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Update On River Suir Pollution In Thurles Town Centre.

Scientific facts published by Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO).
See HERE.

  • Water Quality in River Suir in Thurles only 33% satisfactory down from 61% in 2010-2012 which equals a relative drop of 46% in about 12 years.
  • Almost no aquatic life. Samples taken down stream of Thurles Bridge in town centre (Barry’s Bridge) on 11/09/24, result in no invertebrates typical of clean water such as Mayflies or Stoneflies – essential food for trout and salmon.
  • A few water shrimps (Gammarus), some biting Midge larvae (Simuliium) Extensive Cladophora algae.
  • Current data raises a harsh question: if our drinking water is so delicately balanced, how much “extra load” can rivers accept without tipping into crisis?
A small sample of floating bottles, River Suir, Thurles town centre.
Pic: G. Willoughby. (Image taken Sept. 29th 2025)

Slurry Spreading: Tipperary’s Silent Pollution.

Hypocrisy is very much alive and well in Ireland, with the strict promotion of standards loudly proclaimed, yet quietly ignored when it comes to agriculture.

If an individual is caught illegally dumping a mattress or a bag of household rubbish, the law comes down hard. The penalties are steep: on-the-spot fines, €4,000 if convicted in the District Court, and up to €130,000 on indictment for more serious offences. Add to that the local authority’s investigation and legal costs, plus extra charges for continuing offences, and the message is crystal clear — these polluters will pay.

But here is the contradiction: when sewage or agricultural slurry is allowed to seep into our rivers, with the blessing of Tipperary Co. Council itself, the penalty is nothing, zero, zilch, no costs, no fines, no legal prosecution, and no accountability.

Just a small sample of the discarded litter at Barry’s Bridge, in River Suir, Thurles Town centre.
Pic: G. Willoughby. (Image taken Sept. 29th 2025)

This double standard undermines public trust, punishes the ordinary citizen while shielding powerful interests, and leaves communities to live with the consequences — polluted drinking water, fish kills, and waterways turned into toxic drains. The rules are strict when it suits, yet curiously silent when the polluter is a farmer or an industry player with political influence.

Until agricultural slurry is treated as seriously as other forms of dumping, Tipperary and the rest of Ireland will continue to suffer the hidden, silent pollution that seeps into every stream and spring water well.

Tipperary was renowned for its rivers and lakes, the Suir winding through Thurles, the Shannon and its tributaries, and countless smaller streams supporting fish, wildlife, and local communities. Yet these waters are under increasing pressure, largely from the way slurry is managed on farms.

Slurry, a liquid mix of animal waste, provides a quick nitrogen boost to grass, making it popular among farmers. But its environmental costs are severe. Being liquid; slurry runs off easily during rainfall, carrying nutrients into rivers and lakes, triggering algal blooms, oxygen depletion and fish kills. Strong odours signal ammonia emissions, while heavy tankers compact soils, further increasing runoff.

By contrast, traditional dung releases nutrients slowly and enriches the soil with organic matter, improving structure, fertility, and biodiversity. Though slower to handle, it poses far less risk to water quality.

Evidence from EPA and Local Water Authorities
The EPA’s 2023 report shows that many Irish rivers are failing to reach “good ecological status,” often due to nutrient pollution. In Tipperary, seven public water supplies, including Borrisokane, Nenagh, and Roscrea, are on the EPA’s Remedial Action List, meaning urgent improvements are needed. Dr. Fran Igoe from LAWPRO reports that water quality satisfaction in Tipperary has dropped from 61% to 33% over a 12 year period, with rivers around Thurles and Templemore particularly badly affected.

Voices from the Field
Local anglers and fishing clubs have become strongly outspoken. Mr Joe O’Donoghue of Ormond Anglers says, “It’s doing untold damage to the river – the ecosystem is disappearing. Fly life we used to see in the evenings … it’s gone.”
Inland Fisheries Ireland has prosecuted companies in Tipperary for slurry-related pollution. Ms Lynda Connor, regional director, states: “Ensuring clean and healthy water is not just a responsibility, but a necessity for the survival of fish and the ecosystems they thrive in.”
Now the leading question “So why has Inland Fisheries Ireland not prosecuted Tipperary County Council for permitting sewage to flow into the River Suir?

Mixed effluent flowing from a pipe on the river walk close to the rear of Thurles shopping centre.
Pic: G. Willoughby (Image taken Sept. 29th 2025)

Time for Action.
Tipperary as a county can no longer rely on excuses. The County Council, Uisce Éireann, and the Department of Agriculture must now act together and this will require:

  • Enforcement of slurry regulations with inspections and severe penalties.
  • Support for farmers to adopt safer alternatives, including dung use and low-emission spreading technologies.
  • An investment in water infrastructure, buffer zones, and monitoring.
  • An engagement with stakeholders such as anglers, environmental groups, and local communities in oversight and planning.

