History « Thurles Information

Mid-West Region Is Where History Will Meet The Haunted Inside Bunratty Castle.

‘Monsters, Misfits and Mayhem’, from all over counties Tipperary, Clare and Limerick’s Mid-West Region will gather, before descending on Bunratty Castle & Folk Park this October Bank Holiday Weekend (October 26th-28th), as the County Clare visitor attraction becomes transformed into a haunted Halloween village.

The traditions and superstitions of ‘Samhain’ will be on display during the October Bank Holiday weekend with Halloween games, ghostly characters, witchcraft, a Bed of Nails, tarot reading, street entertainment, and Haunted Train rides past ghosts, grim reapers, and zombies that will appear from the shadows throughout the 26-acre folk park.

Ms Marie Brennan, (Events Manager at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park), commented, “Our Halloween event is hugely popular with people from across the Mid-West Region and beyond. We are very excited about welcoming everyone back to Bunratty, where history meets the haunted.”
“It is an eerie time of year, and we have pulled out all the stops to create an unforgettable experience full of fun, frights and festivity for the whole family,” added Ms. Brennan.

Age-old Halloween traditions will be re-enacted at the Golden Vale Farmhouse where the Bean an Tí will speak about the types of food that typically would have been eaten in Samhain and recall the peculiar superstitions of the time. The Farmhouse also will host Halloween-themed fun with traditional games such as Bobbing for Apples, Blind-Man’s-Buff and Snap Apple.

Adult visitors will be invited to step back in time at a Victorian-era parlour séance, where the secrets of the past will be unveiled as the spirits of the departed are summoned. The Wicked Wake will be hosted in The Shannon Farmhouse where the resident MacNamara family will mourn the loss of their beloved Mickey, whose ghostly presence suggests he has unfinished business in the land of the living.

Visitors can experience a re-enactment of a Witch Trial each day at 11.00am, 12.00 noon, 2.15pm, and 3.30pm, by following an angry mob from the village street to Ardcroney Church. Meanwhile, a bewitching duo will take up residence in the kitchen of the Loop Head Farmhouse, where mysterious concoctions will be brewing.

At Corry’s Pub on the Village Street, Bunratty’s resident seanchaí Mickey Joe will recount fables of Samhain and hair-raising tall tales passed down through the generations. Other performances include Halloween puppetry with Konor Halpin each day at 11.30am, 1.00pm, 2.30pm, and 4.00pm in the Village Street Alleyway; Escapologist Monsieur Gusto will showcase his juggling, escapology, and acrobatic skills on October 28th, and fun and frightening frolics with Dracula King of Vampires, The Minister of Death, Escaped Convicts, and Mad Musicians.

The Red Devil and the King of the Vampires will lurk in the shadows ready to pounce at a moment’s notice, The Talking Head guarantees to entertain and frighten guests at the Mountain Farmhouse, Dr. Jekyll’s surgery will open its doors for anyone who is brave enough to enter, a shrinking illusion will be on display in the Castle’s basement, and the Bed of Nails returns this year in the Castle’s Torture Chamber.

Visitors to Bunratty Castle also will get to see the deadly dungeon and monstrous murder hole and meet Maleficent’s Wicked Sister.

‘Monsters, Misfits and Mayhem’ takes place from 10.30am to 1.30pm and 2.00pm to 5.00pm each day from Saturday October 26th to Monday October 28th.

Visit www.bunrattycastle.ie for booking details.

Eat No Raw Onions If Kissing Is Your Intended Aspiration.

Having had only limited experience myself, I base the above headline on the advice handed out by Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer poet and Anglican cleric, the late Dean Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), who once wrote:-.

“There is in every cook’s opinion,
No savoury dish without an onion;
But less you’re kissing should be spoiled,
The onion must be thoroughly boiled.”

A recipe for boiled onions gathered from the era of Dean Jonathan Swift.
These onions should be cooked ‘country style’, as they were when large ovens where kept on the go all day and night. Same are very good when eaten with chops or steaks or with potato oaten cakes; known in the Irish countryside as ‘pratie oaten’.

Method.

One large onion per person with a little water. Place the onions in a baking tin, unpeeled, with about 1 inch of water, no more. Bake in a slow to moderate oven to 250° f. – 275° f. Electric; gas regulo 1 – 2 for 1 and 1⁄2 to 2 hours or until they are soft when squeezed.

To eat, the brown skin is then pulled back and cut off as the root and the onion is eaten with pepper, salt and a pat of butter. Latter cooking method is one of the most delicious ways of serving onions.

Pratie Oaten.

2 cups warm mashed potatoes. 1 cup fine oatmeal. ½ cup melted butter. Salt.

