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It is estimated that 200 million cars being driven in America, with each vehicle driven an average of 20116.8 kilometres (12,500 miles) each year. The entire nation therefore travels approximately 2.5 trillion miles annually, and will kill off an estimated 32.5 trillion insects in this travelling process.
Here in North Co. Tipperary Ireland, cars, particularly those black in colour, don’t have to travel at all, to kill our insect life. Due to unprecedented sunshine raising our heat levels, (averaging between 27° and 30°), millions of insects. who choose to land on black car windscreens, are being tricked into committing suicide.
Dark colours absorb heat, most especially that from the sun’s rays; while light colours reflect about 60% of this same sunlight. Less than 10 years ago the state of California in the USA, actually considered banning the sale of new black cars. Had this rule been introduced, same would have translated to a 2% decrease in fuel economy savings, due to a related decrease in air conditioner use, thus in turn further reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 1.9%.
So far as I am aware the forced mass suicide of insects was not considered; however here at home, do check your car windscreens to avoid your car’s fan system sucking these dried, fried insect into your vehicle.
A new €2million initiative has been launched in an effort to boost tourism across ‘Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands’ region, with a promise of further funding to follow this initial €2m allocation.
‘Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands’ is the latest brand to be launched by Fáilte Ireland following their ‘Wild Atlantic Way’ and even less convincing ‘Ireland’s Ancient East’.
This ‘Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands’ promotion will covers parts of Leitrim, Roscommon, East Galway, East Clare, North Tipperary, Offaly, Westmeath, Longford and Cavan.
Same, we are informed will encourage tourism through the promotion of walking, cycling and boating, as well as fishing and other activities in and around towns and villages within the region. A series of food networks and trails will also be developed; with the flood prone River Shannon marketed together with Waterways Ireland to encourage tourism both on and off the river.
Today was obviously a slow news day everywhere; with national and local TV, Radio, Press and social media outlets, all grabbing the “Fake News” for their various publications.
Photo-shopped children appeared; jumping off boats into Lough Allen in one publication; in others a water scape showed a leaking waterlogged boat on a reeded shoreline, and all designed to drive visitor growth across the Midlands region, thus exposing the Midland’s rich natural assets, which includes our God given lakes, walkways and ‘Sunday Blueways’. (They are right in one stated fact; to immerse yourself in the heart of rural Ireland you do need a canoe.)
Is ‘Drive’ the Clue?
Sounds great, but it would appear that Fáilte Ireland’s members; their CEO Mr Paul Kelly and Mr Paul Keeley (Director of Commercial Development), apparently just don’t get “out and about”, much, anymore. While they have been sweating; involved “in months of extensive market testing”; gleaned they claim both from here (I can’t find one person contacted in North Tipperary, in relation to this new branding) and overseas, it would appear that most of the gathered information came from tourists abroad, and from persons who have never driven on Ireland’s secondary road surfaces.
Keep in mind that this new initiative, which has little for North Tipperary natives to get into a bee-like frenzy about, is expected to tap into that “off the beaten track” experience.
But perhaps the biggest chuckle, is that this new ‘Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands’ brand was officially launched by Mr Shane Ross, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport who sped down the M4 & M6 motorways for an announcement ceremony in Athlone, Co. Westmeath. (Home of Mr Kevin “Boxer” Moran).
Latter named Minister of State for the Office of Public Works and Flood Relief, Minister Mr Kevin “Boxer” Moran, who first revealed the name of this new brand as ‘Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands’, declared it to be a beautiful name, which had proven very successful in pre-trials, (Me I would have preferred a more descriptive brand name myself, something like “The Deep Pot Holes, Beyond The Luas Line”
No, Mr Moran and Mr Ross made no mention of structural failures on off-motorway road surfaces, caused by flood water in the underlying soil structures; as they gazed grinning from behind a cardboard cut-out.
Why does my late grandmother’s dissenting description now echo and spring to mind; “Asses looking over a whitewashed wall”.
 The Swiss Cottage Cahir Access to most OPW-managed heritage sites will remain free to visit on the first Wednesday of every month, again this year.
Families looking for a cheap day out in areas around Ireland, now have no excuse to remain caged up at home, over the coming weekends, for the duration of the upcoming holiday season.
So if you want to visit the towns of Thurles, Cashel, Cahir, Clonmel, Roscrea, Nenagh, or even further afield, with your family, now is your chance at very reasonable cost for your outing.
Do remember that Tickets are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, and visitors are advised to arrive early to avoid delays at some of the busier sites.
Visit heritageireland.ie for more information.
Business people in the heart of Thurles and indeed in the streets surrounding Liberty Square are heaving a sigh of relief this morning, following the news that the necessary repairs to the Barry’s Bridge crossing, have at last come to an end. The single lane “Stop & Go” traffic system, which they and road users were also forced to experience over the past three weeks, is now at an end, or is it?
It would seem that our busy decision making, municipal engineers didn’t make it to Specsavers Opticians this year.
Less than 8mtres (24ft) away from the newly re-glued bridge surface, a collapsed drain under the road has gone unnoticed, despite its sunken state being in existence long before the previous glued surface, on this same Barry’s bridge, had decided to surrender and disintegrate. Yes and even before the “Beast from the East” could have obscured it, swallowing it in a white blank canvas. The clue for engineers was the obvious fact that the road surface had dropped 2ins below kerb foundations, thus leaving questions to be answered.
One would have thought that when all the heavy machinery; tar trucks, heavy duty breakers, rollers, tarmac trucks and other thingamajigs, were in place over the past three weeks, this very small close-by repair, could also have been included; thus cutting major costs for the taxpayer.
Not so; money does not seem to be a problem for the Templemore /Thurles Municipal District engineers, so expect the heavy machinery to return again, and that accompanying single lane of traffic also, to materialise yet again, and to hell with with the tax payer.
There is, however, one great saving having been made in all of this; the 2017 Christmas lights still remains in place this Easter; in plenty of time for next Christmas. This could mean that there will be no rise in Property Tax next year.
A warning to all drivers using the Mill Road out of Thurles, exiting from the N75 (Dublin Road) to Littleton & Turtulla Cross.
These Pictures Do Not Lie!
Due to increased use by heavy duty trucks and other motor vehicles, attempting to avoid necessary roadworks at Barry’s Bridge, Thurles, two seriously dangerous potholes have now been created.
The holes are situated on the left-hand side, on centre of the sharp second S-bend corner, as drivers cross the Drish River, (opposite the rather lovely reed thatched house on the right-hand side, at Lady’s Well); as drivers exit the town from the Dublin Road (N75), travelling South to Littleton (going left), and West to Turtulla Cross (going right).
The pothole pictured, marked (1) above is over 1 metre in length; almost ½ metre in width (see sides on image) and is about 26 centimetres deep. Same is quite capable of doing serious damage to any vehicle’s tracking, or in a worst scenario, force a driver to lose total control of their steering.
Picture (2) above is only a metre away from (1), with the road structure showing similar signs of disintegration. Both holes are not immediately visible to any driver.
In the words of Albert Einstein, when it comes to those who plan our roads: “Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former”.
This narrow short stretch of road [known affectionately, locally, as “Fat Arse Boulevard” ], without footpaths, stupidly displays “hasten signs” allowing for speeds of 80k per hour. This is despite being used regularly by Driving Testers, Walkers, Joggers, Learner Drivers, Dog Walkers, Pram Pushers, Children & Teenagers (grouped together), our late departed flattened Tom Cat, and even boasts a Housing Estate plus an S-Bend on a Humped-Back Bridge.
Surely this Road; and not the vehicles driving thereon, should now be given an NCT.
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