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==Location and access==
==Location and access==
Thurles is a shithole in North Tipperary after [[Nenagh]] and is surrounded by the Queer mountains of Munster The town itself is full of knackers and hoes with plenty of pimps in between. built on a crossing of the [[River Suir]]. The mild climate and the waters of the Suir have combined to produce some of the finest agricultural land in Ireland.{{Citation needed|date=November 2007}}
Thurles is the second largest town in North Tipperary after [[Nenagh]] and is surrounded by the [[Silvermines]] mountains (to the north-west) and the Slieveardagh Hills (to the south-east). The town itself is built on a crossing of the [[River Suir]]. The mild climate and the waters of the Suir have combined to produce some of the finest agricultural land in Ireland.{{Citation needed|date=November 2007}}


===Transport===
===Transport===

Revision as of 12:01, 14 September 2010

Template:Infobox Place Ireland

Thurles (Template:Pron-en, locally /ˈtɜrləs/; Irish: Durlas Éile) is a town in North Tipperary, Ireland. It is in the barony of Eliogarty, and is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. It is the site of the diocesan cathedral.

Location and access

Thurles is the second largest town in North Tipperary after Nenagh and is surrounded by the Silvermines mountains (to the north-west) and the Slieveardagh Hills (to the south-east). The town itself is built on a crossing of the River Suir. The mild climate and the waters of the Suir have combined to produce some of the finest agricultural land in Ireland.[citation needed]

Transport

The M8 motorway connects Thurles to Cork and Dublin via the N75 and N62 roads. The N62 also connects Thurles to the centre of Ireland (Athlone) via Templemore and Roscrea. The R498 links Thurles to Nenagh. The town also lacks bus routes to major destinations like Dublin, Limerick and Cork. Thurles railway station opened on 13 March 1848.[6]. On average there are more than 14 trains from Cork to Dublin that serve Thurles every day.

History

Ancient History

The ancient territory of Éile obtained its name from pre-historic inhabitants called the Eli, about whom little is known beyond what may be gathered from legends and traditions. The extent of Éile varied throughout the centuries with the rise and fall of the tribes in occupation. Before the 5th century A.D. the details of its history which can be gleaned from surviving records and literature are exceedingly meagre, obscure and confusing. During this century however Éile appears to have reached its greatest extent, stretching from Croghan Bri Eli (Croghan Hill in Offaly) to just south of Cashel (in Corca Eathrach Eli). The southern part of this territory embraced the baronies of Eliogarty and Ikerrin, a great part of the modern barony of Middle Third, the territory of Ileagh, and portion of the present barony of Kilnamanagh Upper.

By the 8th century, the territory of ancient Éile had broken up into a number of petty kingdoms: the O’Carroll occupied the northern portion, the O’Spillanes held Ileagh, the Eoghanacht of Cashel had annexed Middle Third while the O’Fogartys held what is now the barony of Eliogarty. The O'Fogarty's gave their name to the town. In Irish, Durlas Éile means "Strong Fort of Éile", or more correctly Durlas Éile Uí Fhogartaigh ("Strong Fort of the O'Fogarty's of Éile").[7] The clan dominated the regions of Templemore and the Devil's Bit stretching as far as the Tipperary/Kilkenny border.

Feudal period

Towards the end of the twelfth century, the power of the O'Fogarty clan began to wane and by the early part of the thirteenth century, the Norman family of Butler came to be the most powerful. It is to that family that Thurles owes much of its early development. Their architectural legacy may be seen today with two of the original family fortresses still standing (the Black Castle near the centre and O'Fogarty Castle by the Suir). Theobald Walter, 1st Baron Butler or Theobald Butler was the ancestor of the Butler dynasty of Ireland. His father had been the hereditary holder of the office of butler of England and when Theobald assisted Kings Henry II of England and John of England in their invasions of Ireland, he was named "Chief Butler of Ireland". He was also granted a large section of the northeastern part of the kingdom of Limerick. Later in 1328, his descendant, James Butler, was created Earl of Ormond by Edward III.

Thurles today

Amenities and features

Thurles Cathedral

The Cathedral of the Assumption

The cathedral seat of the ecclesiastical province of Cashel in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, is not in its original site of the Rock of Cashel. This is due to the assumption of certain ecclesiastical properties by the established Church of Ireland at the time of the English Reformation. Instead, following the relaxation of the Penal Laws, the Roman Catholic Archbishop chose to locate his cathedra and residence in nearby Thurles. The present Cathedral of the Assumption stands on the site of earlier chapels in the centre of the town. Work on the cathedral, with its Romanesque architectural style and its facade modelled on that of Pisa, commenced in 1865. It was consecrated by Archbishop Thomas Croke on 21/06/1879. The architect was J.J. McCarthy while Barry McMullen was the main builder. Mr. J.C Ashlin was responsible for the enclosing walls, railing and much of the finished work. The cathedral's main features include a rose window, a free-standing baptistery and a magnificent altar. Particularly noteworthy is the tabernacle, the work of Giacomo dello Porta, who was a pupil of Michelangelo.

The cathedral was extensively renovated and the sanctuary sympathetically remodelled on the occasion of its centenary in 1979.

Famine Museum

St. Mary’s church, belonging to the Church of Ireland, is built on the site of another pre-reformation church in Thurles. This structure was built by the Normans in the 12th century to provide them with a separate and more exclusive place of worship. The building is currently occupied and boasts a Famine museum as well as a War Museum.

