Thurles Information

Global Games Jam Tipperary Institute Ireland

Last weekend saw one of the annual highlights for game developers around the world, yes I am referring to the 3rd annual ‘Global Games Jam.’

Once again this global event smashed it’s own record for the single largest games jam ever – 48 hours, 44 countries, 170 locations, 6500 participants, almost 1500 games, one weekend with just one theme.

Global Games Jam hosts Tipperary Institute, here in Thurles, rose to the challenge of organising and joining a game coding marathon for students, creating games, which were then viewed live by International gaming enthusiasts and gaming industry leaders.

Participants were here to make games – fast. It was part of the Global Game Jam, a worldwide event wherein developers, artists and musicians got together to make games in less than 48 hours with eating and sleep left optional.

Some 7,000 odd developers on Friday evening, across the world, worked creating computer games based on a common choosen theme ‘Extinction‘.

When presented with the theme, ‘Jammers’ set about brainstorming concepts, students pitched ideas to attract developers, artists and designers to join their team. Twenty two concepts in total were pitched and these were then honed down, strictly on merit, to just four ideas.

Games agreed and decided were titled ‘Petals’, ‘What We Do Now’, ‘Human Kind’ and ‘Petri Paridice’.

Mr Philip Bourke, the Course Coordinator for T I Development and Games Design stated: “This is as real as it gets, the sandbox nature of these projects, allow our students to experiment with development, design and gameplay in collaboration with their peers. The need to quickly and efficiently produce the code, art and audio assets for fun games in a fantastic way to develop innovation skills.”

Conor O’ Neill, one of the team that produced Petals, said: “This being my first jam, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I imagined it would be extremely challenging to get our ideas into a playable game in just 48 hours. We were delighted to find everyone so helpful in both Tipperary Institute.”

All games produced will be now be showcased later during the annual computer console game programming festival ‘Games Fleadh’ at Tipperary Institute in March next on 9th-10th.

Check Your Voting Register

Check Your Tipperary Electoral Register

Checking the Electoral Register for your area, prior to the General Election on February 25th next, is essential and has never been easier to confirm.

City and County Councils now allow you to check if you are registered to vote through the online eReg service or by clicking Here and selecting your residential Local Electoral Area. (Note you can also get your application form here, for future inclusion of your name on the electoral roll, if necessary.)

Important: If your details do not appear, please follow the instructions on your council’s website.

If your details do not appear and are not included at another address, you must complete an application form (RFA2) for inclusion in the supplement to the Register – available also for download from here.

Note: One section of any new completed form must be signed at a Garda Station by a member of the Garda Síochána, so do ensure you carry clear identity with you when you call.

If you are on the register, but have moved address from one Dáil constituency, or Local Electoral area, to another you must complete an application form (RFA3) – also available for download here.

Irish versions of these forms are also available for download – RFA2 or RFA3.

Completed forms should be returned, directly by you, to your city or county council and must reach the relevant council before the fourteenth day (Sundays, public holidays and Good Friday excluded) before polling day in order to be considered for inclusion in the supplement for the forthcoming election.

Brendan Graham Tipperary Songwriter And Author

“When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.”

Lyrics by Brendan Graham

“You Raise Me Up,” first recorded by Secret Garden, featuring Brian Kennedy, has become one of the biggest selling songs in the history of popular music, with over three hundred recordings by some of the world’s biggest acts – Josh Groban, Westlife, IL Divo, Paul Potts, Celtic Woman, to name but a few, and has racked up sales of over 80 million copies. It has never been out of the charts somewhere in the world in the past eight years. It has also become one of the most successful songs of all time in sheet music sales, being continuously at No. 1 for the past seven years, in the USA’s Sheet Music Bestseller Charts, in four different categories: Pop, Adult Contemporary, Pop Choral and Downloads and it is the most downloaded song in sheet music format of all time.

All this said, few people in our county realise that the lyrics were written by county Tipperary man, Brendan Graham.

Brendan Graham, born in 1945 here in Nenagh, County Tipperary, was an Industrial Engineer by profession, before becoming a full-time songwriter, after being made redundant in 1993. He was also a former Irish Youth International basketball player, a student priest, a pig-boner in London and a recipient of Western Australia’s Lansing Bagnall State Award for business studies. Mr Graham now resides in County Mayo with his wife and five daughters.

Graham has composed two of Ireland’s winning entries in the Euro-vision Song Contest in the past: “Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids” which won in 1994, and “The Voice” the winner of the 1996 contest.

Brendan Graham, is also an Irish novelist and has published three novels, ‘The Whitest Flower‘ (London, Harper Collins, 1998), an Irish no. 2 best seller, ‘The Element of Fire‘ (Harper Collins, 2001) and ‘The Brightest Day, The Darkest Night‘ (Harper Collins, 2004).

Irish songwriter and founding member of The Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO), Brendan Graham is officially included in an exclusive club with the world’s top songwriters, awarded “Million-Air ” status by the American Performing Rights Society, BMI. Only 3900 (0.06%) songs of the 6.5 million works, which BMI represent, have ever been awarded Million-Air certificates.

