[No laughing please, this is not a laughing matter.]
What you have read is a statement sent to Tipperarylive.ie. with the keyword or hashtag ‘potholes‘.
Everyone knows that Tipperarylive.ie do not fill potholes, so we must assume that Councillor Mr Jim Ryan in his statement, was in contact with them, simply to build his dwindling profile as a public representative.
In this statement Councillor Mr Jim Ryan congratulates, quote, “our local District Engineer and his outdoor team for all that they have done within the district and they are fully aware of these roads and have been filling in potholes, but the problem is that these works are getting washed away with heavy rain.”[No mention of the ‘Double Ditch’ issue, latter situated 2 minute walking time from Mr Ryan’s home; to Tipperarylive.ie.]
Truth is “local District Engineer and his outdoor team” do not know how to fill a pothole. Too much cold tarmac sitting above in their yard.
No Sir, Councillor Mr Jim Ryan; these slovenly works are being unravelled by heavy traffic e.g. large tractors wheels, heavy laden cattle trucks, eighteen wheeler container trucks, not to mention inadequate drainage; before this ‘maintenance team’ reaches the next pothole.
Reported by : George Willoughby(Not a local councillor [MDCC]).
Attention Tipperary County / Municipal District Councillors – Please Take Special Note.
Councillers, I am aware that you have received very little training during this COVID-19 pandemic, (except on how to fill-in claims for salary and expenses). So carefully try to learn, the correct way to report Pot Hole issues, Broken Pavements, Street Lighting, Fly Tipping, Rotten Trees, Weeds, and unacceptableRoad Surfaces.
The beauty of this link is that you must supply your name and email address, thus automatically giving you a God-like profile in time for the next local election, when you continuously report an issue.
If the issue has already been reported then they will inform you. The race is on — first to report the issue and get your profile promoted. [See picture above, look who stole the fame, renown and prestige resulting from this great achievement.] and I won’t need to go running to TippFM or Tipperarylive.ie, since none of the latter undertake any road repairs, whatsoever.
Should any County / Municipal District Councillor need help operating the programming on FixMyStreet , we here at Thurles.Info will be happy to assist (for a small Fee of course).
We also reported the “Crater at Turtulla Cross”, latter which has been ignored for seven weeks, by “local District Engineer and his outdoor team“.
Report confirmation again received by : George Willoughby
I should point out that any frustraited motorist can contact the site FixMyStreet to report an issue. This also helps when you are seeking compensation for damage to their vehicle or a death caused due to neglected road works. Tipperary Co. Council or TII can no longer use the excuse in court, “We were not aware of the problem”, since the MYGOV website FixMyStreet notify the relative authority immediately and also notify the person making the complaint of any future progress.
Who needs money wasting, powerless, County / Municipal District Councillors in the 21st century? We can do their work and eradicate Local Property Tax charges.
Today’s work being carried out on Liberty Square was initially the brainchild of visionary Mr Tomas (Tom) Barry, latter former Thurles Town Manager.
Back in 2002, following discussions with his Council Administrative Staff including Mr Michael Ryan, (latter then holding the post of Town Clerk), Mr Barry decided to promote a proposal to Thurles District Councillors [Today’s paid elected Municipal District Councillors], to increase the town’s overall ‘Commercial Rates’ by 25%, in the upcoming 2003 Budget estimates, bringing it into line with other Irish towns of a similar size.
His forward looking plan was that some 15% of this 25% increase would be immediately ‘ring fenced,’ to meet local contributions required for a possible number of future Capital Projects within the town. It was anticipated back then that this 15% would yield some €200,000.00 per annum.
Barry’s 2002 Vision for the Future of Thurles.
Liberty Square, Thurles, Co. Tipperary. Photo January 2021, George Willoughby.
Mr Tom Barry, in his five point visionary plan to drag Thurles town into the 21st century and into line with other Irish towns of similar size, unveiled the following projects as listed hereunder:- (1). Thurles Town Centre Enhancement. (2). A Regional Arts Centre. ✓. (3). A Leisure Centre. ✓. (4). Thurles Town Park ✓ and a River Walk. (5). Upgrading / Extension to Thurles Council Offices, ✓, (Latter then grossly overcrowded and unfit for day to day business transactions.) In relation to the Town centre Enhancement Scheme, he stated that such would dramatically augment an overall appearance of Thurles town centre.
