Education - Thurles Information

An Invitation To Launch Of ‘Mná Month’ At Cashel Library.

Ms Maura Barrett, (Cashel Library) Reports:-

A Cara,

Please join us in Cashel Library on Friday evening next, March 1st, at 7:00pm with country music sensation Ms Dee Morrissey to launch our Mná Month celebrations.

Good News; Mná Month is happening again at Cashel Library and the schedule is being currently finalised.

To date the following events have already been finalised.

NOTE: All events are provided FREE of charge at Cashel Library. Booking Essential please to Tel. No.: 062 63825. Refreshments will be served at all events.
[ You can locate the Cashel Library building, situated on Friar Street, Lady’s Well, Cashel, Co. Tipperary, HERE. (G487+RX) ].

Finalised Events To Date.

Friday, 1st March, at 7:00pm: Opening Concert with Country Music sensation Dee Morrissey.
Saturday, 2nd March, at 10:00am: Crafty Women Wellbeing Workshop entitled, “It is all about ME!”, with Noeleen Watson.
Monday, 4th March, at 11:00am: Free Online Services with your Local Library – Learn what your Library Card entitles you to, with IT Guru Paul Devane.
Tuesday, 5th March, at 7:00pm: Visit with Author Maureen O’Sullivan, “The Girl in the Tunnel”, a true story of her survival in the Magdalene Laundries.
Friday, 8th March, at 2:00pm: Stone Mad with Philip Quinn – Make Stone Pendants or Worry Stones using limestone and marble.
Monday, 11th March, at 11:00am: Strong Women Karaoke Sing-a-long with Claire Grant.
Tuesday, 12th March, at 11:00am: Memory Café with The Alzheimer’s Society.
Wednesday, 13th March, at 7:00pm: Visit with Author with Eimear Ryan, author of book “The Grass Ceiling”.
Tuesday, 19th March, at 6:30pm: Women’s Health and Menopause with Nicola Ryan Menopause Pharmacist
Tuesday, 26th March, at 3:00pm: Genealogy with Mary Guinan Darmody.
Tuesday, 26th March, at 6:15pm: Movie Night “Shirley Valentine“.
Wednesday 27th March at 2:30pm: Sustainable Jewellery Making with Gillian Tobin
Thursday, 29th March, at 3:00pm: Circle Dancing with Tracey Tobin. (Circle Dance is a gentle healing way to bring mind, body & spirit together, Relieve stress and create energy).

Attention: Get Your Free Digital Book Token.

World Book Day, 7th March 2024, is just around the corner.

Ahead of a host of annual celebrations across libraries, schools and book shops, World Book Day tokens have now been issued.

Same are valid from February 15th until March 31st 2024, and you can access your World Book Day token digitally, by simply clicking HERE.

In participating bookshops, each voucher entitles the bearer to a free World Book Day Book or €1.50 off books costing €3.99 or more.
Both Easons (Thurles Shopping Centre) and Bookworm (Parnell Street), here in Thurles town are taking part and below are some of the amazing World Book Day books, that you can pick up free from our local booksellers:-

Elmer and the Patchwork Story, by David McKee.

Greg the Sausage Roll: Lunchbox Superhero, by Mark and Roxanne Hoyle.

Dinosaur Club: On the Trail of a T-Rex, by Rex Stone.

Marv and the Ultimate Superpower, by Alex Falase-Koya.

Can You Get Jellyfish in Space?, by Dr Sheila Kanani.

Loki: Tales of a Bad God, by Walker Press.

The Curious Case of the Irish Yeti: Molly Malone and Bram Stoker, by Alan Nolan.

Inis Mara, by Tristan Rosenstock.

For more information on World Book Day visit your local book shop and www.worldbookday.com.

Video Game Developers To Showcase Skills On TUS Thurles Campus.

Video game developers to showcase skills at 21st All Ireland Games Fleadh on the TUS Thurles Campus during 2024 Games Fleadh.
Games Fleadh 2024 open to the public for free. Online registration is available at www.gamesfleadh.ie.
Unique insights being offered into this €165-billion euro industry; to all/any visiting second and third-level students.
Games Fleadh 2024 is sponsored by TUS, EA and FiServ.

Students with ambitions in the gaming industry will get a unique insight into the €165 billion industry and access to some of the world’s most successful gaming companies and representative bodies at this year’s All Ireland Games Fleadh in the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) Thurles Campus on Wednesday March 6, 2024.

**Games Fleadh Mascots pictured with Dr Liam Noonan, TUS and James Fogarty, TUS**.
*Pic: Alan Place*

In its 21st year, Games Fleadh continues to lead the way in recognising the brightest and best among the country’s university student game developers, while also bringing together the collective knowledge of some of the leading names in the gaming industry.

