Tourism « Thurles Information

Free Pre-Christmas Parking on Saturdays in Thurles

Christmas Lights – Thurles Town Centre

For the next two Saturdays,there will be no parking charges applied to vehicles found parked in the six car parks, situated around Thurles Town centre.

Thurles Town Mayor Mrs Evelyn Nevin raised the issue at the recent monthly meeting of the Town Council, following representation from Thurles Chamber on behalf of local businesses.

However it should be noted that normal parking restrictions and charges will still apply to those who continue to park on the streets of Thurles.

Free Car parking for over 300 vehicles will therefore be available at Parnell Street, Friar Street, Cathedral Street, Slievenamon Road, Liberty Square and the Source Arts Centre, thus ensuring easy stress free access to shoppers and tourists, who choose to visit the centre of the town for their annual Christmas shopping.

Tipperary Tourism Receives €10m Investment

Cloughjordan Eco Village

Two North Tipperary tourism projects are set to attract more than €10m investment following their approval under the Government’s Mid Shannon Tourism Investment Scheme (MSTIS).

The scheme will be administered by Shannon Development and Failte Ireland.

The MSTIS is a special initiative aimed at stimulating and encouraging sustainable investment along the River Shannon Corridor. The MSTIS which is aimed predominantly at the micro, small and medium tourism sector, is a tax measure aimed at stimulating tourism investment by providing accelerated capital allowances The central objective is the sustainable development of new tourism infrastructure, or the refurbishment of existing tourism infrastructure, with a view to increasing the inflow of tourist visitors to the area. The Government have set out a tourism investment corridor along the mid Shannon area an area where investment will be eligible.

The Oldcourt Tourist Resort in Terryglass, Co Tipperary, will accommodate 42 self catering bedrooms, interactive education facilities, water sports, resort spa, together with outdoor activity centre, health cuisine and an upgrading of a private marina.

Project number two is The Cloughjordan Village Eco Hostel and Learning Centre, which will offer a wide range of programmes based on environmental issues, sustainable living and self-development, based in an existing Eco-village environment.

Clare Glens Co Tipperary A Photographers Dream

Visitors to Co.Tipperary whose lives encompass a love of nature, scenic walking, true peace and tranquility should not leave the county without at least one visit to the Clare Glens.

Nature Walk

This beautiful area forms a natural boundary dividing the county of Tipperary from County Limerick.

It can be found on your maps situated very close to the village of Newport, in Co Tipperary.

The Glens are a natural gorge through which the Clare River flows, and provides an excellent walking area with scenic views from all sides.

A nature trail, which is well signposted, has been mapped in a looped or course – like format, which opens up all areas of the Glens to the walker, incorporating natural rock pools, rapids and waterfalls.

This forest park is situated in a small hilly area and there is a profusion of natural flora and an abundance of indigenous birds and other wildlife.

Keep an eye out for the rare red squirrel which frequents this area and should you visit during late May or early June, expect the river valley to be literally choked with blossoming rhododendrons.

This is indeed an extremely picturesque location and a landscape photographers delight.

Emly Wins 51st Tidy Towns Award

St Ailbe's Church

The 51st Tidy Towns Awards was announced recently at a ceremony in Dublin and yes it’s official, Emly, in West Co. Tipperary has deservedly been named the tidiest town in Ireland and for the first time.

Emly was the overall national and regional winner with a winning score of 305 points.

Two other Tipperary towns have also won gold awards in this year’s competition, previous winner Birdhill was close behind Emly on 302 points and Clonmel won its category with 290 points.

In North Tipperary Roscrea fared the best of the bigger towns on 270 points, followed by our own Thurles on 258 (Up 7 points on 2008) and Nenagh on 239.

In South Tipperary, Cahir was 30 points behind Clonmel on 260 and followed by Cashel 255 while Carrick-on-Suir scored 254 points.

National Tidy Towns Winner Is Emly Co Tipperary

The winning town of Emly is centered around it’s very beautiful local parish church, dedicated to its patron saint, St. Ailbe. Emly is one of the oldest centres of Christianity in Ireland and up until the early middle ages was the seat of the premier diocese in the south of Ireland remaining a Cathedral city until the 16th century. The full name of Emly in the Irish language is ‘Imleach Iubhair’ which literally means ‘The Border of the Lake of the Yew Trees’. The wood of the English Yew was used for bows by Celtic and Teutonic warriors, a practice which eventually led to the demise of the great Yew forests of Western Europe

St. Ailbe was Bishop of Emly in Munster and died about 528 AD and it is very difficult to sift the truth from the myths and legends which have gathered round the life of this Irish saint. Beyond the fact, which is itself disputed, that he was a disciple of St. Patrick and was probably ordained priest by him, we know really nothing of the history of St. Ailbe. Legend says that in his infancy he was left in the forest to be devoured by the wolves, but that a she-wolf took compassion upon him and suckled him. Many years afterwards, when Ailbe was bishop, a wolf, pursued by a hunting party, fled to the Bishop and laid her head upon his lap. Ailbe recognised and protected this wolf, and every day thereafter she and her cubs came back to be fed by him. It is also believed St. Ailbe loved hospitality and taught his parishioners the importance of same in respect of those who travelled through the area.

Archbishop Thomas Croke, of GAA fame, laid the foundation stone of the present church in Emly on the 30th May 1880. The work was completed in 1882 and officially opened on 6th January 1883. This church replaced an earlier one built in 1810 and which is now used as the towns parish hall. The nearby graveyard contains the towns most famous items of antiquity, St. Ailbe’s Cross and St. Ailbe’s Well, which from ancient times to current date are held in veneration by the the towns inhabitants who still assemble here, on the 12th of September each year, to celebrate the anniversary of St. Ailbe’s death.

Emly also rightfully lays claim to two other notable historical figures, Dermot O’Hurley and Terence Albert O’Brien both of whom were beatified by Pope John Paul II on 27th September 1992.

Dermot O’Hurley (c. 1530 – 1584) was a the Roman Catholic Archbishop of the diocese of Cashel during the reign of Queen Elisabeth 1 and was put to death for treason. Despite severe torture, which included having his legs roasted over a roaring fire, the Archbishop refused to embrace protestantism.

Terence Albert O’Brien (c.1600 – 1651) was a Roman Catholic Bishop of Emly. During the Irish confederate wars O’Brien opposed a peace treaty that did not guarantee Catholic interests in Ireland and following the 1651 siege of Limerick by Ormondists and Parliamentarians, he with others, following their surrender, was executed by General Henry Ireton.

In past years a very ancient canoe, resembling those used by south sea islanders, was dug up in the adjacent bogs near the village, together with gold armlets, ancient coins, and some brass swords.

Tourists, visiting Tipperary, should halt awhile in this area and experience the country-style hospitality which still exists long after St. Ailbe.

Two Children Brought To Safety From Galtee Mountains

Two children have been rescued from the Galtee Mountains after getting into difficulties caused by sudden flooding earlier this evening.

The party were returning from a walking trip to local beauty spot Lake Muskry with an adult and two other children when they became stranded after a river flooded, due to the extremely heavy rain.

The South Eastern Mountain Rescue team was alerted to the situation by Gardaí in Tipperary town at approximately 4pm this afternoon.
A team of some 13 Mountain Rescue personnel were sent to the area. The unit successfully managed to locate the children approximately one hour after the search began and brought them safely back across the swollen river.

Walking tourists face a 2 km forest track which continues out on to open moorland and a rising uphill walk for over 2 km, to get a view of Lake Muskry which sits at 520km (1614ft) above sea level and is considered to be one of Ireland’s most breathtaking scenic landscapes.