St. Swithun’s day if thou dost rain, For forty days it will remain. St. Swithun’s day if thou be fair, For forty days ’twill rain nae mare.* [*no more] If on St. Swithun’s day it really pours, You’re better off to stay indoors.
Statue St. Swithun.
Who Was St. Swithun?
Saint Swithun was born in the reign of King Egbert of Wessex, and was ordained a priest by Helmstan, bishop of Winchester (838 – 852). He was consecrated by Archbishop Ceolnoth and remained Bishop of Winchester from October 30th, 852, until his death, 11 years later, on July 2nd, 863.
More than a hundred years later, when Dunstan and Æthelwold, latter abbot of Abingdon and bishop of Winchester; both leading figure in the tenth-century church reform movement, were inaugurating their church reform, St. Swithun was adopted as patron of their restored church at Winchester, which had been formerly dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul. His body was transferred from its almost forgotten grave, to King Æthelwold’s new Basilica, on July 15th, 971.
St. Swithun was known for his piety and his zeal in building new churches and restoring old ones. It was at St. Swithun’s request that the aforementioned King Æthelwulf, (father of King Alfred the Great), gave a tenth part of his royal lands to the existing Church.
St. Swithun who made his diocesan journeys on foot, supposedly left instructions that his body should be buried outside the church, “ubi et pedibus praetereuntium et stillicidiis ex alto rorantibus esset obnoxius” (Translated, “where it might be subject to the feet of passers-by and to the raindrops pouring from on high”)
However, he was to be moved from his chosen grave to an indoor shrine in the Old Minster at Winchester in 971. On that day, a violent storm is said to have followed, with rain falling continuously for the next 40 days. Thus, from that story came the odd belief that the weather on July 15th, would predict either a summer of sun or a summer of rain.
The saints body was later possibly divided between a number of smaller shrines. His head was certainly detached and in the Middle Ages, taken to Canterbury Cathedral, while Peterborough Abbey got an arm.
His main shrine was transferred into the new Norman Cathedral at Winchester in 1093. He was installed on a ‘feretory platform’, latter an ornate often portable bier for the relics of a saint above and behind the high altar. A retrochoir was built in the early 13th century to accommodate the huge numbers of pilgrims wishing to visit his shrine and enter the ‘Holy Hole’ located beneath him, often entered by the faithful, down on their hands and knees. Æthelwold of Winchester ordered that all Monks were to stop whatever they were doing and head to the Church, to praise God every time that a miracle was brought about by St. Swithun. The story exists that the monks at some point got so fed up of this, often forced to wake up to go to the church three or four times in a night. They decided to stop the practise. St. Swithun supposedly appeared in a dream warning them that if they stopped going to the church, then miracles would cease; resulting in the Monks deciding to return to the church, each time a miracle was known to happen.
His empty tomb in the ruins of the Old Minster became popular with visitors. The shrine was only moved into the retrochoir itself in 1476. It was demolished in 1538 during the English Reformation. A modern representation of it now stands on the site. Having viewed and experienced our Thurles weather today, and with Irish meteorologists promising that showers will gradually become isolated later tomorrow; with clear and dry spells developing overnight, let’s hope that the St. Swithun legend is solely a misconception.
Sadly, following a fatal incident, the railway line between Thurles and Portlaoise remains closed.
Irish Rail have confirmed that services were paused shortly after 8am and the line will remain closed until further notice.
The 6.40am Limerick to Heuston train is currently stopped between Thurles and Templemore following the incident. Emergency services remain in attendance at the scene.
Significant knock-on delays can be expected for all Cork, Kerry and Limerick commuter services, while Portlaoise-Heuston services have remained operating.
Further updates on the situation will be issued by Irish Rail in the coming hours.
The population impacted by this notice is approximately 11,398 people. This notice is being issued due to disinfection issues in the network. The areas affected include customers in Holycross, Thurles, Ballycahill, Bouladuff, Dovea, Borrisoleigh and Drom and surrounding areas.
Experts from Uisce Éireann and Tipperary County Council are assessing the situation with a view to having the notice lifted as quickly and safely as possible. In the meantime, all customers of this supply are advised to boil water before use until further notice.
