Thurles Information

Another Tax Is Not a Housing Policy.

We learn that the Government is preparing to introduce a new Derelict Property Tax across 107 cities and towns, with plans to expand it further to 171 locations.

The stated aim is to bring long-term derelict buildings back into use, restore communities and create more homes. On paper, few people would disagree with that goal. Dereliction is a blight on towns, villages and city streets across Ireland and here in Thurles, Co. Tipperary, one only has to look at the Munster Hotel on Cathedral street, to fully understand the negligence in fulfilling same obligation.

**Munster Hotel, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.**

But there is a bigger question here: how much more can people and property owners be taxed before Government admits that taxation has become its default answer to every problem?
We already have property taxes, vacant property measures, levies, charges, stamp duty, planning costs, compliance costs and endless layers of bureaucracy. Now, once again, the solution being offered is yet another tax.

The new Derelict Property Tax will replace the current Derelict Sites Levy, which is charged at 7% of the market value of a property, and the new rate is expected not to be lower. In other words, this is not a light-touch measure. It is another significant financial burden, this time once again to be administered by Revenue.

Of course, owners who deliberately allow buildings to rot, while communities suffer should be held accountable. No one wants to see usable homes and buildings left idle during a housing crisis.
But the Government must also recognise that not every derelict property is being held by a wealthy investor or speculator. Some are tied up in probate, in legal disputes, planning delays, lack of services, structural costs, family circumstances or impossible refurbishment expenses.

Punishing everyone with another tax risks missing the real issue. Ireland does not need a Government that simply keeps finding new things to tax. It needs a Government that removes barriers, speeds up planning, supports realistic refurbishment, cuts red tape and makes it financially possible to bring properties back into use.
Success should not be measured by how much money Revenue collects. It should be measured by how many buildings are restored, how many homes are created and how many communities are revived.

If this tax becomes just another revenue stream, then it will be another example of a Government that taxes first and solves later.

The Old Bog Road.

Lyrics: Irish republican and poet, the late Teresa Brayton (1868–1943), born Teresa Coca Boylan, pen name T.B. Kilbrook.
Vocals: Irish singer and entertainer of the country and Irish genre Johnny McEvoy.

The song “The Old Bog Road” is one of those great Irish songs that carries a whole life inside it. The song is written about the longing of someone far from Ireland, thinking back to the place, the people, and the simple road that once meant everything to them.
“The Old Bog Road,” is often thought of as an emigrant’s song, the story of someone far away, longing for home. But that same feeling can sometimes come over elderly people who never crossed an ocean at all; people who left the quiet of the countryside for work in the noise and bustle of a large town/city, and found that something inside them still longed for the fields, the lanes and the old familiar roads.
Anglo-Irish poet Oliver Goldsmith also captured that same feeling beautifully in his poem ‘The Deserted Village’ when he wrote:

“And, as an hare whom hounds and horns pursue,
Pants to the place from whence at first she flew,
I still had hopes, my long vexations past,
Here to return, and die at home at last.”

Same is a powerful image of the heart being driven through life, yet still turning back towards home. And that is the feeling singer Johnny McEvoy brings so tenderly to “The Old Bog Road”; that ache for a place that may be behind us, but is never really gone from us, as I experienced on a visit to Wexford last weekend.

The Old Bog Road.

My feet are here on Broadway,
This blessed harvest morn,
But oh! the ache that’s in them,
For the place where I was born.
My weary hands are blistered,
From working cold and heat,
But oh! to swing a scythe again,
In a field of Irish wheat.
Had I the chance to journey back,
Or own a king’s abode.
I’d rather see the hawthorn tree,
And the Old Bog Road.

My mother died last Spring time,
When Ireland’s fields were green.
The neighbours said her waking,
Was the finest ever seen.
There were snowdrops and primroses,
Piled high beside her bed,
And Ferran’s Church was crowded,
When her funeral Mass was read.
But here was I on Broadway,
Just building bricks by load,
When they carried out her coffin,
Down the Old Bog Road.

Now life’s a weary puzzle,
Past finding out by man,
I take the day for what it’s worth,
And do the best I can.
Since no one cares a rush for me,
What need for me to mourn.
I’ll go my way and draw my pay,
And smoke my pipe alone.
Each human heart must know its grief,
Though bitter be the load.
So God be with you, Ireland,
And the Old Bog Road.

END.

Ellan Vannin – “Isle of Man” in Manx.

Ellan Vannin.

Lyrics: English poet and actress the late Eliza S. Craven Green (1803-1866).
Vocals: British singer and songwriter the late Robin Gibb (1949-2012) member of the Bee Gees, with the King William College Choir.

“Ellan Vannin,” is a much-loved song of the Isle of Man, so loved, in fact, that it is often described as the island’s alternative national anthem. The words were written by Eliza Craven Green in the nineteenth century, and the title means “Isle of Man” in Manx.
This version hereunder is especially poignant because it is sung by Robin Gibb, who was born on the Isle of Man, together with the King William College Choir. Manx Music lists this performance among notable versions of the song, and contemporary accounts note Robin Gibb’s deep connection with the island and its music.
With its gentle melody and words of longing for “green hills by the sea,” “Ellan Vannin” is both a song of home and a tribute to Manx identity.

