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 The unstable chemical, Picric Acid, has been made safe by an Army Bomb Disposal Team in Thurles, Co Tipperary.
The chemical was uncovered in a laboratory at the Christen Brothers School (CBS), north of the town centre.
The school was immediately and safely evacuated and a nearby road was closed off to traffic as a precaution, at around 7.00pm, when the substance was discovered.
Following a controlled explosion being carried out on the offending substance, the scene was declared safe at around 8.30pm.
Picric Acid, possibly more commonly known as “2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP),” in the chemical trade, is a re-agent routinely used in laboratories around the country and can become unstable over a long period of time.
Picric Acid has, in the past, been stocked in pharmacies as an antiseptic and as a treatment for burns and was most notably used for the treatment of burns suffered by victims of the Hindenburg disaster in 1937.
Picric acid emits a high-pitched whine during combustion in air and this has led to its widespread use in modern fireworks.
In June of last year an Army Bomb Disposal Team was called to a chemist shop here in Thurles, also due to unstable Picric Acid.
 Being bullied, particularly as a teenager, can quite literally last the lifetime of any affected individual, through their sense of not belonging, their self-esteem and even their future mental health.
This week the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) have launched their second anti-bullying awareness campaign, highlighting the full effects of bullying, and in particular the more modern concept experienced via users of social media sites like Facebook.
This ISPCC awareness campaign offers a new ‘Text Service,‘ available to children who experience this kind of cowardly & unacceptable behaviour, usually carried out by anonymous individuals or groups. This awareness campaign is part of ISPCC’s now annual ‘Shield Campaign,’ to raise full awareness and indeed funding around this ever increasing problem which reveals that 1-in-4 young people, to-date, have either experienced or know someone who is the present target of such anti-social media behaviour.
In 2012, Child-line claim to have received over 2,000 calls every day, with many of these verbal communications solely related to bullying and with all distressed callers desperately seeking solutions on how to escape their tormentors.
A number of new initiatives on cyber bullying (shown hereunder) are highlighted in this year’s ISPCC campaign and all are to be welcomed, particularly by school Boards of Management members, principals and teachers.
Teenagers & Parents please Note:
(1) A new dedicated ‘Online Bullying Support Service,’ – By texting the word ‘bully’ to 50101, children and young people can access real-time support from 2:00pm -10:00pm, Monday to Sunday. The ISPCC have also announced the appointment of a full time ‘Bullying Co-ordinator,’ to support both schools and parents, in relation to bullying.
(2) ‘Shield My School Programme,’ – The charity has designed a comprehensive self evaluation tool to assist schools to understand and reflect on how effective they currently are in tackling bullying. Download School Toolkit HERE
ISPCC report that they are working on a joint project with Facebook. Ireland’s Facebook Policy Director Mr Simon Milner supports a culture of accountability, where people report bullying and stand up for each other. Mr Milner welcomes the ISPPC’s ‘I’m Standing up against bullying, are you?’ campaign and confirms the joint working project with ISPCC is to assist in developing an anti-bullying culture here in Ireland on Facebook. He further expects to announce news on this, their joint initiative, later this year.
Representatives from Twitter and Facebook have been defending themselves before an Oireachtas Committee today. The Communications Committee is examining the irresponsible use of social media and links to cyber bullying.
 Dr. Mary Shanahan. St. Patrick’s College, Thurles, in association with the Irish Philosophical Society, are due to host a one-day symposium entitled “An Ethics for/of the Future,” in the College on Friday 15th March from 09.30 am to 5.30 pm.
The event is being organised by Thurles native, Dr. Mary Shanahan, who lectures as part of the College’s Religious Studies Department.
Speakers at the symposium will ponder and speculate on evolving ethical values with an eye to the future. This topic will be examined from various perspectives incorporating areas such as philosophy, theology, education, politics, psychology, law, equality studies, disability studies and nursing studies. The symposium promises to be an exciting and enriching event for all those attending.
