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 St Ailbe's Church The 51st Tidy Towns Awards was announced recently at a ceremony in Dublin and yes it’s official, Emly, in West Co. Tipperary has deservedly been named the tidiest town in Ireland and for the first time.
Emly was the overall national and regional winner with a winning score of 305 points.
Two other Tipperary towns have also won gold awards in this year’s competition, previous winner Birdhill was close behind Emly on 302 points and Clonmel won its category with 290 points.
In North Tipperary Roscrea fared the best of the bigger towns on 270 points, followed by our own Thurles on 258 (Up 7 points on 2008) and Nenagh on 239.
In South Tipperary, Cahir was 30 points behind Clonmel on 260 and followed by Cashel 255 while Carrick-on-Suir scored 254 points.
National Tidy Towns Winner Is Emly Co Tipperary
The winning town of Emly is centered around it’s very beautiful local parish church, dedicated to its patron saint, St. Ailbe. Emly is one of the oldest centres of Christianity in Ireland and up until the early middle ages was the seat of the premier diocese in the south of Ireland remaining a Cathedral city until the 16th century. The full name of Emly in the Irish language is ‘Imleach Iubhair’ which literally means ‘The Border of the Lake of the Yew Trees’. The wood of the English Yew was used for bows by Celtic and Teutonic warriors, a practice which eventually led to the demise of the great Yew forests of Western Europe
St. Ailbe was Bishop of Emly in Munster and died about 528 AD and it is very difficult to sift the truth from the myths and legends which have gathered round the life of this Irish saint. Beyond the fact, which is itself disputed, that he was a disciple of St. Patrick and was probably ordained priest by him, we know really nothing of the history of St. Ailbe. Legend says that in his infancy he was left in the forest to be devoured by the wolves, but that a she-wolf took compassion upon him and suckled him. Many years afterwards, when Ailbe was bishop, a wolf, pursued by a hunting party, fled to the Bishop and laid her head upon his lap. Ailbe recognised and protected this wolf, and every day thereafter she and her cubs came back to be fed by him. It is also believed St. Ailbe loved hospitality and taught his parishioners the importance of same in respect of those who travelled through the area.
Archbishop Thomas Croke, of GAA fame, laid the foundation stone of the present church in Emly on the 30th May 1880. The work was completed in 1882 and officially opened on 6th January 1883. This church replaced an earlier one built in 1810 and which is now used as the towns parish hall. The nearby graveyard contains the towns most famous items of antiquity, St. Ailbe’s Cross and St. Ailbe’s Well, which from ancient times to current date are held in veneration by the the towns inhabitants who still assemble here, on the 12th of September each year, to celebrate the anniversary of St. Ailbe’s death.
Emly also rightfully lays claim to two other notable historical figures, Dermot O’Hurley and Terence Albert O’Brien both of whom were beatified by Pope John Paul II on 27th September 1992.
Dermot O’Hurley (c. 1530 – 1584) was a the Roman Catholic Archbishop of the diocese of Cashel during the reign of Queen Elisabeth 1 and was put to death for treason. Despite severe torture, which included having his legs roasted over a roaring fire, the Archbishop refused to embrace protestantism.
Terence Albert O’Brien (c.1600 – 1651) was a Roman Catholic Bishop of Emly. During the Irish confederate wars O’Brien opposed a peace treaty that did not guarantee Catholic interests in Ireland and following the 1651 siege of Limerick by Ormondists and Parliamentarians, he with others, following their surrender, was executed by General Henry Ireton.
In past years a very ancient canoe, resembling those used by south sea islanders, was dug up in the adjacent bogs near the village, together with gold armlets, ancient coins, and some brass swords.
Tourists, visiting Tipperary, should halt awhile in this area and experience the country-style hospitality which still exists long after St. Ailbe.
The annual nine day Solemn Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help will commence in Holycross Abbey, Thurles , Co.Tipperary, on Tuesday next September 8th and continue daily until Wednesday, September 16th . The Abbey’s parish priest is presently Rev.Fr. Thomas Breen.
Mass Times for this years Solemn Novena
 Holycross Abbey 1841 Daily Times
Abbey: 7.00 a.m. – 10.30 a.m. – 4.30 p.m. – 7.30. p.m. – 9.30. p.m.
Marquee: 10.30 a.m. – 4.30 p.m. – 7.30 p.m. – 9.30 p.m.
(Note: Confessions before, during and after each session.)
Sunday Times
Abbey: 7.00 a.m. – 10.30 a.m. – 12.30. p.m. – 2.30. p.m. – 7.30 p.m. 9.30 p.m.
Marquee: 10.30. a.m. – 12.30. p.m. – 2.30. p.m. – 7.30. p.m. and 9.30. p.m.
