The Thurles St. Patrick’s Parade was held yesterday under clear skies and brilliant sunshine. This year’s event was possibly the largest attended Paddy’s parade ever, in the history of Thurles and took over two hours to pass the “Reviewing Stand.”
Hereunder is a short picture video of just some of the highlights of this most enjoyable of events.
Warning: I feel I should warn viewers that this picture video contains scenes of extreme nudity, foul language and violence, which some viewers may find disturbing, particularly Minister Phil Hogan.
As you saw President Michael D. Higgins was in attendance, as were Mrs Brown and Granddad. Some Vikings, who never went home, also turned up and if anyone ever asks you did the Roman army visit Thurles, you can now answer in the affirmative.
Trust you all enjoyed the afternoon and a big ‘Thank You,’ to Tomas Gleeson and his organising committee. Do check back, as we will be bringing you more video footage over the coming days, so do stay tuned to Thurles.Info
As we have already informed you, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2012, here in Thurles will take place on Sunday 18th March.
This year the programme of events are bigger and better than ever before. You don’t believe me, then read on my friends:-
Monday 12th to Monday 19th:- Prizes for best dressed window and for best traditional window.
Friday 8pm:- Ceili in Band Room (Organised by Thurles Set Dancing Club) music by ‘The Suirside Ceili Band.’
Sunday 18th March: Day of Parade
From 2:00pm in Liberty Square:- Free open air concert with Philip English & his band. Philip is one of the top Country and Irish singers in the country and anyone who feels like dancing to his music is welcome to do just that.
From 2:00pm to 5:00pm in Liberty Square:- Mobile Farm Unit (Under the Supervision of Agri-Aware)
From 2:00pm to 5:00pm in Liberty Square:- Professional Street Entertainers.
At 2.45pm Parade Commences, starting in Abbey Road offering this year a prize fund of over €3,000, to participants taking part.
Confirmed as taking part in this year’s Thurles St. Patrick’s Parade
A Viking re-enactment group.
Roman Army re-enactment group.
Seven marching bands.
Six Schools and their floats.
Numerous Vintage items.
Numerous Large Floats.
Local Sports Groups.
Walking Groups.
Commercial entries.
Of course St. Patrick’s Day in Thurles would not be complete without Dancing in The Premier Ballroom from 9:00pm to 12:00 midnight, (Organised by ‘The Club for Dancing,’) with music by ‘Checkers.’
Note: Large Floats participating in this event will receive up to €300 in a grant from the Thurles St. Patrick’s Day Committee. This grant of €300 is designed to help local community groups, sporting groups and schools etc. towards the cost of preparing a float for the parade and hopefully thus encourage even greater participation in this celebratory parade.
There will be presentation of prizes at 4:45pm in Liberty Square.
Note Also:
There will be a 50cents Bucket Collection from 3:00pm to 4:00pm on the day and helpers are needed with this collection. Everyone attending are asked to donate just 50cents, to defray the necessary expenses of hosting this enjoyable local event.
A number of Stewards are also needed to help out with traffic and crowd control, so please contact Tom Gleeson on Tel 087-9732837 if you would like to offer your assistance.
There is a League Match between Tipperary and Waterford at 2.30pm on the same day as this parade. Traffic should therefore avoid Abbey Road between 1.30pm and 4:00pm. No parking in Abbey Road or its car parks between those times and all are asked to assist policing in this matter.
Parking restrictions will be strictly in operation in Liberty Square from 11:00am until 5:00pm.
Traffic restrictions will be strictly in operation in Liberty Square from 2.30pm to 5:00pm.
Traffic going to the match via Holycross will be diverted to the old Sugar Factory road, i.e. Cabra Road, thus avoiding Abbey Road and the parade taking part.
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, the British heir apparent, is expected to visit Ireland in the next few months, but will he be visiting his ancestral home of Thurles, here in Co Tipperary?
Well, of course, he will have to receive a formal invitation. So hopefully one of our North Tipperary County Councillors, who hourly tune into Thurles.Info, (mainly to view what I am saying publically about their ability to govern) will see this blog and identify the possibility of “Donning their Chains of Office,” not to mention the obvious opportunity for photographic, TV and celebrity status, which could be then placed on their CV’s prior to the next local elections. So you never know, we could be lucky, after all this is Brain Awareness Week (BAW)
The Prince of Wales has made space in his diary for a three day trip to Ireland and will be visiting alone. Sources state that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has encouraged Prince Charles to make the trip, but the appointment of a British Ambassador to Ireland, to replace Mr Julian King, is delaying slightly the finalisation of his intended planned visit.
