Transport « Thurles Information

Tragic Traffic Collision at Kilshane, Tipperary

Gardaí at Tipperary town Garda Station are appealing for witnesses to a single vehicle road traffic collision which happened this morning, Wednesday 7th February, 2018.

Gardaí were called to the crash scene at Lacken, Kilshane, on the N24, just a short distance south east of Tipperary town, at around 4.40am this Wednesday morning.

It is understood the vehicle left the road before striking a wall. The driver and sole male occupant of the car, aged in his 20’s, was seriously injured and removed from the scene by Ambulance to South Tipperary Regional Hospital in Clonmel.

Tragically he was pronounced dead a short time later.

This tragic event brings to four the number of people killed on Tipperary’s roads in the first 6 weeks of 2018 and the second person to lose their life on south Tipperary roads just this week.

Tipperary Garda Station are now anxious to speak to any person with information on this collision and to contact them on Tel: 062-80670, the Garda Confidential Line Tel: 1800 666 111 or indeed any Garda Station.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

WARNING: Motorists Asked To Be Careful Crossing Barry’s Bridge

I was having a quite pint above in the Arch Bar Liberty Square, Thurles earlier this evening, contemplating my earlier visit to the Doctor. I had gone over to visited him in relation to my wife’s recent announcement that she was pregnant.

“Doctor”, said I, “there has been no intimacy of any kind between my wife and myself since St. Paddy’s Day 2014. Now she tells me she is pregnant; so how can that come about?

“Oh”, said the doctor, “your wife’s condition is what we in the medical field call a ‘Grudge Pregnancy’. It’s a quite common condition these day’s. To explain it the simplest way possible, obviously someone had it in for you.

I had left the doctor’s office now more confused than when I had entered and was quietly pondering his explanation, when suddenly there was Mikey.

“Wouldn’t you think”, said Mikey Ryan, squeezing in beside me at the bar counter.
“Think what”, said I.
“That they would have thrown a couple of shovels of tarmac in those twelve inch deep holes”, replied Mikey.
“What twelve inch deep holes are you talking about”, said I.

“Ah, you know the holes”, said Mikey annoyed at my obvious lack of civic observation, “the holes that are situated near where the raw sewerage has been flowing into the River Suir on Barry’s Bridge, for the past number of years”.

“Ah, now I have you”, said I, “those holes; but sure listen to me, those holes are on all the roads and streets around Thurles. Sure weren’t Tipperary Co. Council Councillors on TippFm Radio, last weekend saying that Transport Infrastructure Ireland were going to fix them over the next two years.”

“I wouldn’t put much faith in that”, said Mikey, “although I saw two fellows on the bridge wearing reflective jackets and crash helmets; one had an iron bar in his hand, making shapes last Monday morning.

“You know I once went for one of them engineering jobs with Tipperary County Council some years back”, continued Mikey. “There were two interviewers in suits and the one with the glasses asked me if I suffered from any allergies?” “Begod , yes sir, said I”, continued Mikey, “don’t I come out in a severe red raw rash if I drink tea or coffee”.

According to Mikey, the two suits then looked at each other strangely, before the fellow with the glasses wanted to know if I had ever travelled abroad.

Mikey swirled his last mouthful of beer around the bottom of his pint glass. “So,” he continued, “sure I proudly informed him about my sojourn in the Irish Army and my five year involvement as a UN Peace Keeper on the Syrian-Israel border.”

“Amazing”, said the guy with his top pocket full of pens, “were you ever injured?”
“Yes”, replied Mikey proudly, “Yes, a grenade exploded near my machine gun post and blew me into the air, resulting in the loss of both my testicles.”

Both interviewers looked at each other again, before announcing that the normal expected working hours, if he was to be a successful applicant, would be from 8.00am to 4.00pm, with an hour for lunch. “Now” said one of the suits, “if you are successful; in your particular case there is no need to start until 10.00am each day”.

“Sure, as you can imagine, I was confused”, said Mikey, “so I asked, if my hours are from 8.00am to 4.00pm, why am I only starting two hours later than everyone else?” To which, according to Mikey, the one with the pens stated, that this was Tipperary County Council, and for the first two hours, every work morning, they normally stood around drinking tea and coffee and scratching their balls, so there would be no point in him coming in early to stand around idle.

“You know, I reckon that is why those feckin holes were never filled”, said Mikey with a knowing nod.