(Special Note: Special ceremony for the sick (anointing of the sick) on Saturday 2.30 p.m. during the Novena.)
During this Solemn Novena each year thousands of Christian pilgrims gather at this historic Abbey, in search and, more importantly, often finding the spiritual and natural healing they so earnestly seek in their lives.
History Of Holycross Abbey
The Holy Cross Abbey (Mainistir na Croise Naofa) is a now a beautifully restored Cistercian monastery in the village of Holycross, five miles from Thurles town. Situated on the River Suir (Abhainn na Siúire) this Abbey takes its name from a relic of the True Cross or Holy Rood. The fragment of that Holy Rood was brought to Ireland by the French Plantagenet Queen Isabella of Angouleme, in approximately 1233.
The beautiful Queen Isabella (1188 – 1246) was the second wife, and then widow of King John (1166 -1216 – Legendary enemy of English folklore hero Robin Hood). Queen Isabella married King John at the tender age of 12 years becoming mother of Henry 111, (Henry of Winchester). Following King John’s death she remarried one Hugh X of Lusignan and during her two marriages she gave issue to 14 children all of whom survived into adulthood.
Queen Isabella bestowed this relic on the original Cistercian Monastery in Thurles, which she then had reconstructed and from hence it derives it’s present name, ‘Holy Cross Abbey’.
Following the attempted dissolution of the monasteries through the Tudor conquest and the Cromwellian War (1649 – 1653), HolyCross Abbey slowly fell into ruins towards the middle of the 17th century, and instead now slowly become a place for public burial, amid its ruins, particularly after 1740.
Following special legislation in the Irish Parliament (Dáil Éireann) on its 50th anniversary,(21st of January 1969), Holy Cross Abbey was rightfully restored as a place of Roman Catholic worship and was correctly recognised primarily as a national Irish monument of great exception.
The Sacristan of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome provided an authenticated relic of the Holy Cross, and the emblem of the Jerusalem Cross, also referred too as the Crusader Cross, has now been returned to the Abbey.
The thousands of tourists who make a pilgrimage to Holycross each year from all over the world, speak of the Abbey’s great beauty, peace and serenity.
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True Tipperary hurling fanatics in particular, of which there are no shortage, will not want to miss the chance to view the only really significant painting with a GAA hurling theme, presently in the ownership of the Irish State, which has just gone on public exhibition at the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin’s Parnell Square.
 'The Tipperary Hurler' ‘The Tipperary Hurler’, a painting by Limerick born artist Seán Keating, (Born 28th September1889) was an accredited artist and former president of the Royal Hibernian Academy. Seán, was the father of the 1970s Labour Party minister Justin Keating, former who died in 1977.
This painting is based on a sketch made by the artist at Croke Park, of Tipperary man and former hurler John-Joe Hayes from the townsland of Ballerk, near Thurles Town, Co.Tipperary. This beautifully portrait depicts a strong, rugged yet determined subject matter and was begun by the artist sometime between 1923 and 1925.
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship final of 1923 was held at Croke Park, in Dublin on 9th September. The match was contested that year by Kilkenny and Tipperary, with John Joe Hayes playing for Tipperary and with Kilkenny taking the coveted title by 4-2 to 2-6.
This painting was first exhibited in Amsterdam during the Olympic Games of 1928 and was eventually donated to the Hugh Lane collection in 1956 by the late Patric Farrell, an American who served as a producer and director of the Irish Theater and the Museum of Irish Art in the New York of the 1920’s and 30’s, and who only ever visited Ireland once in 1965.
The artist finished the painting using as his model, student Ben O’Hickey, who was at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art with Keating, to complete the painting. Ben O’Hickey later was to become a founder member of the IRA in Bansha, Co Tipperary.
Amongst Seán Keatings other recognised paintings are ‘An Aran Fisherman and His Wife’ (1916), ‘Men of the South’ (1921) (latter hangs in Cork’s Crawford Gallery and depicts a group of IRA men preparing to ambush a military vehicle) ‘The Mountainy Man’ (1926) and ‘Homage To Hugh Lane’ (1924), amongst many others.
A major exhibition of other paintings by Keating, curated by Dr Eimear O’Connor, is currently on show at the Hunt Museum in Limerick.
John Joe is depicted in the portrait wearing the jersey of the Commercials Hurling Club (CHC), which was founded in 1886 by young hurling lovers from the midlands of Ireland who had moved to find work in the many bars and shops of Dublin city.
 A Thurles Garda who died in an arson attack on a Garda station has been hailed as “one of the finest to ever wear the Garda Force’s uniform”.
