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 Tipperary County Board and the car manufacturers ‘Skoda‘ are set to announce a new three-year sponsorship deal over the coming days.
Tipperary board formally announced an end to their nine-year partnership with local business Enfer Scientific yesterday, leaving the way for car manufacturers Skoda to sign up to a three-year deal that will take them to the end of the 2013 championship.
The current sponsors will remain for the outstanding football and hurling league fixtures, but the car manufacturers are then expected to step in with a new and more lucrative deal.
As All-Ireland hurling champions, Tipperary were in a strong bargaining position to maximize their profile and increase their income, with the capacity in this three-year deal to earn the county in excess of €750,000.
Enfer have been the county’s sponsors since 2002 and their name was carried on the shirts as Tipperary landed the Liam MacCarthy Cup, after a nine-year absence, last September, and doubts surrounding the future of the partnership surfaced earlier this year, when the Enfer name did not feature on the jerseys for some football events.
The Enfer logo, however, returned as the leagues began, and Tipperary GAA officials are now adamant that their parting with the company has been most amicable.
The new Tipperary kit with the Czech Republic company’s logo is expected to be unveiled following the conclusion of the county’s senior footballers and hurlers interests in the Allianz League.
Tipperary have been implementing a number of cost-cutting measures right across the board, with neither the hurling or football squads travelling abroad for ‘warm weather training’ this season and referees in the county have only recently come to agreement about allowances and match-day passes that came under a review of overall spending .
The securing of a this new sponsorship deal now allows the Tipperary Board to ‘cash in’ on their status as 2010 All-Ireland champions.
Losing the Grand Slam to Ireland was not bad enough, now England must suffer the blushes brought about by a leaked YouTube video, not to mention the thousands of unwanted commemorative T-shirts, (I said don’t mention the T-shirts) following Saturday’s 24-8 defeat at Aviva Stadium Lansdowne Road.
England’s official kit suppliers Nike produced a special video under the title ‘Grand Slam Champions 2011,‘ which features a montage of Benjamin Foden, (Thurles born Una Healy of The Saturday’s Girl Band fame must be laughing) Toby Flood and Chris Ashton, together with other players, all living the dream in expectation of completing their first Six Nations clean sweep since 2003.
Much to the delight of Tipperary and Munster staunch rugby supporters, it also emerged that Nike had printed 5,000 special limited edition T-shirts, which were due to go on sale after the final whistle at Waterloo, Kings Cross, Euston and Charing Cross train stations.
Still one of these T-shirts could become a collectors item in the future.
Despite their Grand Slam failure, England still claimed the Six Nations championship but find themselves behind Ireland in the world rankings.
“Never count the chickens until they are hatched” I believe is the appropriate quote.
The picturesque village of Clonoulty,Thurles, in Tipperary, is situated in the Golden Vale, latter the richest farm land in Europe. To the casual passing tourist it is just another Irish rural village, displaying very great civic pride, through its well kept appearance.
The village gains “National Prominence” each year when it, together with it’s sister village Rossmore, becomes host to the International Miss Macra Festival, latter which this year celebrates it’s 40th birthday. However tourists take note; there is more to the village of Clonoulty than meets the eye, as my tale will tell.
From a sporting perspective, this area has always been a hive of GAA activity and possibly therefore few are aware of its associations with past Rugby glory, its contribution to World leadership or even it’s British Royal Family connection.
Now with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II due to make her first State visit to Ireland, Thurles, her ancestral home and Clonoulty are both being focused on by Urban District Councillors and County Councillors, anxious to make a good impression and hoping to take full advantage of the much needed tourism that will be generated by Her Majesties visit. While we are aware of her Thurles connections, many may not be aware of the ‘Clonoulty Connection’.
The Clonoulty Connection
Detailed in the Census of 1911 the residents of Srahavarrella, now the home of Thomas Heffernan, in Clonoulty West, Tipperary are as follows:-
Pike William, (Church of Ireland Clergyman.) age 48, Husband and head of the family and a native of Co Mayo.
Harriett Florence Pike (Maiden Name, Surridge.) aged 34, Wife and a native of Dublin City.
Margaret Walker Pike, aged 8, a daughter, born in Co Kilkenny.
Andrew Hamilton Pike, aged 7, a son born in Co Kilkenny.
Theodore Ouseley Pike, aged 6, a son born in Co Tipperary.
Robert Bonsall Pike, aged 5, a Son, born in Co Tipperary.
Victor Joseph Pike, aged 3, a Son, born in Co Tipperary.
Charlotte Florence Pike, aged 2, a Daughter, born in Co Tipperary.
John Surridge Pike, aged 1, a Son, born in Co Tipperary.
From this information we can glean the villages Irish Rugby Football connection, a world leader and even a British Royal Family connection.
