logo
Call to upgrade Tipperary's graveyards fall on deaf ears due to lack of funds

Call to upgrade Tipperary's graveyards fall on deaf ears due to lack of funds

Independent Cllr John O'Heney requested that the council would upgrade or replace the broken fence starting from the bridge in Bansha village, that continues on the L4306, towards the Railway Line. 'This fence is in considerable need of maintenance and is an eye sore as you enter the village,' he said. The issue has been logged with management.
Cllr O'Heney also inquired, at the request of the Cullen Tidy Towns Association, that the council install a water tap on the grounds of Cullen Graveyard.
Cullen Burial Ground is one of about 200 historic burial grounds which are dispersed throughout County Tipperary and which fall within the remit of the Environment and Climate Action Section of Tipperary County Council.
However a spokesperson for the council said: 'Local communities are very involved in the care of their parish burial grounds, whether through routine maintenance, active use, or the keeping alive of tradition or memory. The historic burial ground plays an important role in the cultural life of Irish people and represents a focal point in the historical life of a parish community.
'Keeping the burial ground in good condition is important to local people as it reflects pride in their parish and is an acknowledgement of the contribution our ancestors made to the development of each parish. Many historic burial grounds are still being used on a frequent basis for interments. Cullen Burial Ground is no exception in this regard.
'The council recognises and acknowledges the contribution made by such local communities through its annual burial ground maintenance grant scheme, which is administered by each district.
'In particular, it appreciates the contribution of Cullen Tidy Towns Association to the upkeep of the burial ground located in the village. It also appreciates the genesis of the notice of motion.'
However, the implementation of the request would present a number of issues, continued management. In the interest of water conservation, it has not been the practice of the council to retrofit water taps in its suite of burial grounds throughout the county.
The provision of the requested water tap would necessitate an application to Uisce Éireann for a water connection, with the consequential payment of a connection fee and an annual consumption charge - and no provision has been made in Budget 2025 for such expenditure.
Additionally, 'the precedent created by the installation of a water tap at Cullen Burial Ground would lead to requests for similar provision at other burial grounds in the county and Councillor O'Heney will accept that this course of action would be problematic and prohibitively expensive.'
ADVERTISEMENT
'I regret that I cannot be more positive in my reply but I have no doubt that Councillor O'Heney, and the other elected members of Tipperary Cahir Cashel District, will understand the situation which I have outlined above.'
Independent Cllr Liam Browne asked that the footpath extending from New Inn village, adjacent to the R639 towards Cashel, on the left hand side of the road, be extended from its current position, up to the 100kmh speed limit sign. The current stone path that leads out to the speed limit was installed a few years ago, through agreement with the local tidy towns, came the reply.
'To upgrade this length of path with a suitable material would be a significant cost, however, it may be something that can be looked at in the future if adequate funding comes available.'
SF Cllr Anne Marie Ryan Shiner requested that the district upgrade the footpaths in St John's Famine Graveyard in Tipperary town. The motion was seconded by Cllr John Crosse.
The St John's Famine Graveyard Voluntary Committee have spent many years looking after the famine graveyard and now need assistance from the local authority to renovate the footpaths, said Cllr Ryan.
Cllr Ryan also asked that the local authority take in charge the famine graveyard as it is currently without official ownership since the dissolution of the former Board of Guardians. 'The committee would like it noted that they appreciate the recent efforts by Tipperary County Council to ascertain ownership status of the graveyard.'
Cllr Ryan has met with Denis Holland and other officials to take in charge the cemetery, and Mr Holland is working on progressing that. Unfortunately, the graveyard has become a short cut on the way from the hills to Tesco, increasing wear and tear on the footpaths.
The municipal district, environment department and St John's Famine Graveyard Committee are in on-going discussions to resolve all of the issues, management replied. 'As soon as a suitable funding stream is identified an application will be made for funding to address the footpaths.'
Cllr Ryan said all those funding streams have been explored and none have been suitable, and appealed to the district and environment section to fund repairs directly.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Diary of a Gen Z Student: Yeah, no... I'm grand, I will yeah — and other quirks of Hiberno-English
Diary of a Gen Z Student: Yeah, no... I'm grand, I will yeah — and other quirks of Hiberno-English

