Clonmel
Clonmel (Cluain Meala in Irish), in County Tipperary, is the largest inland town in the Republic of Ireland. It is the county seat of South Tipperary County Council. The town lies mainly on the northern bank of the River Suir with a smaller section south of the river. It lies in a valley, surrounded by mountains and hills. The Comeragh Mountains are to the south, while northeast of the town is Slievenamon. The town is noted in Irish history as having withstood the Cromwellian forces which sacked both Drogheda and Wexford.
History
Clonmel grew significantly in medieval times, and many remainders of this period can be found in the town. A small section of the town walls remain in place near St Mary's (Old) church. One of the former entry points into the town is now the site of the 'West Gate', a 19th century reconstruction of an older structure (there were originally three gates in the walled town: North, East and West - with the South being protected by the Suir and the Comeragh Mountains). This gate is today an open arched entrance on to O'Connell street, the main street of the town.
Oliver Cromwell, who is infamous in Ireland, laid siege to Clonmel in May 1650 during his campaign in Ireland. The walls were eventually breached, but Hugh Dubh O'Neill, the commander of the town's garrison, inflicted heavy losses on Cromwell's troops when they tried to storm the breach. However, the garrison in Clonmel surrendered the following day, as O'Neill's men were out of gun powder. The story is told that Cromwell discovered this when a silver bullet was discharged from the townspeople at his troops outside the walls. As a mark of respect to the townspeople and in recognition of their fortitude in defending their town, Cromwell donated his sword to the people which can be seen in Clonmel Town Hall to this day.
St Mary's (old) church is one of the main architectural features of the town. It was originally built in the 13th century or earlier but has been reconstructed or renovated on numerous occasions. The church was fortified early in its history, the town being strategically important for first the Earls of Ormonde, and later the Earl of Kildare. Some fortified parts of the church were destroyed or damaged during the Cromwellian occupation.
Politics
| Party | Seats | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Fianna Fail | 3 | -2 |
| Fine Gael | 2 | = |
| Labour Party | 2 | +2 |
| Progressive Democrats | 1 | +1 |
| Independent | 4 | = |
Clonmel Town has 12 elected representatives (councillors) who sit on Clonmel Borough Council. The council elections take place every 5 years. Clonmel is one of five Borough Councils in Ireland; the others are Drogheda, Kilkenny, Sligo and Wexford. Unlike Sligo and Drogheda, Clonmel does not use a ward system. A mayor is elected by the councillors every year, and the present mayor is Richard Molloy, a member of the Progressive Democrat party.
Clonmel has long been part of the Tipperary South constituency in terms of national representation in the Dáil. The three T.D.'s who won seats in the Dáil following the 2007 General Election were Tom Hayes ( Fine Gael) who has served in the post since 2001 and a newly-elected Fianna Fáil duo of Mattie McGrath and Martin Mansergh.
Culture
Museums
Tipperary County Museum [6] tells the history of County Tipperary from the stone age to the present. It is also host to many special exhibitions each year. It is the first custom built county museum in Ireland.
The "Main Guard" was a civic building up until 1810, when it was converted to shops. It has been used in the past as an office to collect tolls, duties and customs dues, a place for civic gatherings and a court. It has been restored and is now a popular tourist attraction in the town. A model of Clonmel as it would have appeared in the 13th century is on display inside the front door.
Art galleries
The South Tipperary Arts Centre [7] opened in 1996. The centres program mixtures arts and cultural events. It hosts 12 exhibitions per year and presents a classical music season in Spring and Autumn. It holds a number of adult and child based art and music course during the course of the year. It is also home to several groups who meet there in an informal setting, including a local writer's guild.
Theatre
The White Memorial Theatre building is a former a Weslyan/Methodist Chapel. The building is owned by the St. Mary's Choral Society[8],which the purchased in 1975, who put on an average of 2 shows a year in the building. The building also host shows by the Stage Craft Youth Theatre [9] group and special event during the year.
Clonmel has a number of theatre companies, these include: St. Mary's Choral Society, Clonmel Theatre Guild and Stage Craft Youth Theatre.
The St. Mary's Choral Society was formed in 1940 and only open to men, it wasn't until 1943 that membership was opened to women[1]. It is an awarding winning[citation needed] society and over the years has won 17 awards and has been runner up 25 times.
The Clonmel Theatre Guild was formed in 1969[2],as a sister organisation to the St. Mary's Choral Society due to the pressure of putting on two plays and an operetta. The guild put on an average of 2 Dinner Theatres, formally hosted in the Clonmel Arms Hotel, and 1 play in the White Memorial Theatre. A member of guild, Trevor Somers, has appeared in a number of episodes of Fair City and Killinaskully RTE1 and on Maru and Ceart agus Coir on TG4[3].
