Video « Thurles Information

Thurles St Patrick’s Day Parade

The Thurles St.Patrick’s Day Parade 2009 was the biggest parade yet in the history of the town, with well over 70% of the local population turning out in the warm Spring sunshine to view over sixty floats taking part. Click the play button on the video below and have a look!

St Patricks Day Thurles 2009 from George Willoughby on Vimeo.

(Music for the video is called “Sweeney’s Buttermilk” by FIMM.)

So who was St. Patrick?

Patrick was a young middle class Roman, but Britain born Christian missionary, born at Banna Venta Berniae, Cumbria, England, (Roman name Banna Venta Berniae translates as “the peninsula with a market place by the mountains”) and is the patron saint of Ireland. When he was about sixteen, he was captured and taken by traders as a slave to northern Ireland. Patrick worked as a herdsman, and remained a captive for six years before escaping and returning to his family. He later writes that his faith grew in captivity, and that he prayed daily. Fleeing his master, he travelled to a port, two hundred miles away, where he found a ship and, after various adventures, returned home to his family, now in his early twenties.

He was educated at a monastery school of divinity founded by Saint Illtud, often called “the oldest university in the world”. After entering the church, he later returned to Ireland as a missionary to the north and west of the Ireland, but little is known about the places where he worked and no link can be made between Patrick and any particular church. By the eighth century he had become the patron saint of Ireland. The Irish monastery system evolved from after the time of Patrick and the day became a feast day in the universal church due to the influence of the Waterford-born Franciscan monk and scholar Luke Wadding.

Patrick died in AD 461, a date accepted by some modern historians and March 17th, popularly known as St. Patrick’s Day and celebrated through out the world, is believed to be his death date and thus is the date celebrated as his feast day.

St. Patrick is said to be buried at Down Cathedral in Downpatrick, County Down, alongside St. Brigid and St. Columba.

From the people of Thurles, “A happy St Patrick’s Day to you all”

Pat Shortt – Tipperary Person Of The Year 2009

pat-shortt

‘Das Riiiight’, it’s official folks, Irelands most popular comedian and Thurles native, Pat Shortt has been named Tipperary Person of the Year by the Tipperary Association in Dublin. Pat will be presented with his award on April 3rd, along with former Tipperary inter-county goalkeeper Tony Reddin, who won this year’s Tipperary Association Hall of Fame award.

The popular “Killinaskully” star on receiving the news of his award, stated modestly:-

“I have won a few awards recently but this one is the most important. It’s great to be recognised at home by your own peers and from your own county. I’m very proud of my County and Thurles where I hail from”.

Born in Kickham Street, Thurles, son of well known Primary school teacher Christopher Shortt, Pat was educated at the Christian Brothers School in Thurles before going on to the College of Art in Limerick. It was there he met Jon Kenny from which saw the birth of the popular comedy duo D’Unbelievables and the familiar comment “das riiight”.

An actor of note, Pat as stated has appeared with Druid Theatre Company in their production of Martin McDonough’s “The Lonesome West”. Movie titles include ‘Angela Money Dies Again’ (with Mia Farrow), ‘This Is My Father‘ (with Brendan Gleeson, Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rae and James Caan) ,’The Closer You Get” (with Ian Harte, Niamh Cusack and Sean McGinley) and in ‘Man About Dog‘ written by Belfast-born Pearse Eliot. Most recently Pat played the role of Wheeler McCoy in the movie ‘Strength & Honour’ as well as the lead role of “Josie” in the afore mentioned movie ‘Garage‘. Garage is the second feature from director Lenny Abrahamson and writer Mark O’Halloran. It picked up the CICAE Art and Essai Cinema Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Pat also won an IFTA award for best actor in “Garage” at the Irish Film and Television Awards.

Also a very accomplished musician Pat has recorded with many bands and toured extensively in the U.S. with the brass section of ‘The Saw Doctors’. In 2006, he scored a huge hit in Ireland with the song “The Jumbo Breakfast Roll” The song was a number one hit in Ireland for six weeks with sales going 4 times platinum.

[wpyt_profile1]yD6Gpn80yWI[/wpyt_profile1]

Television credits include Tom in Fr. Ted, (Channel 4) and Bobby in The Fitz (BBC) however it was his many characters in “Killinaskully” which made him a household name in every Irish home.

For those of you who have not yet seen the genius of Pat Short live do not fear, hereunder are some of the venue’s at which he will be performing Shortt-ly

6th & 7th March – Royal Theatre Castlebar

13th, 14th & 15th March – INEC Killarney

19th, 20th & 21st March – Forum Waterford

25th & 26th March – River Side Park Hotel Enniscorthy

Just Can’t Get Enough Of Una Healy

If you ever had any doubts about Una Healy‘s recent flirtation with the charts as a member of girl group The Saturday’s, then your eyes will simply struggle to comprehend what they are seeing on TV’s seemingly infinite array of music channels over the next few months. Yes, our Una has officially stamped her rightful place in music TV’s video rotation playlists for ever, with her group’s cover of the 80’s super hit ‘Just Can’t Get Enough‘ originally made famous by electronic pop synth impresarios, Depeche Mode.

[wpyt_profile1]Vte4HUoRDSI[/wpyt_profile1]

Una Healy and her ‘Saturdays‘ follow in the illustrious footsteps of The Spice Girls, Girls Aloud, Sugababes, Boyzone and Westlife (see the Irish connection there), as their single has been chosen as the lead Charity Single for this year’s Comic Relief campaign in the UK. Comic Relief raises millions of pounds each and every year for charitable causes. Every year it’s always the red nose days and the charity singles that stand out and to have your single chosen as a front for a whole charity campaign is a major coup for Una and The Saturdays. The continued success of this Thurles girl is surely guaranteed, and that should be enough to put a smile on anyone’s face, or even in this case anyone’s nose.