Prince Charles is a direct descendant of Viscount and Lady Thurles, through their eldest son, the Duke of Ormond. This same Duke’s daughter, Elizabeth, married Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl Chesterfield, and their daughter Elizabeth Stanhope married John Lyon, 4th Earl Strathmore. (Click on image to view larger image of Family Tree). Six generations later in direct line was the 14th Earl Strathmore whose daughter, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyonmarried the future King George VI; and these are the grandparents of Prince Charles.
North Tipperary County Council aided by our Local Town Councillors failed to get an invitation out on time to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, for her visit last year, resulting in a huge loss of future tourism revenue to the town. Instead she visited Cashel where they forgot to show her the grave of one of her ancestors Edmund Butler, Archbishop of Cashel.
By not coming to Thurles, regrettably Her Majesty missed out on seeing the Butler Chalice made in 1620 for Walter Butler the rightful 11th Earl of Ormond, his wife Ellane and Queen Elizabeth’s direct descendant.
The Ormond Butlers owned most of counties Kilkenny and Tipperary, including Thurles. In 1620, the year the chalice was made, the family was in deep trouble. The previous year their son, Thomas Butler, Viscount Thurles, who owned Thurles and lived in the Castle at the top of what is now Liberty Square, had been drowned while travelling to England, to answer charges of treason. Since 1617 Walter himself was in the notorious Fleet Prison in London for refusing to kowtow to King James I, the latter who had deprived him of the Ormond title and estates and given them to one of his cronies, Sir Richard Preston and his wife. Walter got out of jail only in 1625 when he got the title and part of the estates back from the next king, Charles I. The rest of the estates were only gotten back in 1629 and 1630 when Walter’s grandson, James Butler (Direct ancestor of Prince Charles) effectively bought the 14-year-old Preston heiress from her guardians and married her.
Thurles waits powerless as usual, in silent anticipation, to see if any of their elected public representatives of all “political persuasions,” really have any real power or leadership. By real power I mean the ability to grant, an art collection owned by the State, valued at €5m-€6m to the Crawford Gallery in Cork.
Maybe Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Minister Jimmy Deenihan, if approached, could “decentralise,” history stolen from us here in rural Ireland, presently housed in the National Museum supporting a Dublin economy. E.g. the Derrynaflan Hoard, the Faddan More Psalter, the Book of Dimma and the kept ever so secret Two-Mile-orris Silver Hoard, just to name a few visitor attractions.
The FAIRTRADE Mark is an independent consumer label that you can find, as you go about your daily shopping, on over 75 branded products on sale here, presently, in Thurles. This mark acts as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a fair deal for their produce.
In order for any product to display the FAIRTRADE Mark, it must meet high international Fairtrade standards. Often people think that Fairtrade products are mainly just tea and coffee. Nowadays this is far from reality with cotton, flowers, wine and olive oil amongst the numerous Fairtrade products in Thurles shops.
Producer organisations that supply Fairtrade products are inspected and certified by Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO). They receive a minimum price that covers the cost of sustainable production and an extra premium that is invested in social or economic development initiatives. These give people a chance to better their own living and working conditions.
As an individual you can make a difference by:
Asking local shops to stock Fairtrade products.
Asking for Fairtrade tea and coffee every time you are in your local café/restaurant.
Encouraging the company you work for to use Fairtrade tea and coffee.
Expand your shopping list of Fairtrade goods to include bananas, chocolate, sugar, honey, dried fruit, snacks, juice, wine and gifts, to name a few.
According to a new global survey of 17,000 consumers in 24 countries, which was conducted in 2011, Fairtrade International consumers across the world remain firm in their belief that their shopping choices can make a very positive difference for farmers and workers in developing countries.
Contrary to what might be expected during the recession, Fairtrade sales continue to grow in Ireland. In 2010 consumer spending on Fairtrade Certified products grew by an impressive 17%, from €118 million in 2009, to €138 million in 2010. Ireland now has one of the highest per capita spends on Fairtrade Certified products anywhere in the world.
Last night, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted an incredible group of performers for a night of blues music as part of the PBS “In Performance at the White House” series.
After a little encouragement from the legendary B.B.King, the President, in true Irish fashion, took the mic from rock legend Mick Jagger, and sang a few lines of, “Sweet Home Chicago.”
Blues music has humble beginnings with roots in slavery and segregation, in a society that rarely treated black Americans with the dignity and respect that human beings deserve and expect.
So maybe on St Patrick’s day (Irish:Lá Fhéile Pádraig,) when he accepts the Irish Shamrock, he might give us a belt of “The 40 Shades Of Green,” and raise our spirits not just here back home in Tipperary, but for all Irish emigrants everywhere.
Mr President even the chorus would do:-
But most of all I miss a girl in Tipperary town
and most of all I miss her lips as soft as eiderdown
I long again to see and do the things we’ve done and seen
where the breeze is sweet as Shalimar and there’s Forty Shades of Green.
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