St. Pat’s Graveyard Gates Returned, Beautifully Restored

Here in Thurles, Co. Tipperary, our St. Patrick’s graveyard gates have been returned, fully restored for Christmas 2019.

Over the past number of days, the five entry gates to the cemetery have now been hung back on their respective pillars. Congratulations to those who undertook this physical work; demonstrating true ability and craftsmanship, through their skilled restoration.

The issue of the state of these gates was first raised here on Thurles.Info on July 9th, 2018. [Click Here]. The matter was totally ignored for 12 months, despite Tipperary Politicians, Cabinet Ministers and Municipal District Councillors, of all political affiliations, passing through these graveyard portals, several times per week in some cases; in their efforts no doubt to ingratiate and influence their particular political groupings, with the family members of deceased persons being interred.

We realised in April 2019 that local elections were imminent and the double jobbing, Municipal District Councillors, would once again appear on radar, each applying for that attractive little extra bonus of €20,000 per annum, before vanishing yet again into the woodwork, emerging every Monday to spew the party line on TippFm radio.

So, on April 28th, 2019 (almost one year later) we again raised this graveyard gates issue, using the heading “Suitable Doorstep Discourse For Campaigning Thurles Councillors”. (Viewed by some 2,508 silent readers, the composed article also contained video, shown hereunder.)

This latter article [View Here] also laid bare the designated misnomer that Tipperary County Council; under the leadership of Mr Joe MacGrath (Chief Executive), and through its ‘Community and Economic Development Statement’, continued to maintain the widely held false belief that Tipp. Co. Council continually strives to provide a place where its people can enjoy a ‘great quality of life’, ‘Fairness’, ‘Co-Operation’, ‘Communication’, ‘Teamwork’, ‘Partnership’ and ‘Collaboration’.

Three months after the May 2019 local elections; in early August of 2019, the gates were removed for restoration, no doubt by order of red faced officials of Tipperary Co. Council, who charge €90.00 for planning permission to erect your own headstone.

Had even one of our double jobbing, €20,000 extra salaried, disinterested, Municipal District Councillors, or their officials, taken the slightest notice of this project back then last August; a power-hose would have been summoned within the last 4.5 months, to undertake the descaling of the grimy walls. [Watch the slideshow again and weep.]

But not so; this week the gates have now been hung on dirty pillars, attached to walls, solidly engrained by half a century of black mire and moss.
A stagnant 10 years of dead moss and leaf mold, sheltered from the wind piles up on the ground outside the main entrance.
Giant pot holes and muck; same demanding visitors to wear wellingtons, still exists; the holes permanently full of water.
The continuous dumping of weeds, excess gravel, dead flowers and wreaths goes on, without any reduction in intensity; same clearly visible, particularly on the east side.
The unsupported banks of clay remain to erode unto the pathway.
The ivy, with an added two more seasons of growth, further hangs over the exterior graveyard wall, forcing pedestrians, unnecessarily, to walk out, unto a narrow, unlit and dangerous roadway.
We won’t discuss the new carpark and the money wasted. To publically discuss how taxpayers money was spent afterall, outside of Co. Council meetings, could be seen as rather trivial and banal; and should not be overheard by the ears of the great unwashed or the less desireable RTE’s “Prime Time”.

We have listened to councillors “calling” for a Sensory Garden for Thurles in recent months. Thurles already has two Sensory Gardens, [See Here and also Here], we also have a graveyard that is ignored and is a public disgrace, demonstrating utter disrespect to those currently interred.

But worst of all, our community residents have now given up on the idea that they can in some way influence change; hence, for now at least, their continued deep and deathly silence remains deafening.