Up to 1,400 students have competed in the competition since its inception, according to the event organiser Dr Liam Noonan (TUS Software Development and Games Programming Lecturer).

“As well as being a hotly contested competition, Games Fleadh is a unique opportunity for third level students to demonstrate their games to industry veterans and gain valuable feedback on their creations,” said Dr Noonan, explaining that some of the country’s leading software developers and international gaming companies will be in attendance once again.
Games Fleadh 2024 features competitions such as a Game Studio ‘Start with Nothing’ themed competition and Robocode. Competitors will be in with a chance to win one of the many EA title prizes available.

Every year this free event, which is open to the public, also attracts second level students from all over Ireland with an interest in studying Computer Science or a future career in this competitive industry.

“The video games market is larger than the music and movie business combined, with revenues recently surpassing 180 billion dollars (approximately €165 billion) as reported by UK-based market intelligence firm Pelham Smithers. Games Fleadh continues to be a fantastic networking opportunity for the Irish game development sector. We believe that it also offers a fantastic networking opportunity for teachers to engage with third level institutions and explore best practice in teaching coding concepts,” added Dr Noonan.

Dr. Janice O’Connell (Head of Department of Information Technology at TUS) said, “The Games Fleadh is a fantastic event which integrates multiple different aspects of IT, innovation and creativity. Through the originality and imagination of Games, this unique event brings together industry, academia, current students, and future students. Special thanks to all our industry partners for their continued support, to the participants, and the staff in Thurles for making this event possible. Sincere thanks to Dr. Liam Noonan, who champions Games Fleadh every year.”

NOTE: The TUS Thurles Co. Tipperary Campus caters for students studying for qualifications in Applied Sports Science, Agricultural Science and Environmental Science, Business, Social Care Work, and Games Design.

Government Approval Received For New Garda Reserve Recruitment Campaign.

Recruitment campaign expected to be launched soon.
Revised Regulations provide for more efficient training and more effective deployment of Garda Reserves.
Target of at least 1,000 Garda Reserve members by 2026.

The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee TD, has today received Cabinet approval for updated regulations on recruitment, training and deployment of the Garda Reserve.
She has committed to launching a recruitment campaign as soon as possible and has set a target of 1,000 Garda Reserves by 2026, to further support Garda members nationwide.

The Garda Reserve is a voluntary body drawn from the community to assist An Garda Síochána with local patrols and crime reduction initiatives, policing major incidents and events, and providing operational support to regular Garda members on the basis of the reserve member’s skills or local knowledge.

Welcoming the approval by Cabinet, Mrs McEntee said: “Joining the Garda Reserve is an excellent way to give back to your community, to help make it safer, and to get experience of and an insight into working with An Garda Síochána if that is your longer term career ambition.
The new Regulations provide for a more modern approach, particularly in relation to training. The Garda Commissioner will be in a position to recruit new members of the Garda Reserve and a recruitment campaign is planned for the very near future. It will target a broad and inclusive range of candidates, in keeping with the Reserve’s role as a visible form of community engagement.
It is a priority for me to ensure An Garda Síochána has all of the support it needs to provide the world-class police service we have all come to expect. Building up the Garda Reserve to at least 1,000 members by 2026 to ensure it can meet its full potential is part of that mission”.

Notable changes in the new Regulations include:

Additional flexibility for training components that ensure new Reserves are trained efficiently and to a high standard enabling Reserve members to have the skills to take up active duty more readily.
Changes to enable more effective deployment of Garda Reserve members.
Updates to Reserve members’ hours on duty – Currently, the maximum hours a Garda Reserve member can be requested to work is 208 hours in any 12-month period. Under the new Regulations, Reserves can make themselves available for more hours, should they choose to do so.
Updated and modernised educational requirements to reflect changes that were introduced to the Leaving Certificate grading system in recent years.

The work of a Garda Reserve is varied and interesting, for example:

Working along-side the Garda Road Traffic Unit.
Ensuring public safety during State visits by foreign dignitaries.
Assisting in public order incidents and in some cases assisting in prosecutions.
Assisting with crowd control at events such as concerts, sporting events etc.
Assisting with the regular day-to-day work of An Garda Síochána.

Child Benefit For 18-year-old Students In Full-Time Education.

Child benefit payments will be extended to include 18-year-olds, latter who remain in full-time education, with effect from May 1st next.

Ms Heather Humphreys (Minister for Social Protection) is expected to bring this proposal to Cabinet this morning.

This measure, which will also apply to children with a disability, was previously announced in Budget 2024, but was scheduled to begin from next September.

Ms Humphreys is expected to now inform the Cabinet today that the Department is in a position to implement this measure with effect from May 1st, next.

She will use social welfare legislation; same due before the Seanad this week, to implement this change.

The new policy change was initially designed as a cost-of-living measure.