Short-term gains from slurry can no longer be allowed to outweigh the long-term damage to rivers, drinking water, and local ecosystems. Tipperary’s waters deserve decisive action now, before more fish die, more rivers are polluted, and the county’s natural heritage is irreversibly harmed.

Now regarding my last communication, which further updated details of the 12 year old River Suir pollution problem in Thurles; seven emails in total were sent 10 days ago, on Friday September 19th 2025 to:-

(1) Ms Sinead Carr (CE Tipperary Co. Council), [sinead.carr@tipperarycoco.ie]; )
Result: No Reply or acknowledgement received to date.

(2) Ms Sharon Scully, (Thurles Municipal District Admin) [sharon.scully@tipperarycoco.ie];
Result: No Reply or acknowledgement received to date.

(3) Mr Darragh O’Brien (darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie) (Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment & Minister for Transport).
Result: Correspondence acknowledged. (Ref: HPLG-MBO-03271-2025). Reply “Your correspondence is currently receiving attention and a further reply will issue as soon as possible”.

(4) Mr Alan Dillon (alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie) (Minister of State with responsibility for Small Businesses and Retail and Minister of State with responsibility for Circular Economy).
Result: No Reply or acknowledgement received to date.

(5) Mr Timmy Dooley (timmy.dooley@oireachtas.ie) (Minister of State with responsibility for Fisheries, Minister of State with responsibility for the Marine).
Result: Correspondence acknowledged. (Ref: CCAE-MOSD-00280-2025). Reply: “I would like to acknowledge your recent correspondence regarding Pollution of the River Suir. The contents of your email have been noted and I will bring this to the Minister’s attention and we will respond accordingly”.

(6) Environmental Complaints section EPA [E.Complaints@epa.ie],
Result: Reply received as shown hereunder.

Dear Mr Willoughby
The EPA acknowledges receipt of your further correspondence relating to this matter.
We have written to Tipperary County Council and await their response on any actions taken or planned regarding the matter. We will provide you with an update in four weeks.
In the interim, we recommend you continue to report any further issues relating to this matter to Tipperary County Council.
Please use the reference number COM021813 above in any further communication with the EPA regarding this matter.
Kind regards ……….

(7) Mr Robert O’Brien (A/Executive Scientist, Environment & Climate Action, Tipperary County Council, Civic Offices, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary).[robert.obrien@tipperarycoco.ie].
Result: Reply received as shown hereunder.

Hello George,
You are correct to highlight the seriousness of the pollution of our rivers and the priority that must be given to public health and safety.
Any immediate actions that could have been taken are completed.
To address the overall issue and root cause will require a longer-term approach. The consultative process is not intended to be a talking shop, but this pilot study ensures accountability, coordination and long-term protection of the river and community. I appreciate this can be frustrating but reversing water quality decline often takes years to be realised.
Any information you request must be formally applied for under the Freedom of Information Act 2014.
Regards……….

September 29th, 2025 | Category: Community News, Education, Environment, Farming, Health, Law, Politics | Leave a comment | |

Proprietors Of A Thurles Home Refusing To Accept Another Winter Of Council Inaction.

For the second consecutive year, the proprietors of a house on the Dublin Road, east of Thurles, is being relentlessly flooded, and they are refusing to accept another winter of inaction.
The cause is not a natural calamity, but a man-made one: a raised, sloped footpath, installed by Tipperary County Council, now channels rainwater directly into their home.

Photograph of internal damage and rising damp caused by water ingress.
Pic: G. Willoughby.

Despite repeated calls to Thurles Municipal District Council staff, and despite entreaties to local elected councillors, not one single corrective step has been taken in the past two years.
After the heavy rain early this morning, we filmed video evidence-plain and unmistakable-that identifies water streaming down the garden path to flow under the front door, thus saturating the front hallway and creating rising damp, which today is visible, creeping mercilessly upward on the interior walls.

Outside, the tarmac footpath, which the council built, same is already sinking, forming a dangerous slope unto the property, turning the approach to the house into a funnel for floodwater.

We have this evening sent copies of the video and images to Ms. Sharon Scully (Thurles Municipal District Administrator) and Ms. Sinead Carr (CE, Tipperary County Council), asking that they immediately contact the elderly occupants, whom we have named in our correspondence.
The proprietors are terrified that a night of heavy rain will see their furniture floating, their home destroyed, and their security swept away.
The proprietors are now seeking immediate and urgent remedial action and full restitution for the damage caused by the councils inaction.

September 27th, 2025 | Category: Community News, Planning, Politics, Roads, Transport | Leave a comment | |

Martin Mansergh, Key Irish Peace Process Adviser, Dies Aged 78.

Mr Martin Mansergh, former Irish Minister of State and key Irish peace process adviser, sadly dies aged 78 years.

Martin George Southcote Mansergh, former Minister of State, historian, and one of the most influential advisers in the Northern Ireland peace process, has died at the age of 78 years, while on a trip to the Sahara with fellow retired parliamentarians.