Having shared his vision with Town Councillors, Mr Barry’s proposals were considered 19 years ago, at the 2003 Budget Meeting, latter which was held on Thursday, December 19th 2002. This aforementioned Budget meeting, which called for the introduction of this 25% Commercial Rates increase, was formally adopted by Thurles Council, by a 5 votes majority, with two other councillors unavoidably absent from that meeting.
One of those councillors who voted ‘Against’ Mr Tom Barry’s future vision for Thurles, was current day, Thurles Municipal Councillor, Mr Jim Ryan. Nevertheless, despite Councillor Jim Ryan’s objections, Thurles, within the next 16 years could rightly boast a new Regional Arts Centre, a new Library, a new Leisure Centre, an Extension to Thurles Council Offices and a new Thurles Town Park, courtesy of Thurles Commercial Rate payers.
All that is missing from Mr Barry’s vision today, is a properly maintained River Walk and the full completion of the enhancement to the Thurles Town Centre, latter now currently well advanced.
Alas, those were the days when rate payer’s money was carefully minded; local councils had employees; streets were kept clean and potholes were filled.
Note: All of these facts, above stated, are contained in Thurles Town Council Minutes, requested by me in the past, for my own perusal and available on request by the public for little charge.
Today, February 2nd, 2021; as part of the current upgrade to Liberty Square, it appears that sewer pipes are being installed.
It is therefore interesting to note that not one single politician or Municipal District councillor was present at a meeting in Thurles on Friday November 13th 1846, when the first ever sewage system was installed.
Present were the administrators of varying churches; Rev. Dr. Henry Cotton (Chairperson), Rev. Mr Laffan, Rev. Dr. O’Connor, Rev. Mr Barron. Rev. P Leahy, Rev. Mr Baker, Mr Francis O’Brien Esq. (Latter Justice of the Peace) and our old friend now well introduced to present day unproductive Municipal District councillors and useless politicians, yes, Dr. Robert Charles Knaggs, who had urgently instigated the building of a “Double Ditch”, thus placing food into the mouths of those close to starvation and death.
At this meeting in 1846, which began promptly at 3:00pm in today’s Ulster Bank building on Liberty Square, (then the home of the said Dr. Robert Charles Knaggs), details of the number of paupers then in the Poor House (former site of today’s Hospital of the Assumption) were recorded by the acting secretary, yes the same Dr. Robert Charles Knaggs.
“The original Poor House built in 1840, to accommodate 700 persons, had contained within it, “84 men, 184 women, 414 children — in all a total of 682 homeless, destitute persons.“
Being a medical doctor, Dr. Robert Knaggs was well aware of problems linked to a severe lack of hygiene. There were within the town of Thurles no sewers, people merely emptied their defecation into the nearest three cornered ‘shit well’, latter located, staggered in the various back lanes within the town. Contents of same wells would be removed weekly by an operating ‘Honey Waggon’(Horse drawn covered wagon) to be spread on farm land as fertiliser and also, quickly recycled, by Crows, Jackdaws and other bird life.
“Having discussed and resolved that 20 barrels of wheat should be purchased in the local market the following day, to be ground into meal, for distribution to those starving. Meal tickets (the 2nd only provision of such in Thurles) were issued on that same day, numbered as follows:- Stradavoher 601 to 700, Garryvicleheen (Abbey Rd. Area) 701 to 800, Pudding Lane (O’Donovan Rossa Street) 801 to 900, Quarry Street (Mitchel Street) 901 to 1000, Pike Street (Kickham Street) 1001 to 1100 and Main Street (today’s Liberty Square & Cathedral Street combined) 1101 to 1120.”
However, before the meeting concluded and adjourned to 3:00pm on the following Monday, the acting secretary Dr. Robert Charles Knaggs suggested that a large number of unemployed men could be employed on making the first sewers through the town, if there was a quarry made available. Chairperson Rev. Dr. Henry Cotton offers the use of a quarry situated on his land.
In less than 3 weeks, by November 30th 1846, plans had been drawn up as follows: –
To construct 42 perches (231yds/211.2m) of sewers from Rich’d Ryan’s to the Derheen, costed at £84.
