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Let’s Use Winter Months To Plan Future For Thurles Tourism.

In 1839, on today’s date, (January 6th, latter the Feast of the Epiphany), a devastating hurricane passed over Ireland leaving many dead and thousands of people homeless as the wind caused mass structural damage to homes across the country. The event is referred to as the “Night of the Big Wind”, (Irish – Oíche na Gaoithe Móire).

Drawing of Moycarkey, Thurles, missing Sheela-na-gig.

Today, January 6th is also known as Women’s Little Christmas Day (Irish – Nollaig na mBan), or Old Christmas Day or Twelfth Night down here in rural Ireland, when no doubt mothers will be following the age old custom of rubbing the tail of a herring across their children’s eyes to give them immunity against disease for the rest of 2024. Local wells may also, as tradition has it, have their water turned into wine at midnight, with no one being permitted to observe this spectacle, or even to sample the well water, lest they be met with ‘mí ádh’ (Irish – bad luck).

Time to attract Tourism.

Seriously though, now during our winter months is the time for us to start planning for the year ahead in other ways, most notably for the future of our currently non-existent tourist trade, here in Co. Tipperary.

We understand that a discussion has already taken place in Thurles, with regard to the failure, over many years, to attract visitors to the town and county. Unfortunatly, other matters prevented Thurles.Info from attending that particular public meeting.

However, the result of that meeting appears to have generated little in the way of any future planning, except perhaps in identifying and regurgitating small bits of already well known local history.

Starting today and over the coming weeks, Thurles.Info together with Hidden Tipperary.com, will attempt to revive at least some enthusiasm in the effort to attract visitors to Thurles and the massive decline in street footfall, by offering some marketing ideas on how we can, working closely together, make tourism in Thurles and Tipperary a reality.

Suggested first project:

Make contact with local bus companies; Thurles accommodation providers; restaurants etc to put together prices for Bus Tours.

One Suggested Tour:

Offer an all-in tour of Tipperary Sheela-na-Gigs [Excel file here provides all the information required in relation to discovery], based and operated from Thurles town. Pass the above Excel File to bus operators in the locality to obtain their daily rate and contact local hotels and restaurants to acquire best group prices for accommodation and food. Based on the route used by the bus operator, contact with a hotel in one of the counties outlying areas will be necessary to acquire prices for a light lunch, leaving the provision of breakfast and dinner, to the hotel and restaurant sector in Thurles.

Having made contact with the above necessary service providers, a meeting should be convened and prices having been once accepted, should be keenly, and immediately marketed in time for the Summer of 2024, both at home and away, with no time lost.
While tourists from abroad may take more time to attract; visitations from home counties should show immediate interest, if proper marketing is undertaken using senior citizens clubs, walking clubs etc . It is important that an Irish Rail representative be also included in any future planning negotiations. It will be necessary also to provide a tour guide on all trips undertaken, and training for this undertaking can easily and immediately be undertaken.

What are Sheela-na-gigs?

Sheela-na-gigs are rare and ancient (c. 12th century) figurative architectural stone carvings (also known as grotesques) of female figures found on Cathedrals, Churches, Castles, and other historical buildings. Scholars debate the origins of these figures but some speculate that they may have been used to ward off evil spirits or may have had something to do with pre-Christian fertility or mother goddess religion.
While the greatest concentration of surviving carvings are to be found in Ireland, a few are also located in Great Britain, France and Spain.
Image above shows a nineteenth-century sketch of a Sheela-na-gig, currently preserved in the Royal Irish Academy, No. 19 Dawson Street Dublin 2, [Located at D02 HH58]. Same was formerly to be found on a tower house in Moycarkey, Co. Tipperary. Its whereabouts today, however, is presently not known, but somewhere, someone may know its present location.
This is not the first time that a looting of ancient Tipperary Sheela-na-gigs has taken place. Listen to and read related RTÉ Radio documentary HERE.

Note: Of the 124 known examples throughout the counties of Ireland, some 24 of these unique stone carvings are or were located within the boundaries of Co. Tipperary.

So let’s get started and begin to work together within our present tourism structure, if possible.

State Of Kickham Street Thurles, Over Christmas Period.

It would appear that our elected politicians; our Municipal District Councillors and our Thurles Municipal District officials no longer have the will or indeed the power, to organise the filling of a pothole in Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

Just a section of the road surface on Kickham Street, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

The pictures shown here demonstrate a small section of road conditions being experienced by motorists over the Christmas holiday period.
It must now be clear to our electorate the need to seek out fresh blood, come the local elections next March 2024, and the need to replace those who have demonstrated total contempt for our towns; its needs, while further demonstrating their total lack of respect and courtesy to those who elected them to highly paid posts.

Another view of the numerous pot holes that vehicles encounter on Kickham Street, Thurles, latter the busiest exit and entrance into the town.

Page 8 of Tipperary Co. Council’s Management Report to Council (VIEW pdf HERE), published in February of 2023, stated that the N75, Liberty Square to the Anner Hotel, (which includes Kickham Street, the most used road surface in Thurles), would involve the rehabilitation of approximately 1km of road pavement on the N75 National Secondary road within the town of Thurles, from its junction with Mitchel Street to the Anner Hotel; with the scheme then at a preliminary design stage. Back then it was anticipated that works would commence in Q4 of 2023. We now understand that this date has been postponed until possibly Q3 of 2024.

