Politics « Thurles Information

Thurles – The Venice Of Tipperary.

My immediate focus is on Kickham Street, possibly the busiest street in Thurles, with traffic entering from the motorway (East) and from the South via the Mill Road (latter in an attempt to avoid a new set of delaying traffic lights at the Lidl junction near Slievenamon Road & Clongour Road).

Kickham Street over recent years has suffered from faulty planning, arrogance from engineers, and more recently downright, shoddy, construction, courtesy of ‘Tar Stone’ and contractors appointed by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). How any of the latter contractors have gotten paid, remains a mystery.

My thoughts are also with the businesses on Stradavoher and Friar Street, as I write this blog. Flooding is among one of nature’s most destructive forces in terms of the irreparable damage and heartache it inflicts on homes and on business owners whose ground floor premises become immersed in flood water, due to the incompetence of Tipperary council engineers.

The most probable responses from Tipperary County Council and their officials, to last Friday’s flooding on Kickham Street; Stradavoher and Friar Street will be “Ah sure hindsight is always 20/20!”, latter a phrase used to describe the fact that it is easy for one to be knowledgeable about an event after it has happened.

Last Friday’s flooding was not a case of hindsight for a change. “Ah sure, hindsight is 20/20” is not an acceptable response or excuse when the problems were already pointed out by Thurles.Info first in August 2019. [See Link Here]. See also Link Here, posted in January (6 months ago) and See Link Here, yet again posted in February (5 months ago), with latter forwarded to all local elected councillors via their email addresses and to Tipperary Co. Council engineers, through their “Customer Service Desk”, [reference numbers T-151500-F3F1 and T-151595-Y1S0.]

Many of the pictures forwarded to Tipperary County Council’s “Customer Service Desk” are featured in the sideshow shown above and were emailed to all local Thurles councillors, with only one County Councillor, Mr Sean Ryan, Littleton, bothering to reply.

We now need more foresight from our Tipperary County Council officials and politicians. Instead of reacting to trouble and challenges after the event, we need them to take action when informed in advance, thus avoiding unnecessary trouble and the wasting of taxpayers money.

According to staff at ‘APEX Surveys’, latter who are currently surveying Kickham Street at night, they say they are unable to tell us if and when issues on the street will be sorted out.

Surely a road survey is not required to clear out a few blocked drains.

In the meanwhile, local school children cyclists and adult pedestrians; do expect to be drenched in water by passing traffic, as you attempt to walk/cycle on Kickham Street. Remember cyclists there is no room for cycle lanes on Kickham Street and note article 13 of the 1997 Regulations makes it an offence to cycle on a footpath, unless you are entering or exiting a property.

So remember also this same inconvenience come election time.
We need massive changes in the ranks of our elected representatives, starting with politicians and ending with local councillors. Same are like computer service providers, they need to be changed often.

2,723 Killer Covid-19 Cases On Island Of Ireland Today.

The Department of Health has confirmed 1,386 new cases of Covid-19 today, in the Irish Republic.

The number of patients in hospitals from the virus has increased by 11 since yesterday, to number 106 today, with 22 cases in ICU’s.

In Northern Ireland today, sadly there has been 1 further death from this killer virus, together with a further 1,337 positive cases, bringing the total number of cases on the island of Ireland to 2,723. There remain currently 163 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of Covid-19 in Northern Ireland’s hospitals.

Irish Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Ronan Glynn, has condemned the misinformation being spread online, and how many people have been exposed to such information which is totally false, totally inaccurate and totally misleading and which had begun being spread about potential Covid-19 vaccines, even before same had been fully developed.

Here in Thurles, indeed we are sadly being subjected by a small minority of individuals to such undermining of vaccination efforts, being posted on social media, which may be putting a very small minority of lives at risk.

Same has not been helped by Tipperary elected TD’s failing to confirm whether or not they themselves have been fully vaccinated, some claiming that it was, “an infringement on civil liberties.”

Death Announced Of Former Government Minister Mr Des O’Malley.

Sadly, the death has been announced, today, of Mr Desmond Joseph O’Malley, aged 82; latter a prominent Fianna Fáil TD and Minister in the 1970s and 1980s (Minister for Industry & Commerce; Minister for Trade, Commerce & Tourism; Minister for Justice under Taoiseach Jack Lynch) and founder of the Progressive Democrats, leading the latter party from 1985 until 1993.

Educated at the Jesuit Crescent College, Limerick and at University College Dublin, he graduated with a degree in law in 1962.

Following the death of his uncle Mr Donogh O’Malley, latter then Fianna Fail Minister for Education, and previously Health Minister, (who in 1969 announced that all education up to Intermediate Certificate level would be free, and free buses would transport students in rural areas to their nearest school); Mr Desmond O’Malley was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil TD in the subsequent by-election for the Limerick East constituency, (Thus his nickname ‘The Man from Uncle’) before being appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the then Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, Mr Jim Gibbon.

He would later be numbered among the membership of the “Gang of 22” following his disillusionment with then Fianna Fáil party leader Mr Charles Haughey and would be expelled from the Fianna Fáil party on February 26th 1985, over his ‘matter of conscience’ in his support for the liberalising of the sale of contraceptives, then opposed by Fianna Fáil.

