Nenagh Gaol Has Not Been Closed to Visitors for 100 Years – New Project Concerns a Separate Cell Block
Nenagh Gaol, Co. Tipperary.
A recent press report [Irish Independent shown here] announcing a new exhibition at Nenagh Gaol could give readers the mistaken impression that the entire historic site has been closed to the public for more than a century. That is not the case.
Nenagh Heritage Centre, situated within the former gaol complex, has welcomed thousands of visitors since 1984. It occupies the former Governor’s House and Gatehouse, where visitors can already explore the site’s history and see the condemned cells associated with the 17 men executed there between 1842 and 1858.
The new proposed development relates specifically to a separate three-storey cell block that has not previously formed part of the public visitor experience. Tipperary County Council’s planning documents describe this building as a former cell block currently used as a council storage area. The project will conserve and adapt this previously inaccessible block, connect it with the existing Heritage Centre and introduce a new visitor exhibition, featuring interpretation and audio-visual displays.
Therefore, while it may be correct to say that this particular cell block is being opened to visitors for the first time in more than 100 years, it is inaccurate to suggest that Nenagh Gaol or its Heritage Centre has been closed throughout that period.
There is also a difference in the figures being reported. The official eTenders notice gives the estimated contract value as €110,000 excluding VAT, rather than just under €130,000.
Tourists in the area are encouraged to visit this historic venue, which historically housed those sentenced to death by public hanging. See link shown HERE
One Council Restores History While Another Erases It – The Loss of Thurles’s Famine Double Ditch.
The decision by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to spend approximately €660,000plus VAT restoring a historic ha-ha wall in Marlay Park (latter a sunken landscape boundary that uses a hidden trench and a vertical retaining wall), has understandably generated debate. The 197-metre structure, believed to date from the early nineteenth century, was designed to separate landscaped gardens from grazing animals without interrupting views across the estate. Much of its original locally sourced granite survived beneath vegetation, but the wall had fallen into disrepair. Restoration required specialist conservation work, dismantling and rebuilding sections of dry-stone wall, repairing the ditch and incorporating drainage infrastructure. The original contract was valued at €625,398 excluding VAT, with the final estimate rising to €660,374 following delays, unsuitable ground material, severe weather and difficulties obtaining appropriate stone.
Local construction professionals and taxpayers are entitled to question whether that represents value for money. Public bodies must explain how costs are calculated, why projects exceed their initial budgets and whether procurement arrangements adequately protect the public purse. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has already faced criticism over the €753,528 cost of works at an entrance to Deerpark in Mount Merrion. That project is frequently described as the construction of “14 steps”, although the council says it also included a wheelchair-accessible ramp, retaining walls, granite paving, seating, landscaping, pedestrian crossings, road resurfacing, drainage, traffic-signal equipment and other public-realm works. The criticism of these costs is legitimate. Nevertheless, one important fact should not be forgotten: Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council recognised that an historic structure was worth preserving.
That approach stands in painful contrast to what happened in Thurles.
The Thurles Great Famine Double Ditch was regarded locally as a rare surviving famine-era landscape feature. Local historical accounts date its construction accurately to 1846 and associate it with relief work provided to men and boys during the Great Famine. Rather than representing the landscaped elegance of a wealthy Dublin estate, this Double Ditch recalled hunger, poverty and the desperate struggle of local families to survive. It was not simply an old embankment. It was a physical connection with one of the darkest periods in Irish history. For generations, the route was also described locally as a public walkway and Mass path. Campaigners argued that it formed part of the social history of Thurles and should have been incorporated into a protected heritage trail.
Despite repeated warnings, the entire section of the Double Ditch was cleared in March 2022 supported by local councillors, as part of works connected with as yet a non existent, only proposed Thurles inner relief road. Contemporary photographs and local reporting showed mature vegetation being removed and the historic landscape feature being levelled by machinery.
Historic Thurles Double Ditch Eradicated in 2022. Pic. G.Willoughby.
Once such a structure is destroyed, it cannot truly be recreated. A replica might reproduce its approximate appearance, but it cannot restore the original stones, soil, boundaries and physical connection with the people who constructed it during the Great Famine.
This is the real loss suffered by Thurles. Tipperary County Council regularly speaks about protecting heritage and connecting communities with their past. Yet the treatment of the Double Ditch demonstrates the gulf that can exist between heritage policies and decisions taken on the ground. Roads and development are necessary, but heritage protection does not require a complete rejection of progress. It requires imagination, consultation and a willingness to examine alternative designs before destruction becomes inevitable.
The contrast between the two councils is striking. In Dublin, hundreds of thousands of euro are being spent restoring an aristocratic landscape feature. In Thurles, a structure associated with ordinary people surviving the Great Famine was treated as totally expendable. The Marlay Park bill deserves detailed scrutiny. So does every major publicly funded project. But the principle of conserving historic structures should be welcomed.
