The River Suir – Tipperary’s New Cesspit

It is June 8th 2018, and 6 months later the 2017 Christmas decorations still hang from the sky above Thurles. This week a well meaning group contacted me.  “Can you describe Thurles in a very few words; perhaps 3 or 4 in a tag-line to summarise the Thurles experience?”  “Does Thurles have a unique selling point for visitors/business investors”? they ask.

It would appear that yet another talking shop, “Thurles Town Centre Forum” are working towards creating a ‘Thurles Brand’ and will implement this brand in a new dedicated website for Thurles.

Note: Our last website “Thurles.ie”, was being cybersquatted by Mardukas Technologies Limited, latter who were a Swedish casino site when Tipperary Co. Council forgot to pay for the host name.

Note however, if “Thurles.ie” is presently typed into a Google search, it redirects to Tipperary Co. Council, implying that it may have been re-purchased and is now back in our Municipal district hands. (This being the case, one wonders what was the financial cost of this transaction, to our local taxpayers).

We do have a couple of suggestions for “Thurles Town Centre Forum”.  How’s about; “It’s Christmas Everyday In Thurles” or instead of the Southern Italian town of Naples, let’s substitute Thurles instead, as in “Smell Thurles And Die”, for here also we have a rubbish-clogged river walk and a river into which we allow storm type drains to dispose of raw sewage and other as yet unidentified chemicals, which with the hot weather and the low river levels has the potential to cause serious damage and health issues.

Added to the current Crayfish Plague, last Wednesday marked the third fish kill here in North Tipperary rivers over the past 14 days. During the month of May, over 100 trout and juvenile salmon stocks died, when a greyish coloured foul smelling substance entered the Mill River in Ballina. Just last week there was yet another fish kill on the Ballintotty River, which left the entire trout and salmon population wiped out for a long stretch of the river. The latest incident, which occurred on Wednesday evening last, happened at Ballycrinode, Ballinalough, when supposedly slurry accidentally spilled into the river.

Three of Dublin’s best known beaches have also been closed, due to a sewage spill, with bathers being ordered to keep away from Dollymount, Sandymount and Merrion beaches. This water become polluted after an issue emerged at the Spencer Dock pumping station, resulting in sewage also leaking into the River Liffey.

Back to Thurles and the River Suir
Back to Thurles and the River Suir; can anyone explain what is the thick, frothy, soapy, substance being expelled into the water early each morning, same which clings to the moss-like algae growth in the Suir river?

Last week, having highlighted the problem of sewage many times, first back in 2013 I contacted the Environmental Protection Agency, who in turn contacted Tipperary Co. Council’s Irish Water. Within two days men were sent in to clean up the mess.
I now await a copy of the detailed report or at least an explanation from the EPA, which should have been sent by the examining engineer.

Town Centre Forum
Meanwhile, we are requested to ask; Do you find Thurles to be “Warm and Welcoming, Spirited, Sporting, Creative, Ancestral” ?  Are there other aspects of the town that need to be highlighted?

Yet another failed Thurles logo must now be developed as part of this work.  “Are there colours/fonts/style – descriptive or abstract that you prefer for this representation of Thurles” ?

If you are interested,  please attend at any time between 3pm – 7pm in the Source Arts Centre Building on June 12th.  Members of the Town Centre Forum will be on hand to give further details about the project and the agency undertaking this work will have a representative present from 6pm – 7pm.  So if you can stand the current aroma, rising from the river water, do take this opportunity to contribute your opinion about your town.

For further details please contact Ms Kathleen Prendergast at the Community & Economic Development Department of Tipperary County Council.