The setting up of a Viking village in Ireland’s mid-west region (Tipperary Limerick and Clare) this August Bank Holiday Weekend (Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th August) is expected to attract large crowds from surrounding counties and from abroad. Craggaunowen Castle latter situated, in Co. Clare, (V95 AD7E), will become transformed into a Viking village with medieval games, battle creations and a celebration of Norse arts, crafts and trades.
Vikings To Invade Mid-West Region.
‘The Viking Age at Craggaunowen’ will provide visitors with an insight into how the pagan warriors lived in Ireland during the 9th and 10th centuries.
The highlight of the weekend will be the battle recreations on the Castle Green at 12:00pm, 2:00pm and 4:00pm daily, when warring warriors demonstrate their fierce fighting and defensive skills.
Visitors will be able to don the suits of chain-mail and hold a Viking Helmet, shield and other armoury once used for protection, during the intense battles that raged across Ireland over 1,000 years ago.
Visitors will also have the opportunity to see and experience what life was like during the Viking Age at a recreated village, where historically accurate workshop tents will host crafters demonstrating their trading, leather working, and wicket basket and jewellery making skills.
Kids of all ages will also be able to participate in Viking-themed activities from the “throwing logs” game of Knubb to ‘Hnefatafl’, a game akin to modern-day chess.
Ms Pauline Lenihan, (Site Manager at Craggaunowen) said, “The Vikings have invaded Craggaunowen many times down through the years, but they always visit in peace and with an eagerness to share insights into their culture and rich heritage with the wider public.” “Our open-air museum at Craggaunowen will bring the Viking story to life and we hope that people of all ages will come along to learn more about their day-to-day lives and the real people behind the legend of the ‘men from the north’. It promises to be an educational and entertaining weekend for all the family,” added Ms. Lenihan.
The Clare County Council managed visitor attraction at Craggaunowen, which this year celebraters the 50th anniversary of its foundation by John Hunt of The Hunt Collection, recreates what life would have been like for the Bronze Age inhabitants of Ireland. The attraction features a 16th-century castle and a reconstructed “crannog” showing how Celts lived, worked, and defended themselves. The Brendan Boat, built in 1976 by explorer Tim Severin who successfully completed a 4,500-mile transatlantic crossing, also is on permanent display at Craggaunowen.
Tickets for ‘The Viking Age at Craggaunowen’ are available online at www.craggaunowen.ie(normal admission rates apply).
Proposed Traffic Calming measures and footpath enhancements on N62 relating to O’Donovan Rossa Street, formerly ‘Pudding Lane’ or ‘Jail Street’.
Quoting from the AECOMreport: “The existing conditions on O’Donovan Rossa Street include footpaths with widths ranging from 0.7m at the intersection with Liberty Square to 5m outside the Courthouse. There are no pedestrian crossing facilities on this stretch of road*. The carriageway ranges in width from 5m – 7m, and the road changes from two-way to one-way at an unmarked location outside the Courthouse. There is 145m of on-street pay and display parking.
* Well actually there is one signalised pedestrian crossing on this road, positioned outside the Ursuline Convent, which our planners have failed to identify. Yes, it has a bent set of lights staring into the ground, which was reported 15 months ago, on April 30th, 2023, and which has not been repaired to this date, despite being used by students attending the two secondary schools in the area. See image hereunder.
Signalised pedestrian crossing not located by Thurles planners and accepted by Tipperary Co. Council.
Quoting from the AECOMreport: “Due to the high numbers of HGVs in the study area there are a number of safety concerns for pedestrians. The primary safety concern relates to the lack of pedestrian crossing between the central island car park and the footpaths on the periphery of the Square. This causes members of the public to jaywalk across two lanes of live traffic. This has led to a number of collisions and fatalities in recent years. There was a fatal collision on the northern side of the Square in Autumn 2023, involving a pedestrian being struck by an HGV. The presence of HGVs on narrow roads, particularly O’Donovan Rossa Street, is a risk to safety. Many areas have narrow footpaths, therefore when large spills of pedestrians occur, this can force pedestrians on to the road with live traffic. It is proposed to introduce a raised uncontrolled pedestrian crossing at the junction of Liberty Square and O’Donovan Ross Street. The crossing will include tactile paving for visually impaired pedestrians. North of this crossing, high end paving is proposed for the footpath surface on both sides of the street from the junction with Liberty Square to the Credit Union building. It is proposed to widen the western side footpath at various sections along the street. This would include significant widening of the footpath in front of the vehicular entrance to The Premier (Hall) and along the section between the Court House and the Fire Station, including the introduction of landscape areas. It is proposed to introduce a bus stop on the eastern side of the road in front of the fire station and a landscaped area between the Fire Station and the Court House. The landscaped areas will include SUDS* features such as rain gardens where possible. There is a proposed uncontrolled crossing located outside the courthouse”.