Irish Examiner

time11 hours ago

  • Irish Examiner

Diary of a Gen Z Student: Yeah, no... I'm grand, I will yeah — and other quirks of Hiberno-English

Some people say there is no such thing as direct translation. Because it's not possible to wholly reproduce a language, region, dialect, historical epoch, culture, atmosphere and so on. For example, there's no word for 'yes' or 'no' in Irish. But the language functions perfectly fine without them. This is all information I know and understand. Despite that, I often forget that speaking my version of English to people who have grown up with their own version will cause some difficulty. This has been brought into focus for me lately as I am visiting my sisters in Australia. Further to that dilemma, I have an incessant desire to fit in with locals whenever I travel abroad. That requires a serious amount of Google and ChatGPT searches before my flight touches down. I want to be ready for anything. Of course, it never really works. My pitiful attempts at another language just ooze tourist. Bookending 'Can I have a cappuccino?' with 'bonjour' and 'merci' isn't going to convince anyone, I have learned. I thought I would get away without any miscommunication in Australia. Sure it's an English-speaking country. We speak the same language. However, in practice, I am coming to understand just how much a language barrier exists between English speakers around the world. Not that it's a major issue, but I have found myself having to repeat and rephrase some of my Irish-isms whenever I'm conversing with an Australian. It's fair enough, if you ask me. A lot of our phrasing doesn't make a whole lot of sense, if you've not heard it before. Hibernian English is what we call it, but speaking gibberish is what everyone else seems to hear. This language barrier first became apparent to me in an airport in Melbourne. A little dishevelled, needing sleep but settling for caffeine, I walked up to a bar and said: 'You don't do coffee?'. A simple enough question, to my mind. But to the poor Australian man behind the counter, I had just greeted him with a statement, telling him that he does not serve coffee. The confused look on his face as he said 'Would you like coffee?' told me that maybe my question hadn't been as clear as I thought. In fairness to the guy, I hadn't asked a question, but merely given the impression of an inquiry. So I tried to summon some standard grammar: 'Yes… do you serve coffee here?' And we were golden. Soon enough, I was sipping an oat milk cappuccino and waiting to board my next flight. Another confusing habit Irish people tend to have is our apparent inability to directly answer a question. It's rare that you'll get a clean cut 'yes' or 'no' from me. Of course, in Ireland, the lack of coherence is grand. We understand how nuts we are. I can greet a magpie and everyone will know that I'm just warding off death. Obviously. We also know that when someone says 'no yeah', we mean 'yes'. And when someone says 'yeah no', we mean 'no'. Also, if someone says 'I will yeah', what they're really saying is 'not a chance'. I could go on, but you know what I'm getting at. It's all pretty intuitive for us. We go off vibes. And that does us perfectly well. It only becomes a problem when you're trying to communicate with someone who's never heard of In a restaurant in Melbourne, I was told that they had run out of the flavoured coffee I ordered. Not a problem. They asked if I would like to try an alternative flavour. Again, thinking I had mastered Aussie-ness, I said 'no yeah, that's perfect.' The waitress staring blankly in response, illuminated the havoc I was wreaking on this nice woman. Rephrasing to 'yes, I'll try that' got things straightened out. But it is only as I continually confuse other English speakers with my Hibernian English habits, that I'm realising just how odd our phrasing can be. Fluent English speakers look at me with confusion when I think I couldn't be clearer. Basically, until I work out how to translate our terribly confusing turns-of-phrase, my chances of appearing local in Australia are not looking good. I've been trying my best, seriously. But there's only so much I can ask ChatGPT before my laptop combusts. Maybe this just is 'a me problem with a Duolingo solution'. Who knows anymore. And if you need this column translated, let me know. I won't be able to help, but I'm interested, all the same.

