Books - Thurles Information

Anner Hotel Is Venue For Launch Of “Cuppa Sugar Days” By Author Tom Ryan.

To mark the launch of his fourth book “The Cuppa Sugar Days – Warm-hearted tales of a Newspaperman”, well-known Thurles journalist, Tom Ryan, will hold a celebration night in the Anner Hotel, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, on May 14th next, at 8:00pm.

Dr Labhrás Ó Murchú, (Director General of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann), will launch this fourth book by Tom Ryan, latter who has worked in regional, national and international media for some 50 years.
The 560 page ‘tome’ (book) which has been most favourably received already by Tipperary book-lovers, is a tribute to numerous Tipperary folks from all strata of life in the Premier County, or “A slice of Tipp”, as one newspaper recently described it.

Tom’s daughter, Brid Ryan has once again shown her artistry with her wonderful photos of Tipperary people.
There is a somewhat poignant aspect attached to the launch of the book, being as it is, dedicated to Tom’s late wife, Ina, latter who sadly passed away in November 2020 and who was Tom’s best friend and writing partner for over 42 years.

In a statement author Tom Ryan said “This occasion is unique for a number of reasons. It is a night of celebration of all the wonderful Tipperary people featured in his work, a number of whom, including my wife, Ina, have gone “ar shlí na fírinne” (translated from the Irish “the way/path of truth”).
These are the people whose lives we will celebrate in this unique way”

Entertainment will be led by Kenny Ryder and other musicians, plus comedians, storytellers poets, singers etc.

Amongst the many offerings on the night, there will be a special brief poetry reading by celebrated poet, Cathy Conlon from Celbridge, Co. Kildare, latter a long-time friend of the author.
To honour the memory of Thurles-born author and poet, Ms Geraldine Cummins, (daughter of the late Martin and Mary Cummins, Mitchel Street, Thurles), who died in March of this year. Ms Conlon, originally from The Commons, Thurles, will read the poem “Light”, written by Geraldine, latter who had promised, shortly before her death that she would read her own work, including one poem on Thurles, at this launch to coincide with her birthday celebration on May 11th. Her family and Tom have now agreed to honour her memory on the night, in this poetic manner.

Following the official launch a night of comedy, music, song, storytelling, and dance will follow. The popular Rathdowney poet, humourist, scriptwriter, actor, musician, singer, musician, Tour Guide at Donaghmore Workhouse and Agricultural Museum and farmer, Michael Creagh, will once again be ‘Master of Ceremony’s for what is expected to be one of the highlights of this year’s social calendar here in Thurles.

The entertainers will include the ever popular and successful showband man Kenny Ryder who had a charts hit with “Slowdown” in the ‘Seventies’. Other entertainers will include Dermot Freeman of the famous Freeman Folk, featured in the book. Dermot’s brother, John, died just before publication (RIP). The Bohernanave brothers were renowned for songs such as “The Ballad of Bobby Kennedy”, which they played in person in Washington for members of the famous Kennedy dynasty.
Harpist, Mary Kelly, the former Co. Kilkenny Fleadh Cheoil Queen in Johnstown, will be there with the harp with which she entertained Queen Elizabeth II of England, on the Rock of Cashel.
Aggie Moloney playing her tin whistle will be there. Aggie entertained Tipperary people every day of the Covid-19 pandemic on the internet.
Global busker, Pat Cawley native of the Horse and Jockey, who worked with superstar Barbra Streisand, will sing “The Isle of Innisfree”, for his wife, Michelle and Tom Ryan, both of whom love this song.
Tim Curran from ‘The Willows’, Thurles, will bring us into the world of the modern stand-up comedian.
Multi-talented author musician and ballad singer, John Lawlor, Rahealty, formerly of the brilliant Three Counties Ceili Band, a Tom’s neighbour, will also entertain.
Master of ceremonies, Michael Creagh will have a few funny tales to tell to get the laughter going. He has written, directed and acted in pantomime for the last 30 years. He was a drummer and founder of “The Last Of The Summer Winos” who had many a great night in The Anner Hotel. He is a past recipient of the “Laois Person Of The Year Award”.
He has also written three pageants about the Donaghmore Workhouse, where he remains a Tour Guide.
Michael Creagh has published two books of poetry, “The Rhymes of a Rustic Boy” and “The Return of The Rustic Boy”.
He is one of the organisers of “The Slievebloom Storytelling Festival“. He has the dubious distinction of having portrayed one of Catherine Nevin’s lovers on RTÉ, as well as spending time propping up the bar in McCoys on “Fair City”. One of his proudest moments was getting to play drums with his friends for a ceili in the film, “Stella Days” starring Martin Sheen, who was quoted as saying how excited he was to work with Michael. Before covid he had his own one-man show on the road, entitled “Come ‘ere till I tell ya a good one”. He has become a great friend of Tom Ryan, due to press coverage of Rathdowney’s Pantomime, by Tom. [He also says he has silage for sale!].