M. Mansergh, R.I.P.

Born in Surrey, England, in December 1946, Mr Mansergh was the son of historian and Oxford academic Nicholas Mansergh, a renowned authority on Anglo-Irish relations, and Diana Mary Mansergh. He was educated at The King’s School, Canterbury, before going on to study at Christ Church, Oxford, where he obtained a doctorate in history. His academic background and deep interest in Irish and European affairs shaped both his intellectual outlook and his later political career.

Although English-born, Mr Mansergh made Ireland his home and dedicated his professional life to Irish public service. His historical awareness, combined with a sharp political mind, made him a trusted adviser to Fianna Fáil Taoisigh Charles Haughey, Albert Reynolds, and Bertie Ahern. He was regarded as a central figure in the complex and often secret efforts to open dialogue with Sinn Féin from the late 1980s, laying the groundwork for the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

Elected to Seanad Éireann in 2002, he served until 2007, when he was elected TD for Tipperary South. In government, he was appointed Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works. While his parliamentary career was significant, it was his quiet, steadfast role in shaping government policy on Northern Ireland and his contribution to peace that most defined his public legacy.

Tributes following his death have described him as a man of integrity, intellect, and generosity. His early negotiations on behalf of successive Taoisigh, his resilience during years of painstaking dialogue, and his commitment to reconciliation earned him the respect of political leaders across divides. “Few on the Irish side were more crucial to the Peace Process,” one tribute reflected, “whether through his role as an intermediary or in crafting a new political and intellectual framework for peace.”

He is recalled as being a key figure in establishing contacts and building trust in the years leading to the Good Friday Agreement. His contribution, alongside that of Mr John Hume, senior government officials, and Sinn Féin representatives, was pivotal in transforming the political Irish landscape.

Away from politics, Mr Mansergh was known as a historian and writer, contributing to Irish and European scholarship and offering reflections on politics and history that drew on both his academic training and his practical experience.

He is remembered as a warm and thoughtful man, generous with his time, devoted to his family, and proud of his roots in County Tipperary, where he lived for many years.

Mr Mansergh is survived by his wife, Elizabeth and their five children. His passing marks the loss of a figure whose intellect, dedication, and quiet determination were instrumental in securing peace in Ireland and whose life leaves behind a proud legacy of service and reconciliation.

In ár gcroíthe go deo.

September 26th, 2025 | Category: Community News, History, Politics | Leave a comment | |

Next Week – 96 Additional Beds Will Become Available At UHL.

University Hospital Limerick (UHL) is set to open 96 additional beds in the coming days, in what health officials say marks the first step in a long-term plan to ease chronic overcrowding at the Mid West Region’s main hospital.

University Hospital Limerick (UHL).

The €96 million development, which has been under construction over the past three years, will deliver 96 single en-suite rooms, all of which are new bed stock. It is understood the unit will be fully staffed once it becomes operational next week.

This is the first of three 96-bed blocks planned for the UHL campus, with the second expected to open in 2027 and the third in the 2030s.

UHL has consistently been ranked the country’s most overcrowded hospital. This morning, figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) recorded 86 patients waiting on trolleys across the hospital’s emergency department and wards, while on the previous day, the figure stood at 118.

The hospital has come under repeated scrutiny from the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), which has found UHL to be understaffed and posing significant risks to patient safety. Inspections reported that patient dignity and privacy were routinely compromised in the overcrowded emergency department.

Public concern over safety at UHL intensified following the death of 16-year-old Ms Aoife Johnston in December 2022. An independent review by former Chief Justice Frank Clarke concluded her death was “almost certainly avoidable” after she waited 13.5 hours for life-saving medication. The report warned that without urgent action to address staffing and capacity, further avoidable deaths would remain an “inevitable” risk.

The emergency department at UHL is the only 24-hour facility serving the Mid West region-covering North Tipperary, Limerick, Clare, and parts of Cork and Kerry – since a controversial reconfiguration of services by Fianna Fáil government, back in 2009.
Campaign groups, including families bereaved at the hospital, continue to call for additional emergency departments to be established in the region.

September 25th, 2025 | Category: Community News, Employment, Health, Planning, Politics | Leave a comment | |

Irish Government Appoint New Director General Of Forensic Science.

Dr Ciarán Seoighe

Irish Government announce the appointment of Dr Ciarán Seoighe as Director General of Forensic Science Ireland (FSI). His appointment will take over from his predecessor Mr Chris Enright, with effect from October 6th next, 2025.

Dr Seoighe brings senior experience in the fields of science and research, most recently as Deputy CEO of Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland. Dr Seoighe joined Science Foundation Ireland in 2018, which amalgamated with the Irish Research Council to form Taighde Éireann in 2024.

He has led the Strategy and Transformation Directorate and played a key role in shaping Ireland’s strategic direction in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies.

Prior to this appointment, Dr Seoighe spent nearly two decades as a global management consultant, advising leading organisations across ICT, finance and more.

September 25th, 2025 | Category: Community News, Employment, Law, Politics | Leave a comment | |
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