Environment « Thurles Information

Upperchurch Winter Walking Weekend 2012

EXPERIENCE “ELEGY WRITTEN IN AN ‘UPPERCHURCH,’ YARD.” (With sincere apologies to poet Thomas Gray)

“The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, the lowing herd winds slowly o’er the lea,
The ploughman homeward plods his weary way, and leaves the world to torchlight and to me.
Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight, and all the air a solemn stillness holds,
Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight, and drowsy tinklings lull the Upperchurch folds.

So what are ye up to on Friday Nov 9th next? Usual old Friday night activity I suppose. Boring Late Late Show, lounging in front of the TV, stuck ‘gaming,’ on the Play-station, or simply uploading text on Facebook in the hope of a LIKE. Am I right?

So time to take a break, grab HERSELF and steal away from that old constant Friday night drudgery, by experiencing at first hand the aforementioned poetic lines above, in that magnificent, wild, unspoilt and uncontrolled heavenly environment, that is Upperchurch, Thurles, here in Co.Tipperary.

Take HERSELF, instead, on a romantic torchlight stroll through beautiful farmland, quiet country roads, hills and lowlands and continue to stretch your legs on a variety of other walks, for all abilities, ranging from 6km to 18km on Saturday Nov 10th and Sunday Nov 11th also. This is not just my advice, it’s also the advice of the Upperchurch /Drombane Development Association, latter organising their annual Weekend Winter walks. Your kids will so enjoy the wide open space and the clear, pure hilly air.

Note: The Friday night walk is free of admission charges & complimentary refreshments will be provided after all the weekend’s events.

Suitable Gear

Walkers do not need to be reminded, but are nevertheless advised to bring suitable footwear, rain gear, a backpack with a snack, drinks and possibly a change of clothes. Remember Strictly No Dogs.

If your legs are up for it after hiking through the hills, there are free set dancing lessons on Saturday evening & traditional music will be provided in all the local pubs during the weekend. There will be free set dancing lessons on Saturday evening at 5.00 p.m. in Oliver Ryan’s Pub and visiting musicians and performers are as usual very welcome.

Upperchurch/Drombane Development Association wish to thank sincerely all area landowners for their co-operation, over this weekend’s events.

Remember: Walking Weekend 9th, 10th & 11th November
Registration Fee Adults: €10
Post Primary Students: €5
Primary School Students: Free.
Further Details: Click here on www.upperchurch.ie.

Is New Thurles Dump Detached Governance?

Cronyism is best described as “demonstrating partiality to long-standing friends and familiar wealthy acquaintances.” ( Ah, you know the sort of situation I mean – land and property, purchased from political party financial supporters, to build hospitals / clinics in a politicians own constituency, thus ensuring electoral area votes ahead of the next general election from grateful residents. Cash donations to County Councillors to obtain planning permission in areas prone to flooding , that sort of thing. I really shouldn’t have to spell it out for you.)

In our Ireland of today, in particular, Cronyism encourages massive support when it is aided & abetted by the wilful silence of our country’s electorate. This same silence results in meritocracy (By the latter I mean the implementation of a persons continued advancement, based solely upon their real intellectual talents.) being practically non existent, thus ultimately leading to vastly inferior local government protection services being implemented.

While cronyism might not be a factor in the case highlighted hereunder, one is forgiven for believing it may be a factor, due to the lack of local government transparency afforded to those who only attempt to protect their immediate environment.

Promised key reforms and recent remarks by the Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan however, would now appear to directly contradict each other, e.g. (A) The power of councillors to overturn the decisions of planning officials is to be abolished, (Section 140 of the Local Government Act). (B) Citizens to be offered a chance to raise issues in their area, such as illegal dumping on fixyourstreet.ie. (C) The Ministers own quote “The people have grown more distant and detached from a system of governance that is supposed to support them locally.”

The following statement, which has all the appearance of being an indictment of this ‘detached governance,’ was forwarded by the Cabragh / Ballycurrane Residents Association to Thurles.Info today.

Their Statement Reads As Follows:

Continue reading Is New Thurles Dump Detached Governance?

Tree Day 2012 – Lá na gCrann 2012

Trees – (Poetry by Alfred Joyce Kilmer.)

“I think that I shall never see, a poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest, against the sweet earth’s flowing breast.
A tree that looks at God all day and lifts her leafy arms to pray.
A tree that may in summer wear, a nest of robins in her hair.
Upon whose bosom snow has lain, who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree.”