Ellan Vannin.

When the summer day is over,
It’s busy cares have flown,
I will sit beneath the starlight,
With a weary heart alone.

Then it rises like a vision,
Sparkling bright it shines for me,
My own dear Ellan Vannin,
With it’s green hills by the sea.

Let me hear the ocean murmur,
Let me watch your stormy sky,
Then above the emerald waters,
Sings the seagull as she flies.

Then it rises like a vision,
Sparkling bright it shines for me,
My own dear Ellan Vannin,
With it’s green hills by the sea.

And in all my times of sorrow,
And on some lonely shore,
I’ll go back to Ellan Vannin,
To my childhood days once more.

I’ll go back once more.

END

Finish The Job Before Tragedy Strikes On Kickham Street, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

Kickham Street Crossing Danger; Residents Say Road Safety Works Must Be Finished Before Someone Is Seriously Injured

Residents of Kickham Street, Thurles, are calling for urgent action from Thurles Municipal District Council over what they believe has become a serious and growing danger to pedestrians, particularly older people, people with disabilities, and those who are visually impaired or blind.

Several tactile slabbed and paved areas were installed on Kickham Street last year, apparently to assist visually impaired and blind pedestrians when crossing the road. However, residents say that these areas, on their own, are not enough. They do little or nothing to slow down traffic, and in the absence of clear road markings, painted lines, or properly designated crossing areas, many drivers appear to be treating the improved street surface as an invitation to increase speed.

**Section of Tactile Slabbed Paved Area with Associated Proflo Access Cover.**

This is especially noticeable during the late evening and night-time, when traffic speeds are reported to be significantly higher and visibility is reduced. For local residents trying to cross the road, especially elderly people, what should be a simple daily task has become a frightening and dangerous ordeal.

The tactile paving may help identify a crossing point underfoot, but it does not by itself control traffic, slow vehicles, or clearly warn drivers that pedestrians are likely to cross at these points. Without completed road markings and visible crossing designations, pedestrians are left exposed, and motorists are given no clear visual instruction to reduce speed or behave with caution.

Residents are now asking a very simple question: why were these works started but not properly finished?
The situation is made even more concerning by the presence of Proflo access covers, measuring approximately 450 × 450 mm, located near the tactile slabbed areas. These covers were presumably installed to provide access to underground utilities while maintaining the continuity and visual safety of the tactile paving. Yet they now appear dormant, adding to residents’ concerns that this scheme has been left incomplete or neglected.

This is not a cosmetic issue. It is a road-safety issue. It is a pedestrian-safety issue. It is a disability-access issue. Most importantly, it is a potential danger-to-life issue.

Residents in the area have therefore come together to sign a petition requesting that Thurles Municipal District Council immediately complete the necessary painting of lines and road markings between the tactile slabbed areas already installed last year. These markings are needed to clearly designate safe crossing areas, alert drivers to pedestrian movement, and help regulate driver behaviour before a serious accident occurs.

Tipperary County Council’s own road-safety approach recognises the need to prevent fatalities and serious injuries, and local authorities have powers to provide traffic-calming measures such as road markings, signs, modified surfaces and other interventions to reduce speed and improve safety.

Kickham Street residents are not asking for anything unreasonable. They are asking for the job to be finished. They are asking for safe, visible, properly marked pedestrian crossing areas. They are asking that elderly residents, visually impaired pedestrians, children, and all local people be able to cross the road without fear.

The longer this issue is left unresolved, the greater the risk. Action is needed now, not after someone is injured.

Death Of Siobhan Dockery, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

It was with a great sadness that we learned of the death, on Monday 8th June 2026, of Mrs Siobhan Dockery (née Joan Bourke), Mill Road, Borrisoleigh, Thurles, Co. Tipperary and formerly of Brookfield, Wisconsin, and Arlington, Virginia, USA.

In her 86th year, and pre-deceased by her brother Michael (Turtulla, Thurles, Co. Tipperary), sister Liz, and brother Hugh, (Fethard, Co. Tipperary). Mrs Dockery passed away peacefully, while in the presence of her loving family.

Her passing is most deeply regretted, sadly missed and lovingly remembered by her sorrowing family; loving son Thomas Arthur (Jerusha), daughters Deirdre (Tim) and Siobhan (Sander), grandchildren Madeleine, Daniel, Liam, Beck, Lulu, Declan and Meave, brothers Sean (Clerihan, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary), Seamus (Tipperary) and Kevin (New Zealand), sisters Christina (Australia), Bridget (New Zealand), Marian (Cahir, Co. Tipperary), brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, extended relatives, neighbours and friends.

Rest in Peace.

Funeral Arrangements.

The remains of Mrs Dockery will be interred in St Patrick’s Cemetery, Moyne Road, Lognafulla, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, with her parents Hugh and Elizabeth (Ciss), and beloved husband Daniel P. Dockery, at a date as yet to be announced.

The extended Dockery and Bourke families 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.

In ár gcroíthe go deo.