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Thurles Credit Union are delighted to announce the launch of a new and exciting holiday insurance product, Coveru.ie.
Coveru.ie Holiday Insurance is a website based product. It will offer members of Thurles Credit Union greater accessibility, better value and most importantly, excellent cover providing peace of mind when travelling abroad.
 Coveru.ie holiday Insurance which is being offered by Thurles Credit Union in conjunction with AIG Europe, offers comprehensive worldwide travel insurance, available on an individual, couple, group or family basis. Apart from offering great value, other advantages of coveru.ie holiday insurance include:
• Single Trip, Annual Multi Trip and Extended Stay options available.
• Choice of 3 levels of cover to suit all budgets (Budget, Premier & Premier Plus).
• Up to 4 children (under 18 years of age) go FREE on a family policy.
• Medical and Emergency Assistance cover when abroad.
• Trip cancellation and baggage cover included.
• Additional add on options to tailor cover to suit travel needs.
• Online quotes for those aged up to 79 years of age and over the phone for those aged 80 and over.
• Those with private health insurance with VHI, Aviva or Laya Healthcare get an extra 25% discount.
The coveru.ie website utilises the latest technology offering secure and efficient payment processing. Payments can be made by debit or credit card (Laser, Visa Debit, Visa Credit or Mastercard). The website will give a fast and secure online quotation and purchase in minutes. Cover can also be purchased over the phone via a free phone number 1800 344 455.
Additional options can be added to the policy for an additional premium. For example Golf, Volcanic Ash and Natural Catastrophe Cover, Wedding, Ski or winter sports, Business Trip and Backpacker cover. Backpacker cover is available on the Extended Stay travel insurance product for trips of up to 12 months in duration for those aged 18- 35 years of age.
Michael Harty, (Business Development Manager of Thurles Credit Union) states; “Thurles Credit Union is continuing to look to the future and how it can meet the growing needs and demands of our members. Coveru.ie is an excellent product proposition in terms of cover, options and price to members. If you are spending your hard earned savings on that once in a lifetime trip to Australia or simply taking a weekend break to Europe coveru.ie has a product to suit your needs.”
He continued; “There are three levels of cover, Budget, Premier and Premier Plus to choose from, designed to provide affordable travel insurance cover for all budgets. An additional discount is also offered to those taking out travel insurance if they already have Private Health Insurance. If you would like more information about coveru.ie please check out the coveru.ie website for policy information and terms & conditions. If you’re not already a member, why not pop into us and join us for the many great benefits of credit union membership.”
 The first official meeting of the newly formed ‘Hidden Tipperary,’ Group was held in Lár na Páirce GAA Museum on Monday, January 13th, at 7;00 pm. This new voluntary group was formed following the recent invitation by the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport Mr Alan Kelly TD, to attend a meeting in early December 2013, to discuss the future of tourism in the Thurles area.
Those in attendance included; Cyril Cullen (Farney Castle), Nuala Ryan (Upperchurch /Drombane Dev Assn), Pat Slattery (Cormackstown Museum), Liam Ó Donnchú, Seamus J. King & Jim O’Regan (Lár na Páirce), Michael Long (Cabragh Wetlands), Adam Tozer (Holycross Abbey), Johnny Enright (Thurles Sarsfields), David Morgan (Semple Stadium), Una Ryan (Marketing Eye) and George Willoughby (St. Mary’s Famine Museum).
Mr George Willoughby acted as Chairperson, at the request of the groups elected Chairperson Mr Tom Noone, latter who was unavoidably indisposed. At the request of the absent Chairperson, George called for volunteers to the vacant posts of Secretary, Treasurer and PRO. Following some discussion Seamus King (Lár na Páirce) was unanimously appointed as Secretary, while Nuala Ryan (Upperchurch / Drombane) was appointed Treasurer and George Willoughby (St. Mary’s Famine Museum) appointed as PRO, with all posts to be held until date of first AGM in 2015.
The acting Chairperson then requested that each of the present representative should express their thoughts as to what they believed should be the purpose of the newly formed group and the achievable targets that required immediate action over the coming 12 months.
Amongst the many ideas expressed were:
(1) The tourism sector in Mid-Tipperary required a fuller realisation and marketing strategy.
(2) As a group working closely together, the area held a massive joint package to offer both visitors not just in Mid-Tipperary but indeed the greater heartland of Ireland.
