Thurles Information

Male Pedestrian Dead, Struck By Vehicle In North Tipperary This Morning.

Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to come forward following a collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian in North Co. Tipperary this morning, (Friday August 4th, 2023).

The pedestrian, a man believed to be in his 30s, has since died after he was struck by a motor vehicle on the Dublin Road in the Lisbunny area, near Nenagh, Co Tipperary.

The incident happened at around 10:30am this morning, with the pedestrian being pronounced dead at the scene. No other injuries were reported.

Diversions remained in place this morning as a technical examination by Forensic Collision Investigators took place.

An Garda Síochána are now appealing for any road users who may have dash-cam footage and/or who were travelling in the areas of Tyone; the Thurles Road; Rathmartin, and the R445 (Old Dublin Road) at Lisbunny, between 9:30am and 10:45am to contact them.
Gardaí are also appealing to any road users who may have dash-cam footage and were travelling from Nenagh town in the direction of Toomevara via the R445 (Old Dublin Road) between 9:30am and 10:45am, to immediately contact them.

Persons with information are asked to contact Nenagh Garda station Tel: 067 50450, the Garda Confidential Line Tel: 1800 666 111, or indeed any Garda station.

Restrictions Introduced On Firearms Certs For Semi-automatic Rifles.

Commencement of new firearms measures under the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023.

Section 10 of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 has been commenced with effect from August 1st 2023. This section provides for restrictions on firearms certificates for semi-automatic centre-fire rifles.

**Total number of semi-automatic centre fire rifles imported into the State from January 2015 – December 2021 amounted to 97 weapons, with 59 unlicenced.**

With effect from this date, it is no longer possible to obtain a new firearms certificate for a semi-automatic centre-fire rifle.

In addition, and in line with long-stated government policy, firearms certificates for semi-automatic centre-fire rifles that were first granted after 18 September 2015 and which were in force immediately before August 1st 2023, are revoked with effect from November 1st 2023.

This measure does not affect the possibility of renewal of a firearms certificate for a semi-automatic centre-fire rifle where the certificate was first granted on or before September 18th 2015 and was in force on August 1st 2023. The renewal of such certificates will still be possible, provided all other legal requirements are met.

This measure has been introduced on public safety grounds, in line with an announcement by the then Minister for Justice in September 2015 and subsequent Government and Oireachtas approval of the proposals in section 10 of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023.

The very small number of licenced firearms holders who are affected by this should contact their local Garda Station.

Irish Prison Service To Be Established As Statutory State Body.

Government approves drafting of Bill to establish Irish Prison Service as a fully-fledged State body with a non-executive Board and other best practice governance and support structures.
General Scheme of the Irish Prison Service Bill 2023 will establish the IPS and its Director General on a statutory basis with defined functions including providing safe and secure custody, upholding human rights, and supporting prisoner rehabilitation.
Minister says work ongoing to Deliver 400 Extra Prison Spaces for 620 Prisoners – a 13.8% increase in bed capacity.

The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee TD, today announced that she has secured Government approval to publish the General Scheme of the Irish Prison Service Bill 2023, and for her Department to commence work with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel on drafting the Bill.

The Irish Prison Service (IPS) is currently a non-statutory executive office of the Department of Justice. At present, the IPS has over 3,500 staff, an annual budget of more than €420 million, and an average of approximately 4,700 prisoners in custody on a given day. The IPS is a crucial part of the criminal justice system, with a very substantial duty of care to prisoners and staff alike and a significant role to play in making communities safer through a rehabilitation-oriented approach to prisoner management. In common with other public bodies, the IPS must also meet an increasing array of governance obligations along with the service and capacity challenges generated by population growth.

The proposed Irish Prison Service Bill will establish the IPS on a statutory footing with defined functions and responsibilities and with oversight and support from an independent non-executive board. Further support will be provided by a dedicated audit committee and by other expert committees as required. These new structures will provide the IPS with expert guidance and oversight in implementing the Government’s penal policy reform programme, in managing capital projects and in ensuring the highest standards of governance and accountability in the prison system. This will complement the primarily human rights-focused oversight already provided by external entities such as the Inspector of Prisons, the Prison Visiting Committees, and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT). The draft law also provides that the IPS will provide prisoners with services and activities to support the health, self-respect and spiritual, moral and mental well-being of prisoners. It also provides that provide prisoners with educational, training and other developmental opportunities to enable them to spend their time in prison constructively and preparing to lead law-abiding and purposeful lives following release.

