‘Little Egret‘. Extract from a poem by Johno Brett. “Standing tall and proud at the water’s edge, Plumage stark white against the salt marsh, Jet black legs and yellow feet, With a sharp stabbing beak, Stands the Little Egret.”
Little Egret(Egretta garzetta) Feeds In Thurles Town Centre. Pic: G. Willoughby
The little egret (Egretta garzetta) is a species of small heron, white in colour with a slender black beak, long black legs and yellow feet. Every day this week, usually between the hours of 4:00pm and 7:00pm, one such bird can be observed fishing in the shallow water of the river Suir, close to Barry’s Bridge, in the centre of Thurles Town.
Research shows that the little egret was once very common in Ireland, but became extinct through a combination of over-hunting in the late medieval period. In England the inclusion of some 1,000 egrets in a banquet to celebrate the enthronement of George Neville as Archbishop of York at Cawood Castle in 1465, indicates the presence of a sizeable population in northern England at that period in time. They were also listed in the coronation feast of King Henry VI in 1429 and by the mid-16th century, they had become scarce and nearly extinct.
Little EgretClad In Black stockings & Yellow Shoes. Pic: G. Willoughby
From the 17th century onwards the plumes of the little egret and its close relatives were in demand for the decorating of hats and became a major craze in Victorian times with the number of egret skins passing through dealers hands reaching into the millions annually, reducing the population of the species to almost extinction and stimulating the establishment of Britain’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in 1889.
Sometime in the 1950s, conservation laws were introduced in southern Europe to protect the species and since then their numbers began to increase. By the beginning of the 21st century the breed began expand westward, breeding again in the UK back in the 1960s before arriving in Ireland in more recent years.
Little egrets stalk their prey in shallow water, often observed shuffling their feet in an effort to disturb small fish, or may stand still and simply wait to ambush other available prey which include frogs, crustaceans, molluscs, insects, spiders and worms.
Here in Ireland, the species bred for the first time in 1997 at a site in Co. Cork and the population has expanded rapidly since, aided by climate change, and is now breeding in other Irish counties, since 2010, despite the severe cold winter weather experienced during the years 2010 – 2012.
Immediately opposite the front gates of Thurles Golf Club (N62, on left side entering the town) there exists what appears to be a large drain, the lid of which has since disintegrated.
Possibly A Collapsed Drain Cover(N62 Thurles).
Due to the grass and its proximity to the verge, this large drain; the mouth of which measures approximately 31cm (12ins) X 76cm (30ins) is of extreme danger, in particular to pedestrians walking at night and also faster moving cyclists and motorists, latter who may decide to stop their vehicle on the outer margin or verge, which allows for parking.
Our second picture shows water cascading down Emmett Street, from opposite premises owned by Pat The Barber and The Recovery Hub, situated at the junction of Barry’s Bridge and Emmett Street.
Water Leakage From Water Metres on Emmett Street, Thurles.
The picture above shows water flowing from what appears to be water metres which were placed too close to the roadway and possibly damaged by the constant moving of heavy trucks required to offload in this area.
“Can Honour’s voice provoke the silent dust…” Extract from poem ‘Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard’, by Thomas Gray.
The earthly remains of an innocent man, executed by hanging in Mountjoy jail; same body having been located within the prison grounds, were handed over to his family last week. Yesterday, Sunday July 7th, 2024 same remains were re-interred, with his parents in the family plot, following Requiem Mass in Holycross Abbey, Thurles, attended by hundreds of people, some who travelled from other countries, to be in attendance.
In November, 1940, the executed Mr Gleeson had found the body of this single mother of seven children in a field owned by his uncle Mr John Caesar, while the former was out tending sheep. The victim had been shot twice in the head and rather than being thanked for alerting local authorities to his gruesome discovery of Ms McCarthy’s body, Mr Gleeson soon found himself charged with her murder. Following his trial and eventual conviction, the manner of execution was proscribed by the then sentencing Judge, Mr Justice Martin Maguire, that he be ‘hanged by the neck until he be dead.’ Alas, Mr Gleeson’s pardon came 83 years after his execution; granted by the current President of Ireland, Mr Michael D. Higgins, on the initial recommendation of former Minister for Justice, Mr Alan Shatter.
