Thurles Information

Death Of Eileen Sussex, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

It was with a great sadness that we learned of the death, on Friday 10th July 2026, of Mrs Eileen Sussex (formerly Tolton) (née Shine), Castleview, Liskeveen, Littleton, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

Pre-deceased by Joe Tolton, Sidney Sussex, and daughter Jackie Tolton; Mrs Sussex passed away peacefully at Fenor Hill Nursing Home, Urlingford, Co. Kilkenny.

Her passing is most deeply regretted, sadly missed and lovingly remembered by her sorrowing family; loving sons Steve and Andy, stepsons Paul and Graham, daughters-in-law Kim, Julie, Rachael, Louise and Joanne, grandchildren Karley, Michael, Danny, Shannon, Caitlin, Bradley, Patsy and Abbie, great-grandson Felix, extended relatives, kind neighbours and friends.

Requiescat in Pace.

Funeral Arrangements.

The earthly remains of Mrs Sussex will repose at Devitt’s Funeral Home, The Green Cashel, Co. Tipperary, (Eircode E25 P383) on Wednesday evening, July 15th, from 6:30pm until 7:30pm.
Her funeral cortège will be received into the Church of St Peter, Moycarkey, Thurles, on Thursday morning, July 16th, to further repose for Requiem Mass at 10:30am, followed by interment, immediately afterwards, in nearby St Peter’s Cemetery, Moycarkey, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

The extended Sussex 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.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam dílis.

Passenger Partially Pulled Through Ryanair Window.

What Is Known About the Ryanair Emergency Over Greece.

A Ryanair-operated flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, was forced to return shortly after takeoff on Friday, July 10, after a passenger window became dislodged and the cabin rapidly lost pressure.

The flight was operated by Malta Air, a Ryanair subsidiary, using a Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

A 61-year-old passenger sitting beside the damaged window was partially pulled through the opening. Witnesses said his head, neck and shoulders were outside the aircraft before nearby passengers managed to pull him back inside.
The passenger suffered neck and shoulder injuries and friction burns. His injuries were reported as non-life-threatening.

Oxygen masks deployed during the decompression, and the pilots returned safely to Thessaloniki. The remaining passengers were later taken to Germany on a replacement aircraft.
The US National Transportation Safety Board said it had been informed of a right-engine problem and cabin decompression. Early reports suggest engine debris may have struck the aircraft and dislodged the window, but the exact cause has not yet been officially established.

Because the incident reportedly occurred in North Macedonian airspace, North Macedonia’s aviation authorities are leading the investigation, with assistance from other aviation agencies and manufacturers.
Despite some dramatic descriptions online, the passenger was not completely sucked out of the aircraft. He was partially pulled through the window and rescued by fellow passengers.

The investigation is continuing, and early claims about the precise mechanical failure should be treated as preliminary until an official report is released.

€102.8m Deloitte Spend Sparks Calls For Review Of State IT Outsourcing.

The Government is facing renewed scrutiny over the Department of Social Protection’s reliance on external technology providers after figures revealed that €102.8 million was paid to Deloitte between 2020 and 2025.

The expenditure covered consultancy and specialist IT services, including digital-product development, production support and work connected with MyGovID. Spending reached its highest annual level in 2024, when payments to the professional-services firm totalled €22.2 million.

Social Democrats social protection spokesperson Mr Eoin Hayes described the scale of the expenditure as deeply concerning and urged the Government to strengthen the public sector’s ability to design, operate and maintain its own digital systems.
He argued that essential technical expertise should be developed within the State rather than repeatedly purchased from private companies. Mr Hayes has called for a comprehensive audit of the external firms engaged by the department to establish whether taxpayers are receiving adequate value.
He also warned that unnecessary spending on contractors reduces the funding available to support people experiencing persistent poverty, including lone parents, disabled people and older people living alone.

The Department of Social Protection defended its use of external specialists, pointing to the scale and complexity of the systems required to administer more than €27 billion in social-protection services during 2024.