The Minister for Justice will continue to provide policy direction and to approve overarching corporate strategy and capital investment. The Bill will also formalise the Director General’s accountability to the Minister for the overall management of the prison system. This will include accountability for implementing the IPS multiannual strategic plan, annual business plan and governance framework, all of which will be placed on a statutory footing. The Minister will remain in charge of capital expenditure within the IPS, and any decision to open or close a prison will be made by the Minister.

Commenting on this important milestone, Minister McEntee said: “The Government has approved the drafting of a Bill to establish the Irish Prison Service on a statutory basis with new and enhanced governance and accountability structures.
A safe, secure and progressive prison system is a cornerstone of any well-functioning democracy. In Ireland we are fortunate to have a prison service with so many committed staff who work day-in, day-out to provide prisoners with opportunities for rehabilitation and self-development while also ensuring an orderly and disciplined prison environment. Through the provision of educational, training, employment and psychological services, we can reduce the level of re-offending and improve overall community safety.
The Bill will cement the position of the IPS as a State body with defined functions, provide it with best practice governance supports, and set out clear lines of authority and accountability for the management of the prison system. This will include establishing the position of IPS Director General as a statutory office with formal authority and accountability to match the responsibilities of the role.
This Bill will help to ensure that the IPS is best positioned to fulfil its mandate and to meet future challenges, including its role in the effective management of prison numbers, resources and penal policy reforms. Ultimately this will help to shape better outcomes for prisoners, staff and communities alike.”

The Minister also said she intends to prioritise the need for additional prison spaces because of significant population growth in recent years, as well as planned population growth in the coming years. It also arises due to increases in judicial resources and increasing numbers of Gardaí.

The Minister continued : “We are working on a plan to deliver 400 extra prison spaces across 4 different prisons. This will provide space for 620 additional prisoners across the prison estate. These additional spaces will be delivered in Castlrea, Cloverhill, the Midlands and Mountjoy prisons. It is important that the size of the prison estate keeps up with population growth, as well as increasing judicial and garda resources.”

Genealogical Survey To Be Conducted At Sean Ross Abbey, Co. Tipperary.

An in-depth genealogical survey, funded by the Department of Children, will be conducted on a patch of land at the mother and baby home at Sean Ross Abbey, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary, where some locals people believe that children and babies may have been buried.
Some 1,090 children and babies, many of whom were under the age of three, are understood to have died over a period of almost four decades at this mother and baby home in Tipperary, run by the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

The picture show above is a billet *(A billet in today’s language means a ‘ticket’ or a ‘receipt’ in French, but it originally meant a ‘short note’)*, that a male child *“by the hands of Elizabeth Blackall”* from the Church of Ireland parish of Thurles, was admitted to the Dublin Foundlings Hospital on July 12th 1791. The Porter’s name who admitted the child is shown as Thomas Annesley.
**Note** from this receipt *(billet)*, shown above, certain of the clothing names are no longer in use today.
**Biggins** – A bonnet tied behind the neck and made of wool or linen.
**Clouts** – Cloth diapers or nappies.
**Flannel** – A square of fabric wrapped around a child over the diaper or a long undergarment.
**Forehead Clothes** – Strip of cloth tied across the forehead to behind the ears for added warmth.
**Pilches** – Layers of cloth tied around the diaper in an effort to prevent leakage.
**Swathes** – Strips of cloth, usually of wool, wrapped around an infant’s body for warmth and to put pressure on the navel. Parents will be aware of the term **“Swaddling”**, – **St Luke 2:7** *“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn”*.
*Pic: G. Willoughby*

The area of earth to be surveyed is understood to be located beside a designated burial ground known as “The Angel Plot”, but the area currently remains uncared for and is overgrown with heavy vegetation.

Sean Ross Abbey was one of the largest mother and baby homes within the Irish State, and contained a three-storey mansion, an orchard and a church on its grounds.

Some 6,079 babies were born there, to thousands of unmarried pregnant women who passed through its portals from 1931 until 1969. Babies born to unmarried girls in the home, were put up for adoption, with a known 487 of them sent to the United States of America.

