Tourism « Thurles Information

Elderly Tourist Dies Following Fall In West Tipperary.

A female tourist, understood to be aged in her 70’s, has sadly died following a fall, while walking at a popular tourist attraction in Co Tipperary.

Gardaί and emergency services from Killaloe including the Tipperary Fire Brigade, quickly responded to the tragedy, which occurred in the Clare Glens, area near Newport in Tipperary, yesterday evening, Wednesday September 11th, at around 5:30pm.

Sadly the lady, who has not yet been named publically, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Gardai have confirmed that a coroner has since been notified and arrangements will now be made for a post-mortem examination to take place.

Back in January 2015 this extremely picturesque location, a popular visitor attraction for walkers, was the scene of a kayaking accident, when a 26 year old man, was injured while out with a group of friendsHe was treated in Limerick University Hospital for non-life threatening injuries, following a rescue operation which lasted some three and a half hours.

Cashel Arts Festival.

“Signing off on the earliest writing”.

As part of Cashel Arts Festival, a most interesting discussion by Trinity Assyriologist Dr Martin Worthington, will take place at Cashel Library tomorrow morning, September 13th 2024 at 11:00am sharp.

You can locate the Cashel Library building, situated on Friar Street, Lady’s Well, Cashel, Co. Tipperary, HERE. (G487+RX)
Please Note: For this free event booking is essential to Tel. No.:- 062, 63825

[Note: An Assyriologist is a person who specializes in the archaeological, historical, cultural and linguistic study of Assyria and the rest of ancient Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq). The word Assyriologist derived from Assyriology, the study of the culture, history, and archaeological remains of ancient Assyria]

Ancient symbols on a 2,700-year-old temple, which have long baffled experts, have now been explained by the aforementioned Dr Worthington.

A sequence of ‘mystery symbols’ were located on view at temples in various locations in the ancient city of Dūr-Šarrukīn, present day Khorsabad, Iraq, which was once ruled by Assyria’s King Sargon II, (721-704 BC).

**Late 19th century drawings of the eagle and bull symbols first published by French excavator Victor Place.** *From New York Public Library*.

The sequence of five symbols, a lion, eagle, bull, fig-tree and plough, were first made known to the modern world, through drawings published by French excavators in the late nineteenth century. Since then, there has been a spate of ideas about the symbols and what they possibly might mean.

Same have been compared to Egyptian hieroglyphs, understood to be reflections of possibly imperial might, and suspected to represent the said king’s name – but how?

Dr Worthington (Trinity’s School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies) has proposed a new solution in a paper published first last April, in the Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research.

At this completely free event at Cashel Library the public can meet Dr Worthington tomorrow morning and learn at first hand his solution to solving the mystery of these hieroglyphs.

Vehicle Parking In Thurles Totally Neglected.

With the closure of the Thurles town car park beside ‘The Source’; parking for all vehicles used by persons attempting to do business or attend religious services in Thurles is now at a premium.

The car park rented by Tipperary Co. Council, situated south east of the Munster Hotel, for the past at least two years has 3 car parking spaces, unavailable due to a fallen tree.

The tree, latter a victim of a wind storm two years ago, luckily now hides a vast amount of litter, were Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) ever to come a calling.
See images hereunder.

**Litter permitted to congregate behind a fallen tree in Munster Hotel Car Park for past 2 years**.
*Pic. G. Willoughby*

Meanwhile; the people anxious and encouraged to attend Thurles Swimming Pool and Thurles Leisure Centre, latter erected by funding from local rate payers; the owners, managers and beneficiaries being Tipperary Co. Council, are forced to park on double continuous yellow lines, due to this aforementioned closure.

Speaking of Thurles Swimming Pool; to the rear of this building administration appears to be missing here also. It appears what isn’t readily on view to the public doesn’t exist. See images hereunder.

**Dumped filters, mats and cardboard strewn at rear of Thurles swimming pool.**
*Pic. G. Willoughby*.

Just a few metres away the large car park underneath ‘The Source’ building, remains closed to the public, since March 2020. Despite no public access, three cars were parked in this underneath car park today, possibly owned by persons working in the building.
However, the interior continues to show no effort is being made to repair the never completed ceiling insulation, torn down by the idle hands of vandals.