“Give us two more pints there Pat”, said I.

One Man Dead In Tipperary Road Collision

Southbound lanes of the main Dublin to Cork M8 motorway near junction 12 (J.12), Mitchelstown North in Co Tipperary, remain closed this morning, following a collision between two motor vehicles last night, which tragically has claimed the life of one 79-year-old driver.

The crash is understood to have occurred at around 9.00pm with the victim being pronounced dead at the scene, before being removed to Cork University Hospital.

It is believed that the deceased motorist, named locally as Mr Dave Walsh of Skeheenarinky near Burncourt, Cahir, may have entered the southbound carriageway of the M8; driving in the wrong direction, which resulted in the collision.

The occupants of the second vehicle involved; two men, suffered non-life threatening injuries and were treated by paramedics at the scene.

Motorists are being advised to avoid the route between J.11 Cahir South and J.12 Mitchelstown North, as diversions are in place while Garda forensic crash investigators carry out an examination of the scene.

This is now the third motorway death in Tipperary this year. Gardaí in Cahir are appealing to anyone who was travelling on the M8 at the time or may have witnessed the collision, to contact them at Cahir Garda Station Tel: 052-7445630.

Barry’s Bridge Thurles – Repairs Imminent Say TII

Following on from our report on the state of Barry’s Bridge here in Thurles, which we published yesterday; Thurles.Info forwarded an email to the the senior minister at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, namely Shane Ross, TD, at Leeson Lane, Dublin 2, Ireland D02TR60. The acknowledged email sent to minister@dttas.ie, containing 6 photographs, explained the difficulties being experienced in dealing with Tipperary Co. Council and their difficulties, in turn, in attempting to communicate with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).

We are now informed that TII will immediately appoint a highway contractor to commence work, on what appears currently as a cloned street-scape, removed from Northern Syria.

We are also informed that the current sub-surface of the bridge may have to be further adapted, following the last 4 failed attempts to repair same, which despite huge costs to taxpayers; proved to be a mitigated disaster.

In our email to the Minister we also raised the issue of the promised 16 year old “Thurles Bypass”, currently the stuff of jokes.

Hopefully, now the TII will honour this commitment and Barry’s Bridge will not go the route of Ballynonty bridge, which completely collapsed, luckily with no loss of life, some years ago.

In the words of poet G. Cullen’s poem, “Global Warming”.
That last event :- “Twas like a big tsunami or the floods in New Orleans,
Or back when Noah built the ark to save the human beings,
But nothing ever read or seen has caused the jaw to drop,
Like the bridge in Ballynonty near Alice Perry’s shop.”

Is Barry’s Bridge About To Collapse?

Major cracks appearing in surface of Barry’s Bridge. Also: Warn your children to watch out when using the Cathedral Street pedestrian crossing. Now read on.

Barry’s Seven-arch limestone road bridge in Thurles, Co Tipperary, has served the local population well; providing a primary passage across the river Suir. It was originally built circa 1650 and was again partially reconstructed circa again in 1820, widening its facade, adding safer pedestrian access.

Some 368 years later, its wedge-shaped tapered stone (voussoirs), used in the construction of its 7 arches have never once cried out seeking an upgrade, despite bearing on its back, on an average day, 850 cars with an average weight of 1.8 tons and some 46 trucks averaging between 9 and 23 tons unladen weight.

The failure by Tipperary Co. Council, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, and the Department of Transport, to deal with the now fractured surface first reported over a month ago, (December 26th 2017) now puts the bridge in grave danger of collapsing.

The failure over the past 16 years to provide the promised Thurles Bypass, begs the question can Barry’s Bridge continue to take the strain of modern heavy-duty vehicles.

One hundred and twenty yards away, in August 2017 last, a high sided truck made the careless decision to adjust the automated pedestrian crossing lights outside of Thurles Cathedral. The bulbs on this crossing used to feed motorised traffic information have been changed on two occasions since, yet the pedestrian information lights have not been realigned, leaving pedestrians unable to view the crossings signals, causing unnecessary delay to motorists. This is a busy crossing used by over 600 school children twice daily to get to and from rural school buses, not to mention the several hundred church pilgrims and local shoppers out walking each day.

Is it now time to undertake the action being used in connection with the Roran Road in Terryglass? Over 40 residents assembled in Terryglass Village Hall last night to further discuss their strategy going forward. Is it time to support them on behalf of all Tipperary road users?