Corrigan Brothers – There’s No One As Irish As Barack O’Bama

Three Irish brothers, born in the picturesque village of Puckane, Co.Tipperary, may well find themselves performing at Barack Obama’s presidential election celebrations in 38 days time. This is following the launch of their, now, household ditty and ode to the Illinois senator’s Moneygall ancestry. The song, “There’s No One as Irish as Barack Obama” which was officially launched worldwide today at Ollie Hayes’s bar in Moneygall, Co Offaly by Tipperary’s Local Radio station, Tipp FM, on the popular Fran Curry’s Classis Cafe live radio show, broadcast direct from Moneygall.

The Band consisting of Ger, Brian and Donnacha Corrigan, are presently living in Castletroy, Co.Limerick and have been gaining infamy over the last two years with their comedy ballad rap style band trading as the “Hardy Drew and the Nancy Boys“. The band have made themselves well known to the Irish nation through their regular appearences on RTE’s Podge & Rodge and John Creedon shows. They are also well known through their lampooning of Irish Soccer players, Cork man Roy Keane and Thurles native Niall Quinn.

The brothers were forced to sing for visiting relations from an early age. They admit, however, tongue in cheek, to having received enough therapy to continue a musical career through their adulthood. Gerard, Brian and Donncha are multi instrumentalists who have individually had varied musical careers. Ger played in a rock band in the 80’s and competed in the Irish National Song Contest on two occasions while Brian and Donny followed a more folk style singing carreer which stretches back to the early nineties. The Corrigan Brothers came together four years ago as “Hardy Drew and the Nancy boys” and came to prominence with a rap in the native Irish language called “Cupla Focal” (meaning ‘a few words’). This year saw The Corrigan Brothers embrace the Irish roots of Barack Obama.

They have appeared on TV stations all over the world with this their new iconic song. They have featured in countless documentaries and performed the song on election night in Moneygall Co. Offaly, the confirmed ancestral home of Barack Obama.

Soon to be President, Obama’s Moneygall roots were brought to the forefront last year by Stephen Neill when it was revealed that the Illinois candidate’s third great grand grandfather, Fulmuth Kearney, (on his mother’s side) was the son of a Moneygall shoemaker who emigrated to the US in 1850.

Here’s the video.

And here’s the lyrics.

There’s no one as Irish as Barack O’Bama

You don’t believe me, I hear you say
But Barack’s as Irish, as was JFK
His granddaddy’s daddy came from Moneygall
A small Irish village, well known to you all

Toor a loo, toor a loo, toor a loo, toor a lama
There’s no one as Irish As Barack O’Bama

He’s as Irish as bacon and cabbage and stew
He’s Hawaiian he’s Kenyan American too
He’s in the white house, He took his chance
Now let’s see Barack do Riverdance

Toor a loo, toor a loo, toor a loo, toor a lama
There’s no one as Irish As Barack O’Bama

From Kerry and Cork to old Donegal
Let’s hear it for Barack from old Moneygall
From the lakes if Killarney to old Connemara
There’s no one as Irish as Barack O’Bama

O’Leary, O’Reilly, O’Hare and O’Hara
There’s no one as Irish as Barack O’Bama
From the old blarney stone to the great hill of Tara
There’s no one as Irish as Barack O’Bama

2008 the White House is green, their cheering in Mayo and in Skibereen.
The Irish in Kenya, and in Yokahama,
Are cheering for President Barack O’Bama

O’Leary, O’Reilly, O’Hare and O’Hara
There’s no one as Irish as Barack O’Bama

The Hockey Moms gone, and so is McCain
They are cheering in Texas and in Borrisokane,

In Moneygall town, the greatest of drama, for our Famous President Barack o Bama

Toor a loo, toor a loo, toor a loo, toor a lama
There’s no one as Irish As Barack O’Bama

The great Stephen Neill, a great man of God,
He proved that Barack was from the ‘Auld Sod’
They came by bus and they came by car, to celebrate Barack, in Ollie Hayes’s Bar

O’Leary, O’Reilly, O’Hare and O’Hara
There’s no one as Irish as Barack O’Bama

The Saturdays – Chasing Lights Album – Una Healy

The Saturdays are a new five piece girl group who are set to take the charts by storm with their debut album ‘Chasing Lights‘. Building on the success of the now immortal Spice Girls and reality TV show winners come superstars Girls Aloud, The Saturdays are starting to prove their might among their female pop star peers.

Their first two singles ‘If this is Love‘ and ‘Up‘ have heralded the beginning of the girls’ reign in the charts. And while Ireland remains synonymous for its successful boy-bands like Westlife and Boyzone, its girl groups (remember Bewitched and Belfire!) have never really fared as well as the boys.

While four of the five girls in The Saturdays are English, they are fronted by Thurles town native Una Healy.

Una should be very well known to our towns residents. She comes from a very musical background and began writing original music and playing guitar at the early age of thirteen. Una also fronted local rock band ‘Unreal‘ for a couple of years and was also a contestant on the RTE reality TV show ‘You’re A Star‘.

Before joining the Saturdays, Una won recognition in 2004 and 2006 by winning the Glinsk Song Contest. In 2006 she released an EP entitled ‘Sorry‘.

From RTE to MTV, Thurles is very proud to see Una achieve the success that has appeared to be so forthcoming for the last number of years. The Saturdays’ debut album ‘Chasing Lights‘ is in the stores now.