Thurles Rotary Club - Thurles Information

Thurles Rotary – Hospice Christmas Tree Project.

Sadly, for the second successive year the well-established Rotary Christmas Tree project, which has been organised by Thurles Rotary Club in aid of North Tipperary Hospice and Suir Haven for the previous fifteen years, is unfortunately not going ahead, due to the ongoing covid pandemic situation.

North Tipperary Hospice has benefited by close to €100,000 over that 15 year period and Thurles Rotary are asking everyone to give whatever they can this Christmas, to support these wonderful groups and the crucial service they provide every day.

Fundraising has been seriously curtailed during the last two years leading to a major shortfall in funding so Thurles Rotary have created an iDonate page. Same can be located HERE or by going to iDonate.ie and searching for “Thurles Rotary”

Rotary hope this will provide a way for people who are used to making a contribution at the table, (as in previous years) in Thurles Shopping Centre to remember their loved ones this year with a donation.

Thurles Rotary would like to thank everyone in advance and wish all a very Happy Christmas and a Healthy New Year.

Saturday June 24th – A Purr…Fect Afternoon Guaranteed

“Join us for a guaranteed purr…fect afternoon of fun, chat, music, and a cuppa,” writes Thurles Rotary Club member Mrs Evelyn Nevin.

Evelyn would like to invite you to come along and support Phoneix Productions at a Cats Tea Party in Bookworm on Saturday June 24th from 2.00pm – 5.00pm. (Do please note your calendar).

“Thurles Rotary club has a long standing friendship with Phoneix Productions and its Founder Member/Producer Mr Gerard O’Brien,” states Evelyn, “And to this end we felt the need to support this very worthy charity, which provides such great opportunities to our local young people, through creative expression both in song, dance and stage craft.”

It is the worst kept secret in Thurles that plans are well under way for Phoneix Production’s next musical extravaganza. Yes, Deo volente (God being willing), ‘Cats’ ; composed by the great Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, and based on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot, will be staged here in Thurles next August. This of course can not happen without an enormous amount of effort, time, support and, it goes without saying, financial assistance. Theatre lovers will remember, based on past productions, that Phoneix Productions does nothing by half measures, so expect prodigious thespianism.

Evelyn continues, “We at Rotary Thurles recognise the need for patronage of this worthwhile organisation and to this end wish to support our talented local young people by coming up with what we believe is a novel idea, “A Cats Tea Party”.

Mr John Butler proprietor of Bookworm book shop, on the corner of Liberty Square, has kindly allowed us the use of his premises for the afternoon of June 24th from 2.00 – 5.00pm, with all money raised going directly to Phoneix.

So do please join us for a ‘cuppa’, a chat and we will have special guests providing entertain for you during the afternoon. Your support would be greatly appreciated for this worthy cause and donations of buns and cakes would also be welcomed”.

For further info why not contact Evelyn on Mobile 087 9774725 and pledge your support.

New Book Launch – Memoirs of a Small Town Solicitor

Rotary Thurles Rotary Club are delighted to assist Mr Christopher Kavanagh, of the Sue Ryder Homes, to launch his third book entitled: “Memoirs of a Small Town Solicitor”.

The launch will take place in Thurles Library, situated in the Source Arts Centre building, Cathedral Street, Thurles, on Tuesday May 24th, beginning sharp 6.30pm; with a Judge of the Circuit Court, Mr Gerard O’Brien, doing the honours on the evening.

The book tells the story of Christopher’s most exciting and interesting life, during which time he practised as a Solicitor in Zimbabwe, for some 47 years.

Do not be misled by the title of this book; apart from his life as a Solicitor, it also encompasses his life experiences as a Mountaineer: a Commissioned Officer in the Rhodesian Armed Forces; a part time Policeman; an Actor; his activities as a Rotarian; his first marriage in Switzerland and subsequent honeymoon in Budapest and Vienna; his participation in various Legal Conferences in Venice, Vancouver, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania etc. not to mention his incarceration in a Zimbabwe prison. The publication also deals with his second marriage to Wendy and his decision to settle in Ireland.

The book is lavishly illustrated with some 30 colour photographs and contains the most amusing of anecdotes; moments of terror; his sadness’s / joy’s, and is guaranteed to appeal to everyone who enjoys a thoroughly good factual read.

Thurles Rotary ‘Reaching For Great Heights’

Can You Meet the Thurles Rotary Challenge?

On June 18th 2016, an expedition of ‘intrepid adventurers’ will attempt to walk up and down three hills in Co. Tipperary on the same day.

Pictured L-R: Jean Forbes Cooke, Jonathan Gleeson, The Don, Michael Wright, Sean Spain and Barry Cagney on the top of Slievenamon, Co. Tipperary recently.

Starting at the base of the 2,277 ft. high ‘Keeper Hill’ (Sliabh Coimeálta or The Mountain of Guarding), outside Newport, the team will take three hours to climb up and down. Then an hour long drive later on to Skeheenarinky (with a lunch stop at Kilcoran Lodge Hotel), when the team will take four hours to climb up and down the 3015 ft high ‘Galteemore’ (Cnoc Mór na nGaibhlte, or Big Hill of the Galtees). Finally, after a drive to Kilcash, take the two hour walk up and down the 2,365 ft Slievenamon (Sliabh na mBan, or Mountain of the Women). The team will then collapse into McCarthy’s Bar in Fethard for food and a bit of ‘craic’. (Sean could even be persuaded to drag along his guitar.)

The expedition is organised by the Rotary Club of Thurles and the objective, as well as completing the walk is to raise money for the Jack and Jill Foundation. Last year the Rotary Club of Thurles raised over €4000 for this charity.

This year the Rotary Club of Thurles is delighted to invite anyone with good fitness and who is interested in completing this expedition, to join this walk on June 18th next.

Walkers will be accompanied by an experienced mountain guide; with transport to and from Thurles to all three peaks above mentioned. There are no costs to joining the expedition, although it is essential that each walker must bring suitable clothing and walking boots, in order to take part. Each walker must also be able to effectively fund raise for the Jack and Jill Foundation, to secure a place on the team.

Information: For more details on competing in this most exciting of adventures, please contact Michael Wright on Mobile: (083) 3581304.

Alzheimer’s Tea Day – Thurles – May 5th, 2016

Picture: John Butler (Proprietor ‘Bookworm’) & Michael Wright (Home Instead Senior Care) preparing for the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland’s Tea Day.

Thurles Rotary Club are proud to support the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland’s Tea Day.

Alzheimer’s Tea Day will take place on Thursday, May 5th in Bookworm Bookshop, (latter premises situated at No.1 Parnell Street, here in Thurles) from 10:00am. All donations to this event will be gratefully accepted on the day, e.g. Cakes, Buns, Tarts and of course financial contributions, regardless how small.

Alzheimer’s disease, together with other types of dementia, affect over 1,900 people here in County Tipperary and people with dementia and their families need our strong support. The Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland is the national leader in understanding and providing for dementia-specific supports and services.

So please do drop into the Bookworm Bookshop on May 5th, they look forward to drinking tea with you and having a chat.