Thurles Information

Plastic Bags.

Plastic Bag Levy regulations in Ireland came into operation on July 1st 2007. Today, if a customer requests a plastic bag, the retailer must, generally, since that date, charge €0.22 per plastic bag supplied. Of course there are exceptions; these are for bags of certain sizes, and for bags which contain fresh fruit, unpackaged vegetables, meats and certain other products.

Hereunder, Leitrim native Seamus O’Rourke, writer, director, actor, poet and independent producer extoles the unvirtuous over use of such outer packaging, as only Seamus can.

The plastic bag levy’s primary purpose was to reduce the consumption of disposable plastic bags by influencing consumer behaviour.

Moneys gathered by this levy is, we understand, remitted into the ‘Circular Economy Fund’, which is supposedly used to support initiatives in reducing waste and to promote the reuse and recycling of goods.
On a positive side, it has had a major effect on consumer behaviour since its introduction.
Annual sales of lightweight plastic bags have dropped from a high of more than 130 million to just 8.3 million at the end of 2022, with all the associated benefits for Ireland’s environment.

Alternatives to disposable plastic shopping bags, such as reusable bags are now available in shops around the country, and the consumer has changed to using these alternatives. In the grocery sector, disposable plastic bags have largely been replaced by reusable shopping bags.

Plastic shopping bags designed for re-use are exempt from this levy provided the retailer charges at least 70 cent for each bag.

HSE Alert Public To Excessive Nicotine In Vape Products.

Yesterday the Health Service Executive’s National Environmental Health Service alerted the public to excessive nicotine concentrations found in 4 products, for which European product safety (RAPEX) alerts have been issued.

The products involved are:

Savage Vape. Sub-brands (flavours): Kiwi Passion Fruit Guava 5% Nicotine.
The Crystal PRO MAX 4000+ puff. Sub-brands (flavours): Watermelon Ice Batch No. MAX20230407.
ADADA A8 1200 puff. Sub-brands (flavours): Vanilla Coke.
McKesse MK Bar 7000 12ml. Sub-brand (flavour): Lime Mojito 12ml. Batch Number: Exp: 31/12/2023.

Test results for the four products show that the legal nicotine concentration was exceeded, with sample results ranging between 26.9mg/ml and 30 mg/ml.
The legal nicotine concentration for electronic cigarettes is 20mg/ml.

As a precautionary measure, the HSE are advising consumers to check the electronic cigarettes they may hold, against the products involved in these alerts. If they have any of these products, they should stop using them and return them to the shop where they were purchased. If they have used these products and experienced any ill effects, they should contact their General Practitioner for advice and notify the HSE at info.tpd@hse.ie.

In response, the HSE has contacted distributors and importers of e-cigarettes and refill containers known to them and to make them aware of this issue and will be following up as required.

The message to retailers is:
If you have any of the products as set out above, you must remove them from sale and contactthe HSE at info.tpd@hse.ie providing product and full traceability details.
If you have sold or distributed any of the products above, a recall notice must be displayed in a prominent position in your retail premises and on your website and social media.

Retailers, with any queries in relation to this matter, may contact the HSE at info.tpd@hse.ie.

Social Welfare Recipients Reminded Of Change Due To St Brigid’s Day.

With a Bank Holiday on Monday next February 3rd, there will be a change to the usual Social Welfare Payment dates: all recipients should be aware so that they do not get caught out.

Due to the St Brigid’s Day bank holiday, please remember banks and post offices will be shut, thus will affecting anyone who is due to be paid on the 3rd.

Anyone expecting a social welfare payment on the 3rd will be paid early. It is expected that you will see your payment land in your account on Friday the 31st of January or on Saturday the 1st of February. Anyone in receipt of Child Benefit will also be paid early, on tomorrow Saturday also, thus ensuring that no one receives a late payment as a result of the banks being closed.
This will apply to the New Baby Grant, for anyone who is due to be paid same on the 4th of February. This brand new grant which was rolled out this month (announced in Budget 2025), will be paid out every month to those who are eligible. The grant is paid on the same day as Child Benefit (first Tuesday of each month).

The grant of €280 is paid alongside the child’s first Child Benefit payment of €140, meaning that altogether parents will receive €420 in respect of their new baby. It was rolled out in January for children born or adopted after the 1st of December. The grant is automatically paid in respect of any newborn baby who has been registered to receive Child Benefit.

The St Brigid’s Day bank holiday was only recently introduced (2023), so it’s easy for people to forget about it and how it may affect payment arrangements, so don’t be caught out.

