Let’s be real here, the Irish postcard era of dry stonewalls; mountain sheep blocking narrow roads against a background of green wide open spaces; bare footed children escorting forlorn overladen donkeys, latter carrying creels of turf; same can no longer be effectuated by our Irish National Tourism Development Authority. We have slid decidedly backwards, as a small island from this once attractive rural tourism marketing ploy, selling relaxation, peace and solitude. This so called relaxed way of life has for many years been consigned to old God Almighties time.
Dublin derives its name from the Irish “dubh linn” – meaning “black-pool”, but recent years and given recent events, it is understandable why some may view Dublin City Centre as more of a “cess-pool” at the moment. Dublin City Centre has lost its charm – and then some. The celebrated central thoroughfares and winding pavements we used to so celebrate in countless spoken verse and lyrics are now more synonymous with anti-social behaviour, faceless boarded shop facades, crime, litter, homelessness, drug use and even violence, generated in many cases by greed.
Same is thanks to a small group of teenage thugs, permitted by their negligent and often absent parents, to roam our capitol’s city streets, exempt from punishment and from the injurious consequences of their purposeful actions.
An area on Stradavoher Street, Thurles, near the scene where a number of homes were destroyed by mysterious fire, over the more recent past. The number shown as 666 is identified as the ‘Number of the Beast’ as mentioned in the Book of Revelation (Chapter 13, verse 18) and is explicit in anti-Christian subcultures.
Sadly, in a travel advisory warning this week, the US Embassy in Dublin, refers to what they call “a number of recently reported incidents”, while stating that travellers should immediately safeguard their valuables e.g. credit cards, bank cards, passports etc., while refraining from carrying large amounts of cash.
The Dublin US Embassy also encourages all their American visiting citizens to be aware of their actual surroundings while visiting in Ireland, especially when travelling in unfamiliar places; attending crowded locations and empty streets; and especially if obliged to walk alone, during the hours of darkness.
Sitting opposite Thurles Cathedral, latter building one of the few remaining tourist attractions in Thurles not removed by local councillors, is the privately owned eyesore and blot on the landscape, known as the Munster Hotel.
But it is not just Dublin streets. Here in areas of Thurles also, the broken windows theory has become totally ignored.
For those not familiar with the “Broken Windows Theory”, same states that visible signs of disorder and misbehaviour in an environment will encourage further disorder and misbehaviour, leading to the committal of further both minor and serious crime. This principle amply explains the decay of neighbourhoods.
Thinly layered, lightly printed cloth banners, say ‘Welcome To Thurles‘, I think!
Meanwhile, in an attempt to make tourists feel at home, (same having inadvertently lost their way while travelling to South Tipperary, to find themselves in this jobless conurbation called Thurles); four thinly layered, lightly printed cloth banners, welcoming people to the Liberty Square area of this potholed town, have long since become entangled around their sky hooks, courtesy of our light summer breezes. One wonders how much travelling expenses were generated by the members who met to sanction this cheap tourism fresh approach.
One notes too that our town’s neglect and potholes are a reflection of poor management at County Council and Urban District level. Thurles, despite some ills, is still a town worth visiting for its history, arts, sports and much more. Like so many other urban areas, however, it risks further deterioration and destruction, if we accept ‘broken windows’ and become complacement about the failures and inadequacies of our elected community leaders and County Councils.
The solution to this growing problem of anti-social behaviour is not just placing extra Gardaí on our streets. It includes our justice system ensuring to punish wrong doers as well as local communities co-operating with Gardaí, who for the most part are more than anxious to facilitate change.
Drone Invades Privacy Of Private Funerals At St. Patrick’s Graveyard, Thurles.
Dublin Airport drone incidents saw a number of incursions of drones into Irish airspace in early 2023, causing huge disruption to airport operations.
