Education - Thurles Information

Devils Bit Scabious, Bobby Bright Buttons or Pincushion Flower.

Its Irish name is ‘Odhrach bhallach’; its Scientific name is ‘Succisa pratensis’, but you may know it as ‘Devil’s Bit Scabious’;

Devils Bit Scabious is a tall plant with rounded purple-blue flowers that resemble a pincushion. It is a close relative of the Teasel family and like its relative, it is a rich and valuable late source of nectar and pollen for insects.

**Tortoiseshell butterflies feasting on the nectar of the *‘Devil’s Bit Scabious’* plant**.
*Picture: G.Willoughby*

As Tipperary wildflower and insect expert, Mr John Fogarty, explained to me yesterday; all butterflies love it as indeed do all bees, with same a major food-plant for so many insects, both as adults and larvae, attracted to its pincushion-like head. Indeed, this wildflower is the main larval food-plant of the now seriously threatened Marsh Fritillary butterfly, latter said to prefer where the ‘Devil’s-bit scabious’ plant chooses to grow.

**Blue-violet Devil’s Bit Scabious growing on the Double Ditch, Mill Road, Thurles**, **Co. Tipperary**.
*Picture: G. Willoughby*.

Blue-violet in colour, this medium sized perennial with deep green, blotchy, oval shaped leaves can be located in marshes and pastures, brightening up areas where it flowers, (in this case on the Great Famine Double Ditch, Mill Road, Thurles, Co. Tipperary) from June to October. Sadly this plant can be scarce presently in areas where intensive farming in being carried out.

Mr Fogarty points out that the plant’s more common name ‘scabious’ comes from the herb’s traditional usage as a folk medicine to treat scabies, latter a rather itchy skin condition caused by a tiny burrowing mite called Sarcoptes scabiei. Legend states that this plant, ‘Devils Bit Scabious’ got its name due to the fact that it has an abruptly truncated, short root which folklore dictates that the Devil bit off in a fit of annoyance, at the medicinal properties of this most attractive plant.

The ‘Devil’s Bit Mountain‘, north of Thurles has no bearing on the plant’s name, but it does confirm that the Devil spent an inordinate amount of time here, over the years, in and around Thurles, with some people claiming that he has actually never vacated the area; and can be seen influencing political outcomes, during years when local and general elections occur.

Prof. V. Cunnane Founding President of Technological University of Midlands Midwest.

AIT-LIT consortium welcomes the appointment of Professor Vincent Cunnane as founding President of the Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest

The chair of the joint Governing Body of the AIT-LIT Consortium, Professor Mr Tom Collins, has today welcomed the announcement by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Mr Simon Harris TD, that Professor Vincent Cunnane is to be the first President of the Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest.

The appointment was announced by the Minister following an international recruitment process. The term of the appointment is eight years and Professor Cunnane will take up his post from the commencement of the new Technological University, on October 1st next.

Commenting on the appointment of Professor Cunnane, Professor Collins said, “All in the consortium are very pleased that Vincent Cunnane is to be the inaugural President. He has a distinguished record of achievement in the academic, research and development spheres. He is eminently qualified to lead the development of the TU and its contribution to the economic, social and cultural life of the Midlands, Midwest and beyond. In that task he will be greatly assisted by the quality and commitment of the leadership team and staff of the TU.”

Mr Liam Rattigan, outgoing Chair of AIT Governing Body also welcomed the appointment. “I want to wish Vincent and all in the new TU every success as it embarks on this new phase of higher education in the Midlands and the Midwest,” he stated. “I also want to pay tribute to the legacy of Prof Ciarán Ó Catháin who has led AIT for the past two decades and under whose leadership the Institute achieved university status”, he added.

Mr Tony Brazil, outgoing Chair of LIT also paid tribute to Prof Cunnane. “I have worked closely with Vincent over the past three years since I became Chair”, he said, “and have been hugely impressed by his vision, energy and leadership. He will be an outstanding first President for the new TU.”

The Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest will commence on October 1st, next, with campuses in Thurles, Athlone, Clonmel, Ennis, and Limerick.

“Barney” & “Beakey” Hatch Second Family In Thurles.

“Barney” and “Beakey” are two barn swallows temporally residing here in Thurles, Co. Tipperary, which we have been carefully watching.

In the last few days they have produced their second brood of chicks, having built two nests, the most recent construction within about 3.66meters (12ft) of their previous abode.

*“Barney”* and *“Beakey Swallow”* hatch second brood, **as a spider and his web remain in residence next door.**

Swallows spend their winter in southern Africa, migrating across the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert to Ireland in spring to return home using the same return route in early September.

