Tipperary Year in Review 2018: Snow, sun, lotto luck and the return of Feile

JANUARY

The music world came to a standstill on January 15 as news broke of the untimely death of rock star Dolores O’Riordan in London. In 1994, the Cranberries frontwoman married Don Burton in Holycross attracting a slew of photographers, journalists and celebrities to the Tipperary village in what has since been heralded as one of the most unconventional weddings to ever take place at the historical abbey.

READ MORE: Dolores O'Riordan: Tipperary remembers the day a rock icon came to town

Presentation Thurles see off Coachford in a pulsating Munster Senior A Camogie Colleges Championship final (3-5 to 0-12) at Ballyagran in Limerick - captain Anna Gavin collected the cup on behalf of her delighted teammates.

Kilfeacle & District RFC narrowly lost the Ulster Bank All-Ireland Junior Cup final to hot favourites Ashbourne (9-18) in Portlaoise.

FEBRUARY

War on drugs: Figures released at a Tipperary Joint Policing Committee meeting reveal that drug detections rose by an average of 55 percent in the county. The figures also show that the number of grow houses discovered by gardai rose by a whopping 100 percent.

A new charitable trust is established to support a Holycross family whose two children were diagnosed with serious illnesses. The Helen and Sean Gleeson Trust is launched to help provide funding for their care.

Thurles Sarsfields won the All-Ireland Junior B Hurling Championship thanks to a final win over Kilnadeema (2-11 to 1-13) in Killeedy (Limerick).

The discovery of a WWII hand grenade causes chaos in Thurles after a Mills 36 model is found in a wall near Rosemount Estate. Nearby residents in the area had to be evacuated while members from the army bomb disposal unit carry out a controlled explosion on the device which is believed to have dated back several decades.

The historical Black Castle on Liberty Square is purchased by Sir Timothy Maher and his American born wife Dr Phyllis Maher with plans to return the home of Lady Thurles to its former glory with a €2 million investment. 

Borrisokane accordian player Keelan McGrath becomes the youngest person ever to win the famed Sean O’Riada Gold Medal competition 

Peake Villa require extra-time before getting the better of Thurles Town (3-2) in the fifth round of the Munster Junior Cup - a Michael Wade penalty settled the issue after a thriller between these local rivals.

A series of horrific acts of cruelty towards horses in Tipperary leads to mounting calls for a designated horse warden for the county. 

Presentation Thurles are crowned FAI Schools National Cup champions following a 2-0 final win over Donegal's Moville Community College - Aoibheann Clancy and Eamma O'Sullivan belted in the goals at Home Farm FC in Dublin.

MARCH

The big freeze of 2018: The Beast from the East brings the country to a halt in March

The Tipperary Star reveals that some 14 garda stations are not connected to the Garda Pulse system as a result of poor or or non-existent broadband.

Tipperary is frozen in time as the Beast from the East halts schools, businesses and transportation services across the country. The heavy snowfall caused chaos throughout Tipperary as the county came to a standstill with some areas reporting more than five feet of snow. 

READ MORE: Tipperary family set records with 17ft tall ‘Beast from the East’ snowman

There’s a welcome jobs boost for Cashel In March after Rockshel Pharma - a nutritional and health supplement production plant - announce plans to invest €14 million in the town, creating upwards of 200 jobs. 

Unfortunately just days later, the Bord na Mona briquette factory at Littleton closes its doors for the final time resulting in the loss of 120 full and part time jobs.

The HSE in the Mid West confirms that it has initiated a review of certain historic files at St. Anne’s Service, Roscrea. These files, which date from the early 1980’s up until 2010, are reviewed as part of an assurance process. 

Tributes are paid to popular Bansha musician and singer Sam O’Doherty, affectionately known as Big Sam, after he passes away on March 24.

APRIL

Just weeks before thousands take to the roads of the premier county for Darkness into Light, figures released from Pieta House show a 24 percent hike in calls from people in Tipperary over the previous 12 months. 

The Tipperary senior hurling team loses the Allianz National Hurling League final following a poor showing against Kilkenny at Nowlan Park in Kilkenny (2-17 to 2-23).

Thurles Town win a second successive North Tipperary & District League Premier Division title when holding off the stern challenge of Blackcastle Templemore Harps.