*[ SuDS – Sustainable Drainage or SuDS is a way of managing rainfall that minimises the negative impacts on the quantity and quality of run-off whilst maximising the benefits of amenity and biodiversity for people and the environment].
Quoting from the AECOMreport: “It is proposed to limit traffic flow to a one-way system so there will be no Northbound traffic permitted beyond the junction with Cuchulain road.”
Quote from Phase 1 Report: “It is proposed to limit traffic flow to a one way, with no vehicles permitted entry to Cuchulain Road at the junction with O’Donovan Rossa Street.”
Locals will be aware of this folly and the bottleneck that will be caused when motorists exit Liberty Square into Parnell Street and turn into Cuchulain Road, (latter now proposed as one way), thenat the Cuchulain Road junction, joining O’Donovan Rossa Street, discover no Northbound traffic is permitted, before exiting once again unto Liberty Square, thus completing a full circle.
This will provide clarity that the street is now operating under a one-way system, eliminating confusion over the informal two-way system that the street currently operates under. This junction is proposed to have a raised table and corner radii tightened through the widening of footpaths at these corners. High end paving is proposed on the footpaths at this junction. These measures are proposed to provide a safer pedestrian experience trough wider footpaths and segregation from traffic through the use of landscaping. The formalised bus stop provides a safer location for passengers, particularly school children attending the schools on the R498 and Brittas Road, to alight while also not obstructing the flow of traffic. O’Donovan Rossa Steet also has proposed planting at the northern end of the scheme. These planted areas are identified for potential SuDS interventions, as they may be suitable rain garden locations similar to those proposed on Kickham Street as part of the N75 Improvement Scheme, subject to detailed design.
Along the western side of O’Donovan Rossa Street, 15m (50ft approx. or 4 car parking spaces) of on-street parking is being removed to allow for footpath widening and provision of SUDs measures.
Along the eastern side of O’Donovan Rossa Street, 4 car parking spaces are being removed to facilitate the introduction of a bus stop. With a 48 seater bus averaging in size of 12m (40ft approx.) and the 4 car parking spaces to be removed measuring 15m (50ft); one must ask where will the other 3 school buses serving the needs of the CBS secondary pupils now park.
In our report of July 22nd found HERE and entitled “Proposed Liberty Square Layout Phase 2”, our readers will be aware of a loss of 19 car parking spaces, including a Taxi Rank, under this new proposed, long overdue, Phase 2 upgrade. This 19 car parking spaces to be lost in Liberty Square, when added to the 21 car parking spaces, due to be axed on Parnell Street, and the latest 8 car parking spaces reported above on O’Donovan Rossa Street, we now calculate the removal in totalof 48 now lost/removed spaces. This figure calculated, immediately calls into question the figures supplied by the authors of this poorly prepared report, which they claim is a net gain of 30 spaces.[50-48 = 2]. Again where these extra promised 50 car parking spaces are be provided ‘northwest of the Liberty Square car park’ remains a secret to myself and to most other residents of Thurles. It has been suggested that an announcement by councillors of the purchase of a new field, ‘is currently being muted’.
Did Tipperary Co. Council actually pay for this planning report?
Vocals: American folk singer and social activist Pete Seeger. Lyrics: American folk singer-songwriter Tom Paxton. [The song is about the American school system, that stands accused of misinforming children giving them an optimistic outlook on history and just one of many protest songs written by Tom Paxton].
What Did You Learn In School Today?
What did you learn in school today, Dear little boy of mine? What did you learn in school today, Dear little boy of mine?
I learned that Washington never told a lie, I learned that soldiers seldom die, I learned that everybody’s free, And that’s what the teacher said to me, And that’s what I learned in school today, That’s what I learned in school.