The Stage Craft Youth Theatre group was formed in 1998, and at present has a membership of 150 young people. They have produced over 30 full-scale theatre productions, and are affiliated to The National Association for Youth Drama (NAYD)[10]. Playwright and actor George Seremba[11] is a guest work-shop leader with the group.
Music
Banna Chluain Meala (literally translating as 'Clonmel band') was founded in 1971. Originally a brass band, Banna Chluain Meala later developed as a brass and reed band, which included concert, marching and fieldshow performances. The band also has a colour guard section which enhances marching and fieldshow performances. The total complement of the band has ranged from 100 to 150 members throughout the years. The band has travelled widely abroad to the United Kingdom, Holland and France and represented Ireland at an International Festival in Cheb in the Czech Republic in 2004 to celebrate the new entrants to the European Union. Banna Chluain Meala is one of Ireland's most honoured bands. They hold concert band championship titles on national and international levels. As a marching band they have had unparalleled success nationally, being crowned IMBA Irish champions in the highest division in 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and most recently in 2006 and 2007. They have also had success abroad, most notably as Open Class champions at the British Youth Band Championships at Wembley in 1994.
Coursing
Clonmel is noted in greyhound circles for being the home of the annual National Hare Coursing Meeting in early February. Included in this event is the prestigious Ladies’ International Open Meeting and the coursing derby. At this time each year, Clonmel is swollen by a large influx of sports people from Ireland, the UK, and from as far afield as Australia, New Zealand, the United States and the Middle East.
Events
The Clonmel Junction Festival is a festival of theatre and music running every July in Clonmel since 2001.
Media
Radio
TippFm's main offices are located in Clonmel. It has a potential audience of 121,000 (Adults 15+), and 62%[4] of all adults in Tipperary tune in weekly. It broadcasts on 95.3fm, 97.1fm, 97.6 and 103.9.
Print media
The Nationalist is a newspaper that covers the Clonmel town and South Tipperary. South Tipp Today is a newspaper that is supported by advertising revenue and delivered free to residents in the town and the surround area, it has a circulation of 20,500[5]. Both newspapers are appear weekly.
The Sporting Press, is published and printed in Clonmel, it covers news related to the greyhound community in Ireland. It has a circulation of 7,500[6].
Education
Clonmel is home to 1 third-level institute, Tipperary Institute (formerly TRBDI), which was established in 1998. It is a dual campus institute, with a campus its sister campus in Thurles.
The campus is located along the Clonmel Inner Releave Road, but is to move to a new localation in the near future.
Primary and secondary education in the city is organised similarly to the rest of Ireland.
Clonmel has two places of education that teach through the medium of Irish. Gaelscoil Chluian Meala providies primary level education and has around 200[7] students. Gaelcholáiste Chéitinn (est. 2004) provides second level education and has 28[8] students as of 2006.
Transport
The river had been made navigable to Clonmel from 1760 when completion of the River Suir Navigation in the 19th century allowed large vessels to reach the town's quays. Charles Bianconi, onetime mayor of Clonmel, ran his pioneering public transport system of horse-drawn carriages from Clonmel. Clonmel railway station opened 1 May 1852.[9] Today, there are three trains daily to Waterford and three to Limerick Junction which has main-line connections to Dublin.
Commerce
In recent times Clonmel has become the home to many large multi-national companies, particularly in the medical area. The two biggest medical companies in the town are Abbott and Boston Scientific, which both manufacture implantable devices. Bulmers cider, also known as Magners outside of Ireland, is brewed in a complex three kilometers east of the town, and the extensive orchards serving the brewery can be seen when entering the town from the east.
People
- The author of 'The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman', Laurence Sterne (1713-68) was born in the town, however his family returned to England soon after. Author Anthony Trollope also worked in the town for a period.
- The town has a strong musical tradition: one of Ireland's most famous tenors Frank Patterson was native to the town.
- William John Duane (1780-1865), American politician and lawyer from Pennsylvania, was born in Clonmel.
Climate
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average daily maximum temperature (°C) | 8 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 14 | |
| Average daily minimum temperature (°C) | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 7 | |
| Mean total rainfall (cm) | 5.34 | 4.29 | 3.84 | 3.98 | 3.40 | 3.72 | 3.38 | 4.22 | 4.33 | 6.35 | 5.07 | 5.03 | 52.95 | |
| Source: MSN Weather | ||||||||||||||
Sister towns
Clonmel is twinned with several places:
Costa Masnaga, Lombardy, Italy.- Ganghi, Sicily, Italy.
Reading, England.
Eysines, Aquitaine, France.
Trofaiach, Styria, Austria.
Peoria, Illinois.
See also
External links
References
- ^ stmaryschoralsociety.com
- ^ stmaryschoralsociety.com
- ^ clonmel.ie
- ^ [1]medialive.ie
- ^ [2]medialive.ie
- ^ [3]medialive.ie
- ^ [4]education.ie
- ^ [5]southtippcoco.ie
- ^ "Clonmel station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2007-09-07.