Among its better known residents was Ms Philomena Lee, whose story featured in the book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, (by author Martin Sixsmith) and the 2013 film, starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan, [latter nominated for four Academy Awards, including ‘Best Actress’ for Judi Dench’s portrayal of Philomena Lee and Best Picture].

Four years ago, in 2019, as part of work then undertaken, about one tenth of “The Angel Plot” was excavated. Same examination revealed the remains of 42 infants on the site explored.

Note: In relation to the picture relating to Thurles, shown above; back in the year 1752, of the 691 children taken in charge by the Dublin Foundling’s Hospital, 365 children were dead by the end of that particular year. In 1757, burial of these children was described as “being chucked, naked into a hole, some eight or ten infants at a time”.

A report ordered by the Irish House of Commons regarding child mortality over the previous twelve years, ending in June 1796; same would reveal that of the 25,000 admitted more than 17,000 had died. Worse facts would be revealed in the five-year period between 1791 to 1796. Here, of the 5,016 infants sent to the Dublin Foundling’s Hospital infirmary, only one solitary child had survived.

How Soon Tipperary Forgets – Ní bhíonn cuimhne ar an arán a hitear.

There is an old Irish expression “Ní bhíonn cuimhne ar an arán a hitear”, commonly translated as ‘Eaten bread is soon forgotten”.

Today was such a case, it being the 200th anniversary of the birth of General Thomas Francis Meagher [born 3rd August 1823 – died 1st July 1867], himself the man who gave us our Irish Tricolour.
Yet today passed sadly forgotten, by not just Co. Tipperary, but also sadly by the Irish nation. Read HERE and watch the video contained.

Signatures of Thomas Francis Meagher and Patrick O’Donoghue, arrested at Rathcannon, Holycross, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, following the 1848 Ballingarry (SR) rebellion.
Both signatures are written on the back of a prison library book called “Wreath of Friendship”.
*Picture: G. Willoughby*.

Thomas Francis Meagher was an Irish nationalist and leader of the “Young Irelanders” who led the Ballingarry (SR) Rebellion of 1848, [Battle of the Widow McCormack’s Cabbage Patch], before being convicted of sedition and sentenced to death, but instead received transportation, for life, to Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) off the Southern coast of Australia.

In 1852, Meagher escaped on a whaling ship and made his way to the United States, where he settled in New York City. He studied law, worked as a journalist, and travelled widely to present lectures on the Irish cause.

At the beginning of the American Civil War, Meagher joined the U.S. Army and rose to the rank of Brigadier General and was most notable for recruiting and leading the Irish Brigade, encouraging support among Irish immigrants for the Union Army side. Here in Ireland he had one surviving son whom he never met.

Following the American Civil War, Thomas F.Meagher was appointed Montana’s Territorial Secretary of State by President Andrew Johnson, and served as acting territorial governor. In 1867, Meagher drowned in the Missouri River after falling from a steamboat at Fort Benton, Montana. His death has been disputed by historians, with varying hypotheses including weakness from dysentery, intoxication, suicide and murder.

Patrick O’Donoghue whose signature is shown avove, in his diary record, refers here to the Irish flag, Quote: “We entered Mullinahone for the first time, and unfurled the green banner.”

Irish tricolours were mentioned in 1830 and 1844, but widespread recognition is not accorded the flag until 1848. From March of that year Irish tricolours appeared side by side with French flags, at meetings held all over the country to celebrate the revolution that had just taken place in France.
In April, Thomas Francis Meagher, this Young Ireland leader, brought a tricolour of orange, white and green from Paris and presented it to a Dublin meeting.

John Mitchel (1815-1875) referring to it, said: “I hope to see that flag one day waving, as our national banner”.

Although the tricolour was not forgotten as a symbol of hoped-for union and a banner associated with the Young Irelanders’ and revolution, it was little used between 1848 and 1916. Even up to the eve of the Rising in 1916, the green flag held an undisputed right to flutter in the then ever changing winds that was truly the now politically forgotten, County of Tipperary which was deciding the paths which were to guide Irish history.

Remember the statement by Thomas Davis, also earlier editor of ‘The Nation Newspaper’ in the 1840’s, “Where Tipperary Leads, Ireland Follows.”
But maybe, and sadly, not any more.