What did you learn in school today, Dear little boy of mine? What did you learn in school today, Dear little boy of mine?
I learned that policemen are my friends, I learned that justice never ends, I learned that murderers die for their crimes, Even if we make a mistake sometime, And that’s what I learned in school today, That’s what I learned in school
What did you learn in school today, Dear little boy of mine? What did you learn in school today, Dear little boy of mine?
I learned our government must be strong; It’s always right and never wrong! Our leaders are the finest men, And we elect them again and again, And that’s what I learned in school today, That’s what I learned in school.
What did you learn in school today, Dear little boy of mine? What did you learn in school today, Dear little boy of mine?
I learned that war is not so bad, I learned about the great once we have had. We fought in Germany and in France And some day I might get my chance. And that’s what I learned in school today, That’s what I learned in school.
Unmonitored private drinking water supplies are a potential risk to public health, says Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Many people in Ireland get drinking water from small private supplies which are not registered or monitored and may therefore be putting their health at risk.
Only 1,665 small private supplies are registered with local authorities across the country. Unregistered supplies are not being monitored by local authorities.
The number of private group schemes with E. coli failures increased in 2023, impacting approximately 4,600 people.
21 private group schemes, supplying 22,000, people failed the standard for Trihalomethanes (THMs) – up from 16 schemes serving 16,000 people in 2022.
€38.5 million of available Government funding that could have been invested in improvements to private supplies between 2019-2023 was not used.
There are over 370 group water schemes supplying drinking water to 190,000 people across rural communities in Ireland today.
In addition, many commercial and public premises supply water to the public from their own drinking water well. These are called small private supplies and can include schools, creches, nursing homes, self-catering accommodation and sports clubs. Only 1,665 small private supplies are registered nationally, and the total number remains unknown. Unregistered supplies are not being monitored by local authorities, creating a potential public health risk for consumers.
E. coli: One in twenty small private supplies and private group schemes failed to meet E. coli standards in 2023. Twenty-two private group schemes failed the standard for E. coli, putting the health of approximately 4,600 consumers at risk.
E. coli failures were recorded in 71 small private supplies, that were monitored by local authorities, posing a risk to consumers that use these supplies. Meeting E. coli standards is a minimum requirement in the provision of safe drinking water and failures indicate a lack of proper disinfection.
Trihalomethanes (THM) In 2023, 21 private group schemes supplying 22,000 people failed the standard for Trihalomethanes (THMs), up from 16 schemes serving 16,000 people in 2022. There is a legal limit for THMs which suppliers must meet in order to protect public health. Greater effort is needed by these private group schemes to improve treatment systems and minimise exposure to THMs.
Launching the report, Dr Tom Ryan, EPA Director said: “All drinking water produced in Ireland, whether it comes from a public or private supply, should be of high quality. Urgent action is needed by suppliers and local authorities to address these failings, in order to protect the public health of consumers. Local authorities must take proactive steps to identify and register small private supplies in their areas and the legislation needs to be amended to make it an offence for a supplier not to be registered, in the interests of public health.”
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s review of the rural water sector, completed in January 2023, identifies key issues that must be addressed to improve water quality. While some issues have been progressed, such as simplifying the application process for funding of upgrades for groups schemes; remaining issues must be tackled if improvements in private water quality are to be achieved.
Mr Noel Byrne, Programme Manager of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement said: “It is very disappointing to see an underspend of €38.5 million of Government support when there are ongoing water quality issues in group water schemes. The EPA welcomes recent improvements to the application process which should make it easier for group water schemes to access funding and deliver improved drinking water quality. However, every effort is needed by suppliers, local authorities, and the Department to get funding to the schemes that need it most.”
The EPA report on Drinking Water Quality in Private Group Schemes and Small Private Supplies – 2023 is available on the EPA website.
A Cara, Cashel Library aims to partner with Failte Isteach, in the Autumn of 2024, to run conversational English classes with migrants and refugees.
To this end we are looking for people who wish to volunteer to support migrants and refugees, through conversational English classes. Training and resources will be provided free.
If interested please reply to me, Tel: 062-63825, with your name and contact details, before Wednesday July 31st, 2024.
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