Today we read that owners of drones are being warned not to fly their devices close to livestock, particularly when same are located grazing in coastal areas, following the mysterious stampeding of 30 yearling bullocks over a cliff in west Co. Clare. The herd of cattle in this case are believed to have been spooked by the continuous low humming sounds made by a low flying Drone, resulting in the animals stampeding over a steep cliff, close to Doonbeg village, Co. Clare, between July 9th and July 11th 2023.
Here in Thurles, in the recent past, a Drone complete with a 1080 HD camera was being used to invade the privacy of private funerals, happening here in St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Moyne Road, Thurles. We understand that Gardaí, aided by funeral attendees, quickly tracked down the owner of this device, leading to the temporary seizure of the apparatus, and the destruction of video footage in relation to at least one such videoed incident.
Local residents have expressed anger that Thurles Municipal District authorities are failing to introduce or indeed implement bye-laws, with regards to not just camera drone usage, but also the consumption of large amounts of alcohol and more recently the barbaric sacrifice of a gentle, harmless, trapped animal, all of which were permitted to occur in St. Patrick’s Graveyard, Thurles.
For the benefit of Ms Sharon Scully (Thurles Municipal District Administrator), may we confirm that the blocked drain outside of McCabes Pharmacy, on Kickham Street, Thurles, has caused major flooding yet again today, (see image hereunder), photographed also today, May 11th, 2023.
May we also confirm that the blocked drain featured in the same picture hereunder, can be found east of the Pallottine College entrance, on Kickham Street, Thurles. Same has been blocked since we contacted you on February 20th,2022. For confirmation see picture No 2. [bottom left HERE ].
Kickham Street, Thurles Co. Tipperary.
There are only 3 drain ports positioned on the lower south side of Kickham Street, two of which are blocked, with the water cascading like a river down the northside of the street, courtesy of the inefficiency of Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). Hereunder, see Video which was also communicated to local councillors and officials on Feb.13th 2022.
If you need further proof of the inefficiency of your office, see video hereunder, first published Feb.12th 2022:-
Dear Readers; at the request of Ms Sharon Scully, (Thurles Municipal District Administrator) the communication addressed to both Ms Scully and Mr Joe MacGrath (Chief Executive, Tipperary Co. Co.) on Sun, 7th May is printed in full hereunder.
George Willoughby to Ms Sharon Scully(Thurles Municipal District Administrator) and Mr Joe MacGrath(Chief Executive, Tipperary Co. Co.) Sun, 7 May, 22:47
“Please see attached video of flooding on Cathedral Street, Thurles, which took place on Saturday last, May 6th. Water flowed from No.12 Kickham Street unto Cathedral Street, with shores blocked at McCabes Pharmacy, Kickham Street, for the last 8 weeks, and at ‘The Source’ and Ursuline Convent, on Cathedral Street, for at least 4 weeks.
Please see a photograph of the damage caused to a drain outside the Ursuline convent front door, where work was recently undertaken by ‘Tar Stone’ has been fully lifted up by a water surge. See damage to roadway, same being further evidence of the sheer neglect of our town of Thurles.
Note up to 7:00pm today, flooding on pavement at Bowe’s corner has not subsided.
I will be highlighting further evidence of the neglect of Thurles, and continued money wasting, HERE this week, happening under both your watches and that of your “Executive Engineers”.
Signed: George Willoughby.
Wed, 10 May, 16:44 Ms Sharon Scully, to me
Dear Mr. Willoughby,
Thanks for your email below. I can advise the following –
[A] The first photo is an Uisce Eireann excavation which is not the responsibility of Tipperary County Council. Please send a location associated with the photo so we could ensure it is communicated to Uisce Eireann for follow up.
[B] Picture number two would be normal after a flood event, whereby there is an accumulation on the gully from indiscriminate littering. It should be noted that there is regular street cleaning of footpaths and roads in Thurles town. Please send a location associated with the photo so we could ensure that it is presently clear.
[C] It would appear that picture number three is the same as picture number one Cathedral Street Video – all gullies in the town are on a rotation list for cleaning. However the network is susceptible to flash flooding of this nature. Locations as listed below will be examined.