Thurles born chef Paula Stakelum is ranked among the top eight pastry chefs in the world after competing at the Valrhona Patisserie series in Paris. The Ashford Castle chef will go on to represent Ireland at the world C3 competition in October, 2018.

Feile fever grips the country following the announcement that the famed festival will return to Semple Stadium as Feile Classical. Featuring many former Feile headlining acts, tickets for the weekend event sell out within a matter of minutes.

MAY

Former Tipperary hurling captain Ger 'Redser' O'Grady and his Thurles Sarsfield club colleague Gary Loughnane, a nephew of the late great Jimmy Doyle, are celebrated as heroes for their efforts to save the life of a cardiac arrest victim in Thurles after performing CPR on the victim for up to 30 minutes while waiting for emergency services to arrive.

Tipperary, in tandem with the rest of the country, records an emphatic ‘yes’ vote in the referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment to the constitution. 

Tipperary were crowned Lidl National Ladies Football League Division Two champions on a blisteringly hot day at Parnell Park in Dublin, but only after a decider against Cavan which was absolutely packed full of excruciating drama (0-21 to 3-11).

READ MORE: Tipperary ladies football team crowned champions following dramatic league final

Thurles CBS are crowned All-Ireland under-14A hurling champions thanks to a final win over Limerick’s Árdscoil Rís (1-13 to 1-9) at Seán Treacy Park in Tipperary Town.

The world of showjumping mourn the passing of Cashel legend Tommy Wade. Mr Wade, who rode the famous Dundrum to many national and international triumphs, passes away at the age of eighty following a short illness. 

JUNE

Borrisoleigh receives a welcome jobs boost after Oscar Wilde Water moves into the former C&C bottling plant on Pallas Street. The company, which produces premium bottled water, says it will create up to 100 jobs in the town. 

Following a loss suffered at the hands of Clare (1-21 to 1-23) at Semple Stadium, Thurles the Tipperary senior hurlers exit the championship without winning a game.

Thurles is officially named Ireland’s luckiest town after a 32 person syndicate from Stakelum’s Home and Hardware  collect a mega €17 million cheque following their Euromillions win this month. 

Lotto fever grips Tipperary after a 32 member syndicate from Thurles collect a mega €17 million cheque following their Euromillions win

Tipperary musical societies are feted at the annual AIMS awards with Clonmel, Carrick-on-Suir, Thurles and Tipperary all picking up gongs at the INEC in Killarney. 

Fianna Fail Councillor Matty Ryan makes history by becoming the first and only councillor to be elected chairman of two separate local authorities in the same week. 

Mr Ryan is elected as the Chairman of Nenagh Municipal District  Council and Chairman of Tipperary County Council within a five day period.

Following a loss suffered at the hands of Clare (1-21 to 1-23) at Semple Stadium, Thurles the Tipperary senior hurlers exit the championship without winning a game.

JULY

Tommy Dunne’s Tipperary minor hurlers collect a 40th provincial crown on behalf of the Premier County when beating Limerick 1-20 to 1-12 in the final at Semple Stadium, Thurles.

Colin O'Riordan makes his Australian Football League debut for the Sydney Swans when the Templemore man featured in the Swans' 104-98 victory over the North Melbourne Kangeroos.

Moyne Athletic Club celebrate the club’s 70th anniversary on a day which will live long in the memory for Moyne AC.

Fianna Fail Councillor Sean Ryan is unanimously elected Chairman of the Templemore Thurles Municipal District Council AGM.

A new tourist group for mid Tipperary is launched in July, bringing together ten of the most popular attractions in the region and promoting them as one co-operative. 

Nenagh Castlefest is a roaring success as thousands turn out for the three day festival of music, food and fun.

As temperatures continue to soar, a gorse fire rages out of control between Glengoole and Littleton. The fire requires 28 brave fire fighters to bring it under control. 

A new policy by Templemore Garda Training College to source much of its food and other items from national or international suppliers instead of local producers is met with anger and protests in July. The protest is a consequence of the National Procurement Policy which decrees that the College awards contracts to the lowest tender, based on price. 

A short break in the summer sunshine does little to dampen spirits at the annual Cut Loose Festival in Holycross.

