One Council Restores History While Another Erases It – The Loss of Thurles’s Famine Double Ditch.
The decision by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to spend approximately €660,000plus VAT restoring a historic ha-ha wall in Marlay Park (latter a sunken landscape boundary that uses a hidden trench and a vertical retaining wall), has understandably generated debate. The 197-metre structure, believed to date from the early nineteenth century, was designed to separate landscaped gardens from grazing animals without interrupting views across the estate. Much of its original locally sourced granite survived beneath vegetation, but the wall had fallen into disrepair. Restoration required specialist conservation work, dismantling and rebuilding sections of dry-stone wall, repairing the ditch and incorporating drainage infrastructure. The original contract was valued at €625,398 excluding VAT, with the final estimate rising to €660,374 following delays, unsuitable ground material, severe weather and difficulties obtaining appropriate stone.
Local construction professionals and taxpayers are entitled to question whether that represents value for money. Public bodies must explain how costs are calculated, why projects exceed their initial budgets and whether procurement arrangements adequately protect the public purse. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has already faced criticism over the €753,528 cost of works at an entrance to Deerpark in Mount Merrion. That project is frequently described as the construction of “14 steps”, although the council says it also included a wheelchair-accessible ramp, retaining walls, granite paving, seating, landscaping, pedestrian crossings, road resurfacing, drainage, traffic-signal equipment and other public-realm works. The criticism of these costs is legitimate. Nevertheless, one important fact should not be forgotten: Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council recognised that an historic structure was worth preserving.
That approach stands in painful contrast to what happened in Thurles.
The Thurles Great Famine Double Ditch was regarded locally as a rare surviving famine-era landscape feature. Local historical accounts date its construction accurately to 1846 and associate it with relief work provided to men and boys during the Great Famine. Rather than representing the landscaped elegance of a wealthy Dublin estate, this Double Ditch recalled hunger, poverty and the desperate struggle of local families to survive. It was not simply an old embankment. It was a physical connection with one of the darkest periods in Irish history. For generations, the route was also described locally as a public walkway and Mass path. Campaigners argued that it formed part of the social history of Thurles and should have been incorporated into a protected heritage trail.
Despite repeated warnings, the entire section of the Double Ditch was cleared in March 2022 supported by local councillors, as part of works connected with as yet a non existent, only proposed Thurles inner relief road. Contemporary photographs and local reporting showed mature vegetation being removed and the historic landscape feature being levelled by machinery.
Historic Thurles Double Ditch Eradicated in 2022. Pic. G.Willoughby.
Once such a structure is destroyed, it cannot truly be recreated. A replica might reproduce its approximate appearance, but it cannot restore the original stones, soil, boundaries and physical connection with the people who constructed it during the Great Famine.
This is the real loss suffered by Thurles. Tipperary County Council regularly speaks about protecting heritage and connecting communities with their past. Yet the treatment of the Double Ditch demonstrates the gulf that can exist between heritage policies and decisions taken on the ground. Roads and development are necessary, but heritage protection does not require a complete rejection of progress. It requires imagination, consultation and a willingness to examine alternative designs before destruction becomes inevitable.
The contrast between the two councils is striking. In Dublin, hundreds of thousands of euro are being spent restoring an aristocratic landscape feature. In Thurles, a structure associated with ordinary people surviving the Great Famine was treated as totally expendable. The Marlay Park bill deserves detailed scrutiny. So does every major publicly funded project. But the principle of conserving historic structures should be welcomed.
Led by the denials of elected councillors; mainly Mr Michaél Lowry (Non Party), Mr Sean Ryan (FF) and Mr Seamus Hanafin (FF), together with senior council officials, through wilful ignorance, self-deception, blind persistence and despite knowing better oversaw this reckless destruction. Thus the tragedy in Thurles is that the debate never reached the question of restoration costs.
The Double Ditch was not protected long enough for restoration to become an option. Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council may reasonably be criticised for excessive costs. Tipperary County Council should be criticised for allowing irreplaceable local history to be destroyed.
One council appears willing to spend too much preserving history. The other did too little before all of that history was totally eradicated and lost forever.
Neither approach represents good stewardship of public money or public heritage, and the waste continues without the consent of the Irish taxpayer.
County Tipperary Chamber is calling on every business in Thurles and the surrounding area to complete the Thurles Bypass Business Impact Survey before Friday, 7 August 2026.
For decades, the people and businesses of Thurles have heard proposals, commitments and political assurances regarding essential road infrastructure. However, the town is still waiting for the completed Inner Relief Road and the long-promised Outer Ring Road or Thurles Bypass.