(3) The group should focus on specific achievable markets, rather than have a scatter-gun approach.
(4) The group needed to think and work jointly in the promotion of the tourism sector, while simultaneously not forgetting their own individual special attractions and interests.
(5) Greater community support and co-operation for the Thurles Sarsfields’ hurling festival which had already demonstrated tourism potential.
(6) A more active canvassing of the bus tour and car rental market.
(7) Networking; Greater use of the Internet and Social Media in the selling of the ‘Hidden Ireland’ trademark as an effective marketing tool.
(8) Personal and local history/geography are a core Strand at all levels of the Education Curriculum, with the curriculum itself emphasising that through local history/geography, all students can readily acquire and practise such research skills, thus becoming familiar with, and learning to value, the local environment and while learning to appreciate the elements of the past which has given them and their locality a sense of identity. To this end therefore all members of the Hidden Tipperary group had an enormous contribution to make to both students and teachers involved in the educational sector.
(9) Representatives from the Restaurant, Hotel and Bed and Breakfast sectors should now be actively encouraged to join the Hidden Tipperary group.
At the request of the acting chairman, those attending were invited to provide, in text format, a short introduction to their varying tourist activities, together with photographs and similar text containing a fully detailed description of their particular tourism attraction. On receipt same will be posted on the website ‘Hidden Tipperary’ in the coming weeks. (Since the meeting work has already begun to this end – See Hidden Tipperary ‘Castles’ – Farney Castle.)
The group then entered into private discussions, where a number of possible tourism issues were debated in depth and targeted. Details of all progress recorded regarding these ventures will be made publicly known in the coming weeks and months, as plans are finalised.
Before closing the meeting it was unanimous agreed that the group should meet again next month to report on progress. A date was set to hold the next meeting at Farney Castle at 11:00 am on Tuesday morning, February 4th next, in keeping with the already agreed principal that by the group meeting in each other’s facilities, they would better learn the range and variety of visitor attractions within the Hidden Tipperary representative group.
The Anner Hotel here in Thurles, Co Tipperary, has been put up for sale with an asking price tag of €1.1m. KPMG receivers, Padraic Monaghan and Kieran Wallace, have appointed one the largest property agents, Savills Commercial, No. 11 South Mall, Cork to offload the hotel, one of the best known establishments in the midlands.
This property which was first established some 50 years ago, presently trades as a three star hotel offering its large clientèle 95 bedrooms, a lounge bar, a restaurant, private dining room, air-conditioned conference and banqueting facilities and a leisure centre with an 18m swimming pool, jacuzzi and sauna.
The hotel, situated on a manicured two acre site fronting the main Dublin Road, on the eastern edge of Thurles town centre, also boasts seven varying sized conference rooms and a main function room with comfortable seating capacity for some 250 guests.
Tenders to purchase this building is sought before February 15th next
Hayes Hotel in Liberty Square, the 1884 venue for the foundation of the GAA , is also being put on the market, again on the instructions of the receivers KPMG receivers, Padraic Monaghan and Kieran Wallace, with an asking price of €750,000.
Latter Hotel comprises an extensive three storey town centre business, together with an adjoining three storey (but now vacant) building, latter which was acquired with the original intention of expanding the hotels present existing facilities.
Hayes has thirty en suite bedrooms and a spacious lounge bar, with two self-contained nightclubs that have a combined licensed capacity for 1,050 persons. (‘Factory Night Club,’ with a capacity of 350 people and ‘The Icon Club,’ with a capacity for 700 people.)
This hotel, like the aforementioned Anner Hotel, also benefit from their own private car parking areas.
As with most important issues currently being discussed /experienced in today’s Ireland, solutions are being left solely to those whom we pay the massive salaries and top-ups and why not, after all that is why we employ them, is it not? However, if the past is any guide as to what we can expect now into the future, this trend of continued silence and non democratic debate by all of our citizens, must now stop.
We as a nation can no longer ignore or indeed trust the final supposedly logical informed decisions being made by those we employ, as many of these same employees should find out come local elections scheduled for next May.
Of course in this instance I am particularly referring to supporters of EirGrid and their arrogance and institutionalised contempt for the ordinary tax payers of South Tipperary and those who have chosen to gamble with our health, which are intent on raping our natural scenery and hell bent on destroying the very future of our tourism sector.
