkness closes in,
Hold on to the quiet promise,
That the light will come again.
For every thorn there is a petal,
Every winter has its spring,
Love is born in gentle courage,
And it makes the broken heart sing.
It’s the heart afraid of breaking,
That never learns to dance,
It’s the dream afraid of waking,
That never takes the chance.
So open wide your arms to living,
Let the wild rose bloom inside,
For the soul that dares to love fully,
Is the soul that truly comes alive.
Some say, “Love. It is a river,
But I say love it is the rose”.
The rose; in the Irish wind it grows.

END

A Dark Vote for Ireland: TDs Move To Remove A Last Safeguard For The Unborn.

The Dáil vote to advance Sinn Féin’s morally reprehensible Bill, abolishing the mandatory three-day waiting period before abortion, is a deeply troubling moment for Ireland.

While this was not yet the final passing of this law, it was nevertheless a decisive and shameful step. The Bill passed Second Stage by 86 votes to 70, with no abstentions recorded. It now moves to further scrutiny, but the message from a majority of TDs is already clear; one of the few remaining safeguards in Ireland’s abortion law is now in their sights.

The three-day wait was not an extreme measure. It was a modest pause. It recognised that abortion is not ordinary healthcare, but the ending of a developing human life. It gave space for reflection, for pressure to ease, and perhaps for a mother to receive support, hope and alternatives. Removing it makes abortion faster, easier and more routine.

This is Sinn Féin’s Bill.
Under Mary Lou McDonald’s leadership, a party that speaks constantly about housing, poverty, families and equality has chosen to put its political weight behind stripping away a safeguard for unborn children. That says a great deal about the moral direction of the party. Sinn Féin presents itself as the voice of ordinary Ireland, yet here it has helped lead an attack on the most voiceless human beings in the Irish State.

Will there be a referendum?
As things stand, probably not. The 2018 referendum removed constitutional protection for the unborn and handed the Oireachtas power to legislate for abortion. That means TDs can now change abortion law without returning to the people, unless a future constitutional amendment is proposed. This is exactly why voters were previously warned that legal protections could be steadily dismantled once the Eighth Amendment was gone.

The voting record also deserves close attention. Published breakdowns show no abstentions, but several TDs were absent or not recorded as voting. The absent/not-recorded names listed include, note; Tipperary TD Alan Kelly, Thomas Byrne, Niamh Smyth, Peter “Chap” Cleere, James O’Connor, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor, James Lawless, Conor D. McGuinness, Denise Mitchell, John Brady, Rose Conway-Walsh, Sorca Clarke, Helen McEntee, Hildegarde Naughton, Patrick O’Donovan, Neale Richmond, Verona Murphy, Charles Ward and Richard O’Donoghue.

In Tipperary, Mr Alan Kelly of Labour, (Tipperary North), was listed as absent. Both Mr Michael Lowry and Mr Ryan O’Meara voted NO; in Tipperary South, Mr Séamus Healy voted YES, while Mr Mattie McGrath and Mr Michael Murphy voted NO.

And where are the Churches?
The bishops have made statements defending life, but many ordinary christians feel the public witness has been far too quiet, cautious and muted. At a moment like this, Ireland does not need whispers. It needs moral clarity.

This vote should not be forgotten. Every TD who voted Yes, and every TD who failed to vote should be remembered.
Ireland deserves better than this.