How and when will the environmental needs of the River Suir, In Thurles Co. Tipperary, be correctly addressed.
On Friday August 29th, 2025 after a 12 year wait, I issued, not for the first time, a complaint to the Customer Service Desk at Tipperary Co. Council and received a reply which quoted reference number ENV-11308-F6L3. I should point out, that had I not received a reply by mid-day today, the matter would have found the desk of the Ombudsman on Monday morning next, as is required by the Tipperary Co. Council’s own Customer Charter. SEE HERE.
This afternoon at precisely 3:11pm I received a communication from Mr Robert O’Brien, (A/Executive Scientist, Environment & Climate Action, Tipperary County Council, Civic Offices, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.)
Two signs on the River Suir have since been removed.Why? (See April 17th 2019 Posted 6 years ago).
The communication on Thursday last reads: To George Willoughby, Thurles 18th September 2025 Re: ENV-11366-D1G0: Concerns Regarding the River Suir at Thurles.
Dear Mr. Willoughby, Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding the condition of the upper River Suir at Thurles. We do appreciate your concern. Tipperary County Council acknowledges the environmental challenges facing the upper River Suir at Thurles and wishes to assure you that proactive steps are being taken to address these issues. Contrary to the perception that no action is being taken, a comprehensive catchment management plan and pilot study are currently being developed for the upper catchment of the River Suir. This initiative involves a collaborative approach, bringing together a wide range of stakeholders including local authorities, elected members, agricultural groups, environmental agencies, schools and community groups. The aim is to identify and address key sources of pollution. The pilot study will inform targeted interventions and water quality initiatives to improve water quality, biodiversity and overall river health of the upper River Suir. It is the intention that this pilot study will lead to improvements however it’s important to understand that such improvements will take time. You are welcome to contact me on 087-6724679 or email robert.obrien@tipperarycoco.ie if you have any queries in relation to the information contained in this letter.
Yours Faithfully, Robert O’Brien, Executive Scientist Environment & Climate Action.
Realising that over the past 6 years I had never received the courtesy of a reply from Tipperary Co. Council; on Saturday 30th August, 2025, I issued a formal complaint to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)Ref. COM021813, at info@epa.ie, asking that they put pressure (prosecute if necessary) on Tipperary Co. Council in their failings to take the necessary action required, first reported 12 years ago on November 7th, 2013. SEE HERE and note the date.
Following this latest communication from Mr Robert O’Brien, I now ask:- How will the environmental needs of the River Suir be addressed, keeping in mind that Thurles is its source? Must we take legal action?
From Mr O’Brien reply, shown above, it would appear that major issues will be addressed using a ‘partnership approach‘, where all stakeholders will be consulted. Some might argue that this is a positive problem-solving approach admirably rooted in democracy. Many others, like myself, however, might argue that this is not democracy, but rather bureaucracy (i.e. excessively complicated administrative procedures). Indeed we saw at first hand, recently, how this so called “partnership approach“, ended up with, despite serious protestations, the reduction of 60% footfall on Liberty Square, thus destroying prosperous businesses.
The video footage shown hereunder is undeniable: Tipperary County Council officials, aided by Thurles Municipal District officials and supported by local councillors, are not only failing in their duty to protect the River Suir; they are directly contributing to its pollution and decline and this is confirmed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)Ref. COM021813.
Video above shows sewage flowing openly into the River Suir in broad daylight in the centre of Thurles town, over the last 12 years, within 4 to 20 metres of two major food outlets/supermarkets and never before observed in even the medieval history of Thurles.
Questions: As the communication acknowledges, this consultative partnership approach will take time. (Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) who work on behalf of Ireland’s 31 local authorities reckons between 2 to 5 years). (1)Given the diversity of stakeholders it will most likely take a lot of time, but does the River Suir have that time? (2) As we recently reported, raw sewage is flowing for the past 12 years, into the river. Do we need to consult/create a talking shop with all stakeholders in order to debate the merits of 28 pipes draining into an 800 metre (½ mile) stretch of this river, within the centre of Thurles Town? (3) Surely, it’s fair to assume that all stakeholders will be in agreement that raw sewage flowing into the River Suir is a bad idea and should be addressed immediately. Are we not informed almost daily that health and safety supersede all else? (4) Surely the consultative process can be bypassed, to safeguard against the damage and destruction of sewage pollution? (5)So how will the environmental problems, faced by the River Suir, be solved?