A significant fish kill on the Ollatrim River, outside Nenagh, results in 14,749 dead fish along a 5km stretch of river. The species affected include brown trout, lamprey, stoneloach, minnow, salmon, crayfish and stickleback.

AUGUST

On August 2 Tipperary senior hurling manager Michael Ryan and his management team resigned.

Nenagh TD Alan Kelly, who spearheaded the cause of women affected by the cervical cancer check scandal, slams Taoiseach Leo Varadkar response to the controversy saying he needs to come “out of hiding and speak to the nation.”  

There is outrage as news emerges that five post offices are set to close in Ballingarry, Clogheen, Gortnahoe, Littleton and Templetouhy. 

The shopping landscape of Liberty Square, Thurles is hit with a devastating blow after Heatons announce plans to close in the Autumn following nearly 40 years of trading in the town.

Farmers in Tipperary call on the Minister for Agriculture to take action as the fodder crisis intensifies. Local farmers call on Minister Creed to take action by making low cost interest loans available to farmers as quickly as possible as hay and silage prices rise to over €40 per bale. 

19,433 days after it was supposed to have been returned to the branch library in Thurles, a book about Fr Theobald Mathew finally finds its way back to the service, some 53 years late.

The date Sunday, August 26 2018 will live long in the memory of blue and gold supporters for on that famous day a Tipperary team managed by Liam Cahill beat Cork (3-13 to 1-16) in the All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship final at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick. Tipperary, of course, regrouped following a harrowing defeat suffered at the hands of the Rebels in the Munster final (1-13 to 2-23).

SEPTEMBER

An extraordinary Durlas Óg under-14 panel of players performed a clean sweep in 2018 when the Thurles lads won the county under-14A hurling title, under-14A football title, Féile Peil na nÓg title, Féile na nGael title and also came within a whisker of beating Turloughmore (Galway) in the All-Ireland Féile na nGael final. It is worth noting, of course, that Durlas Óg also won the county under-16A hurling and football double this season.

Kilruane MacDonagh's, led by brothers Liam and Eamonn O'Shea, won the North Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship for the first time in twenty-eight years (1990) when seeing off the challenge of favourites Kiladangan (0-19 to 0-12) at MacDonagh Park in Nenagh.

Feile Classical in Semple Stadium PICTURE: Eamonn McGee

Liam Sheedy is appointed manager of the Tipperary senior hurling team - the Portroe man is later joined on the management team by Tommy Dunne (Toomevara) and Darragh Egan (Kiladangan).

Over 20,000 music fans make their way to Thurles for the reimagined Feile Classical festival featuring much of the original line up. The event is a sell out success with an announcement that the festival will return again in 2019 made the following December. 

OCTOBER

Tipperary town makes national headlines when 5,000 locals take to the streets in protest against shop closures, dilapidated buildings and roads, high unemployment and under-investment, along with what they see as years of neglect by politicians. The March4Tipp continues to gather momentum over the following weeks leading to a second rally organised for November, 2018.

Fashion designer Louise Kennedy is awarded the President's Prize at the County Tipperary Business Awards 2018. 

Thanks to an outstanding performance Clonoulty-Rossmore beat Nenagh Éire Óg (0-23 to 2-13) in the Tipperary Water County Senior Hurling Championship final to re-claim the Dan Breen Cup for the first time in twenty-one years. 

READ MORE: 5,000 people rally to save Tipperary town in #March4Tipp campaign

On October 28 there was a delirious out-pouring of joy at Clonoulty when a ravenous Solohead side retrieved a six-point deficit before seeing off Moyne-Templetuohy in the Tipperary Water County Junior B Football Championship final (0-11 to 0-9) - captain Noel Kennedy had the honour of collecting the Dr Marsh Cup from Football Board chairman Barry O’Brien and in doing so the West outfit won the club’s first adult county football title.

Thurles Sarsfields beat Cashel King Cormacs 1-16 to 0-16 in the Tipperary Water County Intermediate Hurling Championship final - the Blues now have two senior hurling teams.

READ MORE: Sensational Thurles Sarsfields comeback stuns Cashel in Tipperary intermediate hurling final

Burgess-Duharra win a seventh successive county senior Camogie title when beating Clonoulty-Rossmore in the final (2-20 to 0-8).