Victor Joseph Pike
Victor Joseph Pike, born July 1, 1907, Clonoulty, Thurles and died February 25, 1986, in Salisbury aged 78 years and 239 days.
Played Rugby for Ireland between 1931-1934, including in the Five Nations at Twickenham, where he made his Ireland Test debuts on the 14th February 1931, in the position of Hooker.
The Irish Team that day were as follows: – SH-Mark Sugden (Capt), FB – Major Egan, W- Edward Lightfoot, C– Eugene Davy, C – Laurence McMahon,W- Joxer Arigho, FH-Paul Murray, H-Victor Pike, N8-Hal Withers, L– Jimmy Farrell, N8– Jack Siggins, L– Jack Russell, F- Noel Murphy, N8– George Beamish, F- James Clinch. Match attendance on the day was 60,000
Victor Joseph Pike CBE CB, went on to become the Anglican Bishop of Sherborne,in the third quarter of the 20th century. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and ordained in 1930. His ministry began with a curacy at Dundrum, Dublin, after which he began a long spell as a Chaplain to the Forces, rising eventually to become Chaplain-General.
His Military précis reads:- The Reverend Canon Victor Joseph PIKE,C.B.E., Q.H.C., Chaplain-General to the Forces (53409), Royal Army Chaplains’ Department. REGULAR ARMY RESERVE OF OFFICERS: Ven. Archdeacon V. J. PIKE, C.B., C.B.E., D.D. (53409) Chapln. to the Forces 1st Cl. Having attained the age limit ceases to belong to the Res.of Offrs., 1st Jul. 1967, retaining the rank of Chapln. to the Forces 1st Cl.
After his death a trust was set up to assist in the education of sons and daughters of Protestant clergy.
Continue reading Clonoulty Tipperary: Rugby, Queen Elisabeth II & Miss Macra Festival
 Capt Eoin Kelly Tipperary GAA hurling captain Eoin Kelly has been ruled out of action for the next four weeks after suffering a compound fracture to his finger during the Allianz League Division 1 win over Offaly on Sunday Last.
Kelly also lost a finger nail during the match after he was accidentally trodden on, during the 13-point win in Nenagh.
However this injury won’t prevent him from flying out to Washington to meet President Obama on St Patrick’s Day.
Recently married All-Ireland SHC winning captain Kelly, have deservedly been invited to take part in the White House’s official celebrations as a guest of President Obama, on Thursday next.
NB: Speaking of games/sport, our competition to win the free PS3 computer game ‘Family Game Night Vol 3,‘ finishes to night, so if you haven’t taken part, do take a look at the right hand side of our home page and ‘chance your luck.’
An Taisce representatives have told an oral planning appeals hearing, that the proposed €460m ‘Tipperary Venue‘ is ” ill-conceived and warrants comprehensive refusal.”
 Model of proposed Two-Mile-Borris Casino An oral hearing, is presently taking both written and oral submissions in support of and against, a decision by Tipperary County Council to grant such planning permission.
The Tipperary Venue will include a racecourse, a 500-room hotel, a golf course, a greyhound track, a casino, a 15,000-seater entertainment venue, and parking for 6,000 cars. Other features include a sprint track, an all-weather floodlit track, an equestrian centre, retail outlets, helicopter facilities and a church. Thurles, it would appear is about to move to Two-Mile- Morris.
Developers estimated the proposed project will create immediately 1,000 construction jobs, while it is being built, and another 2,000 jobs are predicted, when the venture is fully complete.
An Taisce, however, told the hearing, which opened in the Horse and Jockey Hotel, Co Tipperary, today, that it had concerns about what it depicted as ‘this overwhelming‘ development. The An Taisce spokesperson estimated that the development would cost up to €30m in increased fuel costs and resulting carbon emissions, because of its remote location. It also warned that this venture would mean the redirection of over 750million litres of river waters from nearby, to facilitate the construction, and that this would have ecological implications for indigenous wild life habitats. An Taisce stated, it would also have implications for the viable futures of both Thurles, Limerick and Tipperary racecourses and the newly established and refurbished greyhound tracks in both Limerick and Thurles.
Some local residents and businesses fear that this venture will destroy the town’s already established developed services and that while some extra short term employment will be gained, in the long term more jobs will be lost or will just transfer from local hotels and businesses forced to close by this new venture. Some also express the view that wealth is being transferred into the hands, once again, of just a few Irish developers and speculators, who will leave the taxpayer to foot the bill yet again.
The oral hearing is expected to continue for a number of days and is due to hear, tomorrow, from a number of parties involved in the horse racing industry, who appear to be backing and therefore in favour of this major development.
Top racehorse trainer Aidan O’Brien and concert promoter Denis Desmond, we are told, are amongst those who have backed the venture, dreamt up by slot-machine tycoon Richard Quirke.
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