Death Of Shelia Dalton Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

It was with great sadness that we learned of the death, today Thursday 30th January 2025, of Mrs Shelia Dalton (née Cummins), Ballyphilip, Ballingarry (South Riding), Thurles, Co. Tipperary and formerly of Banse, Kilmanagh, Co. Kilkenny and Cummins Public House, Lismolin, Co. Tipperary

Pre-deceased by her parents Rodger and Josephine, son Joseph and daughter Jacinta, brothers Vincent, Seamus and Rodger, sisters Mary and Teresa; Mrs Dalton passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loving family at Padre Pio Nursing Home, Holycross, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

Her passing is most deeply regretted, sadly missed and lovingly remembered by her sorrowing family; Patrica (O’Connor), Breda (Hayes), Eileen (Morris), Teresa (Hurley), Tommy Dalton, Marguerite Dalton, Geraldine (Lefevre), Caroline Dalton and Jimmy Dalton, her brothers Tony Cummins and Eugene Cummins, sister Annette Cummins, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, adored grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, extended relatives, neighbours and friends.

Requiescat in Pace.

Funeral Arrangements.

The earthly remains of Mrs Dalton will repose at Dermot Ronan’s Funeral Home, Ballingarry Upper (SR), Ballingarry, Thurles on tomorrow afternoon, Saturday February 1st, from 4:30pm until 7:30pm same evening.
Her remains will be received into the Church Of St Patrick and St Oliver, Glengoole, (New Bermingham) Thurles, on Sunday morning, February 2nd, to further repose for Requiem Mass at 12:30pm, followed by interment in the adjoining graveyard.

“The family of Mrs Dalton would like to thank most sincerely the staff of Padre Pio Nursing Home, Holycross for the wonderful care and attention shown, during her stay.“

The extended Dalton and Cummins 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.

Leaba i measc na naomh dá h-anam uasal.

Singer & Actress Ms Marianne Faithfull Dies Aged 78 Years.

Singer and actress Ms Marianne Faithfull sadly died today at the age of 78 years. Marianne passed away peacefully in London, in the company of her loving family.

Born in Hampstead, London, UK in December 1946, to parents, father Major Robert Glynn Faithfull (a British intelligence officer) and mother Eva (a ballerina), in the 1960s became famously the girlfriend of ‘Rolling Stones’ frontman Mick Jagger.
She rose to fame in 1964 with hit songs like ‘As Tears Go By’, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, which then reached the UK top 10.
She will also be remembered for starring roles in films including the 1968 ‘The Girl On A Motorcycle’.

The Ballad of Lucy Jordan.

Lyrics: Late American writer, cartoonist, songwriter and musician Shel Silverstein (1930-1999).
Vocals: The late English singer and actress Marianne Faithfull [Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull], (29th December 1946 – 30 January 2025). Song featured is from her 1979 album ‘Broken English’.

The Ballad of Lucy Jordan.

The morning sun touched lightly on,
The eyes of Lucy Jordan,
In a white suburban bedroom,
In a white suburban town.
As she lay there ‘neath the covers,
Dreaming of a thousand lovers,
‘Til the world turned to orange,
And the room went spinning round.

Chorus.
At the age of thirty-seven,
She realised she’d never ride,
Through Paris in a sports car,
With the warm wind in her hair.
So she let the phone keep ringing,
And she sat there softly singing,
Little nursery rhymes she’d memorised,
In her daddy’s easy chair.

Her husband, he’s off to work,
And the kids are off to school,
And there are, oh, so many ways,
For her to spend the day.
She could clean the house for hours,
Or rearrange the flowers,
Or run naked through the shady street,
Screaming all the way.

Repeat Chorus.

The evening sun touched gently on,
The eyes of Lucy Jordan,
On the roof top where she climbed,
When all the laughter grew too loud,
And she bowed and curtsied to the man,
Who reached and offered her his hand.
And he led her down to the long white car,
That waited past the crowd.
At the age of thirty seven,
She knew she’d found forever,
As she rode along through Paris,
With the warm wind in her hair.

END

After a period of heroin addiction in the 1970s, which at one point saw her living homeless on the streets of Soho; she resurrected her career with the classic album ‘Broken English’. The singer also had previously suffered multiple health problems, including bulimia, breast cancer and emphysema, latter caused by decades of smoking.

Ms Faithfull received the World Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Women’s World Awards, and was made a commandeur of the ‘Ordre des Arts et des Lettres‘, by the government of France.

The singer was married and divorced three times, to artist John Dunbar in 1965, Ben Brierly of the punk band the ‘Vibrators’ in 1979, and actor Giorgio Della Terza in 1988.

She is survived by her son, Nicholas Dunbar.