[D] With regard to the video published on the Thurles Info website in relation to Bowes Corner – The contractor has not yet fully completed works to bring the gullies at the commencement of ramps up to surface level – these works will be completed in the coming weeks. In addition, at the aco-drain there was a temporary blockage to prevent excess grout from paving works entering the combined network – this has since being removed.
[E] Please confirm that you will publish the response of Tipperary County Council on the same website which published the video above to ensure that a full picture is conveyed.
Regards, Sharon.
George Willoughby, Wed, 10 May, 22:12 to Ms Sharon Scully(Thurles Municipal District Administrator) and Mr Joe MacGrath(Chief Executive, Tipperary Co. Co.)
Ms Scully, Thank you for your reply to our email of May 7th 2023 instant at 22:55:
Note your reply will be published on all media outlets, used by Thurles.Info, as requested by you and in keeping with Mr MacGrath’s wishes, and as published HERE on April 20th last. We do this although our recent email correspondence to you both was not published publicly. So in the interests of real openness and full transparency, it becomes necessary for us to publish all communications emanating both from Tipperary Co. Council; Thurles Municipal District Council and Thurles.Info, thus keeping our large readership up-to-date and fully informed as to what is transacted partially in secret.
Please now also let my readers & me have your thoughts regarding other issues shown via the following 3 links:-
[1]https://www.thurles.info/2023/04/22/possible-bus-shelter-for-thurles/. What was the total cost of the full installation of the new carparks traffic barrier system including shelters, and CCTV cameras, same referred to as ‘Checkpoint Charlie’- and was there any money refunded following its hasty removal.
With regard to the four excuses and one request offered by Ms Scully above, (same identified by lettering attached by us; namely letters A, B, C, D & E,) we reserve the right to reply.
(A) The Uisce Eireann excavation is not an Uisce Eireann excavation, however if I am wrong; note that Tipperary Co. Council retains responsibility for Irish Water (Uisce Eireann) and queries continue to be accepted by the Water Services Section of the Tipperary Co. Council. So what is the issue in fixing the problem? Do they answer their phones?
(B) It is well noted that there is regular street cleaning of footpaths and roads in Thurles town, using a recently purchased mechanical street sweeper. Please give us a hint as to how this machine sweeps under parked cars, in order to reach ‘indiscriminate littering‘? It only has two brushes and no suction tube and is useful for gathering gravel every morning on Kickham Street.
(C) All three pictures sent refer to where flooding occurred- Cathedral Street. Note: I am not here to do the work of Thurles Municipal Council, you have paid employees to undertake such work. Quote by you “It would appear that all gullies in the town are on a rotation list for cleaning”. Please explain why on the Mill Road, a short Distance from Councillor Mr Jim Ryan’s home, 3 blocked drains exist outside the new housing estate, all within the Thurles Municipal District boundary, same reported to you in Feb. 2022; leaving flood water to flow south down the Mill Road. See Picture hereunder.
Blocked Drains on Mill Road confirmed in Feb. 2022 and photographed today, 11th May 2023, still blocked.
(C) No video was published by Thurles.Info relating to Bowe’s Corner. We did publish a picture of a blocked Aco-Drain. The surface here will not be lifted, if it is the Aco-Drain would not be needed as water would leach unto the roadway and into drains close by. The very existence of an Aco-Drain, demands a slight dip in the surrounding area to direct water. Perhaps the Aco-Drain is a bit central for those walking with high-heels, but this is the fault of the engineer’s drawings. Any person who claims that the ‘temporary blockage‘ was to prevent excess grout (cement), from the paving works, entering the ‘combined network’, is a person who thinks you, Ms Scully, are easily fooled and I, George Willoughby, am an intellectually disabled individual. The ‘combined network’ on Friar Street has flooded at least once every year since I arrived in Thurles, some 45 years ago, as local businesses will attest. The people (employees) who worked on that upgrade at Bowe’s Corner are extremely, highly skilled, unlike the consultants and engineers responsible for its overall design, and the elected councillors who publically came out and supported same officials.