The Mid Tipperary divisions collected the county minor A and B hurling titles when Moycarkey-Borris and Drom & Inch saw off the challenge of Cappawhite Gaels and Knockavilla Kickhams respectively.

Loughmore-Castleiney win the Mid Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship final against Thurles Sarsfields after a replay (2-21 to 1-21) in Templetuohy.

Moyne-Templetuohy beat Golden-Kilfeacle in the county intermediate football championship final at Semple Stadium, Thurles (1-18 to 2-11).

Moyle Rovers return to the summit of Tipperary club football for the first time since 2009 when beating Ardfinnan 1-15 to 1-7 in the county senior football final.

The Order of Malta in Thurles toasts 70 years of service in the local community. 

Housing standoff deepens at Cabra: Tipperary County Council announce that they will not provide additional land at Cabra, Thurles to house horses for members of the travelling community who are due to take up residence in a new €1.7 million development opposite their current location on Cabra Bridge. 

In October, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, is on hand to launch a €22.2 million BEACON Bioeconomy Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre in Lisheen which promises to help “unlock huge potential for job creation, innovation and the future.”

Former Tipperary players Lar Corbett, Brendan Cummins, and Paddy Stapleton at the launch of the Tipperary v Kilkenny: The Legends Return — a benefit match for Amanda Stapleton

NOVEMBER

The results from the Tipperary Count Centre show a 48.39 percentage turnout of voters for the county in the Aras 2018 Presidential Elections. Some 24,917 voters in the county turned out to cast their first preference vote for current President Michael D. Higgins while Peter Casey registered 20,149 votes. Thurles came to be at the centre of Casey’s Presidential bid following his controversial comments over the standoff between some traveller families at Cabragh and the Council’s over their decision not to move into social housing. 

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is awarded the Tipperary Peace Prize. 

JK Bracken's complete an extraordinary treble - the Mid Tipperary club won the county minor A football championship when beating Cahir in the decider (3-9 to 1-13), won the county under-21A football championship for the first time when they saw off the challenge of Moyle Rovers in the final (1-5 to 0-7) and also won the county junior A football championship when JK Bracken's got the better of Ballylooby-Castlegrace in the decider (0-7 to 0-6).

The Boherlahan-Dualla club completed an extraordinary double when winning the county junior A and B hurling championships - in the A final Boherlahan-Dualla required extra-time before getting the better of Skeheenarinky while in the B the Mid Tipperary club beat Mullinahone (3-19 to 0-9).

Tipperary singer songwriter Shane McGowan weds longtime partner Victoria Mary Clarke in Copenhagen surrounded by family and friends including Hollywood actor Johnny Depp.

Clonoulty-Rossmore’s Cáit Devane scooped an All-Star award on behalf of Tipperary Camogie - Devane, the leading scorer in this year’s inter-county championship, was named at full-forward on the Camogie All-Star team and duly became the first Premier County player to be so honoured since 2011.

Thurles CBS beat De La Salle Waterford 1-9 to 0-7 to win the Dean Ryan Cup final - Thurles CBS are crowned Munster under-16.5A hurling champions for the 14th time and have also placed provincial titles back-to-back at the grade.

A new creative hub at Birdhill, County Tipperary announces major plans to create up to 300 jobs through a not-for-profit enterprise Digicontainer which aims to develop and expand the creative sector in the Midwest.

Timmy Hammersley and John Devane pictured celebrating Clonoulty-Rossmore's win over Nenagh Éire Óg in the county senior hurling final at Semple Stadium, Thurles PICTURE: Eamonn McGee

DECEMBER

The new Liam Sheedy era gets off to an encouraging start when Tipperary beat Limerick (2-17 to 4-14) in the opening round of the Munster Hurling League at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick.

There is widespread excitement in Thurles this month following the announcement that the Erin Foods site has been earmarked for a €24 million cash injection after planning is lodged for a new Lidl superstore and   Business Innovation Centre. 

Clonoulty-Rossmore cap a fabulous year for the West men when beating Thurles Sarsfields 2-12 to 1-12 to win the county under-21A hurling championship for the first time in their history.