As recently highlighted by Thurles.info, announcements and expressions of political support are not the same as approved funding, a binding construction programme or a completed road.
Thurles businesses need delivery, certainty and measurable progress. Traffic congestion is not merely an inconvenience. It imposes real and continuing costs on local employers. It delays deliveries, wastes staff time, disrupts logistics, restricts customer access and makes it more difficult for businesses to plan, invest and expand. Every delayed journey affects productivity. Every customer discouraged by congestion represents a potential loss to the local economy. Every infrastructure project that remains uncertain can influence future investment and employment decisions.
This aforementioned survey provides businesses with an opportunity to transform those daily experiences into clear, credible and representative evidence. County Tipperary Chamber recently welcomed Thurles native Mr John O’Shaughnessy CDir MBA LL.B (Hons) Dip IOD, Managing Director of Clancy, as its new President. Mr O’Shaughnessy has taken on the presidency at a critical time for business confidence and regional competitiveness. His focus on delivery, effective advocacy and ensuring that the voice of Tipperary business is heard consistently at local and national level is particularly relevant to the infrastructure challenges facing Thurles.
Under his leadership, the Chamber is determined to ensure that the concerns of local businesses are supported by strong evidence and presented directly to Government and other decision-makers.
That effort now requires the support of the Thurles business community. Whether you operate a retail shop, hospitality venue, professional practice, manufacturing company, transport business or family enterprise, your experience matters.
The survey is open to Chamber members and non-members and to businesses of every size and sector.
Government departments require more than general expressions of concern. They require evidence showing how congestion affects operating costs, staffing, deliveries, customer access, competitiveness, investment and future growth.
The greater the response, the stronger the Chamber’s case will be.
This is not about creating another report that sits on a shelf. It is about establishing a compelling business case for action and demonstrating that Thurles cannot continue to compete effectively without modern, dependable transport infrastructure.
A sincere thanks to every business that has already participated. Your time and first-hand knowledge are all helping to build the evidence needed to secure meaningful progress. To those who have not yet responded, please do not assume that another business will speak for you. Every completed survey adds weight, credibility and urgency to this campaign.
Thurles deserves roads, investment and delivery, not more uncertainty or political promises.
McDonald’s has confirmed that its new drive-thru restaurant in Thurles, Co. Tipperary, is scheduled to open on Wednesday, August 19th, 2026.
The opening will come almost one year after An Coimisiún Pleanála issued its final approval for the controversial development, bringing a lengthy planning process and months of local debate to an end. The new restaurant is being constructed on a former industrial site at the junction of Slievenamon Road and the now once again delayed “Thurles Relief Road“, close to the Lidl supermarket and approximately 700 metres from Thurles town centre.
Plans provide for a single-storey restaurant measuring almost 479 square metres, together with a drive-thru lane, customer-ordering points, digital menu boards, car parking, accessible spaces, electric-vehicle charging bays and bicycle parking. The development will also include outdoor seating, landscaping, lighting, signage, an electricity substation and changes to the existing vehicle entrance from the relief road.
Recruitment Begins Ahead of August Launch. McDonald’s has begun recruiting full-time and part-time staff members for the new Thurles restaurant. The recruitment advertisement confirms the August 19th opening date and states that successful applicants will receive paid training at other nearby McDonald’s restaurants during the weeks leading up to the launch. Advertised hourly pay for some adult employees is up to €14.25, depending on age and the terms of the new positions. The recruitment drive is expected to create a significant number of new low paid hospitality jobs in the Thurles area, although the company has not publicly confirmed the restaurant’s total anticipated workforce.
Plans Attracted More Than 20 Objections. McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland submitted its planning application for the Thurles development in September 2024. The proposal proved controversial from the beginning, attracting more than 20 objections from residents and other interested parties. Concerns raised during the initial planning process included the location of the outlet, traffic levels, road safety, litter, noise, opening hours and the proximity of the proposed restaurant to residential properties and childcare facilities. Some objectors also raised public-health concerns relating to fast food and childhood obesity. The development was originally intended to operate around the clock. However, permission ultimately restricted its opening hours to between 6am and 10pm, meaning the Thurles restaurant will not be permitted to trade on a 24-hour basis.
Tipperary County Council initially sought additional information from the applicant, including further details concerning traffic and the proposed operation of the development. Documents submitted during that stage included an analysis indicating that the site would have space for a queue of approximately 32 vehicles, before waiting traffic would potentially reach the adjoining public road.
