History « Thurles Information

Today Is ‘Human Rights Day’.

“Human Rights Day” is celebrated annually around the world, each year, on December 10th.

The date was initially chosen to honour the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption and proclamation; on December 10th 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the first global proclamation of human rights and one of the first major achievements of the new United Nations.

“Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All”
The slogan for this year’s Human Rights Day is “Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All” and the call to action is #StandUp4HumanRights.

Slievenamon River Walk – Victorian Pedestrian Entrance Retained Intact.

So nice to see the Victorian pedestrian entrance on Slievenamon Road, beside Lidl, professionally retained intact after it was moved some 3.5m (10ft) to widen the existing roadway.

I note the hand cut, capping stones are also in place this evening, covered in frost blankets, to protect the fresh concrete.

Unlike the Victorian stile entrance disaster, located entering the once Great Famine Double Ditch, on the Mill Road, (Hanafin’s Folly), destroyed by Tipperary Co. Council, under the stewardship of Mr Joe MacGrath; the pedestrian entrance on the Slievenamon Road entrance has been done by by someone, who can truly call themselves a professional stonemason.

Nice work by those responsible and hopefully the Victorian cast iron revolving gate will also be returned to its original place.
Thurles residents reading this article, will remember these 2 cast iron gates at both ends of the river Suir walkway, were beautifully restored by that once engineering master, the late Mr Wilbert Houben, back in the late 1980s.

In the meanwhile, we can expect to see motorcycles using the walkway, if same is left open.

NOTE: If you are using this walkway in the company of small children, please do take care, as young unsupervised children could easily run out onto the roadway, into the ever fast moving traffic on this section of the N62.

Plan To Erect 28 Hotel Bedrooms Near Rock Of Cashel Heritage Site, Sparks Outrage.

A current planning application seeking to build 28 hotel bedrooms in the vicinity of the Rock of Cashel, here in Co. Tipperary, has been described as outrageous by residents in Cashel.

This planning application follows a previous application last year for a similar project, which was subsequently withdrawn, due to the large number of objections.

**Late Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away in September 2022, visited this site in 2011**.

The proposed development (Ref 2260575) is seen as being detrimental to a bid by the Rock of Cashel site, to obtain UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination status; not to mention its impact on the immense history of the area.

We understand that not just locals, but Archaeologists, have objected to the planning application for the 28 hotel bedrooms; understood to be in two one-and-a-half-storey blocks, to be erected at Moor Lane in Cashel, on the southern base of the Rock.

The planning application, published in the Irish Examiner, has been submitted by Marymount Assets Limited, accompanied by a letter of consent from Trevester Unlimited Company, latter trading as Donoghues Bar, Mikey Ryan’s, and The Cashel Palace, Hotel.

The proposed application is seen as equivalent to developing a project a few metres from the great mound at Newgrange, Donore, Co. Meath.

Earlier this year, the Rock of Cashel tourist attraction was among three Irish applications sent for possible inclusion in the new ‘World Heritage Tentative List’ for Ireland, along with the 150 year old ‘Valentia Island Transatlantic Cable Station’; latter which heralded the birth of global communications, and the important ‘Passage Tomb Megalithic Complex’, which joins Carrowmore and Carrowkeel in west Co. Sligo.

In a submission sent to UNESCO, the Rock of Cashel is part of the Royal Sites of Ireland, which is strongly linked to myth and legend and associated with the transformation of Ireland from Paganism to Christianity.

Tipperary County Council officials, known for their failure to examine and protect Tipperary history, will accept submissions, on this application, up until November 28th next, with a decision expected to be announced on December 19th next.

Hollyford Garda Shot In November, 96 Years Ago, Commemorated.

A ceremony to commemorate the murder of Garda Hugh Ward, (Reg No: 5663), 96 years ago was held in Hollyford, Co. Tipperary, on Wednesday last November 16th, 2022. The event was organised by Tipperary Town Gardaí.

Garda Ward, born on February, 14th 1897, was a native of Cloughmacoo, Nobber, Co. Meath. He joined An Garda Síochána on February, 27th 1924. He served in the Volunteers (1918-1921) and did yeoman service up to the time of the Truce. He also served in the National Army (1921-1924), including the Military Police. He was unmarried and served in Co. Roscommon, Co. Cork and Co. Tipperary.

