Crime - Thurles Information

Fully Restored Statue Of Archbishop Leahy To Be Blessed On Sunday Next.

The decapitated statue of Archbishop Patrick Leahy D.D., latter Archbishop of Cashel from 1857-1875, and which was wilfully vandalised, has now been fully restored.

Most Rev. Patrick Leahy, D.D.
Archbishop of Cashel 1857-1875

The statue, which depicts his right hand holding a breviary, stands 8ft (2.4384m) in height, on a limestone pedestal 7ft (2.1336m) high; attired in his episcopal soutane, rochet and mozetta, with his head uncovered, stood in the front yard of the Cathedral of the Assumption in Thurles.

Alas, the statue first erected 112 years ago, in 1911, was wilfully and shamefully decapitated in a gross act of vandalism, in late June 2019.

The statue harmonised well with its surroundings until the night of June 28th, 2019 when it was decapitated; latter occurring in the same month, 140 years exactly, after the Cathedral was solemnly consecrated.

The statue’s limestone pedestal was initially fashioned in Cashel, Co. Tipperary, by one, Mr Best and consists of four great blocks, chiselled, moulded and panelled, in accordance with the designs of one Mr J.C. Ashlin* of Dublin. The pedestal and statue, is long regarded as a work of fine art, and was erected by Messrs. Leahy Brothers of Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

[*Note: The architect for the building was J.J. McCarthy, while B. McMullen was the main builder, while the aforementioned J.C. Ashlin was responsible for the enclosing walls, railings and much of the other finished work.]

The statue was highly regarded at the time of being erected by those who knew and remembered Dr. Leahy; latter who stated that it was “an admirable and a remarkable likeness of him portraying his fine commanding presence and his handsome features”.
An inscription on the limestone pedestal declares, “In commemoration of the Most Rev. Patrick Leahy, D.D., Archbishop of Cashel and Emly, 1857-1875, by whom this Cathedral Church of the Assumption was erected”.

A lengthy Garda investigation was initiated in the weeks which followed, however despite a €1,000 reward, the head of the statue was never recovered and those responsible were never brought to justice.

The restoration work has been carried out by sculptor Mr Stephen Burke, fashioned using photographs of the original statue and a portrait of Archbishop Leahy.
The now restored statue will officially be blessed on Sunday next and this blessing will be followed by the annual Cathedral Carol Service.

Interesting to note that, being free from debt, Thurles Cathedral which replaced the ‘Big Chapel’, was eventually solemnly consecrated on Saturday, June 21st 1879. It was Archbishop Thomas William Croke whose statue stands on west Liberty Square, Thurles, who performed the ceremony himself including the consecration of the High Altar.

Bishop William Fitzgerald, Roman Catholic Bishop of Ross who consecrated Thurles Cathedral’s Sacred Heart Altar.

Bishop Francis McCormack, then Bishop of Achonry, (1871 to 1887) (latter consisting of twenty-three parishes in Counties Roscommon, Sligo, and Mayo), and later Bishop of Tuam, Co. Galway, who consecrated Thurles Cathedral’s Altar of the Blessed Virgin.
[Note: History notes that Bishop Francis McCormack’s nephew was Captain Patrick McCormack, one of the Cairo Gang assassinated on Bloody Sunday (1920) on the instructions of Michael Collins, then Director of Intelligence of the Irish Republican Army].
Bishop Francis McCormack, died in 1909 and is buried in Galway Cathedral crypt, [His papers are stored in the Diocesan archive].

Male Arrested Following €100,000 Drugs Seizure In North Tipperary.

A young man has been arrested following the seizure in Nenagh, Co Tipperary of approximately €100,000 worth of cocaine.

The search was undertaken as part of ‘Operation Thor’ by Gardaí from the Divisional Task Force, who were assisted by the Divisional Drugs Unit, the Garda Dog Unit and Gardaí from within the Nenagh District.
Operation Thor actively targets organised crime gangs and repeat offenders through co-ordinated crime prevention and enforcement activity, based on intelligence and the latest burglary trends.

The man arrested in connection with the search is understood to be aged in his 20s, and remains currently detained at a Garda station in the Tipperary area; held under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996.

The drugs will now be forwarded for analysis t be undertaken by Forensic Science Ireland.

Garda investigations surrounding the drugs seizure are continuing.

Deputy M. McNamara Challenges Tipperary Senator G. Ahearn Over Dáil Vote Comments.