Mr Jim Fitzgerald, Uisce Éireann, has acknowledged the impact this notice will have on the community and apologised for the inconvenience to customers: “We are working closely with Tipperary County Council to restore drinking water quality for all impacted customers. We will monitor the supply over the coming days and will seek to lift the notice in consultation with the HSE as quickly as it is safe to do so.”
Vulnerable customers who have registered with Uisce Éireann will be contacted directly about this notice. Anyone who has concerns can contact our customer care team on 1800 278 278 or log onto the water supply and service section of water.ie for information.
Water must be boiled for:
Drinking;
Drinks made with water;
Preparation of salads and similar foods, which are not cooked prior to eating;
Brushing of teeth;
Making of ice – discard ice cubes in fridges and freezers and filtered water in fridges. Make ice from cooled boiled water.
What actions should be taken:
Use water prepared for drinking (e.g.bottled water), when preparing foods that will not be cooked (e.g. washing salads); Water can be used for personal hygiene, bathing and flushing of toilets, but not for brushing teeth or gargling; Boil water by bringing to a vigorous, rolling boil (e.g. with an automatic kettle) and allow to cool. Cover and store in a refrigerator or cold place. Water from the hot tap is not safe to drink. Domestic water filters will not render water safe to drink; Caution should be taken when bathing children to ensure that they do not swallow the bathing water; Preparing Infant Formula: Where a Boil Water Notice is in place, you can prepare infant formula from tap water that has been boiled once (rolling boil for 1 minute) and cooled beforehand. Bottled water can also be used to make up infant formula. All bottled water, with the exception of natural mineral water, is regulated to the same standard as drinking water. It is best not to use bottled water labelled as ‘Natural Mineral Water’ as it can have high levels of sodium (salt) and other minerals, although it rarely does. ‘Natural Mineral Water’ can be used if no other water is available, for as short a time as possible, as it is important to keep babies hydrated. If bottled water is used to make up infant formula it should be boiled once (rolling boil for 1 minute), and cooled in the normal way. Ready-to-use formula that does not need added water can also be used. Great care should be taken with boiled water to avoid burns and scalds as accidents can easily happen, especially with children.
Updates will be available on our Water Supply Updates section on water.ie including a map of the affected area, on Twitter @IWCare and via our customer care helpline, open 24/7 on 1800 278 278. Customers are advised to set their location on water.ie to view updates specific to their water supply. Further information in relation to the boil water notice is available on our Boil Water Notice page.
For customers who wish to check if their property is on the Boil Water Notice themselves, please go to our Water Quality section and enter the property’s Eircode and then click the ‘More Details’ tab. You will then see if your property is on the Boil Water Notice.
Pre-deceased by his mother Mary, his sister Molly, and his much loved wife Kathleen; Mr Dunphy sadly passed away suddenly at his place of residence.
His passing is most deeply regretted by his loving brother Jack, aunts Bridget and Jo, uncles Johnny and Seamus (Keating), Theresa (Kinane), Lisa (Keating-Murphy), Paddy, Christy, Colin, Andrew, Abbie, Amber, extended relatives, neighbours and a wide circle of friends.
The extended Dunphy family wish to express their appreciation for your understanding at this difficult time and have made arrangements for those persons wishing to send messages of condolence, to use the link shown HERE.
Ireland’s 2022 Greenhouse Gas Emissions show a welcome decrease, but much work remains to be done
Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 1.9% (1.19 Mt CO2eq) in 2022, driven by higher fuel prices, increased renewable energy, behavioural change and regulation.
Power generation emissions decreased by 1.9% due to a reduction in coal, oil and peat use and more renewable energy.
Agriculture emissions decreased by 1.2% driven by reduced fertiliser use which offset the impact of an increase in livestock numbers.
Residential emissions decreased by 12.7% with the impact of higher fuel prices, new regulations that ban the use of smoky fuel and milder weather evident.