**Sad and deplorable state, for the past 4 year, of this never sealed interior ceiling insulation, pictured today** *(22/8/2024)***, from within *‘The Source’* car parking area .**
*Pic. G. Willoughby*.

One hastens to add, where was the CCTV supposedly operating in the area, when this same vandalism was in progress?
The time has come for either resignations or indeed sackings from within the Thurles Municipal Council official grouping, due to their inability to manage our town, allowing it to slide, headlong, downhill in a deafening silence.

The waste of taxpayers money continues.

River Suir Thurles In Unacceptable State – Continued.

The video which demonstrated the deplorable and completely unacceptable state of the first 50 metres of the river Suir south of Barry’s Bridge, in the very centre of our declining town of Thurles, was further supported by comments on social media. All comments indicated the disappointment felt by residents with regards to council officials and elected councillors and the degrading of Thurles.
Ms Sharon Scully (Thurles District Administrator) was, (as is usual with Thurles.Info), made aware of our dissatisfaction.

We will of course be forwarding an email to Ms Scully again later tonight, seeking further assistance with regards to the next 100 metres of this town’s valued river Suir.

Pic (1) Despite two days with no rain, evidence of ground water continuously flowing from under the Leisure Centre. Note the plastic papers ready to exit, come the next downpour to push open the heavy drain lid.
**Pic (2, 3, 4) *Supermarket Trolley’s which have remained in the River Suir for months*.**

What we would like is that Ms Scully would contact three of the local Supermarkets, latter backing unto the river Suir, asking that they remove their shopping trolleys from the water.

I know that Ms Scully will be anxious to observe this area herself, (after all seeing is believing), and so there are two other issues she might help us with, which are as follows:-

(1). Take a walk on now retired Mr S. Hanifin’s tarmac path from the ‘Swinging Gates’, on Emmet Street and examine the crater close to the now deceased Chestnut tree stump, same waiting for some pedestrian to fall into. (Yet another day out in Dirty Dublin, emerging for Tipperary Co. Council to visit the High Court, may still await.)

**Pic (*left*)** – Giant crater on riverside walk near Emmet Street *‘Swinging Gates’*.
Pic (*right*) – Some unknown liquid flowing into the river Suir from behind the future useless and yet unfunded *‘Thurles Inner Relief Road’*.

(2). What is flowing into the river Suir from a drain at the area where the inner relief road will be built. (Look, it’s possible that it was someone just brushing their teeth). Sure you know the area that I am talking about, didn’t TD Mr Jackie Cahill get the money from government to buy and update this area way back in 2021, or was he joking. [See video HERE quickly, before someone teaches him how to remove it.]

Work To Re-design Thurles Now Moves To Robert Emmet Street.

Thurles.Info’s ‘Eye in the Sky’, swooped down to take a closer look this morning at the most recent re-designing of streets in Thurles.
Robert Emmet Street (often spelt ‘Emmett‘ situated immediately to the rear of Tesco) has been the scene of the latest attempts by a motorised vehicle to change the Thurles landscape.

**Badly damaged *‘Watery Mall’* Famine Wall**.
*Pic: G. Willoughby*.

This time the object of someone’s attention was the Great Famine 1847 stone river wall. This wall in recent years; during the Spring and Summer seasons, has successfully hidden the noxious weeds, the dumped plastic wrappers, the tin cans and the glass and plastic bottles.

**Biodiversity sign hidden by supposedly biodiversity during** **the** ***‘No Mow*** **`May`** *Ever’* season.
*Pic: G. Willoughby*.

I hasten to mention that this same wall has also hidden the inability of town officials to undertake the cutting of the grass and noxious weeds, which in turn grants cover to water rats, allowing them to frolic freely of an evening; and all in the name of biodiversity which of course includes every bacterium that makes up our natural world.

Does Thurles still needs a Ring Road before 2040 I ask?