To construct 96 perches (528yds/482.8m) of sewers from Danl Dwyer’s to the bridge, costed at £192
To construct 66 perches (363yds/331.9m) of sewers from Butler’s Gate to James Maher’s Yard, costed at £132.
To construct 9 perches (49.9yds/44.8m) of sewers from the Barracks (Opposite todays Premier Hall) to the Main Street, costed at £185.
To construct 66 perches(363yds/331.9 m) of covered drain or sewer from the bridge to the turn of the Mall with a tunnel under the river, and open a drain from the bridge in Thurles to Byrne’s Mill with a tunnel under the Drish River to carry up the levels for the drains of the town, costed at £800.
Total for this complete work, on wages of 8p per day, was estimated at costing £1,226.
A section of the sewer built in Thurles in 1846, during the Great Famine. Pictured in 1995, note the neat hand cut stone positioned on either side of the drain, lead lined and hidden by the water a flat 2.5in slate bottom. These sewers were so well built that many years later, they were used to accommodate modern day sewage pipes, by Thurles town council.
Additional works had also been approved of earlier for the Thurles area, on Thursday November 26th 1846, by the then Board of Works, consisting of the following, using available labour: –
Construct 400 perches (2,200yds / 2011.6m) of the road from Thurles to Urlingford between Lisduff and the Fort on the Widow Keogh’s farm at Rahealty, costed at £150.00.
To lower and remake two footpaths one from the corner of Pierce McLoughlin’s Delph shop(Today’s AIB Bank building, Liberty Square) to the Thurles Court House pier, being 22½ perches (123.75yds/113.16m) and the other from John Finn’s Hardware shop corner (Todays Carphone Warehouse, Liberty Square), back to the Police Barracks on the other side, (Opposite todays Premier Hall), being 19 perches (104.5yds/104.7m) costed at £10-7-6.
To repair 600 perches (3,300yds/3,017.5m) of the road from Athlumon Ford to Godfrey’s Mills costed at £80.00.
To repair 200 perches (1,100yds/1005.8m) of the road from Patrick Lahey’s gate at Kilrush to the Widow Shea’s house, Burris Road.
“Following a meeting held on December 4th 1846 the committee confirmed that 740 persons were in the Thurles Work House, as already stated, latter built only to accommodate 700 souls.”
By Tuesday, February 9th 1847 (Black 47), 1,991 persons were now employed, receiving wages from mostly local funding, at the above works listed hereunder: –
At Ballygammane – 84 employed persons, Pierstown Road – 56 persons, Seskin – 59 persons, cutting stone at the Stone Depot – 535 persons, at Drish Hill – 40 persons, at Rossestown Hill – 100 persons, working on Thurles Sewers – 163 persons, doing ‘Pathing’ – 225 persons, working on Embankment – 116 persons, on Kilrush Road – 47 persons, on the Widow Shea’s Road – 41 persons, on Turtulla Towpath – 82 persons, on Garrenrow Road - 100 persons, in Rahealty and Lisduff - 35 persons.
The then Member of Parliament (MP) for Tipperary, Mr Nicholas V Maher Esq. (Repeal Association MP and a member of the all-male, liberal Reform Club founded in 1836), subscribed £50 to the project. The absent then owner / landlord of Thurles, Viscount de Chabot, (Louis William de Rohan) also subscribed £50 and his son Count de Jarnac (Philippe-Ferdinand-Auguste de Rohan-Chabot). subscribed £10.
Their subscriptions compared dismally with the generosity of the aforementioned committee member present at the meeting, Mr Francis O’Brien Esq. JP (Justice of the Peace), who subscribed £30, and Rev. Dr. Michael Slattery, Archbishop of Cashel & Emly who subscribed £50.
This is the Dr. Robert Charles Knaggs, whom Tipperary Co. Council officials, together with Thurles Municipal District Councillors and our ever “Welcoming”,“Paste & Copy pictures of myself standing beside achievers to Facebook “ local elected politicians, through their ignorance, over the past 12 months, have stupidly decided to erase from our rich Thurles history.
One wonders if the “Double Ditch” got a mention in the first draft of the Renewal Strategy report presented to Thurles Councillors and their silent senior officials, on Monday, January 18th, 2021.
Thurles People can now surely understand fully, the phrase, “Eaten bread is soon forgotten”.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) jokingly claim “Our mission is to provide high quality transport infrastructure and services, delivering a better quality of life and supporting economic growth”.