Transport emissions increased by 6% in 2022 as the COVID rebound continues.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published its provisional greenhouse gas emissions for Ireland for 2022. The figures show a reduction of 1.9% compared to 2021, with emission reductions in all key sectors, except Transport.
In total, 60.76 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2eq) were emitted excluding emissions from Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF).
The report highlights that 47% of Ireland’s Carbon Budget for 2021-2025 has been used in the first 2 years. An extremely challenging annual reduction of 12.4% is required for each of the remaining years if Ireland is to stay within the Budget.
The figures also show that Ireland exceeded its 2022 annual limit under the European Union’s Effort Sharing Regulation (EU 2018/842). These annual limits have been reduced further from 2023 onwards as Ireland’s Effort Sharing commitment increased from a 30% reduction on the 2005 level by 2030 to a 42% reduction.
Commenting on the figures Ms Laura Burke, Director General, EPA said: “An overall emissions reduction is welcome, and it is encouraging to see the impact of action across key economic sectors. Drivers for this reduction were higher fossil fuel prices and associated behavioural change, more renewable energy, and the impact of regulation such as the nationwide ban on smoky fuels in home heating.
She added “While welcome, this decrease in emissions needs to be significantly ramped up. We need faster progress on the actions set out in national climate action plans to decarbonise and transform all sectors of Ireland’s economy, to stay within National Carbon Budgets and reduce our Greenhouse Gas emissions by 51 per cent by 2030.”
A summary of the trends from key sectors:
Energy Industries: Emissions decreased by 1.8% despite a 2.1% increase in overall electricity demand. The reductions were driven by reductions in coal, oil and peat used in electricity generation (-16.1, -29.1 and -24.8% respectively). These reductions, however, were largely offset by the highest gas usage since 2010 (up 12.6% compared to 2021). The emissions intensity of electricity generation declined to 331g CO2/kWh in 2022 (from 348g CO2/kWh in 2021) due to increased renewable energy, but remained above 2020 levels.
Agriculture: Emissions overall decreased by 1.2% or 0.29 Mt CO2eq in 2022. A welcome decrease of 14% in nitrogen fertiliser use, to 343,000 tonnes, made significant progress towards the 330,000 tonne target for 2025 in the Climate Action Plan and resulted in 0.44 Mt CO2eq less emissions from agriculture. These reductions offset the impact of higher dairy cow numbers which increased for the 12th successive year. Total milk production increased by 0.7% in 2022, with milk output per cow decreasing slightly (-0.2 per cent).
Residential: Emissions decreased significantly by 12.7 per cent to 6.1 Mt CO2 eq. The main drivers for the decrease included a large rise in fossil fuel prices, warmer weather and new nationwide solid fuel regulations that ban the use of smoky fuel in home heating.
Transport: Emissions increased by 6% (to 11.63 Mt CO2 eq), following a similar increase in 2021. Overall higher transport activity – both private cars and freight transport – is eroding the impact of electric vehicles. In 2022, there were 72,000 battery electric (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric (PHEVs) which is approximately 37% of the Climate Action Plan target for 2025. Emissions in this sector in 2022 were 4.6% below the pre-pandemic level seen in 2019.
Land-Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULULCF): This sector accounted for 10.7% of the total emissions in 2022 (including LULUCF) and decreased by 0.5%. The main source of emissions is from grasslands on organic soils that have been drained for agricultural production. Net grassland emissions were 6.8 Mt CO2 eq in 2022 while Forest land became a net source in 2022 (0.4 Mt CO2 eq) as more trees reached harvesting age.
Commenting, Ms Mary Frances Rochford, Programme Manager, EPA said: “Current decarbonisation actions are being outpaced by increased energy demand across the economy and dependence on fossil fuels for energy generation. A significant increase in Transport emissions in 2022 highlights the fact that a growing economy, with high employment, will continue to produce emissions if we do not break the link and decouple emissions from increased activity by using cleaner and alternatives sources of energy.”
The Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventory 1990 to 2022 is available on the EPA website and the EPA Greenhouse Gas web resource is also available online HERE.
Further information: Emily Williamson, EPA Media Relations Office Tel: 053-9170770(24 hours) or media@epa.ie
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