Clare Independent TD, Mr Michael McNamara, has described Senator Garret Ahearn’s criticism of Independent TDs, who on Tuesday last, (December 5th, 2023) voted ‘No Confidence’ in Justice Minister, Mrs Helen McEntee as “facetious”* and “surprising”. [*Treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humour”].

Deputy McNamara has responded by suggesting that the Tipperary-based Senator is “opting to ignore the depletion in numbers of Gardaí in Tipperary merely for advancement within his own party.”

“The Garda numbers in the Clare/Tipperary Division have fallen considerably during Mrs Helen McEntee’s term of office and I am surprised that Senator Ahearn has no issue with the resultant increase in antisocial behaviour in towns like Clonmel and Ennis,” added Deputy McNamara.

Figures released by the Department of Justice in response to a Parliamentary Question by Deputy McNamara reveal that the number of serving Gardaí in the Clare and Tipperary Garda Division dropped from 727 in November 2020 to 674 in November 2023, while numbers nationally decreased by almost 4,000 to 13,940 in the three years to November 2023.

“Senator Ahearn’s comments are facetious and bely the situation faced by communities across rural Ireland that have witnessed the closure of Garda stations and an overall decrease in the number of serving Gardaí,” explained Deputy McNamara. “It comes as a great surprise to me that any politician, aspiring to represent Tipperary, would be happy with the depleted numbers of Gardaí serving in the Clare and Tipperary Garda Division.”

Speaking during yesterday’s ‘Motion of No Confidence’ in Mrs Helen McEntee, Deputy McNamara said, “There is much about personalities and criticism of people’s personalities on both sides of this House. For me, this is not about personalities at all, for what it is worth. The Minister is a fine person and a relatively competent politician. There must, though, be political accountability in this House, in this democracy. This must be the case for health services and security services. Unfortunately, there are fewer Gardaí in the State now. The total is a little under 14,000 now, while there was a little under 18,000 at the start of this Dáil term.”

“Of those gardaí, they are spending more time behind computers. That is annoying them, and they are losing confidence in their Garda management,” he continued. “We might ask what that has to do with the Minister. It is the role of the Government to put management in place in the health service or An Garda Síochána that is able and resourced to do the job. It is very clear from the views, responses and votes of rank and file Gardaí, with regard to the GRA, that they do not have confidence. The problem is resources or Garda management. Either way, that becomes the Minister’s problem because she is the one who is accountable to the House for that.”

Deputy McNamara added, “I regret not being able to express confidence in the Minister. I hope she will recruit a lot more gardaí and develop systems whereby they have more time on the beat and are not tied up as much behind their desks. All I can go on is what I am seeing and hearing in my constituency. The lack of Gardaí on the beat is resulting in increasing antisocial behaviour not just on the streets of Dublin, but on the streets of Ennis. That is a problem because people now expect Gardaí to be transferred from rural towns to Dublin. There is not the capacity for that.”

“There is a real problem with policing in this State and there has to be political accountability. It is not that I take any pleasure in not voting confidence in the Minister, but there has to be political accountability and on that basis I regret that I cannot express confidence in the Government on this issue,” concluded Deputy McNamara.

Four Cars Seized in Thurles Area Yesterday.

Tipperary Roads Policing Unit, in carrying out patrols in the Thurles district yesterday, Monday 4th December, intercepted and seized 4 vehicles.

One of the vehicles intercepted, found the driver identified as being disqualified from driving and the subject was subsequently arrested and has now been charged to appear in the district court.

The remaining other three vehicles were identified as being uninsured following alerts, identified through the new Garda Mobility Application (APP), latter which provides up-to-date real time information, thus enabling Gardaí to assist in identifying a number of motoring offences.

All vehicles, as already stated were seized, with a court appearance by their drivers to follow.

Arrest & Car Seizures in Thurles Town.

Within the past 36 hours, Tipperary Roads Policing Unit, who were patrolling the town of Thurles, intercepted two vehicles within a short period of each other, following the use of their new “Integrated Traffic App” alert system.

Both vehicles were found and confirmed as having no insurance.

The New Integrated Traffic App give Gardaí more real-time data, thus allowing them to detect road users without Insurance and other offences.

In both of the above cases/traffic offences, vehicles were seized, with a court appearance to follow.

In another case within the past 12 hours, Tipperary Roads Policing Unit, again patrolling within the Thurles town area, intercepted a car after it drew their attention.
Following their interception, the driver was arrested on suspicion of Drug Driving, after a Drug Wipe test for Cocaine and Cannabis proved positive.