Led by the denials of elected councillors; mainly Mr Michaél Lowry (Non Party), Mr Sean Ryan (FF) and Mr Seamus Hanafin (FF), together with senior council officials, through wilful ignorance, self-deception, blind persistence and despite knowing better oversaw this reckless destruction. Thus the tragedy in Thurles is that the debate never reached the question of restoration costs.
The Double Ditch was not protected long enough for restoration to become an option. Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council may reasonably be criticised for excessive costs. Tipperary County Council should be criticised for allowing irreplaceable local history to be destroyed.
One council appears willing to spend too much preserving history. The other did too little before all of that history was totally eradicated and lost forever.
Neither approach represents good stewardship of public money or public heritage, and the waste continues without the consent of the Irish taxpayer.
The Ribbon Men in Tipperary; Where They Came From, Where They Went And Why They Are Less Spoken About in Irish History.
The Ribbon Men were part of the wider movement known as Ribbonism, a Catholic secret-society tradition that grew in Ireland during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. They did not begin in Tipperary alone. Their roots are usually traced to the Defender movement of the 1790s, especially in Ulster, where Catholic communities organised for protection in a time of sectarian tension and political unrest. Over time, Ribbonism spread beyond the north and became associated with rural grievances, tenant rights, resistance to tithes, opposition to evictions, and hostility towards landlords, agents, informers, and process servers. Historians describe Ribbonism as both a secret society and a form of community defence, though government officials often used the name loosely for many kinds of rural disorder.
In Tipperary, the Ribbon Men entered a county already well known for agrarian conflict. Long before them there had been Whiteboys, and later there were Rockites, Terry Alts, Caravats, Shanavests, and other local factions. Tipperary’s land system, poverty, insecurity of tenure, tithes, evictions, competition for farms, and resentment of middlemen created the conditions in which secret societies could take hold. From the 1760s onwards the county was heavily involved in these rural movements, under different names and with changing motives.
Their activities in Tipperary were usually not open political rebellion in the modern sense. They worked in secret and at night. They used oaths, passwords, threatening letters, armed visits to houses, raids for firearms, attacks on property, intimidation of tenants, latter who took land from evicted families, and warnings to employers or landlords. Some actions were violent and sometimes deadly. Others were intended to frighten rather than kill. A National Archives record from 1828, for example, refers to Ballingarry Glebe, (NR), near Borrisokane and the forwarding of new oaths sworn by entrants into the “Ribband System.” This is important because it places Ribbon organisation, not just vague agrarian unrest, in north Tipperary.
The evidence suggests that Ribbon and Ribbon-like activity was strongest in north and mid Tipperary. The Ormond districts, especially around Borrisokane and Nenagh, appear repeatedly in studies of threatening notices and rural intimidation. Daniel Grace’s study of threatening notices in pre-Famine Tipperary found that land was the dominant issue behind such threats, and that the northern baronies of Upper and Lower Ormond produced a particularly high concentration of notices. Other places connected with this wider pattern include Thurles, Roscrea and Ikerrin, Templemore, Borrisoleigh, Cashel, Golden, Bansha, Tipperary town, Killenaule, Mullinahone, Carrick-on-Suir, Cahir, and Clonmel. Some of these places were centres of actual incidents; others were police, court, or administrative centres where cases were reported, tried, or investigated.
Where did they go? In one sense, they did not simply go anywhere. Ribbonism changed shape. Some members emigrated, especially to Britain and America, bringing forms of Irish Catholic fraternal organisation with them. Scholarship on Ribbon societies shows that the tradition did not remain purely rural or purely Irish; it also appeared among Irish migrant communities in Britain and later influenced Catholic fraternal organisations such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians. In Ireland itself, the Ribbon Men faded as new movements took the stage. The Young Irelanders, the Fenians, the Land League, the Irish Parliamentary movement, and later revolutionary nationalism, latter which gave people different languages and structures for protest. The old secret agrarian oath-bound society became less central.
There are several reasons why the Ribbon Men are less spoken about today. First, they were secretive. They did not leave behind manifestos, membership lists, or proud public records in the way later political organisations did. Much of what we know comes from police reports, court records, hostile newspapers, informers, and government correspondence. These sources are useful, but they are also biased and often confused.
Second, the term “Ribbonman” was sometimes used too broadly. Officials could blame almost any unsolved agrarian crime on Ribbonism. This makes it difficult to separate genuine Ribbon organisation from Faction Fights, local feuds, Whiteboy activity, Rockite activity, or ordinary crime. Historians therefore handle the term carefully.
Third, their story is morally uncomfortable. They were not simply heroes or villains. They defended poor Catholic tenants in a harsh land system, but they also used intimidation and violence. That complexity does not fit easily into the cleaner patriotic story often told about later Irish nationalism.
Finally, Tipperary’s later history overshadowed them. The Famine, the Land War, the War of Independence, Soloheadbeg, and the Civil War became larger parts of public memory. Compared with those events, the Ribbon Men belong to a darker, earlier, more secretive world of oath-bound rural resistance.