On 14th November, 1926, anti-Treaty IRA launched co-ordinated attacks on 12 Garda stations around Ireland. In all, on that day, two Gardaí were shot dead: Sgt James Fitzsimons (Reg No: 2566 – St Luke’s Station Cork) and Garda Hugh Ward, both veterans of the War of Independence.
Fitzsimons, like Ward, was also single and had served in the Irish Volunteers in the 3rd Northern Division.

Garda Ward was on duty at Hollyford, Station and having answered a knock on the front door of his Station, a raider raised his gun and seriously injured Ward. He would sadly die from his injuries just two days later, on 16th November, 1926, while in the care of staff at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin.

Their cowardly killers were never identified.

Chief Supt. Colm O’Sullivan unveiled a special plaque and members of the Ward family laid a wreath honouring Garda Ward’s service.

Speakers at Wednesday’s event included Brendan Franklin (Supt. Tipperary Town), Dr. Des Marnane (local historian) and Una Crowe, latter daughter of Rody Crowe former Hollyford Company Adjutant.
Fr. Dan Woods P.P. blessed the gathering and Piper John Moloughney played the National Anthem.

Young Novelist Launches Debut Novel In Cashel Library.

Ms Maura Barrett, Cashel Library, Reports: –

“Nikita Catherine is a young novelist from Co Tipperary. Her novel “The Tailor’s Daisy” is the latest publication from Olympia Publishers, an independent publishing house with offices in London, Los Angeles and Mumbai.

Cashel Library is delighted to announce that they will host her Irish launch on Tuesday, November 29th at 7:00pm.

“This is our second opportunity this year to showcase local novelists”, says Branch Librarian Maura Barrett, “It is really heartening to see the amount of writers we have in our midst that are seeing their projects come to fruition.”

The novel tells the story of Nikita’s Great Great Grandfather, a young man of Ireland who fought bravely in World War I and his ensuing journey in life having survived the horrors of war.

It is now generally accepted that around 200,000 soldiers, from the island of Ireland, served over the course of the Great War, many did not survive and those that did rarely if ever spoke about it. Nikita Catherine has picked up the mantel and told her relative’s story a few generations on in this inspiring novel.

Joseph Thompson was swept up in the Great War, not returning home for years. Injured and emotionally scarred, he returns to find that not everything is as he left it. Now, he must do his best to find himself after the horrors of the front line, take care of his parents, the family business, and deal with political tensions rising in Ireland.
These tensions seem to be more than he can handle, but, when he meets Mary-Kate, he will discover that maybe his life is just beginning, and that love can beat any hardships one might be faced with.

The Tailor’s Daisy is a wonderful story written with a lot of heart about the importance of family and having perseverance when faced with difficulties.

Nikita Catherine is from Tipperary, Ireland, growing up not far from the original homestead of this story’s main characters. She is their great-granddaughter, by their son Billy, and his wife Kitty.
She is a huge bookworm, fiction and history being her favourite. She based a lot of this book on the anecdotes and stories told to her by her grandmother, Kitty, on how her great-grandparents lived and raised their family in difficult circumstances, and on the stories of what her grandfather got up to with his siblings and kids.

Nikita Catherine has a diploma in photography, preferring portrait and landscape.

Olympia Publishers are an independent publishing house, with offices in London, Los Angeles and Mumbai. “We pride ourselves on our wide range of genres and giving ambitious authors a platform that is so rarely available in the publishing industry today. All of our books and authors are enormously special in their own way. We believe that a story can evoke a large range of emotions; they can make you laugh, cry and, most importantly, change a life. We have committed ourselves to being an environmentally friendly company, implementing the use of FSC paper in all our books and promotional material as well as actively encouraging writers to correspond and submit to us electronically” says James Houghton, Commissioning Editor.

The Tailor’s Daisy will be launched in Cashel Library on Tuesday 29th November 2022 at 7:00pm, by Kathleen Peters and Margaret Gleeson.
The author Nikita Catherine will be present and available to sign copies of this unique novel. It retails at €10, or two for €15 and copies will be for sale at the event.”

Cashel Library will host the event and refreshments will be served.
All welcome enquiries please to Tel No: 062 63825.

NB UPDATE – November 28th 2022: Above book launch has been postponed due to unforeseen circumstances – Nikita Catherine regrets this delay and Cashel Library will be in touch in due course with a new launch date.