Per your recent reply, it looks like there will be a committee of representative stakeholders who will meet and be consulted on the matter. We had one such talking shop in Thurles, 9 years ago, on August 5th 2016, Read Here. I heard nothing since.
“A camel is a horse designed by a committee!“ Committees have been described by wise men asa group that takes minutes and wastes hours! Alternatively, others see such committees as a group of people who individually can do nothing but as a group decide that nothing can be done!
With regards to forming a committee to correct the sewage issues in the River Suir in Thurles, may I suggest you select 3 people, one of whom you know is always sick and the other whom you know won’t ever turn up. Then as a scientist you go ahead and make a unanimous decision. We already had promises way back over one year ago, published by the Irish Independent. See issue published exactly one year to the day, and dated Thursday, 19th September 2024 at 3:18pm.
I have replied to Mr O’Brien pointing out that all communications from Tipperary Co. Council officials will be published on this site, thus ensuring a “collaborative approach, bringing together a wide range of stakeholders including local authorities, elected members, agricultural groups, environmental agencies, schools and community groups”and we welcome all points of view for discussion.
Yes, I have replied today (10:46am) to Mr O’Brien, expressing my anger, but sadly, one fears the life of the River Suir doesn’t have time to waste, if in my lifetime we are to include its recovery time.
In a supposedly automated reply also received today (11:06am), I learn quote: “I am currently out on site Thursday18th September with limited access to emails and on Annual Leave Friday 19th, but I will reply to e-mails on my return Monday 22nd September. For all urgent enquiries please call the Environment Section at 0818 06 5000”.
Yesterday afternoon, as a heavy downpour swept across Thurles Town, I took shelter beneath the trees on the banks of the River Suir and waited. As predicted at 3:00pm, as the bells from Thurles Cathedral struck the hour, the rain eased just long enough for me to capture a series of photographs and a short video, the evidence of which, now speaks for itself.
Video above shows sewage flowing openly in the River Suir, in Thurles Town centre. The Fountain, once gifted to the Thurles Tidy Town Committee and stolen from the river Suir by council officials, with the knowledge of current serving local councillors, must now be returned.
The reason the rampant weed growth along the riverbank is left uncontrolled is now obvious. These weeds serve as a natural curtain, concealing the 28 outlets discharging their contents directly into the river; a river which LAWPRO (Local Authority Waters Programme) scientists confirm is dying rapidly.
Yes, in response to an EPA memo last week, Council officials, who had deliberately ignored our warnings, made a token gesture. Two pallets, two plastic bollards, a pile of discarded clothing, and six supermarket trolleys were finally removed. But beyond that, little has changed. As my video above shows, bottles dumped into the river during this summer’s Town Park Music Festival still remain. The blame here cannot rest entirely with festival-goers; when public seating is installed by a river, litter bins must also be provided. Yet councillors and their officials continue to ignore this most basic of facts.
I spent over an hour yesterday in that putrid stretch of riverbank, speaking with those passing along the walkway near the Swinging Gates at the junction of Emmett Street and Thomond Road. After the downpour, one covered drain was spewing raw sewage; another carried foul runoff from the southern end of town. Spanish students and Ukrainian refugees were horrified by what they saw. Local residents, on the other hand, merely shrugged, “nothing new,” they said. Even the ducks, same introduced years ago by the late Wilbert Houben, Thurles Gun Club and myself, paddled eagerly in the filth, feeding on its floating debris.
Meanwhile, on 11th September, (a full 13 days after I had contacted the EPA in Wexford), our local newspaper finally ran a piece on the issue. Disappointingly, the image used was a long outdated archive photo, showing a river that looked nothing like its current choked and dying state. The article itself read more like a promotion for a local politician, than an exposé of the environmental crisis being ignored for the past 12 years.
And so, the buck-passing continues. LAWPRO; Uisce Éireann; Inland Fisheries Ireland, etc. none are willing or able to take legal action against Tipperary County Council. Instead, information shuffles endlessly from one desk to another, while the river suffers in silence and our government runs around like a headless chicken, believing, like the two genetically enhanced mice, ‘Pinkey and the Brain’, that their hyper-intelligence is slowly taking over the world.
But let it be clear: as the video shows, this is ‘Not The End’.