Having studied the original trial transcripts and noting that back in 1941 the judge, Mr Martin Maguire, had asked for a gun register to be shown during the trial. Same register although available, had never been produced by the prosecution.
Yet another issue was the temperature of Ms McCarthy’s body, when it had been first located. The post-mortem report from 1940 indicated that Moll had been murdered at a time when Mr Gleeson actually had an alibi.
Ten years ago in 2014, a retired nurse Ms Ann Martin Walsh, who had cared for Ms Moll McCarthy’s eldest daughter, Ms Mary McCarthy, as the latter was nearing her death, confirmed that her patient had clearly declared that ‘I saw my own mother shot on the kitchen floor and an innocent man died’.
Mr Harry Gleeson denied ever being one of Ms Moll McCarthy’s many known lovers or of fathering one of her seven children, which, it was stated could have jeopardised an inheritance of land, due from an uncle John Caesar.
Today, the murdered body of Ms Moll McCarthy lies in an unmarked grave in a now disused cemetery in New-Inn, Cahir, Co. Tipperary.
In 2015, following a full review of the trial and the evidence provided, members of the Gleeson family attended a special ceremony at the Department of Justice, where a certificate of official pardon was finally presented.
Four adorable pheasant chicks have been recently hatched near Thurles, as part of an education and conservation initiative organised by the National Association of Regional Games Council (NARGC).
First to leave the shell.
The recommended temperature, using an Incubator, for pheasant eggs is 37.6 – 37.8 degrees Celsius and pheasant eggs take between 23-28 days to hatch using this method.
Pheasants are widespread across Ireland, but contrary to popular belief they are not native to us or the UK. It is believed that pheasants were first introduced to Ireland in medieval times from Southeast Asia. Back then, as now, they were popular ‘Game birds’ for hunting.
Many readers will be familiar with the distinctive white stripe seen on the neck of many pheasants around Ireland and that particular species is actually native to China.
Pheasants are known by their hoarse call, their long tails, spotted angular markings and for eating seeds, grains and insects gleaned from the ground. They inhabit gardens, woodlands and farm hedges and are notorious for nesting on the ground. Indeed, when mowing near hedges and other ground level nesting areas favoured by pheasants, take care not to destroy or damage their nests.
To find out more about pheasants you can visit HERE or HERE.
“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them”. [Matthew Chapter 6 – Verse 26.]
It was a beautiful day today here in Thurles, Co. Tipperary; after weeks of rain which confined most of us, during off duty hours, to our livingroom armchairs.
Today, in bright sunshine, local residents got their first opportunity, in months, to catch up on work required in neglected gardens. From all directions, today, came the drone of petrol lawn mowers and the scraping of stone against spade heads.
‘Roly’ the Robin with at least one member of his family hidden in overgrown wall ivy. Pic: G. Willoughby[600mm Lensusedto ensure no disturbance of nest site].
‘Roly’my friendly Robin, joined me, much to the anger of numerous wiggly worms, latter who sadly met their “Waterloo”; having been disturbed with the help of my spade and fork; to be quickly consumed by ‘Roly’s’ wife and family.
It is estimated that there are over 2 million breeding pairs of Robins within the Republic of Ireland any one year. Nest are usually well-concealed, in ivy or a cavity in a tree; in a wall, or an open-fronted nest-box and often close to ground level. Some species find the most unusual locations, such as a discarded teapot; a hat, or in the torn pocket of an overcoat, latter long since abandoned in a garden shed.
Despite appearing to be friendly and inhibited, Robins are in fact very territorial birds and will viciously attack other Robins that appear in their territory. Males will verbally abuse each other, before their high pitched debate escalates into a physical fight, which can result in serious injury or even death.
Robins eat a wide variety of foodstuff, including worms, invertebrates, ripe fruit, mealworms, seeds and suet and are a regular visitor to any furnished bird table.
Today, I am reminded again that in my home, as a boy and to my families delight, two Robins regularly joined us at the dinner table. Believe it or not, one bird often ate mashed potato from my uncles outstretched tongue, while sitting perched on his nose, so great was the trust.
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