The link to this post has been forwarded to Ms Sharon Scully(Thurles Municipal District Administrator) and Mr Joe MacGrath(Chief Executive, Tipperary Co. Co.) at their request.
The Kickham Street, Part 2 Saga will be published tomorrow.
Apple Blossom – Thurles, Co. Tipperary. Pic:George Willoughby.
“Apple Blossoms” – By American Poet & Author Horatio Alger Jr. [1832 – 1899].
I sit in the shadow of apple-boughs, In the fragrant orchard close, And around me floats the scented air, With its wave-like tidal flows. I close my eyes in a dreamy bliss, And call no king my peer; For is not this the rare, sweet time, The blossoming time of the year?
I lie on a couch of downy grass, With delicate blossoms strewn, And I feel the throb of Nature’s heart Responsive to my own. Oh, the world is fair, and God is good, That maketh life so dear; For is not this the rare, sweet time, The blossoming time of the year?
I can see, through the rifts of the apple-boughs, The delicate blue of the sky, And the changing clouds with their marvellous tints That drift so lazily by. And strange, sweet thoughts sing through my brain, And Heaven, it seemeth near; Oh, is it not a rare, sweet time, The blossoming time of the year?
“The Town Centre First policy aims to create town centres that function as viable, vibrant and attractive locations for people to live, work and visit, while also functioning as the service, social, cultural and recreational hub for the local community”. Quote Tipperary County Council.
The poem hereunder could easily have been written, following a visit by the poetess to Thurles, Co. Tipperary over the past number of years. The now abandoned, half upgraded, Thurles town centre; known as Liberty Square, once a busy hive of industry, is no more. Tipperary County Council officials, together with out-of-town consultants, civil engineers, local town councillors and not one, but two government politicians, have successfully rid this town centre of most of its thriving businesses, together with their associated consumers. Yes, the lights continue to burn 24 hours each day on Liberty Square, but few walked the street area, on what should have been one of the busiest days of the 2023 calendar.
Liberty Square, Thurles, Co. Tipperary. Pic: G. Willoughby. [Easter Saturday, 3:15pm. 2023]
“Progress”
Poem borrowed courtesy of the authoress Ms Julie Axford.
I don’t go down the High Street now, there’s nothing for me there. It’s full of shops that do your nails, or cut and colour hair. I don’t go down the High Street now and neither does my wife. What used to be a thriving hub, is now devoid of life. They’re building shops way out of town, there’s nowhere else to go. The High Street, I’m afraid to say, has hit an all-time low. The High Street used to sing and dance, at least it did to me, But now it’s sadly out of step and painfully off-key. But way back in the heyday when the High Street was the King, Oh you could spend all day down there and buy just anything! But now the King has lost his Crown, no longer does he reign. He’s been dethroned by hyper stores and supermarket chains. Just like a vampire in the night, they swooped down from the sky. They forced the people out of town and sucked the High Streets dry. We used to have so many shops for all that we might need, For furniture, for shoes and clothes and cakes or books to read. Butchers, bakers, fishmongers, sold fresh and wholesome stuff, And though our families were not rich, we all ate well enough. But now they’ve gone, it’s progress see, yes all have been replaced, By takeaways and coffee shops with all their plastic waste! With automatic checkout tills appearing everywhere. No conversation, pleasantries or anecdotes to share. I heard it said that money talks, at first I had my doubts, And I was right, it doesn’t talk, money bloody shouts! It’s always been the same of course, it’s human nature, see. We have to travel with the times, that’s how it has to be. The kids today they say I’m old and I of course agree. They say the future is for them and not the likes of me. My answer flutters on the breeze, a flag that’s flown half-mast. “I wouldn’t want your future kids…I much prefer my past.”
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