The attendance is expected to include poets, novelists, actors, singers and musicians from various parts of Ireland and wishes of goodwill for the night have come from people around the world, including P.J. Gleeson in the United States; Denise Lanphier in Liverpool, the Ryan families in Katy, Texas. The renowned Charlotte Devenish of Virgin Limited Edition in Surrey England, (latter featured in the book with husband, Gavin), and numerous others.

In his wide ranging work, Tom Ryan has featured seven original short stories and numerous nostalgic pieces about a wide range of interesting people, including a Yukon gold prospector with Co. Tipperary links; an International tombstone tourist who is at home in graveyards; Wren boys; Scouts; Newspaper folks; Postmen; Railway personalities; a Militaria collector; a Records collector; an Inter Milan soccer player in Thurles; hurling heroes like Jimmy Doyle, John Doyle and Tony Wall, the Munster Final excitement in Thurles long ago.
Limited copies of “Cuppa Sugar Days” are now on sale in Bookworm, Thurles; Holycross Abbey Gift Shop; Eason in Thurles and Nenagh; Nenagh Bookshop; Maynooth Bookshop and online.

Entry to this community event in the Anner Hotel, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, on May 14th next at 8:00pm, is totally free and all are welcome to attend what promises to be a most enjoyable evening of quality entertainment.

Thurles Rare Gratuitous Famine Relief Book 1847/48 Goes Online.

The recently discovered ‘Gratuitous Relief Ration Record Book,’ (or the ‘Distribution Book,‘ as it was also called), for the Electoral Divisions of Holycross, Thurles and Ballycahill, dated 1847/48, has now been digitized and uploaded on line, allowing yet another search facility, for those anxious to trace their family roots back to their once local homestead, within the Thurles Co. Tipperary area.

This afore mentioned ‘Gratuitous Relief Ration Record Book’ (Videoed on two occasions, before being broadcast on at least seven different occasions in the past, on Irish national TV channels RTE1 and TG4), contains the names of those who were classed as paupers in the hinterland / towns-lands of these aforementioned areas, during what was the most harrowing period of the Great Irish Famine, referred to as ‘Black ’47’.

This famine also known as “The Great Hunger”, lasted between 1845 and 1849 and was arguably the single greatest disaster that had ever affected Irish history.

This extremely rare ‘Rations Record Book,’ contains the names of the heads of each household and in many cases the actual names of all the adults in each household. It also contains the number of rations each householder was allowed and indeed received, together with remarks, sometimes suggesting fraud, under what can be viewed as then an early form of social welfare system introduced.

Just over 3 million Irish people were being supported nationally by outdoor relief in July of 1847. To those in the Thurles area it supported, (covering the electoral divisions of Holycross, Thurles and Ballycahill), it provides records of food rations distributed during the period May – Sept. 47 and part of 1848, being a very humiliating and an insufficient system.
Nevertheless it did keep starvation at bay for a very sizeable portion of Tipperary people at that crucial time in Black ’47’.

