Thurles Information

It was with the deepest regret that we learned of the death, today Wednesday 28th July 2021, of Mrs Mary Bartak (née Walsh) Cork and formerly of Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

Predeceased by her husband Mike and son John; Mrs Bartak passed away peacefully at St. Joseph’s Bon Secours Care Village, Mount Desert, Lee Road, Co. Cork.

Her passing is most deeply regretted by her loving family Barbara, Tony, Steve, and Eva, her adored grandchildren Jessica, Isabel, Kim, Alec, Ben, Sam and Paige, son-in-law, daughters-in-law, brother, sisters, extended relatives, neighbours and friends.

Requiescat in Pace.

Funeral Arrangements.

The earthly remains of Mrs Bartak will repose for Requiem Mass, attended by family members, on Friday morning, July 30th, at 11:00am in the Church of St. Mary and St. John, 28-63 Station Rd, Ballincollig, Co. Cork.

For the many persons who would have liked to have attended the funeral service for Mrs Bartak, but are unable to do so, due to current coronavirus pandemic restrictions; same can be viewed online HERE.

[NB: Due to Public Health Guidelines, regarding C-19 virus restrictions; those attending (limited to 50 mourners) will continue to observe strict adherence to social distancing and face covering.]

The extended Bartak family wish to express their appreciation for your understanding at this difficult time and have made arrangements for those wishing to send messages of condolence, to use the link shown HERE.

Note Please: Family flowers only. Donations in lieu to Alzheimer Society of Ireland.

Suaimhneas síoraí dá h-anam dílis.

Urgent action needed to curb nitrogen pollution in Ireland’s waters, says EPA.

• Ireland’s surface waters and groundwaters continue to be under pressure from human activities.
• Just over half of Ireland’s rivers and lakes are in a satisfactory condition which means that a large number are unable to sustain healthy ecosystems for fish, insects and plants.
• There has been a modest improvement in river biological quality overall with 345 rivers showing improvements and 230 rivers declining in quality.
• Nitrogen levels in rivers, groundwater, and estuaries in the south, southeast and east of Ireland are too high and increasing. This is primarily due to agricultural activities.
• Urgent and targeted action is required to reduce the amount of nitrogen entering our waters.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published the Water Quality in 2020: An Indicators Report which provides an assessment of the quality of Ireland’s rivers, lakes, estuaries and groundwaters.

The main threat to water quality is high nutrient levels, such as phosphorus and nitrogen which come from human activities. Many rivers, groundwaters and estuaries in the south, southeast and east of Ireland are under pressure from excess nitrogen from agricultural activities. Almost half our rivers (47%), a quarter of our groundwaters (24%) and one fifth of our estuarine and coastal water bodies (21%) have nitrogen levels that are too high. The levels impact the ability of these waters to sustain healthy ecosystems and cause nuisance algal blooms in our estuaries. High nitrogen levels, above the drinking water standard, can pose a risk to human health.
Commenting on the report, EPA Director of Evidence and Assessment, Dr Eimear Cotter said:
“Our water quality is currently under threat with nitrogen pollution from agriculture causing particular pressure in parts of the south, southeast and east of the country. Rivers such as the Bandon, Lee, Blackwater, Suir, Nore, Barrow and Slaney have nitrogen levels that are too high with significant implications for the marine environments they flow into. We urgently need to address nitrogen pollution so that we can protect and restore the water quality in these areas. If we do not substantially reduce nitrogen inputs to our rivers, and ultimately our marine environment, we are in danger of further deteriorations in water quality and losing our excellent coastal water quality.”

Just over half of Ireland’s rivers and lakes are in satisfactory biological quality which means that a large number are unable to sustain healthy ecosystems for fish, insects and plants. While there are encouraging signs of improvements in the areas prioritised for action in the River Basin Management Plan, a lot more needs to be done to improve water quality. In 2019 and 2020, 345 rivers showed improvements in quality, including an increase in the number of high-quality river sites, however, 230 rivers declined in quality.
Ms Mary Gurrie, Programme Manager, added:
“While there has been an overall net improvement in the biological quality of rivers monitored in 2019 and 2020, EPA found that 230 rivers declined in quality. It is a key requirement of the Water Framework Directive that we protect water quality and prevent deterioration. The scale of declines is off-setting the improvements and hampering progress towards improving water quality. It is essential that action is taken in both the next River Basin Management Plan and the Nitrates Action Programme to continue improvements whilst also preventing further deterioration.”

The report is available HERE on the EPA website and the accompanying data used in the water quality assessments are available on www.catchments.ie. An infographic is also available.