“Through These Trials Of Life I Find Another Voice Inside My Mind “
The Easter holiday period usually provokes a feeling of great enthusiasm and eagerness, what with children and third level students on extended holidays, while employees and many self-employed persons look forward to taking advantage of the year’s longest holiday weekend.
However, with the world covid-19 pandemic here in our Emerald Isle, which forced our schools to close ahead of time and ruined all of our travel plans, the 2020 bank holidays period has now taken on a different experience.
As my grandmother, Eliza Jane, used to state, “Man makes plans and God laughs”.
Trust everyone, where possible, put a light in their window last night, to honour all our sick, those who have lost their lives, our brave front-line staff, the homeless and those healthcare workers; all operating during this difficult Covid-19 pandemic.
Working together this pandemic will be over soon and hopefully we can all return to normal, having hopefully learned many new lessons regarding our daily interaction with others.
In the meantime stay safe, stay at home and enjoy Easter.
May we here, at Thurles.Info wish you, our readers a very Happy Easter.
“To far off lands, the swallow now is speeding For warmer climes and sun-drenched foreign shores. While cooler breezes tell of summer fading My heart with you, into the heavens will soar”.
The first swallows have begun to arrive here in Co. Tipperary, with the first of our welcome visitors observed and reported to Thurles.Info by Mr Michael Bannon who spotted them in the village of Littleton last week.
These swallows (Irish – Fáinleog) will have travelled some 11,000kms (Almost 7,000 miles) this year to get to Ireland, having spent the winter in southern Africa. They have now migrating back across the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert, to build their bowl-shaped nests, constructed I hasten to add by both males and females, out of mud in the barns and out-buildings they deem most suitable.
Excellent flyers, these adult birds are instantly recognisable by their glossy black wings and contrasting white underbellies. Up close, bird watchers can see the dabs of red colouring on feathers under the beak and neck area.
These welcome visitors feed almost exclusively on insects such as midges and flies, which they capture on the wing; avoiding stinging insects like bees and wasps.
Laying clutches of 4 or 5 white eggs; same are incubated by the females over a 14 -18 days period, with the male sitting on them only while the female is away, thus reducing any loss of heat.
In most cases the swallow is tolerated by humans because of their beneficial role as insect-eaters, but nests do get destroyed by householders who dislike same being attached to the walls of their homes.
My grandmother often predicted accurately the weather, while watching swallows. “When the swallows fly high, the weather will be dry”, she would announce.
In the case that swallows are not flying high she would explain that on fine summer days warm air rises upwards. Insects, the stable diet of swallows, are also swept up by this warmth, often hundreds of metres aloft.
Equally, during unsettled colder weather, same insects will seek the shelter of trees and buildings, so swallows can be observed swooping lower to the ground, to seek out and destroy.
Corona-19 virus cases increase by 500, while associated deaths are confirmed at 28 more this evening.
The Department of Health have confirmed that a further 500 more cases of the coronavirus have been diagnosed here in the Republic of Ireland this evening, bringing the present toll of confirmed cases to 6,574 persons.
A further 28 deaths have also been confirmed, bringing the total number of related deaths since conception to 263.
In the words of Randy Travis, “There’s No Place Like Home”.
Stay at home where possible and stay alive, that is the advice from the Department of Health, as we begin this Easter Holiday period.
While we here in friendly Co. Tipperary normally welcome footfall in our towns, villages and tourist attractions; we are aware that there are now 140 confirmed Covid-19 cases in the Premier County to date, and with a number of deaths already registered; caused by a failure in our observance of social distancing.
A massive ‘Thank You’ to our present caretaker government and all front line workers, charged with bringing this situation under control.
Musical Director, Broadcaster and one of Ireland’s great National Folk Singers, Ms Mary McPartlan has passed away in Galway in the early hours of this morning, April 6th 2020. Aged 65 years, Ms McPartlan succumbed to cancer.
Born in Drumkeeran, Co Leitrim, Ms McPartlan was a former member of the folk duo “Calypso” back in the 1970’s, and later worked as a producer for television and stage before conceiving what are now known as the “Gradam Ceoil” TG4 awards. She also produced two seasons of the TG4 series “Flosc”, as well as an Irish traditional music show in Las Vegas in 2003.
In 2004, aged 50, she released a long-awaited debut album, “The Holland Handkerchief”, which was voted MOJO Magazine’s folk album of the year.
In 2010, as part of a National Tour, Ms McPartlan performed at St. Kieran’s Church, here in Cloughjordan, North Co. Tipperary
Ms McPartlan’s love of the music by the Irish traveller, traditional singer and banjo player Margaret Barry led to her producing the play “She Moved Through the Fair: The Legend of Margaret Barry”.
Creative director of the ‘Arts in Action’ programme at NUI Galway (NUIG), in 2013, Ms McPartlan received a Fullbright Scholarship to the US and last year received an Ireland United States Association (IUSA) Distinguished Alumni Award for her outstanding contribution to culture, education and music.
In 2016 she released her last album “From Mountain to Mountain”.
Ms McPartlan is survived by her husband, Paddy Noonan, her two daughters, Mairéad and Méabh, her stepdaughter Niamh, and her stepson David.
With the second half of the upcoming week promising rain, herewith are our top 5 recommendations for YouTube channels that are sure to keep families laughing and learning indoors.
(1) For ‘Fixed Fairy Tales’ by HISHE Kids.
Fixed Fairy Tales is a hilarious series of award winning animated short clips from the creators of ‘How It Should Have Ended (HISHE)’. With the help of Vincent, the storytelling and story changing owl, your favourite fairy tales and nursery rhymes get a whole new twist. Other HISHE Kids channels include ‘How to Draw and Silly Songs’. To view please click HERE
(2)TED-Ed
TED-Ed (a branch of the original and inspiring TED Talks) exposes children and young people to hundreds of videos that explore big questions across science, history, philosophy, geography and literature. It also has a riddles series that challenges viewers to solve some of the most brain tickling teasers from great thinkers. See more by visiting HERE:
(3)National Geographic for Kids
National Geographic for Kids provides a catalogue of weird, wacky and wild videos about animals, science, pets, insects and so much more. It’s sure to be a big hit with the whole family. Why not visit HERE?
(4) Easy Kids Crafts
The Easy Kids Crafts YouTube channel is a treasure trove of step by step easy craft projects for kids using paper, glue and a little imagination. It is sure to delight and entertain children of all ages. Once again we invite you to visit HERE.
(5)Smithsonian Channel
Through their YouTube Channel, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. enables young and old to access hundreds of educational documentaries on topics as diverse as:-Women who shaped science, WWI, Space exploration and Sea Turtle rescue. You will find something for everyone HERE.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Recent Comments