Tree Day, October 11th next, is an annual event, not just in Thurles, but on the whole island of Ireland, and is now enjoying its sixteenth year. It is one day in the primary school curriculum which is exclusively devoted to the study and direct experience of trees. All 3,200 primary schools across Ireland are encouraged to put away their school books for this day and learn about trees and the environment in general in a fun, relaxed yet stimulating setting.

As already stated, Tree Day will be held this year in all primary schools on Thursday, 11th October 2012. The theme for this year’s Tree Day is “Dá mbeadh crainn in ann labhairt” or translated from the Irish “If trees could talk.” Keeping this theme in mind, children, with adults, parents and teachers are invited to explore the fascinating stories, the people and events of local, national and indeed world significance, that a tree growing in their locality may have experienced in its lifetime.

The aim of Tree Day is to create a visual learning experience that will enthuse and enlighten all children, by making them aware of the magic, the beauty and the importance of trees in our local environment.

Note: The event is being organised by the Tree Council of Ireland with the support of the Department of Education and Skills and is sponsored by Tetra Pak, with the support of Avonmore School Milk.

This Tree Day it is hoped that many schools will take the opportunity to participate in guided woodland walks at various locations throughout the country, enabling children to connect directly with nature in an enjoyable and safe way.

Free Electrical Recycling Day This Saturday

Electrical Recycling

A free electrical and battery recyling day will take place at the Mid-Tipp Mart, Cabra Road, Thurles this Saturday May 12th from 10AM – 4 PM. Any household item with a battery or plug can be dropped off at the Mart for free.

This is a great way to get rid of any old electrical items you may have lying around. Items that can be dropped off for recycling include; washing machines, televisions, radios, dryers, kettles, stereo equipment, lamps, fridges, freezers, dishwashers, toasters, coffee-makers, irons, hairdryers, handheld drills etc.

So, if you have any of the those items, or any other electrical items, cluttering up your house or shed, you can now dispose of them for free this Saturday.

Turf Cutting In A Fast Changing Environment

Machined Turf Cutting

When I was young and restless, my mind was ill at ease,
Through dreaming of America and the gold beyond the seas.
Oh, sorrow take their money,`tis hard to find the same,
And what´s the world to any man if no one speaks his name.
I´ve had my day and here I am, a building bricks per load.
A long three thousand miles away, from the Old Bog Road.

Proinsías Barrett reminisces, taking us on a ramble down the old bog roads of Tipperary, yesterday and today.

Jimmy Deenihan buckled under the influence of the IFA, and rightly so, many might say. It is unfortunate however that the scores of other citizen reaction groups do not have the same access to an organisation as ‘influential’ as the IFA to rally to their myriad of causes.

We have all read the debates in the ‘Nationals,’ concerning turf cutting, not just as a relatively cheap fuel or source of modest income for owners of ‘bad land,’ but the debate also included submissions on the grounds that the practice of turf cutting was a social and cultural feature of rural, small town and village tradition.

I remember from my own teenage years in the 1980’s being rounded up for the day in the bog, turning, footing and heaping sods. Plots were laid out and us ‘townies,’ arriving en-masse, disembarking from Ford Cortina’s, Volkswagon Jetta’s and Datsun Sunny’s wearing their ‘bog-duds,’ (work clothes) and the women in pink and yellow marigold gloves, stooped over working a seemingly endless row of freshly cut, water sodden turf. There was a strange language associated with bog work, unique even and which only referred to the task at hand. Expressions like:- ‘There’s great dryin in it today,’ ‘She’ll have to be turned twice before you can foot her,‘ or ‘The bog would put a fierce hunger on you,‘ ‘By God there’s a breeze in the bog today and t’would skin you….‘

There was politics too, a sort of ‘bog-etiquette,‘ or ‘bog sense.‘ No-one wanted to be ‘The disgrace of the bog‘, your work and progress would be routinely (often covertly) inspected by other bog men/women under the guise of coming over to have a chat, with the introduction of ‘God bless the work,’ and if you weren’t following the un-written turf saving procedure, you might end up being the ‘Talk of the bog,’ as ‘That turf is washed away into the ground‘ or ‘If he doesn’t get that into foots soon it’ll be useless,‘ or ‘Be jaesus his heaps are awful lookin,’ ‘Who’s plot is that?… Ryan winkle a Galboola’s…. and the grass growin up through it.’ The term ‘bog standard,’ had a completely different meaning, once you entered the realm of the bog men, and once you had proved you ability to foot and save with the best of them, you might hear ‘By God that’s great lookin turf Frank, good black turf, she’ll burn well.’