Garda Sgt. Andrew Callanan, aged 36 and pictured here, will be remembered in a special Mass tomorrow on the 10th anniversary of his death. The special Mass will be celebrated by the Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin Eamonn Walsh DD in St Mary’s Dominican Priory, Tallaght, Co.Dublin.
Andrew was born in Thurles, Co Tipperary in 1963 and joined the Garda Siochana in 1982. He was on active duty in Tallaght Garda Station on the morning of July 21st, 1999, when a man walked into the station, at approximately 4.45am. Placing a plastic can of petrol on the reception counter he then slashed the container with a knife. Lighting a Japanese flare he held, he told an officer who had entered the room: “You have two minutes to evacuate the building.” Sgt Callanan sprayed the man with a fire extinguisher in a bid to save the perpetrators life. However the flare dropped to the ground causing an explosion. A door to the room was blasted shut by the explosion, locking itself and trapping Sgt Callanan.
Sgt Callanan later died of his injuries at Tallaght Hospital, Dublin and was buried with full State Honours.
Then acting Garda chaplain, Fr Ralph Egan, would later inform the congregation at Sgt Callanan’s funeral that the perpetrator of this act, had himself admitted that his life had been saved by the sergeant’s act of bravery.
The perpetrator was later jailed for 15 years for arson.
Sgt Callanan, who left a wife, Yvonne and three children, was later posthumously awarded the Scott Medal for exceptional valor.
Republic Of Ireland Has No National Honours System
Unlike most other countries the Republic of Ireland has no national honours system. Awards, orders of merit or chivalry were considered to be “Monarchist” or “Imperialist”. However General Owen O’Duffy, the first Garda Commissioner, did not seek the permission of the then Irish Government. The “Scott Medal for Valor” is not a State award, its award is entirely the gift of the Commissioner. The only involvement by the Irish Government is the formal presentation of the medal by the Minister for Justice. The medal is awarded only for “most exceptional bravery and heroism“.
Garda Sgt. Andrew Callanan was the 31st member of the Gardaí killed in the performance of his duties and while on active service.
The Rolls Royce Silver Cloud 111 Long Wheel Base, to which I refer, is one of just 254 such models ever produced worldwide. The only one of its kind in Ireland presently, this truly amazing piece of automotive history was first commissioned by William Waldorf Astor, 3rd Viscount Astor (Bill Astor) in 1963.
As it was not Astor’s first Rolls Royce. He had many bespoke features added specifically to this car, thus making it unique and fitted to his very exacting standards. Amongst these ‘extras‘ were the higher more comfortable back seat with rounded edges, making it easier to alight from; the Limousine Electric Division screen and privacy curtains which ensured privacy from the driver (you will understand possibly why in a moment); the bespoke telescopic reading lamps and unique green Perspex sun visors. All the windows were electric, there was air conditioning, power steering and a fine stereo fitted, all of this dating back to, believe it or believe it not, 1963! This magnificent automobile was then registered and delivered in January 1964 to Clivedon House where the Astor’s then resided.
 Clivedon House was the setting of many famous social gatherings and parties and under the ownership of the Viscount and his family it was no different. It was at such a gathering that John Profumo, the British Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan‘s Conservative government, met Christine Keeler and started the now infamous “Profumo affair” that severely damaged the reputation of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan’s government. Indeed Macmillan himself would resign a few months later owing to ill health
It was then alleged that Viscount Astor himself was involved in this scandal with a friend of Christine Keeler, one Mandy Rice-Davies. When he denied knowing her and while she was giving evidence at the trial of Stephen Ward, latter then charged with living off the immoral earnings of both Christine Keeler and Rice-Davies, Mandy made a quip for which history will always remembered her. When the prosecuting counsel pointed out that William Waldorf Astor, 3rd Viscount Astor denied having an affair or having even met her, she replied, “Well, he would, wouldn’t he?”.
One can not help but wish that this car could talk!
This historic automobile was purchased in July 2007 by Michael F. Hogan and now holds pride of place in his collection of very fine automobiles and yes it can now be hired for your very own special event. On your wedding day, this car comes polished and spotless with a truly professional chauffeur, properly dressed. By professional chauffeur I mean the sort who arrives exactly on time, can sew on a loose button, insists on brushing down your jacket, can produce a bottle or two of real vintage champagne or vintage brandy, faster than you can click your fingers and insists that the laying out of the brides wedding train is all part of his duties.
This sort of attention to detail offered has not existed since the death of Queen Victoria, and is just not available anywhere else in this green Isle presently at least. Indeed, I defy any prospective bride or groom to find the slightest fault with the service.
Most important of all the price is easily within the range of everyone’s wedding budget. What a wonderful surprise gift for your future wife on her wedding day!
You can telephone 067-22212 or 087- 2335576 to find out further details.
Thurles.Info highly recommends this service.
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