This new information can now be viewed on our other website Hidden Tipperary.com, (under Downloads) or directly via the link located HERE

How to search this uploaded data.
Many of you will be aware that holding down the CTRL key on the keyboard of your PC or Laptop and striking the F key; a small box will appear on your screens, bottom left corner of the page being searched.
Type into this box the ‘search word’ you hope to glean information with and press Enter.
Note: When searching for a name there may be several persons of the same name, so use the arrow keys within the search box to fully complete your search.

EXAMPLE: ‘Good Friday’, back in 1847, fell earlier on that year, on April 2nd, and had you begun using the search words Michl Hayden for example, you would have discovered the following information: –

No. on Relief List	Townsland	Name	No. of Rations Allowed	Date	Date	Description	Remarks
3229	Ballycahill, Thurles.	Michl. Hayden	1	March 30th 1847	April 6th 1847	Old & Sickly.	Cut off. Has land.

If anyone has any queries regarding the further understanding of this new data upload, please do contact us directly HERE.

More on this and other tourism history in the coming days.

Regrettably, due to the wanton deceit, fraudulent and common duplicity of Tipperary Co. Council officials; latter led by Chief Executive Mr Joe MacGrath; the Thurles Great Famine Double Ditch; same the only example of a 176 year old project of its type in existence, within the Irish 32 counties, sadly no longer exists, for the obvious benefit of local business and local tourism, within the Thurles area.
It must not be forgotten that Tipperary Co. Council were greatly aided in their destruction of this heritage by the pretentious affectations of Fianna Fáil Councillor & Cathaoirleach of Thurles Municipal District, Mr Seamus Hanafin; his council colleagues/officials (Including Thurles administrator Ms Sharon Scully), together with a fallacious ‘Archaeological Impact Statement’, authored by Mr F. Coyne BA MIAI and accepted by Mr Michael Devery, North Tipperary County Council; Róisin O Grady Tipperary Heritage Office, together with long time purposeless millionaire chasers, namely TD’s Mr Jackie Cahill and Mr Michael Lowry.
Local newspapers including Tipperary Star; Thurles Chamber of Commerce; local TippFm Radio must also all take their share of the blame, promoting people with self interests while refusing to challenge press releases and political statements.

Cashel Library Poetry Day Event.

Invitation to participate in Cashel Library Poetry Day Event.

Cashel Library invites All Poets to Video Record themselves reading a Poem.

(It can be your own poem or the work of another poet)

Same is required for the Library’s Social Media Blitz Poetry Collage (28th April 2022).

Theme: “Written in the Stars.”

Send your videos by WhatsApp to 085 1169650.

Nota bene (note well): Entries before Friday 22nd April 2022 please.

Cashel Library Celebrates 20th Anniversary

Tipperary Librarians Maura Barrett and Ann-Marie Brophy Report.

On Tuesday April 5th 2022, Cashel Library will mark its 20th anniversary, with fun-filled birthday celebrations, and everyone is invited!

It is 20 years since the library moved from ‘The Green’ in Cashel to its current location on Friar Street in the town. In that time the library has been central to the community, as a place for groups to gather, connect and to be filled with ideas, information, stories, history, entertainment and culture!

Birthday festivities will commence with a coffee morning at 11:00am, with entertainment provided by children from local schools.

Please do feel free to pop-in for a cuppa and a slice of birthday cake!

Later that evening we are very excited to host a special performance by award winning Irish Tenor, Mr Patrick Hyland.

The evening entertainment will commence at 7:00pm, with a cheese and wine reception first.

Note Please: Book your seat for what promises to be a fabulous night by ringing us at the library on Tel. No. 062 63825.

Booking is ESSENTIAL!!!

Did Tales Of Ireland Influence Writing Of Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell?

The Atlanta, Georgia US born Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (Pen name, Peggy Mitchell, November 8th,1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American journalist and author who provided us with that great 1939 epic historical romance novel, “Gone With The Wind”; same being one of those golden American pieces of literature that readers and later film goers, worldwide, can truly never forget.

She too had been born into a family with ancestry not unlike that of her novels heroin, namely Scarlet O’Hara.

Philip Fitzgerald, Margaret Mitchell’s maternal great-grandfather, had emigrated from near Fethard, Co. Tipperary, same then a fortified, small walled town, shortly after the 1798 Rebellion.

