Environment « Thurles Information

Sinkhole Appears Seven Miles From Tipperary Border

A major ‘sinkhole’ has appeared in the centre of a field near an underground mine at Galmoy, located in the Rathdowney Trend, Co Kilkenny, just seven miles from the Tipperary border. Galmoy Mine is a lead and zinc mine owned by Lundin Mining.

The Rathdowney Trend, stretches 40 kilometres, between the towns of Abbeyleix in Laois and Thurles in Co Tipperary. The mining area is the largest producer of zinc concentrate in Europe and is made up of sedimentary rock, primarily limestones, which were concentrated some 320 million years ago.

This sinkhole was reported on Saturday morning last by the current landowner, who notified the mining company of the occurrence.

The sinkhole measures around 15m in circumference and approximately 9m in depth and the mining company in co-operation with the land owner has cordoned off the immediate area and a nearby minor road, while hydro-geological and geotechnical support engineering carry out assessments to determine the true cause. Assessments completed to date indicate there are no immediate risks to public safety and no need for any evacuations.

It is also understood that meetings are taking place between the Environmental Protection Agency, representatives of Lundin Mining and the Department of Natural Resources.

Dublin To Pump Water From Shannon

Tipperary’s Lough Derg shore line.

Irish Water has begun to work on a €500m project which will remove water from the River Shannon to Dublin.

This Dublin Water Supply project is, aside from the installation of current water metering, the first major infrastructure project to be undertaken by this latest water utility.

It has now begun to seek tenders for a Survey Specialist who will examine the water quality at Lough Derg and the Parteen Basin, from which the water is expected to be sourced.

When eventually completed, Irish Water plan to remove around 350 million litres of water per day from the Shannon river to serve Dublin drinking water needs for the next 70 years.

The project previously stalled amid protests from communities and politicians representing the Shannon region.

A 2010 assessment of the plan, carried out for Dublin City Council by consultant engineers RPS, confirmed the Shannon scheme was the best option for supplying the ten counties along the route as well as the greater Dublin area.

It is now understood that Irish Water will submit a final planning application towards the end of 2015.

LIT Thurles Graduate Listed For Manley Award

Roscrea native, Mr Anthony Glynn, together with business partner and Athlone native Mr James Sherlock, are amongst 3 business finalists shortlisted for the 2014 David Manley Emerging Entrepreneur Awards, sponsored by Dublin Chamber of Commerce and Ulster Bank.

Their product, “Dunk-E,” enables people to manufacture their own electricity and was originally conceived by Mr Glynn while researching Water Turbine Technology, as part of his studies here at the Tipperary/Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT), Thurles.

As part of his research, Anthony found that there were major issues with current technologies in providing rural communities with electricity, leading to his conclusion that off-grid micro generation remains the only feasible option. To this end he designed the original concept for his “Dunk-E,” latter a novel, patent-pending hydro turbine device that produces substantial electricity from the natural flow of water in small rivers, streams, weirs and sluice gates. This device will also provide users with exceptional long term value for money.

With over 9 years experience in the Renewable Energy Sector as well as having set up and run his own business, Mr Glynn has set up Ár-nuaTec, together with Mr Sherlock, to produce and market “Dunk-E,” using this product’s four main focused marketing factors:- Energy Savings; Upfront Costs; Payback Period and Warranty.

Anthony and James have now identified a minimum of 4 million potential micro hydro sites worldwide and hold advanced orders of over €150,000 during 2014 here at home, with orders worth over €250,000 for the Asian market in 2015.

The overall winner in the 2014 David Manley Emerging Entrepreneur Awards will be announced at a ceremony in the offices of Mason, Hayes and Curran on Thursday, January 30th 2014.

The winner will receive a prize package worth over €100,000, comprising of €10,000 in cash together with consultancy services and mentoring from a range of professional support companies.

Tipperary – EirGrid’s Institutionalised Arrogance

As with most important issues currently being discussed /experienced in today’s Ireland, solutions are being left solely to those whom we pay the massive salaries and top-ups and why not, after all that is why we employ them, is it not? However, if the past is any guide as to what we can expect now into the future, this trend of continued silence and non democratic debate by all of our citizens, must now stop.

We as a nation can no longer ignore or indeed trust the final supposedly logical informed decisions being made by those we employ, as many of these same employees should find out come local elections scheduled for next May.

Of course in this instance I am particularly referring to supporters of EirGrid and their arrogance and institutionalised contempt for the ordinary tax payers of South Tipperary and those who have chosen to gamble with our health, which are intent on raping our natural scenery and hell bent on destroying the very future of our tourism sector.

Why should Co Tipperary, a county which has little large industry, massively high emigration with no real future employment prospects for our children, now be ordered to bear the brunt of what we observe as institutionalised contempt?

For the benefit of our overly silent majority, EirGrid has identified three corridors for their future network of proposed pylons. (Two in Waterford and one across the South of Tipperary). From these three corridors one will be finally chosen as the route for the Gridlink power line linking Wexford and Cork via Waterford city.

According to rethinkpylons.org, EirGrid’s Grid 25 project, (of which Grid Link forms part) some 750 to 1,500 pylons will be erected between 45m and 60m high. Same will carry 400kV overhead lines more than 500km and will be erected not more than 50m from some of our private dwellings.

“For what purpose?” I hear you ask. The most widely held view by those affected is that this Gridlink project, has to do with facilitating our new, and to my view, an unsustainable wind energy sector. Minister Pat Rabbitte’s recent memorandum of understanding with the UK government with regard to exporting wind turbine produced electricity, now makes Ireland a giant Wind Farm, producing cheap electricity for Europe and may have more to do with this proposed project than indeed it has to do with the upgrading of our own national electricity grid.

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