They build cup-shaped nests in barn rafters, under roofs, using mud pellets, hair, grass, and feathers as seen here above.
It can take a pair of swallows up to 1,100 journeys to build their nest, with the female only permitted to line it; in the case shown above “Beakey” used a layer of dried grass on top of the mud pellets, before covering it in a mixture of soft feathers.

Most of our Irish swallows try to rear two broods each summer and some early arrivals succeed in raising three. The male swallow in this case “Barney” arrived back in the Thurles area first and was heard singing over his territory awaiting to attract a mate. Females, (like most women) don’t mind keeping their men waiting, generally arriving up to a week late, looking virtually identical in appearance to their male counterparts. [Males have longer outer tail-streamers than females and have also more gloss to their outer feathers.]

Swallows always return to the same location to nest every year, so the number of birds nesting in any one area can grow year after year.

Not even distantly related to their somewhat look alike Swift family; having watched them year after year, the true home of barn swallows is in our skys where they feed almost exclusively on midges and flies caught during their erratic, high speed flight. They can be observed even drinking on the wing, flying low to sip water.

Swallows nests, their eggs and chicks are protected under the Wildlife Act 1976 and Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000 and European-level legislation. The penalties for tampering with swallows or disturbing their active nests consists of heavy fines and even imprisonment.

EPA Statement On Publication Of IPCC Working Group.

IPCC Report echoes key findings of EPA publications on Ireland’s projected greenhouse gas emissions.
For Ireland to transform to a climate resilient, biodiversity rich and climate neutral economy by 2050, there needs to be a significant and immediate increase in the scale and pace of greenhouse gas emission reductions.
Irish authors and scientists contributed to the new report.

The EPA welcomes the publication of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report reaffirms and strengthens the findings in previous reports on the human impacts on climate change.
This latest IPCC report provides new and important insights on the current state of the global climate system, and the steps needed to halt human-induced climate change.
The EPA also welcomed the contributions by authors and scientists from Ireland to the report. The work of the IPCC relies on information and analysis provided by research and sustained systematic observations of the climate system.
Commenting on the report Mr Frank McGovern, (EPA Chief Climate Scientist), said:
“This is an important and timely report, which will be considered by policymakers at the COP26 meeting in November. However, the information it provides can inform decision making on climate change at all levels.
It is essential that we maintain and develop targeted climate change research in Ireland. This is needed to inform actions here and, in particular, the responses that we require. This includes enhanced management of greenhouse gas emissions and removals, as well as the adaptation responses needed to ensure that we can manage the impacts of climate change”.
Ms Laura Burke, (EPA Director General), said:
“For Ireland the report underlines the key messages from the recent EPA publication on Ireland’s greenhouse gas emission projections, which states that the next decade needs to be one of major developments and advances in relation to Ireland’s response to climate change and there needs to be a significant and immediate increase in the scale and pace of greenhouse gas emission reductions. In addition, the IPCC report makes it clear that we must chart a course to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions in the coming decades”.

The EPA leads in the development and coordination of national climate change research in Ireland. It works with other agencies and research bodies in development of key climate related observations including observations of greenhouse gases, aerosols, river flows and fresh water levels.
The EPA provided support for Prof. Peter Thorne, Maynooth University, who acted as a coordinating lead author on the chapter on observations in the Working Group I (WGI) report of the 6th Assessment Cycle.
The EPA has also supported the research at Mace Head cited in the report, and the work of Dr Jurgita Ovadnevaite, who was an author on the chapter on air pollution in the WG1 report.
The EPA has supported work on the 6th Climate Modelling Inter-comparison Project (CMIP-6) used throughout the IPCC report through the work of Dr. Paul Nolan in ICHEC.
The EPA hosts the Climate Ireland information portal which provides interactive access to climate information for Ireland.

For more information please visit www.ipcc.ch.

2,248 Confirmed Covid-19 Cases On Island Of Ireland Today

The Department of Health has confirmed a further 1,110 cases of Covid-19 in the Irish Republic. They also confirm that there are 89 patients in hospital, with 21 of these in ICUs.
Same amounts to almost 7,700 cases of Covid-19 reported in the Republic within the past seven days, an increase of 88% on the previous 7 days.

One in five of Covid positive people being admitted into our hospitals are vaccinated.

A further 1,138 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Northern Ireland today, with, sadly, 1 further death of a patient previously having tested positive for the virus.

In total there are now 2,248 cases of the virus on the whole island of Ireland.

Meanwhile, here in the Irish Republic, the Irish Pharmacy Union are calling on the Health Service Executive to supply Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to all pharmacists, to allow Covid-19 vaccinations to further continue without interruption, as supplies of the Janssen vaccine begins to slow down.

Persons aged between 18-24 are again reminded to register for the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, which opened since yesterday. [Tel:1800 700 700 or register online through the HSE Vaccine Portal].

Do Stay Safe.