Yet they matter. To understand Tipperary in the nineteenth century, we must remember not only the famous leaders and public movements, but also the hidden networks of ordinary people who acted from fear, anger, loyalty, and desperation. The Ribbon Men were part of that hidden history.
The above words are placed so beautifully and appropriately that it would be difficult to imagine a better setting.
Written in glowing golden script across the weathered limestone, the inscription seems almost to float upon the old walls; not merely as a sign, but as a quiet conversation between what has been, what is now and what is still to come. This striking artwork adorns the carefully restored 1849 stone old farm building in what is now Thurles Market Quarter. Once a modest agricultural shed, shaped by work, weather and generations of local life, it has now been lovingly reborn as ONE19 Coffee House & Restaurant.
West side of “One19 Restaurant”, Cathedral Street,Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
Its transformation has thankfully not erased its past. Instead, the old stone, the traditional form of the building and the marks of age have been allowed to remain, lending great warmth and authenticity to its new life. What was once a place of labour has become a place of welcome; a setting for coffee, food, conversation, friendship and new memories.
Its location gives the inscription an even deeper resonance. The building stands between two other landmarks, both woven into the spiritual and educational heritage of Thurles: the Cathedral of the Assumption and the former St Patrick’s College, now part of Mary Immaculate College. In such surroundings, the words/phrase naturally carry an almost sacred rhythm. They are not a direct quotation from Scripture, yet they gently recall the ancient Christian doxology:-“As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.” They also echo the language of the Book of Revelation, which describes God as the one “who is and who was and who is to come.”
Yet the sentiment has travelled beyond religious tradition and into popular culture. A closely related line, “That’s the way it is, was and will be”, introduces the established order of Sneetch society in the 2017 musical adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s “The Sneetches”. Dr. Seuss’s original 1961 story, later adapted for television in 1973, ultimately challenges the belief that society must always remain as it has been. The ‘Sneetches’ learn that inherited divisions are neither natural nor permanent and that even “the way it was”, can be changed.
The wording also appears with a more playful and satirical flavour in the 1974 comedy film “The Groove Tube”, where a fictional television newscaster signs off: “And that’s the way it is, was, and will be.” There, the phrase humorously imitates the certainty and authority of traditional television news.
Placed upon this restored building, however, the words take on a gentler and more romantic meaning. The stone remembers farm carts, tools, harvests and working hands. Today, those same walls shelter laughter, conversation and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and hastily produced food. Tomorrow, they will hold stories belonging to generations not yet born.
The way it was: A humble building serving the life of the land. The way it is: A beautifully renewed gathering place in the heart of Thurles. The way it will be: A cherished part of Thurles town’s story for many years to come.
At dusk, when the golden lettering shines against the cool grey stone, it feels as though the building itself is speaking. Not mourning what has passed. Not resisting what has changed. Simply acknowledging that the past, present and future can inhabit the same place beautifully. An old building saved rather than forgotten. A historic quarter renewed rather than replaced unlike the towns Great Famine “Double Ditch“. A little philosophy, faith and humour written in golden light.
Aspiring screen performers and anyone curious about life on a television set are being invited to apply as extras for the second season of a major historical drama filming in County Wicklow.
The Amazon Prime production, currently operating under the codename “Bluetooth,” has been described as an epic “swords and shields” saga. Its first season has already been filmed and is expected to premiere early next year, while production on the second instalment is due to run from August until November 2026.
Casting organisers hope to recruit thousands of people from across Ireland for a wide variety of scenes. No previous acting experience is required, and applications are welcomed from people of different ages, appearances, ethnicities, religions and cultural backgrounds.
The team is also interested in applicants with distinctive skills or experience, including musicians, athletes, tradespeople, animal handlers and speakers of different languages. However, the organisers have stressed that this is not an exhaustive list and that everyone who meets the basic eligibility requirements is encouraged to attend.
Following an earlier casting session in Newtownmountkennedy, the remaining open calls will be held at the Camden Court Hotel, Camden Street Lower, Dublin 2, on Monday, 13th July and Tuesday, 14th July, from 10am until 5pm each day.
No appointment is necessary, and applicants only need to attend one session. The process is expected to take approximately 20 minutes and will involve completing an application form and having a photograph taken. The opportunity is open to adults and young people aged 16 years or over. Applicants must be living in Ireland on a full-time basis and must have a valid PPS number and permission to work in the country.
Parents or guardians interested in applying on behalf of children under 16 can request a separate application form by emailing extras@btproductions.ie.
Successful applicants could be offered paid work during the production period, although some people may be contacted at short notice to attend filming or costume fittings.
For anyone interested in history, film, television or acting, or simply looking for an unusual experience, the chance to meet new people and earn some extra money, the open casting call offers an opportunity to become part of a large-scale historical production filmed against some of Ireland’s most striking scenery.
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