Council Permission Was Appealed Tipperary County Council granted permission for the restaurant, subject to conditions, on April 9th, 2025. That decision was subsequently appealed to the national planning authority by a third party, while a number of additional observations were submitted for consideration. An Coimisiún Pleanála examined issues including traffic and pedestrian safety, flood risk, residential amenity, visual impact, town-centre development and the site’s proximity to the River Suir and the Lower River Suir Special Area of Conservation. The Commission issued its decision on August 26th, 2025, upholding the council’s decision and granting permission with revised conditions. In its formal order, the planning body determined that the development would not seriously damage the amenities of nearby properties or create unacceptable risks in relation to public health, flooding, traffic, pedestrian safety or visual amenity. It also considered the mixed-use zoning of the former industrial land, Thurles’s status as a key regional town and the planning policies applying to the area.
Construction Work Underway Site-clearance activity began in early 2026, allowing construction of the restaurant and associated infrastructure to proceed. Information published locally indicated that the principal works were expected to take place between February and July, leaving several weeks for completion, staff training and final preparations before the planned August opening. The development represents the latest chapter in efforts to bring a McDonald’s outlet to the former Erin Foods lands. A previous application connected to a proposed drive-thru restaurant at the wider site was submitted as far back as 2020 but was deemed incomplete shortly afterwards.
While the current project has continued to divide opinion locally, the August opening will introduce one of the world’s largest fast-food brands to Thurles and hopefully provide new employment opportunities for the town For supporters, the development represents investment, additional consumer choice and the productive reuse of former industrial land. For critics, concerns about traffic, litter, public health, late-evening activity and the effect of drive-thru development on the character of the area remain.
Barring any construction or operational delays, the first customers are expected to be welcomed through the doors of the new Thurles McDonald’s on August 19th.
€17 Million To Maintain Seized Drug Ship – Handed Over for $1 – Irish Taxpayers Deserve Answers.
The seizure of the MV Matthew was an extraordinary success for Ireland’s law-enforcement and Defence Forces. It prevented approximately 2.2 tonnes of cocaine, valued at more than €157 million, from reaching the streets and dealt a serious blow to international organised crime. The members of Revenue, An Garda Síochána, the Naval Service, Air Corps and Army Ranger Wing involved deserve recognition for an exceptionally difficult and dangerous operation.
But praising that operation does not mean taxpayers must remain silent about what happened afterwards. Revenue has now confirmed that safely managing and maintaining the MV Matthew cost the State approximately €17 million. After almost three years in Cork Harbour, the vessel was transferred to an international shipping company for the nominal consideration of just one US dollar.
Cocaine.
That outcome is extremely difficult for ordinary taxpayers to accept. The issue is not that Revenue seized the ship. It was entirely right to seize a vessel being used for international drug smuggling. Nor can we pretend that the ship could simply have been abandoned, ignored or immediately sold. It was evidence in major criminal proceedings, and the State had obligations relating to security, maintenance, ownership, maritime registration, safety and environmental protection. However, €17 million is an enormous amount of public money. At one point, the vessel was reportedly costing around €120,000 every week to manage and maintain. When expenditure reaches that level, the public is entitled to ask whether every reasonable step was taken to reduce the cost.
Why was Ireland apparently unprepared for the financial consequences of seizing a large commercial vessel? Why was there no established procedure allowing the State to secure the necessary evidence digitally and physically, resolve ownership rapidly and seek an earlier sale, scrappage arrangement or cost-sharing agreement? ►Could international partners, insurers, port authorities or maritime agencies have helped reduce the burden? ► Were alternative berthing, crewing and maintenance arrangements properly examined? ► Who monitored the accumulating expenditure, and at what point was ministerial intervention sought?
These questions do not undermine the criminal investigation. Accountability strengthens public confidence in such operations. Revenue has explained that the disposal process was complicated because the ship had been used for international drug smuggling, nobody claimed ownership, and legal and regulatory requirements had to be resolved with international authorities. Those explanations must be considered fairly. Nevertheless, describing the case as “unprecedented” cannot become a complete answer for every euro spent. Public bodies must be prepared for unprecedented events. Once weekly costs began running into six figures, an urgent cross-government task force should have been examining every lawful option to protect the taxpayer.
The State ultimately spent approximately €17 million maintaining an asset from which it recovered a nominal $1. Although the true benefit of the seizure cannot be measured merely by the ship’s sale price, the cocaine was removed, criminals were imprisoned and organised crime was disrupted; the financial outcome still exposes a serious weakness in how seized maritime assets are handled.
The Government should now publish a transparent breakdown of the expenditure, including berthing, crewing, repairs, insurance, security, legal work and professional fees. The Comptroller and Auditor General and the Public Accounts Committee should examine whether the spending represented value for money and whether delays could have been avoided. Most importantly, Ireland needs a permanent protocol for future seizures of ships, aircraft and other high-cost assets. It should establish clear deadlines, ministerial oversight, spending controls, international cooperation arrangements and options for rapid disposal once evidential requirements have been satisfied.