Why should Co Tipperary, a county which has little large industry, massively high emigration with no real future employment prospects for our children, now be ordered to bear the brunt of what we observe as institutionalised contempt?
For the benefit of our overly silent majority, EirGrid has identified three corridors for their future network of proposed pylons. (Two in Waterford and one across the South of Tipperary). From these three corridors one will be finally chosen as the route for the Gridlink power line linking Wexford and Cork via Waterford city.
According to rethinkpylons.org, EirGrid’s Grid 25 project, (of which Grid Link forms part) some 750 to 1,500 pylons will be erected between 45m and 60m high. Same will carry 400kV overhead lines more than 500km and will be erected not more than 50m from some of our private dwellings.
“For what purpose?” I hear you ask. The most widely held view by those affected is that this Gridlink project, has to do with facilitating our new, and to my view, an unsustainable wind energy sector. Minister Pat Rabbitte’s recent memorandum of understanding with the UK government with regard to exporting wind turbine produced electricity, now makes Ireland a giant Wind Farm, producing cheap electricity for Europe and may have more to do with this proposed project than indeed it has to do with the upgrading of our own national electricity grid.
Continue reading Tipperary – EirGrid’s Institutionalised Arrogance
Josephine McNeill (née Ahearne), the Irish Diplomat, was originally born on March 31st 1895, in Fermoy, County Cork. She was the daughter of James Ahearne (shopkeeper and hotelier) and Ellen Ahearne (née O’Brien). Josephine was educated at Loretto Convent, Fermoy, and later at UCD. Today in Co Tipperary and indeed in her own native Co Cork its citizens have almost forgotten her varied contribution to twentieth century Irish History.
Equipped with a BA in French and German she began her teaching career, teaching first at the St Louis Convent, Kiltimagh, Co Mayo and later in 1917, here in Thurles at the Ursuline Convent. Josephine was fluent in the Irish language and held a passion for Irish music and literature. While here in Thurles she also took an active part in the cultural side of the Irish independence movement, becoming a member of Cumann na mBan and in 1921 became a member of the executive committee of that same organisation.
It was also while here in Thurles, in 1917, that Josephine first met Pierce McCann, latter president of the East Tipperary executive of Sinn Féin and the Commander of the Tipperary Brigade in the 1916 Easter Rising. By May 1918, she was paying regular visits to Ballyowen House, near Cashel, and they would eventually became engaged just before McCann was arrested by the R.I.C. for the second time. Following this latter arrest Pierce McCann would die of influenza in Gloucester jail, possibly after it was claimed that a doctor had dosed him too strongly with strychnine on March 6th 1919 in a British nursing home.
Indeed when McCann’s corpse arrived in Dublin, amongst those who carried his coffin from ship to hearse and later to the Dublin / Thurles train, were Harry Boland and Michael Collins. In Dublin his hearse was preceded by a group of over one hundred Volunteers and was followed by another group of fifty, as it wended its way for a Mass held at the Pro-Cathedral. Following this Mass, the cortège and about ten thousand mourners walked through the city centre. On reaching the Quays it is reported that a British officer attempted to halt this cortège to allow a British military truck the first right of way. This officer together with his motorcycle are understood to have found themselves floating in the River Liffey, courtesy of a group of bystanders, because of what was perceived as a lack of respect for the dead.
When McCann’s coffin arrived by train here in Thurles, Volunteers from all over Tipperary were represented and the coffin was removed to the Cathedral of The Assumption, where it was received by the then Archbishop of Cashel and Emly, Dr. John Harty. On Sunday, March 10th, the funeral left Thurles at 2:30pm bound for buried in Dualla, Cashel, County Tipperary. Note the present McCann Barracks in Templemore, County Tipperary, remains named after him.
Later in 1923 Josephine Ahearn would now go on to marry a man, 26 years her senior, one James McNeill, Irish High Commissioner in London from 1923- 1928. James McNeill would also serve as a member of the committee under Michael Collins, latter then chairman of the Irish Provisional Government, and would also assist in drafting the Constitution of the Irish Free State. Both Josephine and James greatly resented the manner of their treatment by Eamon de Valera when the Office of the Governor General was suppressed in 1932. However later, while Minister to Switzerland, Josephine put this same anger and resentments aside, when de Valera visited Switzerland for eye surgery and indeed it is reported that she went to sit with him during this period of convalescence.
Continue reading Josephine McNeill Thurles Town’s Forgotten Diplomat
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