Lyrics: American singer, songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman Dolly Parton. Vocals: The late American country singer Charley Pride(1934-2020) and the aforementioned Dolly Parton.
God’s Coloring Book.
Today as I was walking, In the fields just down the way. I sat down on a fallen log, To pass the time away, And as I looked around me, The more that I did look, The more I realize that I was viewing, God’s coloring book. I saw a golden ray of sunlight, A silver drop of dew, A soft, white floating cloud, Sailing cross the sky of blue, A yellow dandelion, A pretty evergreen, And some red and orange flowers, Growing wild along the stream, And the more I look around me, And the more that I do look, The more I realize that I was viewing, God’s coloring book. The greyness in an old man’s hair, The pink in baby’s cheeks, The blackness in a stormy sky, The brown in fallen leaves, And the multicolored rainbow, Stretched across the sky, And the purple haze at sunset, Just before the night. And the more I look around me, The more that I do look, The more I realize that I am viewing, God’s coloring book. Then I turn my face toward the sky, And say a silent prayer. And though God doesn’t speak to me, I see him everywhere, He is all around me. He’s everywhere I look, And each new day is but a new page, In God’s coloring book. Yes, each new day is but a new page In God’s coloring book.
We have been watching it, and yes, yet another road sign on Liberty Square, in Thurles, has met its “Waterloo”, demolished by traffic attempting to turn west on a narrow street scape that has become a hazard since its so-called upgrade.
Sign on Liberty Square, central, left prostrate for 6 days.
As with the nearby ESB cabinet highlighted on September 7th last, the sign was positioned far too low to be visible to drivers. This latest casualty has lain in the middle of Liberty Square for six full days before being retrieved today, a symbol of official neglect.
This pattern has become all too familiar. In the past three years alone, railings at the Slievenamon Road junction have been flattened three times by heavy vehicles. Five signposts, installed perilously close to narrow traffic lanes, have been damaged. Two remain not replaced. Add these collisions to continuously adjusted pedestrian crossing lights, to a set of traffic lights, not to mention street bicycle racks and everyone can see why Thurles needs a bypass.
Six damaged traffic signs on a 4.7 km (2.9 miles) stretch of roadway near Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
The problem is not just confined to Thurles. On the short 4.7 km(2.9 miles) stretch of road, between the villages of Littleton and Horse & Jockey; same a six-minute drive, I observed six damaged signs just today. (See above picture). Two remain lying flattened at the scene; four have been removed altogether. In at least two years, Tipperary County Council has made no effort to replace any of them. Which begs the obvious question, if these signs were dispensable for two years, why were they installed in the first place? The answer points to waste; waste of taxpayers’ money and a lack of responsibility in both planning and maintenance.
While motorists and pedestrians deal daily with poor visibility and dangerous road layouts, Tipperary County Council continues to spend without accountability, leaving the public to pay the price in both safety and wasted resources.
The evidence shown above speaks for itself. The waste of taxpayers’ money by Tipperary County Council still continues, unchecked.
Uisce Éireann agrees compensation package for Shannon-to-Dublin water pipeline.
Part of Tipperary’s Lough Derg shore line.
Uisce Éireann has reached agreement with the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) on a voluntary compensation package for farmers and landowners along the route of its proposed Shannon-to-Dublin water pipeline.
The deal, which follows months of negotiation, marks a key milestone in the Water Supply Project. It includes upfront compensation payments for landowners affected by the pipeline’s construction and operation.
The public utility said the package reflects the project’s national importance while helping to mitigate its impact on farmland. It is now engaging directly with more than 500 landowners who were issued way-leave offers in July. If accepted, the agreements will give Uisce Éireann the rights to lay, operate, and maintain the underground pipeline in advance of a formal planning application.
The deadline for returning consent forms has been extended from September 23rd to October 7th to give farmers more time to consider the offer and seek advice.
A Strategic Infrastructure Development application will be submitted later this year.
Uisce Éireann argues the project is vital to secure future water supplies, citing the greater Dublin Area’s heavy dependence on the River Liffey, which serves 1.7 million people.
Programme Director Mike Healy said demand in the region is forecast to rise by 34% by 2044: “This combination of a growing supply deficit and lack of resilience is simply not sustainable. This agreement is a major step towards delivery of this essential infrastructure, and we will continue to engage with landowners and communities along the route.”
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