On December 21st 1985, Mr O’Malley announced the formation of a new party within Irish politics, called the Progressive Democrats, thus playing a significant role in breaking that mould around Civil War politics.

He was joined by Ms Mary Harney (also expelled from Fianna Fáil), and later by Fianna Fáil TDs Mr Bobby Molloy and Mr Pearse Wyse and Fine Gael TD Mr Michael Keating.

At the 1987 general election, the Progressive Democrats won 14 seats, becoming the third-biggest party sitting in Dáil Éireann.
Among the notable TDs elected to represent this new party were Mr O’Malley himself; his cousin Mr Patrick O’Malley; Ms Anne Colley, (daughter of Mr George Colley); Mr Martin Gibbons, (son of Mr Jim Gibbons); Mr Michael McDowell and Mr Martin Cullen.

At the age of 31, Mr O’Malley was appointed Minister for Justice under An Taoiseach Mr Jack Lynch, and took a tough line with the IRA, establishing the Special Criminal Court and introducing the Offences Against the State Act.

In all, Mr O’Malley assisted in transforming the old status quo in Irish politics; dutifully serving the interests of the state, as a TD, from 1968 until 2002.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

Alice PR, Wins Top Honours At PR Awards on Friday June 28th last.

‘Alice PR‘, whose Managing Director is Thurles born Martina Quinn, have been named ‘Agency of the Year‘ at the annual PR Awards on Friday June 28th last.

The annual PR Awards; officially the Awards for Excellence in Public Relations, are hosted by the PRCA and the Public Relations Institute of Ireland, and have been running now for almost 30 years.

Each year, the Institute highlight and celebrate the very best work of the Irish PR industry, undertaken over the previous 12 month period.

This year ‘Alice PR’; [with an address at No. 10 Fortescue Lane, Mountpleasant Avenue Lower, Dublin D06 X4W7], received the award for not just ‘Agency of the Year’, but also picked up an award in the ‘Best Use of Media Relations’ category – and received commendations in two further categories.

Martina Quinn, MD of ‘Alice PR’, is daughter of farmer Michael and former local Councillor & Ursuline secondary school teacher Mai Quinn, both of Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

Ms Quinn holds a BA in Journalism from DCU, and began her career as a journalist, covering politics, public affairs and local government. She also holds a Diploma in Digital Marketing from Irish Times Training. In a voluntary capacity, she chairs the Boards of two education organisations: ‘D8CEC’ – (Dublin 8 Community Education Centre) and ‘Show Racism the Red Card‘, and was a founding committee member of the Ranelagh Arts Festival.

448 New Additional Virus Cases Reported In Irish Republic.

While appallingly, misguided, Tipperary TD, Mr Mattie McGrath, believes that all Dáil Éireann TDs have acquired degrees in Medicine and Science in the past 16 months; he now, laughingly demands that, quote, “Government need to take the reins on the easing of restrictions and stop giving NPHET (National Public Health Emergency Team) full control”.

Our other equally misguided, elected Tipperary TDs, [Namely Mr Alan Kelly, Mr Jackie Cahill and Mr Michael Lowry], continue to waste Dáil time in their attempts to get pubs and restaurants open. These efforts come despite qualified scientific advice to the contrary, while same TDs attempt to keep their bone idleness in the spotlight, by publishing condolences on RIP.ie.

How many more Irish citizens must lose their lives as a direct result of misinformation bandied about by those anxious to hear the sound of their own unqualified and ill-informed voices?
Truth is, none of these TDs care a ‘tinker’s curse’ about the 5,000, much loved, family members who sadly lost their lives, following Covid-19 virus diagnosis; their deaths sadly, due to pressure being put on acting Government Ministers, by those whose only claim to fame are overpaid TDs in opposition.

We note they always put ‘TD’ after their names on RIP, in the hope that regardless of their current idleness and time wasting in Dáil Éireann, they may still be identified, come the next General Election.

Meanwhile, as Tipperary politicians continue to fail in their responsibilities to Co. Tipperary communities, the Department of Health this evening has confirmed there have been 448 new additional virus cases reported in the Irish Republic. (Same case numbers are subject to future data validation, because of the Russian Cyber-attack on the HSE’s notifying system.)

Sadly, there have been 2 further deaths within the past 24 hours, with the number of people who have died, following a diagnosis of Covid-19, now standing at some 5,000 Irish residents.

The number of persons in ICU currently stands at 14, unchanged since yesterday.

Deputy Chief Medical officer Dr. Ronan Glynn, has raised grave concerns regarding Covid-19 numbers in Dublin and the very significant increase in our neighbouring county of Waterford, latter with 180 and 200 cases to date in the town of Dungarvan.

Professor Philip Nolan has stated that the Covid-19 virus is growing at a rate of 2% per day.

The total worldwide number of virus cases identified up to 6.00pm this evening, now stands at well over 182.36 million confirmed cases, with global deaths at almost 3.95 million and rising.

Please do continue to behave responsibly in order to protect each other.