‘You don't have to be in crisis to call', says Dublin Samaritans volunteer
‘You don't have to be in crisis to call', says Dublin Samaritans volunteer

Irish Independent

timea day ago

  • Irish Independent

‘You don't have to be in crisis to call', says Dublin Samaritans volunteer

'I won't lie, it was daunting,' she said. 'But once I got into it, I felt prepared. The training is just phenomenal. You're never left to do it alone.' Sharon, who works as an HR Generalist with DHL Express, only became a volunteer at the end of last year. But already, it's changed the shape of her life. 'I'd always seen myself as a caring person, but after I took part in a 'Learn to Listen' workshop through work, something clicked. 'I just thought, this is what I want to do. Within a week, I'd signed up to volunteer.' Now, she gives three hours a week to the service, plus a night shift every couple of months. 'It just fits in. I schedule it in like anything else. Honestly, every time I finish a shift, I walk out with a sense of warmth. Like yeah, I did something that mattered today.' Today marks the charity's annual 24/7 Awareness Day, and Sharon helped coordinate something bigger: the delivery of 24 native Irish trees to all Samaritans branches across Ireland, north and south. The Tree of Hope project, a collaboration between Samaritans, Coillte and DHL Express, sees native Irish trees delivered to each of the 24 Samaritans branches as a gesture of unity and resilience. 'Nobody plants a tree without hope,' said Mary McMahon, Volunteer Director of Dublin Samaritans. 'It's a powerful reminder that no matter what's happening, life can grow from even the hardest ground.' This is the first time all 24 branches have come together in a single nationwide initiative. The trees were delivered in time for July 24, a date chosen to reflect the service's commitment to being available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. 'We're literally delivering hope,' Sharon said. 'That's what these trees represent. 'It's all connected – our 24-hour delivery network, Samaritans' 24-hour helpline, and our shared value of being there for people, no matter what.' Last year, 470,000 calls were answered by Samaritans volunteers across Ireland, up from 400,000 the year before. That's an average of 1,500 calls every single day. More than 6,800 calls in 2024 were diverted to 116 123 when other organisations were shut, underlining the 24/7 support the service provides. 'Strong emotions don't clock off at 5pm,' Ms McMahon said. 'We get calls at every hour, from people in distress, people who are worried about someone else, or just people who need to feel heard. We're here. Always.' To mark 24/7 Awareness Day in the capital, Dublin Samaritans presented a native Irish tree to the Deputy Lord Mayor, councillor John Stephens, at the Mansion House. The tree was then planted in St Stephen's Green, where it will remain as a public reminder of connection and support. If you're looking for support, the Samaritans can be contacted by email jo@ or call 116123

Striking new artwork unveiled in Tipperary to celebrate town's legacy
Striking new artwork unveiled in Tipperary to celebrate town's legacy

Irish Independent

timea day ago

  • Irish Independent

Striking new artwork unveiled in Tipperary to celebrate town's legacy

Beelines, a new sculpture, has been unveiled on the main road into Clonmel, and is inspired by Clonmel's association with bees and honey making. The Tipperary town is known as the Vale of Honey, and the new artwork marking this has been installed on the N24 Cahir Road Roundabout, Ballingarrane, Clonmel. Designed by artist Kevin Killen, the artwork uses cold rolled metal steel tubes to arrange a distinctive pattern that symbolises the energetic flight patterns of bees to create a contemporary flower-like form on a silver stem. Funded by Tipperary County Council and the Office of Public Works (OPW), the sculpture will act as a permanent gateway to the town of Clonmel, changing colours throughout the seasons as the light changes, and will be complemented with wildflowers that are planted by the Clonmel Borough District. Based in Belfast, artist Kevin Killen obtained a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from the Surrey Institute of Art and Design University College, and completed specialist training in neon making in Dallas, Texas in 2009. His current practice focusses on capturing moments in time, representing life and people's journeys as snapshots of moments, which are often site-specific.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store