Other cultural amenities

The Source Arts Centre opened on 2 October 2006 and provides a theatre, arts and library space. It consists of a 250 seat auditorium with fully flexible seating, and a dedicated gallery space. The year round programme of events includes film, theatre, dance, ballet, opera, music, family events and visual art exhibitions. A swimming pool was added in 2008 [8]

Lar na Pairce, a museum devoted to the GAA, is located in the center of the town.

Town Council

Under the provisions of the Local Government Act (2001)[9] the former Urban District Council was renamed the Town Council. The members of the Town Council as at 2010[10] are:

  • Evelyn Nevin (Mayor), (Non-Party)
  • Gerard O'Brien (Deputy Mayor), (Fianna Fáil)
  • Michael Cleary, (Fine Gael)
  • Michael Grogan, (Non-Party)
  • John Kenehan, (Labour)
  • John Kennedy, (Labour Party)
  • David Doran, (Sinn Féin)
  • Noel O'Dwyer, (Non-Party)
  • Jim Ryan, (Non-Party).

The principal unelected officers are:

  • Town Manager: Matt Shortt
  • Town Clerk: Michael Ryan.

Sport

Gaelic games

Thurles is the birthplace of the Gaelic Athletic Association, founded in 1884 in Hayes' Hotel. Semple Stadium, where the centenary All-Ireland hurling final was played, is the second largest GAA stadium in Ireland with a capacity of 55,000, second only to Croke Park in Dublin. The stadium is the "spiritual home" of Munster hurling and many famous matches, especially Munster Finals, have been played there. Thurles' local hurling club, Thurles Sarsfields is an honoured and decorated club which has produced some of the finest hurlers in the country such as Jimmy Doyle and Mickey Byrne.

Soccer

  • Peake Villa (founded 1967), playing in Tower Grounds
  • Thurles Town, playing in the Greyhound Stadium. The team formerly played in the "League of Ireland" between 1977 and 1982.
  • Borroway rovers( re-started 2002), playing in a shared pitch in Loughtagalla Park
  • Thurles Celtic ( founded 2007), playing in a shared pitch in Loughtagalla Park
  • Suirside Wanderers (founded 2009), playing in the Vocational School grounds

Education

  • Ursuline Convent (founded in 1737)
  • Presentation Convent (founded in 1817)
  • Christian Brothers School (founded in 1818)
  • St. Patrick's College (founded in 1837)
  • Pallottine College (founded in 1907)
  • Coláiste Mhuire Co-Ed (founded in 1928).

A third-level college, the Tipperary Institute (formerly TRBDI), was established in 1998. The new arts centre & library mentioned above, the Source, was completed in 2006.

Commerce

Market day (August 1848)

Thurles was originally a market town and to the present day its industrial strength is still founded on agriculture. In recent years unemployment has increased due to the closure of agri-sector companies like Irish Sugar plc (in 1989), GMX (in 2002) and Erin Foods (in 2008) which was a subsidiary company of Campbells. High technology industries have been established in the Thurles Technology Park.

Music

The Féile festival, which ran from 1990 to 1994, was held in Semple Stadium. At the height of its success, an estimated 100,000 people attended the festival, which was also known as "The Trip to Tipp".[11] Acts that played included The Prodigy, Something Happens, Rage Against the Machine, Deacon Blue, Slayer, Happy Mondays and Christy Moore.

Notable people

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Republic of Ireland

Thurles is twinned with:

See also

Notes

<supplementary/> census of 2006

Putting the barony in its historico-geographical context.

  • Barony - an old administrative division. Eliogarty - one of 14 baronies in the old county, between Ikerrin to the north (whose chief town is Roscrea), Kilnamanagh Upper to the west (whose chief town is Borrisoleigh) and Middle Third to the south (whose chief town is Cashel).

Explanation for the use of "North Tipperary" instead of "County Tipperary".

  • Following the abolition of the former county - Tipperary - as an administrative division in 1898, the county of North Tipperary was created. This is still the legal status of the county. See also County Tipperary for further history on the topic.[14]

References

  1. ^ Census for post 1821 figures.
  2. ^ http://www.histpop.org
  3. ^ http://www.nisranew.nisra.gov.uk/census
  4. ^ Lee, JJ (1981). "On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses". In Goldstrom, J. M.; Clarkson, L. A. (eds.). Irish Population, Economy, and Society: Essays in Honour of the Late K. H. Connell. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
  5. ^ Mokyr, Joel; O Grada, Cormac (November). "New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700-1850". The Economic History Review. Volume 37 (Issue 4): 473–488. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0289.1984.tb00344.x. {{cite journal}}: |issue= has extra text (help); |volume= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  6. ^ "Thurles station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
  7. ^ "Historical Postcard Collection: Thurles". Tipperary Libraries. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
  8. ^ http://www.thesourceartscentre.ie/about_us.php
  9. ^ Local Government Act, 2001, Schedule 6, Part 1, Chapter 2
  10. ^ Town Council members 2010 http://www.thurlestc.ie/ser_you_cou.html
  11. ^ Tipperary Star", "Trip to Tipp"
  12. ^ Dorset Twinning Association - Twin Towns in the UK (Wayback Machine archive)
  13. ^ Sister Cities - Ireland and the US - US Embassy in Dublin
  14. ^ The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898
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