Mid-West Region Presents Bid To Host World Rally Championship.

The Mid-West Region’s (Limerick, Clare & Tipperary) bid to host the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2025, will be presented to officials from the WRC Promoters and Motorsport Ireland at Limerick Racecourse on Thursday next.

The Patrickswell venue has been put forward by the Limerick Motor Club in association with the Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau, as the base location for the prestigious international event which is returning to Ireland for the first time since 2009.

If successful, Limerick Racecourse would be transformed into a 10,000 square metre service park and international media centre as well as the WRC fan zone for the duration of the competition, which Ireland is expected to host for three years. It also would host more than 1,500 volunteers and hundreds of officials, marshals and service crew members from the world’s largest rallying teams, including M-sport Ford, Toyota Gazoo racing and Hyundai shell mobis.

More than 250,000 spectators are expected to travel from overseas to Ireland for the event and it is hoped that Limerick’s proximity to Shannon Airport and major motorway infrastructure will bolster its bid.

Maurice Meskell of Limerick Motor Club commented “Working in recent months with the Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau, we feel that we have put together a strong case to bring this prestigious international sporting event to the Mid-West.
Limerick Racecourse is an ideal location due to its quality connectivity and established service areas and we feel our bid is further strengthened by the support we have received across the region from Elected Members, Limerick City and County Council, Fáilte Ireland, An Garda Síochána, local Chambers of Commerce, Shannon Airport, Motor Clubs in surrounding counties and the wider business community,” he added.

Karen Ronan, General Manager of the Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau said a successful Limerick bid would deliver significant economic dividends to the wider region. “The experience of other regions suggests that substantial and broad economic benefits are associated with hosting the World Rally Championship” she explained. The Mexican state of Guanajuato this year saw more than 600,000 rallying fans gather for the WRC leading to a €36.5m injection in the local economy along with high hotel occupancy rates and prominent international media coverage. The support received locally for our bid suggests that Limerick is ready and willing to deliver a hugely successful base in Ireland to stage the event for Motorsport Ireland and the WRC.”

Explaining the background to the bid, Kieran Ambrose of Limerick Motor Club stated, “Motorsport Ireland initially requested motor clubs to submit expressions of interest after which Limerick was included in a shortlist of 3 potential locations. We feel that Limerick Racecourse is unrivalled in terms of its accessibility, quality connectivity, existing serviced areas, and track record of successfully managing large-scale and high-profile events. We look forward to an announcement being made by WRC Promoters & Motorsport Ireland in the days following the visit. No matter the outcome we are looking forward to rowing in behind whomever is successful in the bid to ensure Ireland puts on a show when hosting the WRC.”

A decision on the host location will be made by the WRC Promoters & Motorsport Ireland next week. Kerry and Waterford are the other shortlisted locations.

Inaugurated in 1973, it is the second oldest of the FIA’s world championships after Formula One. Each season, which lasts one calendar year, separate championship titles are awarded to drivers, co-drivers and manufacturers.


For more information VISIT HERE.

Happy Christmas From Thurles Co. Tipperary

From all at Thurles.info, may we wish our many readers: following us on social media; both at home and overseas, a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.

Nollaig Shona Dhuit (Ireland); Wesolych Swiat (Poland); Joyeux Noël French (France); Buon Natale (Italy); Frohe Weihnachten German (Germany Austria, Switzerland); Feliz Navidad (Spain and Gibraltar, Mexico, and Central and South America); Boas Festas (Portugal); Zalig Kerstfeest (Belgium); Prettige Kerstdagen/ Zalig Kerstfeest (Netherlands); Gëzuar Krishlindjet (Albania); Eftihismena Christougenna (Greece); Sretan Bozic (Croatia); Craciun Fericit (Romania, Moldova); Merii Kurisumasu (Japan); Kung His Hsin Nien Bing Chu Shen Tan (China); S̄uk̄hs̄ạnt̒ wạn khris̄t̒mās̄ (Thailand); Sung Tan Chuk Ha (Korea); Chuc Mung Giang Sinh (Vietnam); Karisama te nawāṃ sāla khušayāṃwālā hewe (India and Pakistan); Glaedelig Jul (Denmark); Rôômsaid Jôule (Estonia); Gleðileg jól (Iceland); Nadolig Llawen (Wales), and  Hyvää Joulua (Finland).

Please Make Every Effort To Stay Safe Over This Holiday Season.

Truck Rearranges Street Furnishings In Half Upgraded Liberty Square, Thurles.

Truck rearranges Liberty Square, Thurles, town Railing

Sadly, the area was the scene of a pedestrian death on January 20th 2014. Since then the nearby railings, supposedly placed there to protect pedestrians, has since been replaced on three different occasions. Now for the fourth time, in possibly the past 36 hours, a large truck has again rearranged these same railings, at the junction of Liberty Square south and Slievenamon Road, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

Yes, this is the Slievenamon Road, on the N62 route which is destined to be soon upgraded, by reducing its carriageway width, by widened/extending footpaths, by some 1.8m to 2.5m.

Any of you haulage contractors out there, with a truck missing a mudguard? Your driver failed to take it with him, having demolished railings, when failing to manoeuvre a left lane turn in Liberty Square Thurles. Co. Tipperary.

Peculiar, that with two currently resident Teachtaí Dála, both supporting the present government, no necessary funding has been acquired to provide a ring road for heavy traffic, thus relieving our medieval choked streetscapes.