Following representations to Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), they have confirmed today that necessary roadworks required to be carried out from the Mill Road Roundabout, through Kickham Street (The Pike) travelling west only as far as the Cathedral Street Roundabout; these same badly required roadworks will not be carried out within the next few months, despite the appalling and dangerous conditions being tolerated, not just by local residents, but pedestrians travelling on the areas footpaths.
The excuse of course is Covid-19 virus restrictions and the works currently being currently carried out on a now terminally ill Liberty Square; latter forced to give up the ghost with the introduction of Tipperary Council’s implemented car parking charges.
It would appear that TII employees are more susceptible to catching Covid-19 virus, than those employees currently working on upgrading Liberty Square and those other road workers currently employed on the Slievenamon Road /new LIDL Supermarket site.
The narrow roadway through Kickham Street, Thurles is by far the busiest entry road into Thurles town. It is not just the traffic accessing the area from the M8 motorway, but also north bound heavy vehicles now travelling from the south-east, who use the Mill Road. Latter are anxious to avoid the long waiting times caused by road workers operating Stop/Go signals at the junction of Clongour Road and Slievenamon Road. By next March we forecast latter area will become the new town centre for Thurles business, due to the more than adequate free parking arrangements
Meanwhile, residents on Kickham Street who pay Local Property Tax (averaging €197.60 per house, per annum, for absolutely no benefit), must tolerate the gravel, the muck and the dirty water striking their ground floor windows and house fronts; pouring through door seals and letter boxes; as local councillors, council engineers and politicians totally ignore the situation.
As can be seen in the video above; traffic movement on the street, spends more time driving on footpaths then they do on the actual road surface, due to a lack of road space.
God help home owners who may require to turn off their water supply in the future, with water metres stupidly and crudely installed on the edges of footpaths, latter which are now being constantly driven over by persistent traffic of all description’s, from 18 wheelers to bicycles.
Interior walls of some Kickham Street houses fronting on the street, are now showing sign of rising damp. This is due to the outside footpaths not being properly sealed, when solid concrete paths were unnecessarily and foolishly replaced with cement slabs in recent years; further wasting tax payers and ultimately Tipperary Co. Council collected taxes.
In the meanwhile, a JCB will be hired, its front shovel full of cold tarmac and a mechanical ‘Tarmac Tamper’ / ‘Rammer’. Two or three men will fill the holes with shovels and tamp down the cold tarmac with the ‘Rammer’. Four hours later same will be loosened by traffic, turning it into gravel, which in turn will further loosen more of the solid road surface. These repairs will continue to be undertaken 3 days a week for at least the next 14 weeks, before any real remedial action is taken.
Some idiotic Councillors in shirking their elected responsibilities; claim that Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) are responsible and not Tipperary County Council. If this is the case, then why is Tipperary County Council carrying out patch repairs?
Seen as a waste of time, proud local residents have now stopped cleaning the area in the front of their homes.
The waste of tax payers’ financial resources, by Tipperary Co. Council, continues unabated; encouraged by the silence of the Thurles community.
An Taoiseach Mr Micheál Martin, addressing the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party last night, has not ruled out the the fact that restaurants may remain shut until May of this year or indeed even longer.
The Taoiseach has stated that coronavirus transmission numbers remain to high and retail sectors are likely to remain shut until the end of February at least, adding that it will be well into next month before the majority of Covid restrictions are relaxed.
Mr Martin further confirmed that the persons aged over-70, will be in line to receive vaccines by March of this year.
Speaking in relation to the ban on travel; the Taoiseach stated that the best advice was not to travel in or out of the country. The difficulty however is people flying into Belfast.
Speaking to his party’s TD’s, Senators and MEP’s he highlighted that the recent increase in deaths from Covid-19 shows the devastation that this virus now causes, and asserted that Ireland still had some distance to go in dealing with this killer pandemic.
56 new killer Covid-19 virus cases in past 24 hours, as confirmed cases continue to rise in Co. Tipperary.
Thurles native and naive Co. Tipperary Fianna Fail TD, Mr Jackie Cahill, deservedly, suffered severe and strong disapproval to the very point of censure yesterday; on his social media accounts, following his vote catching tweet relating to the failure by the HSE to vaccinate Nenagh Hospital front-line staff. These same comments can be fully viewed HERE.