A departmental spokesperson said welfare services depend heavily on secure and reliable technology, with payments being processed every week. The department described ICT expenditure as an investment in maintaining an efficient social-protection system and said projects are subject to central oversight and ongoing value-for-money monitoring. It added that Deloitte personnel work alongside the department’s internal technology teams and that some specialist services are available only through external IT providers.
The department maintains that its consultancy expenditure has delivered value for money.

Food Alert.

FSAI warn of recall of specific batches of mispacked Capri-Sun Orange due to incorrect sugar-free declaration.

Alert Summary dated Friday, July 10th 2026.

Category 2: For Information
Alert Notification: 2026.45
Product Identification: Capri-Sun Orange; pack size: 10 x 200 ml multipack
Batch Code: See table below for best-before dates.
Country Of Origin: United Kingdom

Message: The below batches of Capri-Sun Orange are being recalled due to a packaging error where some Capri-Sun Orange multipacks contain pouches incorrectly labelled as Capri-Sun Orange Zero. The pouches contain regular Capri-Sun Orange with the normal sugar level for that product, as correctly stated on the multipack. They do not contain the Capri-Sun Zero product.

The incorrect pouch labelling may mislead consumers who need to monitor their sugar intake, including individuals with diabetes. Recall notices will be displayed at point-of-sale.

Batch Code.	Best Before Date.
26104CS03.	APR/2027.
26105CS03.	APR/2027.
26106CS03.	APR/2027.

Former Thurles Judge Loses Appeal Against Historic Sexual-Offence Convictions.

Former Circuit Court judge Mr Gerard O’Brien has lost an appeal seeking to overturn his convictions for attempted rape and the sexual assault of six young men while he was working as a secondary-school teacher in Dublin during the 1990s.

Mr O’Brien, aged 61years with an address at The Old School House, Slievenamon Road, Thurles, Co Tipperary, was convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury in December 2023 of one count of attempted anal rape and eight counts of sexual assault. He had denied all nine charges.

During Garda interviews, Mr O’Brien initially denied the allegations. He later supplied prepared statements acknowledging sexual activity with two complainants but maintaining that it had been consensual.
He also admitted performing oral sex on another complainant, claiming that he had mistakenly believed the young man was consenting. However, he denied attempting to have anal sex with him.

The offences are understood to have occurred at locations in Dublin between March 1991 and November 1997, when Mr O’Brien was aged between 27 years and 33 years and teaching at CBC Monkstown. Four of the six complainants were students or former students of his. The men were aged between 17 years and 24 years when the offences took place.

Giving evidence at his trial, O’Brien said he initially lied to Gardaí because he felt ashamed and panicked at the possibility of being charged with a sexual offence. He accepted that allowing students to visit his home and share his bed had been inappropriate and should never have happened.
O’Brien’s appeal centred largely on the trial judge’s directions to the jury. His senior counsel, Mr Hugh Hartnett, argued that the instructions were confusing, unfairly weighted against the defence and capable of suggesting that the judge had formed a personal view of the evidence. The Court of Appeal however rejected those arguments.

Delivering the court’s decision, presiding judge Ms Tara Burns said the jury had been repeatedly reminded that all factual decisions, including whether O’Brien was guilty, were exclusively matters for its members.
The appeal court also rejected criticism of the trial judge’s warning that jurors should not enter a “parallel universe of make-belief”, when considering the evidence. Judge Burns said those remarks applied to all witnesses and were not directed solely at Mr O’Brien.
The court found no error in asking jurors to consider Mr O’Brien’s legal knowledge when evaluating his initial false account and his later prepared statements. Ms Justice Burns said his professional background could reasonably have influenced the jury’s assessment of those accounts.
Further grounds concerning the refusal to hold separate trials for the six complainants and the directions given about lies told by a defendant were also dismissed.As none of the grounds of appeal succeeded, the convictions were upheld.

Mr O’Brien resigned from the Circuit Court after his conviction. He had been appointed to the judiciary in 2015 but had been on leave after the allegations emerged.
On May 31st, 2024, Mr Justice Alexander Owens had imposed a sentence of five years and nine months, suspending the final 21 months. O’Brien therefore received an effective four-year prison term.
The sentencing judge said Mr O’Brien had been unsuitable to hold judicial office and criticised what he described as his tendency to blame others for his situation.