Health « Thurles Information

Take A Walk By River Suir Thurles Today.

On Monday evening last, at 14:21 hours, I was contacted (PM on Facebook) by Mr Jim Ryan, (Elected Local Councillor). He informed me that his associates had held a meeting ‘with a few experts‘, with regards to the state of the river Suir at Barry’s bridge in the town centre.

There was I thinking that I was going to be reprimanded, by my betters, for contacting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which I certainly did, in an attempt to get some action in my efforts to save the decline of the River Suir and to lower, at least somewhat, the filthy stench currently being emitted from its murky waters.

No, thank God, the EPA hadn’t informed Mr Ryan directly, about my daring activities. Instead he was anxious to obtain images of sewage flowing into the river, which he had been fighting to correct for over the past 11 years; with his colleagues failing to support him and he without a camera of his own and no sense of smell.

In the course of our brief communication, I must apologise to Mr Ryan for misleading him. I had stated that I thought that the emissions from the area at the Emmett street “swinging gates” side of the river walk had been fixed. However, I also had stated that because of nettles retained by our local ‘nettle hugging’ biodiversity individuals, same could not be fully confirmed.

I am now happy to confirm, using the Thurles.Info satellite; that fixing this problem, requested on June 30th, 2022 (view Here); on October 14th, 2022 (view Here); on June 28th, 2023 (view Here); and again on October 26th 2023 (view Here), was simply too much of a challenge for our elected double jobbers; what with the war in Ukraine; the war in Gaza, not to mention Covid.19 and the onset of space tourism.

I now feel embarrassed, as I report that the emissions reported two years are still happily flowing, leaching into the water; only in larger amounts than was reported previously back in 2022.
Again the nettles forbid me from seeing the actual pipe and my only pair of wellington boots have sprung a leak.

**Archival picture of sewage entering the river Suir taken in 2022.**
*Pic: G.Willoughby*.

**Same sewage photographed two years later on Saturday last. September 21st 2024.**
*Pic: G.Willoughby*.

Meanwhile, the person who sent men into the river, without supervision, on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, should consider their position and resign.

We had expected this workforce to return to complete their cleaning work on Thursday, and Friday last, but alas, no show; hope they didn’t pick up anything, forcing them to take sick leave.
The reeds were cut, using strimmers, and left to float on the water’s surface, blocking the two fish runs, and forcing the main water stream to flow directly over the low weir. Branches were removed from under the bridges arches and left partially in the water and on the river bank.
As our video shows, despite no rain over the past 7 days, water is still flowing from a drain under Thurles Swimming Pool, directly into the river, as is a stream of water from pipes under Barry’s Bridge, which we reported last January, (view Here).

Anyone Missing A Sock?
No effort has been made to collect the numerous years of litter, piled and hidden in the receding undergrowth, found in the river itself and on its banks, in the form of plastic bags, tins, bottles, clothing, etc.
One thing I did discover; while Red Bull liquid may give you ‘Wiings’, their empty containers remain fully grounded, when caught floating in existing Blanket Weed (filamentous algae).

Yes, the public are totally responsible for this littering, but what are we getting in return for vehicle parking charges and for local property tax, the latter which has increased in Thurles every year, since it was introduced in 2013 except during local election years.

Members of Thurles Tidy Towns, Thurles Gun Club and myself had worked for absolutely no recompense to make this same area visually beautifully, which Thurles Municipal District Councillors and their officials have now turned it into a cesspit, having removing all its assets.

It may now be necessary to put together a working volunteer group to save this wonderful asset, for according to Mr Ryan (Cllr.), despite being set up in 2016, the outfit known as the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), have no immediate action plan in place and will require 4 months to make such plans, before urgent funding can even be applied for.

Body Located In Grounds Of Limerick University Hospital.

The body of man, aged in his 40’s, sadly found deceased late last Thursday night, on the grounds of University Hospital Limerick (UHL), (Latter the medical facility serving North Co. Tipperary), is believed to be that of a man declared missing from the mid-west region.
A member of the staff at the UHL medical facility is understood to have discovered the man’s remains, before alerting the emergency services.

While the body; same located close to a helipad and a staff car park in the hospital grounds on St Nessan’s Road, has, as yet, not been formally identified; Gardaí suspect that the remains are that of a man who had been initially reported missing some weeks previously.

Gardaí are continuing to investigate all of the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the body, which has since been removed from the scene. A post-mortem examination by the office of the Limerick Coroner will now take place; the results of which will determine the course of any future investigation.

Yesterday, Friday September 20th, a large area, which included the staff car park and the adjoining the green area, presumedly where the body was located, remained firmly sealed off, with Gardaí maintaining a close presence at the scene.

Food Safety Authority Of Ireland Issues Precautionary Warning.

FSAI issues precautionary warning for consumers with a peanut allergy.

Thursday, 19th September 2024

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has been notified by the Food Standards Agency, UK that batches of mustard powder and mustard flour imported to the UK from India have been found to contain undeclared peanut protein.
In the interest of protecting consumers in Ireland, the FSAI, as a precautionary measure, is advising anyone with a peanut allergy or suspected peanut allergy not to eat any products containing mustard as an ingredient.

The FSAI advises affected consumers to check labelling on products prior to consumption.

Mustard is also a priority food allergen in the EU and therefore, must be declared for pre-packed food and for non-pre-packed food when used as an ingredient.

The Food Standards Agency, UK is working urgently to ascertain the source and distribution chains for these batches. The investigation is ongoing and the FSAI is liaising closely with the UK agency.

The FSAI has issued two food allergen alerts earlier this week [See links HERE and HERE ], linked to this contamination and it will issue additional food allergen alerts if any additional implicated products are found to be on sale in Ireland.

Thurles Order Of Malta Recruit For Cadets.

Mr. Thomas Bourke, Cadet Leader, Order of Malta Cadet Corps, Bohervaroon, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, Reports:-

Parents/ Guardians Take Note: Thurles Order of Malta are now recruiting for cadets aged between 10 to 16 years-of-age.

This is an excellent opportunity for young people to learn a valuable life skill, that could also save the life of another.

Registration begins at 18:00 hours (6:00pm) on the 27^th September 2024, at the Order of Malta Training Centre, situated at Bohervaroon, Borroway, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

Recall Of Creamy Delicious Foods Coleslaw Products.

Food Safety Authority of Ireland warn of recall of specific batches of Creamy Delicious Foods coleslaw products, due to the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes.

Alert Summary dated Tuesday, 17th September 2024.

Category 1: For Action.
Alert Notification: 2024.42.
Product Identification: Please see table below.
Batch Code: Please see table below.
Country Of Origin: Ireland.

Message: The below batches of Creamy Delicious coleslaw products are being recalled due to the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes.
Recall notices will be displayed at point-of-sale.

Product	Pack Size	Use by dates
Creamy Delicious Foods Coleslaw	225g	17/9/2024 and 19/9/2024
Creamy Delicious Foods Low Fat Coleslaw	225g
Creamy Delicious Foods Salad Box with Egg	225g

Nature Of Danger:

Symptoms of Listeria monocytogenes infection can include mild flu-like symptoms, or gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. In rare cases, the infection can be more severe, causing serious complications. Some people are more vulnerable to Listeria monocytogenes infections, including pregnant women, babies, and people with weakened immune systems, including the elderly. The incubation period (time between initial infection and first symptoms appearing) is on average 3 weeks but can range between 3 and 70 days.

Action Required: Retailers are requested to remove the implicated batches from sale and display recall notices at point-of-sale.

Consumers: Consumers are advised not to eat the implicated batches.