Amongst the many comments displaying anger and using irony to mock or convey contempt, in relation to Mr Cahill’s canvasing, were the following: –
“Do any TD’s in Tipperary know a billionaire who could open a private hospital in Nenagh for ye?” (Referring of course to Mr Cahill’s premature ‘secret’ Holycross Museum announcement, and no doubt also referring to the many known associates of Mr Michael Lowry TD)
“Well done Jackie, next time you’re canvassing in Carrick, we can have a chat about St. Brigid‘s hospital.” (St. Bridget’s Hospital is currently marked for closure by the present administration.)
“He’s deluded or he’s on an early canvas.”
“Your post seems a bit misleading, and to be honest it’s not the first time you’ve made false statements about healthcare provision in Tipperary.” (Referring again to the now expected closure of St. Brigid’s hospital, Carrick-On-Suir, Tipperary.)
“The staff had to shame the government to get access to the vaccine. He’s playing spin doctor along with them.”
“Nothing to do with the hospital staff having to beg for the vaccine, you lemon.”
“Disgraceful that nurses/caterers had to go on national news to look for the vaccine. Local rollout appears to be very disorganised ; vaccines not given to the most vulnerable staff members first; very disappointing.”
“Ah, getting the old vote catcher ‘tweet’ in, you should have been on top of this from the beginning, but as usual its reaction from you and the big, look what I done for you, tweet“.
“So now we’re playing party politics with the vaccine! What’s next. FF members to be bumped to top of vaccine list, u should be ashamed to post such a tweet.“
“Why would ANYONE have to make representations”.
“Jackie the bluffer Cahill, absolute joke of a man, a liar like the rest of our politicians.”
Note Please: The above comments can NOT in any way be associated with website Thurles.Info. One comment posted by me, personally, was removed, latter which conveyed the truth of this Nenagh situation, conveyed by Mr Micheál Martin, for whom I hold the greatest respect.
It was also lamentable that some FF councillors shamefully encouraged Mr Cahill, in what is observed by many as deliberate deception, at the expense of his county’s medical workforce.
It is widely expected that Mr Cahill TD will now apologise for his selfish and unsubstantiated communications on social media; to the front-line staff of Nenagh Hospital on TippFM radio, tomorrow morning.
Hereunder, our readers can view the full video of Nenagh Hospital front-line staff in Co. Tipperary, pleading for what is rightly their entitlement, as a staff required to deal daily, and head-on with the deadly Covid-19 virus, since last March 2020.
Back now to the real facts, the truth and today’s reality.
The Department of Health have confirmed this evening that sadly there have been 13 further deaths caused by the Covid-19 pandemic; leaving the overall death toll, here in the Republic of Ireland, remaining at 2,608.
With our Irish hospital system already operating at surge capacity, there were 2,944 new additional virus cases reported today. This leaves the current total number of confirmed cases, since conception in the Irish Republic, at 172,726.
Of today’s cases nationally; 1,065 are in Dublin, 306 in Cork, 181 in Galway, 180 in Kildare, 160 in Limerick, with the remaining 1,052 cases located across all other counties.
There are 1,923 people with Covid-19 in hospital, and of that number, 195 people are in ICU, according to Ireland’s Covid Data Hub.
According to Ireland’s COVID-19 Data Hub, to date there have now been 3,582 recorded cases of the killer Covid-19 Virus within the borders of Co. Tipperary, per data relevant up to midnight on January 15th, 2021. Fifty six (56) cases are relevant in the 24 hours to midnight on Saturday, January 16th, 2021, or 1,529 over the past 14 day period, up to the same stated date (January 16th, 2021).
The Government have requested early deliveries of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine so that it can arrange to be ready for same to be administered in GP clinics, local pharmacies and appointed vaccination centres, as soon as it is approved at the end of this month.
In Northern Ireland, a further 25 coronavirus deaths have been recorded taking their death toll to 1,606. A further 822 new cases have been confirmed, taking their total number of positive virus tests to 95,361.
Total global cases up to 5.30pm this evening, now stands at over 94.7 million confirmed cases, with global deaths well over 2.02 million and rising.
Only YOU can stop the current chain of transmission.
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