Taxpayers support robust action against drug traffickers. They understand that major operations cost money. What they should not be expected to accept is an open-ended bill without detailed scrutiny. The seizure of the MV Matthew was a victory against organised crime. The €17 million aftermath must now become a lesson in accountability, preparedness and respect for taxpayers’ money; not another example of enormous public expenditure being explained only after the money is gone.
Sam Neill remembered – From Omagh to Hollywood, with a memorable Tipperary visit.
Sir Sam Neill, the acclaimed actor whose career moved effortlessly between Hollywood blockbusters, unsettling psychological dramas and warm-hearted comedies, has died at the age of 78. His family said that Mr Neill died in Sydney on Monday, July 13th 2026, surrounded by loved ones. His death was described as sudden and unexpected. Although he had previously been treated for a rare form of blood cancer, his family confirmed that he remained cancer-free at the time of his passing.
For millions of cinema-goers, Neill will always be Dr Alan Grant, the practical and quietly courageous palaeontologist who found himself pursued by dinosaurs in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park. Released in 1993, the film transformed Neill into an international star. He later returned to the role in ‘Jurassic Park III‘ and ‘Jurassic World Dominion‘, introducing the character to new generations of viewers. However, concentrating solely on dinosaurs would overlook the remarkable range of an acting career that lasted for more than five decades.
The Late Sam Neill – In ár gcroíthe go deo.
Mr Neill could be charming, threatening, romantic, vulnerable or wonderfully dry. He appeared opposite Meryl Streep in ‘A Cry in the Dark‘; playing a Soviet submarine officer in ‘The Hunt for Red October’ and delivered one of his most disturbing performances in the cult horror film ‘Possession’. In the same year that Jurassic Park reached cinemas; Mr Neill appeared in Jane Campion’s ‘The Piano’. He later earned another generation of admirers through ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’, directed by fellow New Zealander Mr Taika Waititi. His television work was equally memorable. In ‘Peaky Blinders’, he played the ruthless Major Chester Campbell, a Belfast police officer, determined to destroy Tommy Shelby and his criminal organisation.
Mr Neill was born Nigel John Dermot Neill, in Omagh, County Tyrone, in 1947. His father, a New Zealander serving with the British Army, was stationed in Northern Ireland at the time. The family later lived in County Armagh before moving to New Zealand when Sam was seven. Although New Zealand became his home and the foundation of his professional life, Neill retained a strong affection for Ireland. He held an Irish passport and spoke warmly about the country’s literature, history and culture. He once described himself as quietly proud of his Irish connections, while rejecting the exaggerated stereotypes often associated with Irish-ness.
Was There a Tipperary Connection? There was, nevertheless, a real and memorable Tipperary connection. In November 2012, Mr Neill travelled to Cork and to Co. Tipperary to promote wines from ‘Two Paddocks‘, the vineyard he established in Central Otago, New Zealand. During the visit, he discussed his Irish identity, his love of wine and his preference for an ordinary life away from the excesses of celebrity. Wine was far more than a commercial sideline for Mr Neill. He took enormous pride in his vineyard, its Pinot Noir and the animals living on the property. ‘Two Paddocks’ offered him a retreat from filming and a connection with the land that appeared to matter deeply to him.
His visit to Tipperary may have been brief, but it provides the county with its own small place in the story of an actor whose life stretched from Northern Ireland to New Zealand, Australia and the great film studios of the world. Mr Neill became internationally famous relatively late. By the arrival of Jurassic Park, he had already spent years building a respected career in New Zealand, Australia and Britain. That experience gave his performances a grounded quality. Even when surrounded by computer-generated dinosaurs, supernatural forces or larger-than-life characters, he rarely appeared overwhelmed by the spectacle. He remained believable, restrained and entirely human.
Following his death, New Zealand Prime Minister Mr Christopher Luxon described Mr Neill as “one of the greats” and credited him with helping bring New Zealand stories and film-making talent to international audiences. That is perhaps the most fitting way to remember him. Mr Sam Neill was the star of one of the biggest films ever made, but he was never defined by a single role. He was an Irish-born New Zealander, an actor, writer, farmer and winemaker, whose curiosity and understated humour remained evident throughout his life. Mr Neill is survived by children; Andrew, Tim, Elena, Maiko, and several grandchildren.
Tipperary sadly cannot claim him as one of its own, but it can recall the occasion when one of cinema’s most distinctive gentlemen came to this county, raised a glass and spoke proudly of his enduring Irish connection.
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