|
|
It was Charles Dickens’s character Wilkins Micawber who warned eloquently of debt’s downside.
“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen and six, result happiness.
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound ought and six, result misery.”
For tourists headed southwards into Thurles this coming holiday season, the pictures shown here, on left and right of this text, are enough to encourage the visitor to quickly move elsewhere, rather than “Dwell A While” as our town website encourages.
This road, highlighted in the pictures, is the N62, a busy national secondary route in Co. Tipperary, which forms a junction with the M7 motorway, south of Roscrea, latter, unlike Thurles, an acknowledged heritage town, which attracts a large amount of both domestic and foreign tourism.
While our two resident politicians and Municipal District councillors and Municipal District officials continuously regurgitate details learned of a few new funded projects; maintenance of past projects are forgotten and permitted to decay.
The above permitted dereliction and neglect within the town, is evidence of poor quality administration, and once again begs the question amongst residents; “What do we get in return for our Local Property Tax payments, not to mention Rates and Vehicle Parking Charges?”
More on this and the continued waste of taxpayer’s funds, by Tipperary Co. Council, in the coming days.
Lyrics: American folk singer and social activist Peter Seeger.
Vocals: British-Irish singer-songwriter and instrumentalist Chris de Burgh.
Where Have All The Flowers Gone?
Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing,
Where have all the flowers gone, long time ago,
Where have all the flowers gone, picked by young girls every one.
When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?
Where have all the young girls gone, long time passing,
Where have all the young girls gone, long time ago,
Where have all the young girls gone, gone to young men every one,
When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?
Where have all the young men gone, long time passing,
Where have all the young men gone, long time ago,
Where have all the young men gone, gone to soldiers every one,
When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?
Where have all the soldiers gone, long time passing,
Where have all the soldiers gone, long time ago,
Where have all the soldiers gone, they’ve gone to graveyards every one,
When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?
Where have all the graveyards gone, long time passing,
Where have all the graveyards gone, long time ago,
Where have all the graveyards gone, gone to flowers every one,
When will we ever learn? When will we ever learn?
End
Today, February 7th, 2023, is Safer Internet Day. School’s across Tipperary and Ireland will be marking the day with various activities.
The theme of this year’s EU-wide initiative is promoting respect and empathy online. 2023 marks the 20th year of Safer Internet Day and its goal to ensure that everyone experiences positive and safe learning, interaction and collaboration online.
For more information on Safer Internet Day and staying safe and respectful online, please visit: HERE — HERE — HERE and finally HERE.
Once again taxpayers money continues to be wasted by Tipperary County Council. The most recent wanton waste can be viewed at Bowes Corner, west of the town. (See image hereunder).
Note, Chinese granite stone has been laid around the ESB metal standard and a new Belisha Beacon pole; (no fault of the contractor), undertaken on the instructions of highly paid engineers and overpaid consultants.
It would appear that engineers and consultants have both failed to keep up to date on guidelines laid down by the National Transport Authority with regard to the basic principles governing universal access. (Note again the picture attached.) Universal access principles mean the avoidance of obstacles and impediments for people with disabilities; thus ensuring that adequate width and clearance is provided to enable them to have unimpeded access to pedestrian facilities. Imagine the confusion these obstacles, at Bowes Corner, will cause to a blind person using a guide dog, or a disabled person using a mobility power chair device.
the Chinese granite stonework will now have to be ripped up, the metal standard shifted and all financed by the stoically patient and long-suffering taxpayer.
Placing the cart before the horse.
Tipperary County Council and their officials within the Thurles Municipal district continue to “Place the cart before the horse.”
Recent developments within Thurles are now seen by local residents as superficial. Take the half developed upgrade to Liberty Square for example. Yes, it has the veneer of development. Certainly things look nicer around the town, but have failed totally to have a really deep and meaningful impact. Traffic congestion is worse. The nightmare, that is traffic, would have been substantially alleviated with a Ring Road/Bypass, and consumers would have been attracted to shop on our Liberty Square and other areas in our town centre, rather than, as it is now, avoiding Thurles altogether, because you can’t get through its increasing congested streets.
The removal of parking from the square and elsewhere, has not incentivized locals to pay for parking in car parks, instead they are heading to find the free parking readily available at Thurles Shopping Centre, Lidl and Aldi; choosing convenience and practicality over notions that are better suited to large city centre life.
The developments applied to Liberty square and surrounding streets are great in theory, but in practice ask yourself “Are they meeting the needs of a rural town, it’s business and consumers?”
A central square with spaces for pedestrians and eating outside is lovely, but in reality, seem more appropriate to Dublin City and places that have an efficient and well established public transport network. Pedestrianised streets; reduced parking, together with wooden picnic benches, latter for 8 weeks of the year, were never a priority for Thurles; the Thurles Ring Road/Bypass was; same now not expected to be included in any National Development Plan at least until 2030, if ever!
We may welcome the half provided, aesthetic improvements to Liberty square, but many of us would have waited for those, and taken a Ring Road/Bypass first.
Things have and are been done in totally the wrong order!
Unfortunately, the real people making decisions don’t walk the streets of Thurles town, nor appreciate what we need, to develop it, based on our unique rural needs; the Ring Road being a long standing local priority, and proving yet again that our two local resident politicians have absolutely no clout.
A ‘Derelict Site Notice’ has been served by Tipperary Co. Council, on a private dwelling, situated at No.3 Ikerrin* Road, Thurles, Co Tipperary; pursuant to section 8 of the Derelict Sites Act 1990.
The Derelict Notice was first issued, nailed to the front door of the neglected, unoccupied, property on January 10th, 2023, with the current owner ordered to make representation, ‘in writing’, no later than February 9th 2023 (one month).
Under the Act, local authorities are responsible for dealing with derelict sites in the areas they govern and can use granted powers to enforce necessary repairs.
Under the Act also, local authorities can prosecute owners who do not comply with notices served. They can make compulsory land purchases or carry out required necessary work themselves, while charging the owners for all associated costs.
Local Authorities must also maintain a ‘Derelict Sites Register’ (DSR), making the same register available for public inspection. It can remove an entry from the DSR, when it is fully satisfied that all improvement works have been carried out on the named derelict listed site.
If a property is entered on the DSR, the owner of such property becomes liable for the payment of a levy based on the market value of such property.
NOTE: * The name Ikerrin is a geographical unit of land, one of 12 baronies in County Tipperary, created after the Norman invasion of Ireland. Same baronies correspond to an earlier ‘Gaelic túath’ or a jurisdictional unit of land. Thurles town does not actually exist within the known geographical Barony of Ikerrin.
Ikerrin Road was previously known, up until the beginning of the 20th century as ‘Limekiln Lane’. Perhaps the Ikerrin reference comes from the once ruling Norman Butler families, who for seven generations bore the title ‘Viscount Ikerrin’.
We welcome persons with more qualified information regarding the ‘Ikerrin’ title, to please contact us.
|
Support Us Help keep Thurles.info online by donating below. Thank you.
Total Donated 2026: €290.00
Thank You!
Daily Thurles Mass Livestream
|
Recent Comments