Speaking on the event, Dr. Shanahan commented that “the symposium presents an excellent opportunity for those who are interested in engaging in dialogue about ethics, about what it means to live as ethical individuals and, more importantly, about what it means to live as an ethical society. We have been incredibly lucky to secure Professor Gerard Casey of UCD as our keynote speaker. Professor Casey is a noted academic and well-known public figure who will be delivering what will undoubtedly be an engaging paper: ‘The Inescapability of Ethics‘. In addition, we are also very pleased to be collaborating with the Irish Philosophical Society on this project.”
College President, Fr. Tom Fogarty said that “as a College of Education with a vibrant Religious Studies department this symposium affords us a very welcome opportunity to invite academics and the public at large to the College to share in what promises to be a very enlightening and informative occasion.”
Booking enquiries should be directed to Dr. Mary Shanahan, St. Patrick’s College, Thurles, either by email (mshanahan@stpats.ie) or by telephone (0504 21201). Additional information can be found by visiting the College website, www.stpats.ie.
For information on St. Patrick’s College programmes please follow the link below: http://www.stpats.ie/index.php/courses/courses_overview.
“…it is not the reading of stories on its own that leads children towards the reflective, disembedded thinking that is so necessary for success in school, but the total interaction in which the story is embedded. At first they need a competent adult to mediate, as reader and writer, between themselves and the text; but even when they can perform the decoding and encoding for themselves, they continue to need help in interpreting the stories they hear and read and in shaping those that they create for themselves.” (Wells, 1985 in Hassall, 1999, p. 1)
The Reading Association of Ireland, in association with Tipperary Education Centre and St. Patrick’s College Thurles, will hold a Spring Seminar in St Patrick’s College on Monday, March 4th 2013, from 7.00pm-9.00pm.
The workshop will be hosted by Dr. Mary Roche, St. Patrick’s College, Thurles, Co Tipperary, under the headings Critical Thinking and Book Talk & Critical Literacy using Picture Books.
This seminar is being offered free of charge to interested parents, primary teachers and other educationalists, but places are limited, so to book your place on this seminar, please email raitipperary@gmail.com (Use ‘RAI Seminar 2013‘ in the Email subject line) or book by phone with Michelle Percy (Tipperary Education Centre) on Telephone: 086 6008860.
SEMINAR INFORMATION:
Prospective Audience: This practical and interactive seminar is aimed at all parents, primary teachers and other educationalists working with young people from Junior Infants to Sixth Class.
Continue reading R A I Spring Seminar At St. Patrick’s College Thurles
 Local Deputy Noel Coonan with President Michael D. Higgins in Áras an Uachtaráin Noel Coonan TD has welcomed the allocation of 80 additional Tús (Irish Translation – Beginning.) places for County Tipperary as part of the first tranche of extra placements on the community work placement initiative. Both North Tipperary LEADER Partnership and South Tipperary Dev. Co. Ltd have been given 40 additional places.
“This is welcomes news for people who have been on the live register for over 12 months in Tipperary and who are in receipt of a Job-seeker’s payment from the Department of Social Protection. Work placements are provided by community, voluntary and not-for-profit organisations and the local development company matches the skill set of participants to available placements,” said Deputy Coonan.
The Minister for Social Protection today (6th February 2013,) announced details of the first tranche of an additional 1,100 places on Tús. This announcement will bring to just over 6,000 the total number of placements available on Tús. The additional allocations form part of the roll-out of 2,500 new placements announced as part of the Budget 2013 measures to underpin the Government’s efforts to support those who are long term unemployed.
Deputy Coonan explained: “Only last month the Minister announced an additional 2,500 places for the Community Employment programme bringing the total places available on that programme to 25,300. The additional allocations were determined following consultation with each of the 50 local development companies delivering Tús and taking into account the demand for placements locally,” concluded the local Fine Gael TD.
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The unstable chemical, Picric Acid, has been made safe by an Army Bomb Disposal Team in Thurles, Co Tipperary.
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