To be included in this exclusive roster, a song must have been broadcast over one million times on American radio. This definition equals at least 50,000 broadcast hours, or more than 5.7 years of continuous airplay. The songwriter joins previous ‘Million-Air’ recipients like song-writing legends John Lennon, Van Morrison, Enya, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Mick Jagger, Ben E King, Sting, Otis Redding and Roy Orbison.

Michael Lowry Refused Request In Defamation Case

North Tipperary Independent TD Michael Lowry

Judge Margaret Heneghan has refused, Independent TD Mr Michael Lowry, a declaration that he was defamed by journalist and broadcaster Mr Sam Smyth on TV3’s ‘Tonight with Vincent Browne‘ programme and in a newspaper article.

Mr Lowry TD, Holy Cross, Thurles, Co Tipperary, had sought the declaration under the 2009 Defamation Act, which allows for a legal short-cut by way of summary judgment on the contention that Mr Smyth had no possible defence to the politician’s claims.

Judge Heneghan, in a reserved judgment today in the Circuit Civil Court, said she was satisfied Mr Lowry had not established that Mr Smyth had no defence to the allegations of defamation.

Mr Lowry’s claim may now go to a full hearing before another judge. The case to date has been dealt with on the basis of sworn statements by both Mr Lowry and Mr Smyth and today’s decision has no significance in any eventual overall outcome.

The case centres on comments made by Mr Smyth concerning the Mc Cracken and Moriarty Tribunals and their inquiries into matters relating to Mr Lowry’s finances. Mr Lowry alleges that Smyth made false and defamatory remarks about him in an Irish Independent article and again on the TV3 current affairs show.

Mr Lowry claims that the newspaper article and a comment by Mr Smyth on television, that Mr Lowry had been “caught with his hand in the till ” were false and malicious and remarks that he was a thief, a corrupt politician, dishonest, untrustworthy and unfit to be a Minister or a TD.

Mr Lowry had sought a declaration that he had been defamed, asking for a court order directing publication of clarifying statements and an order prohibiting further publication of the alleged defamatory remarks.

Mr Smyth, The Gasworks, Barrow Street, Dublin, has stood over his comments and argues that they were true and based on his honest opinion and constituted both fair and reasonable publication in matters of public interest.

The journalist has been covering matters concerning Mr Lowry since the mid-1990’s and his story in November 1996 about Mr Lowry’s home having been renovated paid for by Dunnes Stores, led to Mr Lowry’s resignation as Minister for Communications.

Mr Lowry claimed the Irish Independent article under the heading “Tribunal will reveal findings on money trail to ex-minister” was about a matter yet to be adjudicated on by the Moriarty Tribunal, which was looking into whether any payments were made to him while he was a Minister.

Mr Smyth, in the newspaper article, had stated regarding English property transactions in Cheadle, Mansfield and Doncaster that “the total value of all of the property transactions involving Mr Lowry was around £5m.”

This, Mr Lowry claimed, meant by way of innuendo he had unlawfully benefited from the transactions by awarding, as Minister for Communications, the Esat Digifone mobile phone licence to Irish and Malta businessman Denis O’Brien.

Barrister Eoin Mc Cullough, S.C., who appeared for Mr Smyth, applied for an order for costs against Mr Lowry, but the matter was adjourned on the application of Martin Giblin S.C., for Mr Lowry, to allow both sides “reflect” on the court’s judgment.

Coonan Pressures Carey On Sale Of Lisheen Mines

Fine Gael TD Noel Coonan today contacted Minister for Communications Pat Carey TD, asking him to further clarify the situation regarding Lisheen Mines.

Lisheen Mine, Moyne, Co Tipperary

Newspaper reports suggest that owners, Anglo American are putting huge pressure on Minister Pat Carey to finally approve the mining company’s planned sale of Lisheen Mines, before the dissolution of the Dail tomorrow.

Anglo has indicated that it plans to sell the zinc mine to Indian company Vedanta for €308m. However, Deputy Coonan said there have been widespread concerns about Vedanta’s poor environmental and human rights record.

The Tipperary North / South Offaly TD said: “I contacted Minister Carey and the Secretary General of the Department of Communications and Natural Resources to convey my concern about the sale of Lisheen Mines. Serious questions have been raised at the highest political level about Vedanta’s record in other countries. My fear is that the musical chairs in Cabinet at the moment could put at risk not only the future of the mines, which employs around 370 people, but also the future of the local environment.”

Deputy Coonan further stated: “The Department has informed me this afternoon that any sale will be ‘conditional on the new owners continuing to ensure strict compliance with the terms of the State Mining Lease and all other statutory permits and enactments, including the planning permission and Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Licence (IPPCL), not only during the remaining life of the mine but also in its closure, restoration and aftercare.’

The future of Lisheen Mines is something which I have campaigned on throughout my political career. It is vital that this is not put in jeopardy, by the current political paralysis in Government. Lisheen mines must to be safeguarded.“