The family were seen as Catholic refugees attempting to evade oppression. Philip Fitzgerald eventually settled on a slaveholding plantation, near Jonesboro, Georgia, US, where he had one son and seven daughters with his wife, Elenor McGahan, who herself was from an Irish Catholic family.

Margaret Mitchell’s grandparents, Annie Fitzgerald and John Stephens had married in 1863; her parents, father Eugene Muse Mitchell, an Attorney, was descended from Scotch-Irish and French Huguenots, while her mother, Mary Isabel or “Maybelle” Stephens, was of Irish-Catholic ancestry, and were both married at her parents mansion home on November 8th, 1892. For the young Margaret Mitchell, (latter regarded as a ‘Tomboy’); Annie Fitzgerald/Stephens, her grandmother, (latter often regarded as both vulgar and a tyrant), existed a great source of eye-witness information, when it came to stories of the American Civil War.

Published in 1936, her only novel ‘Gone With the Wind’, turned the 4 feet 11 inches tall Margaret Mitchell immediately into an instant celebrity; earning her the Pulitzer Prize in 1937. In the same year Mitchell sold the movie rights to film producer David O. Selznick for $50,000, (Equivalent value today of $838,615 or approx. €747,296), latter being the most ever paid for a film manuscript at that period in time.

The film version, a four-hour epic, starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, both being portrayed as ill-fated lovers Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler came out just three years later; winning a record-breaking nine Academy Awards in 1940.
Today more than 30 million copies of Margaret Mitchell’s Civil War Novel have been sold worldwide and same has been translated into 27 different languages.

We will never know just how much of her novel contained tales about Fethard, here in Co. Tipperary, learned from the knees of her parents and grandparents, for alas, on August 11th, 1949, Margaret Mitchell was struck by a car while crossing a street to attend a theatre engagement and, sadly, died five days later.

So how much ancestral Irish influence came to the fore in the fictional imagery of Peggy Mitchel’s mind, when she wrote “Gone with the Wind” ?

Rhett Butler: Would her grandparents have talked largely about the Butler lands which stretched from Co. Kilkenny across Tipperary to Cashel and Cahir? Would they have spoken of Cahir Castle, Co. Tipperary?
Cahir Castle, winner of the European Film Commissions Network (EUFCN) Location Award in 2021; is one of the largest remaining castles in Ireland. Today, sited a mere 23 minute drive from Fethard, on an island in the river Suir in Co. Tipperary; Cahir Castle had been built in the 13th century, before being granted to James Butler, then newly created Earl of Ormond, for his loyalty to Edward III, in the late 14th century.

Scarlett O’Hara: The name O’Hara has held a distinguished place in Ireland for centuries, mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters, (latter compiled between 1632 and 1636). The current spelling of O’Hara is an anglicized pronunciation of the original Irish ‘Ó hEaghra’, meaning “descended from Eaghra”, latter a 10th century Irish chief.

Plantation Tara : Tara is the name of the fictional plantation in the state of Georgia, in this historical novel “Gone with the Wind.”
There is little doubt that Mitchell modelled the fictional Tara Plantation after local plantations and establishments existing before the US Civil War, particularly the Clayton County plantation on which her maternal grandmother, Annie Fitzgerald Stephens (1844–1934), daughter of the Irish immigrant Philip Fitzgerald (1798–1880) and his American wife, Eleanor Avaline “Ellen” McGhan (1818–1893), was born and raised.
‘Tara‘ is also an anglicization of the Irish name ‘Teamhair’. The Old Irish form is ‘Temair’. It is believed this comes from common Celtic, ‘Temris’ and means a ‘sanctuary’ or ‘sacred space’ cut off for only ceremony.
‘Tara’ was once also the capital of the inauguration place and seat of the High Kings of Ireland. The name also appears in Irish mythology. According to the aforementioned Annals of the Four Masters, five ancient roads or ‘slighe’ (Ways) meet at Tara, linking it with all the four provinces of Ireland.