Work enough fine oatmeal, butter and a little salt into the mashed potato to form a dough until fairly soft. Scatter plenty of oatmeal on a board and roll out the dough substance. Cut into small shapes and either cook on both sides on a hot greased griddle in the oven, or fry in a little bacon fat, on top of the stove. Serve hot.

These are very good for breakfast, with bacon, eggs and sausages. The above completed shapes should serve approximately 12 persons.

Kissing.

As for this kissing lark, passionate kisses have known health benefits; releasing calming brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) that reduce stress levels and soothe the mind. Exposure to germs that inhabit your partner’s mouth helps strengthens your immune system, so just get on with it.

Cold Enough To Freeze Balls Of A Brass Monkey.

Many of the traffic bollards or road posts on view here on the streets of Thurles, Co. Tipperary; same recently fashioned to represent unserviceable cannon guns, first used as early as the 17th century, (“Iron Gunns Broken sett into ye ground”).

A lot of these redundant old iron cannon guns were sold for scrap by the Royal Navy or by civilian ships such as whalers and merchantmen, before being recycled to use as bollards by Civil authorities.
While for the most part these scrapped canon guns were used in England and France, examples can also be found here in Ireland e.g. Cork City.
Businesses also bought them, when they needed road posts, as scrap cannons were cheaper than purpose-made stone bollards. These road stops were created by burying one end or other into the ground; the muzzle end uppermost closed by a cannon ball to keep out water, while the breech end of these redundant iron cannon was used pointing uppermost, to tie-up/moor ships alongside quays and river banks.

**Modern replica bollards in the shape of old cannon guns, located on Slievenamon Road** *(N62)* **and on Bohernanave** *(Off the R660)***, in Thurles, Co. Tipperary.**

The last few nights, here in Thurles, Co. Tipperary, brought the first of this Autumn’s expected and forecasted ground frost; which brings me to supposedly explain the commonly used phrase, “It is cold enough to freeze the balls of a brass monkey”.
Supposedly, on the decks of early sail going war-ships, in the 16th to 18th centuries, it was the practice to put iron cannon balls on a dimpled brass plate called a ‘monkey’. Here they could be piled into a 5 row high pyramid shape, ready for use. However, due to very cold temperatures this dimpled brass plate would contract sufficiently to cause the iron cannon balls to roll out of this brass holder.
While this is the commonly used explanation for this phrase, physics does not stand up to accurate scrutiny. Such cannon shot was never left exposed to the elements, where it could rust. Rust could lead to the ball not flying true to target or to become jammed in the muzzle or trunnion area, thus causing the gun to explode.
Also, because of rough boat rocking seas, it would have been highly unlikely, that such cannonball storage practises would ever have been entertained in real life, on board any sea going warship.

Two Interesting Events Taking Place At Cashel Library.

Ms Maura Barrett, (Cashel Library) reports on two upcoming events:-

Event No.1

Following on from the wonderful Cashel, “Our Playground” project with Cashel Arts Festival this year, Cashel Library will screen the documentary by Mark Fitzell in the Library building, on tomorrow morning, Saturday October 12th, beginning at 11:00am until 12:15pm.

So, please do drop in and take a trip down memory lane, while enjoying a ‘cuppa’ with the liberary tomorrow morning.

Event No. 2

Cashel Library will host a talk entitled “Harry Gleeson and the Criminal Procedures – was Harry a saint?” by Eddie Dalton, on Tuesday evening, October 29th at 6:30pm.

Eighty-three years after he was wrongfully executed for murder, the remains of Harry Gleeson were laid to rest in his native village of Holycross, this summer, to the accompaniment of music from his own fiddle. He was granted a posthumous pardon by the Irish State in 2015, having always protested his innocence.

You can locate the Cashel Library building, situated on Friar Street, Lady’s Well, Cashel, Co. Tipperary, HERE. (G487+RX)
Note: Booking for this FREE event is essential please to Tel: 062-63825.

UPDATE OCTOBER 16th: The “Harry Gleeson and the Criminal Procedures” lecture by Eddie Dalton, due to be held in Cashel Library on Tuesday 29th October at 6:30pm, is now fully booked out, with an existing waiting list, so unfortunately we have reached max capacity for this event.

Plaque To Bishop John Ryan To Be Unveiled In Two-Mile-Borris, Thurles, Tomorrow.

A number of residents from Two-Mile-Borris and Thurles district, including Mr Gerry Bowe and Mr Enda Bourke (Chairperson and Secretary, resp., Two-Mile-Borris, Old Cemetery Committee), visited St. John’s Cathedral, Cathedral Place, Irishtown, Co. Limerick (V94 H521) on Wednesday afternoon, November 29th 2023 last.
The purpose of this visit was to view this magnificent Cathedral edifice, one of Limerick city’s major tourist attractions, erected on the instruction of Bishop John Ryan, Bishop of Limerick, in 1856, less than a decade after the Great Famine, (1845-1849).

As people were recently made aware, Bishop John Ryan, was originally a native of Two-Mile-Borris, Thurles Co. Tipperary and remained Bishop of Limerick for 36 years, before passing away in 1864.

People will be also be aware that tomorrow, Tuesday October 1st, a memorial plaque, dedicated to Bishop John Ryan’s memory, will be unveiled at the site of his parents’ grave, latter situated in the old section of Two-Mile-Borris cemetery, same located south of the large crucifix which divides the newer section of the cemetery from the old. The ceremony will begin at 2:00pm sharp and all those attending are asked to gather first at the Church of St James, in Two-Mile-Borris village centre.

Those in attendance in November last were granted a very informative tour of Limerick Cathedral by Rev. Canon Frank O’Connor. Canon O’Connor, who would have been present for the Two-Mile-Borris ceremony tomorrow; sadly passed away on Thursday August 1st last, following a short illness.
Canon O’Connor will be remembered with great gratitude at Bishop Ryan’s ceremony tomorrow.

It was following research undertaken on the history of the Ryan family, by Mrs Julie Thomas (nee Bourke, formerly Rathcunikeen, Two-Mile-Borris, a 3rd generation relative of Fr John Ryan) and her husband Mr Tony Thomas, latter now both residing in New Zealand, that the burial place of Bishop Ryan’s parents had been linked to Two-Mile-Borris, Thurles, before the tombstone itself was discovered, raised and finally identified by Mr Gerry Bowe, who remains grateful to Ms Margaret Cormack (Templetuohy, Thurles) for her assistance.

St John’s Cathedral Building.

The building’s design (See slide -show above) is of ‘Gothic revival style’, latter an architectural movement which first kicked off in England during the 1740s. This Cathedral has been carefully maintained over the years; with restoration undertaken every 25 years, since its initial construction was completed.

Bell Tower.

The bell tower of St. John’s Cathedral, today, currently remains the fourth tallest spire in Ireland, towering over the Limerick city skyline. It was designed in 1878 and is 81 metres (266 feet) in height. It is characterised by a base of 2.2 square metres (24 feet square) in area with walls of approximately 1 metre (4 feet) in width. The material used to construct this tower is mainly limestone, same quarried at Rosbrien, latter a townland in Limerick South Rural.

The Cathedral Interior.

Inside the building, as the visitor proceeds down the central part of the church building, one locates the Cathedral’s wonderful altar. The main table is made of Limerick marble, while its substructure consists of alabaster and coloured marble, with the centre decorated with a representation of the sacrifice of Abraham (Abram), latter father of the special relationship between man and God in Christianity; same entirely carved in pure white alabaster.

The Bishop’s Throne and the Cathedral Chapter Stalls were crafted in Munich, Germany in 1984. The magnificent windows of the Cathedral are fitted with stained glass, possibly erected by Joseph Gabriel Mayer & Co, the foremost supplier of stained glass to Irish churches; also from Munich, in Germany.

Within the building, looking westward, the visitor can view the massive, yet resplendent, wooden organ, a gift from Edwin Richard Wyndham-Quin (1812–1871), the 3rd Earl Dunraven, styled Viscount Adare of Adare, Co. Limerick, (from 1824 to 1850); an archaeologist and Irish Peer, (Member of Parliament) whose alma mater was Trinity College Dublin. A Conservative MP for Glamorganshire from the 1837; it was while in the House of Commons, that the 3rd Earl had become a Roman Catholic; his political activity largely aimed at safeguarding religious education here in Ireland.

This imposing musical instrument dates back to 1864 and was built by the prestigious William Hill & Son, (born Lincolnshire 1879), one of the main organ builders in England during the 19th century. In 1917 it was converted to pneumatic action by Norman and Beard Hill, latter founded in 1916, in a merger of Norman and Beard and William Hill & Son of London, latter who were originally based in Norfolk, England.

St John’s Cathedral was consecrated on Thursday June 21st 1894 by Lattin, Co. Tipperary born Bishop Edward O’Dwyer, Bishop of Limerick, in the presence of Donegal born Cardinal Michael Logue, latter an Irish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland from 1887 until his death in 1924.

Tomorrows Unveiling Ceremony.

All are invited to attend tomorrow afternoon’s ceremony, when Fr Tom Fogarty PP, will take charge of Church introductions and proceedings and the now retired Bishop of Killala, Right Revd. John Fleming, will unveil a plaque to the late Bishop Ryan, latter constructed by Mr James Slattery, (Master Stone Mason), Fianna Road, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

It is now hoped that visitors to St. John’s Cathedral, Cathedral Place, Irishtown, Co. Limerick, will also travel to Two-Mile-Borris, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, to visit his parents grave site.