The Irish government have implemented further social restrictions in an effort to combat Covid-19. Any non-essential movement beyond your home is limited to a 2km radius for exercise.
This BOUNDRY MAP (click to enlarge) below will give you an idea of a 2km radius from Fethard Town Centre. To get an exact idea of 2km from your own home there is also an online site that will show you the radius from your home by draging a pin to your exact location on the map for a precise measurement from your door. FIND YOUR OWN AREA TO EXCERCISE
If the map doesn't show; enable location services on your phone and for your browser, allow the site permission to your access your location.
Clocks go forward this weekend!
Don’t forget to set your clocks forward by one hour at 1am on this coming Sunday morning, March 29, officially the start of Summer Time, also called 'Spring Forward' and 'Daylight Savings Time'. Sunrise and sunset will be about 1 hour later than the day before giving us more light in our evening time.
Covid-Update from Leo Varadkar For those taking excercise: 2 kilometres = 1.24 miles
Fethard Community Covid-19 Support Group
In light of the Covid-19 outbreak and the need for people to remain in self-isolation and social distancing, Fethard Community Support Group have organised a community delivery service to commence on Monday, March 30 (Subject to Garda Approval), which will enable vulnerable people and people at risk to stay in their own homes and have essential supplies from local grocery, butcher and pharmacy stores delivered to their doors by community volunteers.
Local volunteers may be needed to help in some of the areas. If you are available you might email your name, contact number and Area Number from list below to volunteer@fethard.info
The list of areas are printed below:
We also include a download link to the HSE's very helpful Covit-19 Information Booklet that has very valuable information to help us through this challenging time. DOWNLOAD HERE
Credit Union Opening Hours
In light of changing circumstances, Fethard Credit Union have temporarily amended our opening hours. We will continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds. Fethard Credit Union is, and will be, at the heart of the community as we all battle our way through the Covid-19 crisis. Thank you for your support.
Were there other ‘plagues’ in Fethard?
Fethard’s nationally important fifteenth century roof was identified by David Brown of the School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen’s University, Belfast, who presented the results of his sampling and laboratory analysis of the oak timbers of the roof of Holy Trinity Church on Saturday, August 20. 2011. Photographed on the occasion are L to R: Paul Price, Maura Ganey, Rev. Barbara Fryday, David Brown and Tim Robinson (Fethard Historical Society).
Now that the Corona plague is sweeping the land it makes us all wonder about a lot of things, and there sure are a lot of things to wonder about!
One of the less urgent, but still interesting things to think about is; have there been plagues in Fethard before? The answer is yes of course; for example, during the Great Famine years of 1845-1847 and also the so called ‘Spanish Flu’ during the later years of the First World War.
But a plaque that especially hit Fethard and other Norman towns of the time was the ‘bubonic plague’ of 1348-1350. This plague is better known as the ‘Black Death’ as it caused the deaths of huge numbers of people across Europe and changed the course of history over much of Ireland at the time. By a strange coincidence, the timbers of the medieval roof of old Holy Trinity Church trace their story back to the Black Death.
The story goes like this: 'Norman grain farmers, the rats, the fleas and the Plaque'
The Anglo-Norman soldiers and farmers who came to the Fethard area around 1200 AD and conquered the land from the native Irish were mainly tillage farmers who grew wheat, barley and legume crops such as peas and beans. They then set up and lived in the walled town of Fethard and of course they had to store their grain and as every farmer knows, when you store food you are going to have the rats come to visit you!
The rats carried the fleas and the fleas carried the bacterium ‘Yersinia Pestis’. The fleas bit the people and thus the town’s inhabitants got the disease and up to a third of the people died in many of the Anglo-Norman towns. The native Irish on the other hand lived scattered in the countryside and woodlands in their Liosanna (Fairy Forts) with their herds of cattle and very few of them died of the Plague. This meant that the native Irish made a big comeback and were able to gain back control of much of their old lands again.
Abandoned fields returned to oak woodland and timber used to roof the church.
Following the Black Death there was a big shortage of tillage workers, as a result of the death of so many Anglo-Norman farmers and labourers, with the result that much land around Fethard was abandoned and reverted naturally again to scrubland and finally to oak woodland. And it was these ‘new’ Oak trees that were cut down and used as the roofing timbers for the reroofing of Holy Trinity Church one hundred and forty years later in 1489.
Check out the Video
These oak roof timbers are all still in situ today, hidden between the ceiling and the present slated roof of old Holy Trinity Church. How this was all done is explained in a short video written by Paul Price and part funded by South Tipperary County Council Heritage Office in August 2011. The production of the animated film, facilitated by Fethard Historical Society, was completed in 2012 after samples of the roof timbers were sent to Queens University in Belfast for analysis and dating.
So one of the lessons learned from the ‘bubonic plague’ is; that plagues can change the course of history and also, as in the case of Fethard, can live on for many hundreds of years. – Terry Cunningham
Fethard & Killusty Community Lotto
The numbers drawn on Wednesday, March 18, were: 1, 10, 17 and 31. There was no jackpot winner and three ‘Match Three’ winners who received €50 each: Tanya Lawrence, Woodvale Walk, Fethard; Dorothy Connolly, The Green, Fethard; and Susan Sayers, Crampscastle, Fethard.
The following three ‘Lucky Dip’ winners received €50 each: Johanna Corbett, Canon Hayes Park, Fethard; Annette Quigley, Killenaule; and Joan O'Meara, The Green, Fethard.
Next week’s draw takes place on Wednesday, March 25. The Jackpot is €10,000 and the Jackpot seller’s prize is €1,000. All proceeds go towards community projects in Fethard, and we thank you for your on-going support.
Special Social Welfare Payment Arrangements
The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection have made special arrangements for Social Welfare Payments during the COVID-19 Outbreak. If you can circulate these to your members. Some of these measures include:
Post Office Payments will be available for collection for 90 days.
Weekly payments will change to fortnightly from this week. You will receive 1 payment to cover 2 weeks.
You can appoint a temporary agent to collect your weekly payment. Forms are available at some post offices and to download here if people would like to print off for their members.
The temporary agent must bring the form to the Post Office signed by the welfare recipient with the person's Public Service Card and a form of ID. A form must be signed each time the agent collects on behalf of someone.
All signing at Intreo offices has been suspended. More information is available on Department's Website
Michelle Nevin at the top of the horse racing game in USA
Congratulations to Michelle Nevin, a multiple Graded Stakes winning trainer based at Belmont Park, New York. Fethard born Michelle was recently interviewed by CNN correspondent Holly Firfer on, ‘What keeps Michelle Nevin at the top of the horse racing game?”
Michelle, daughter of Michael and Chris Nevin, is fast making a name for herself as one of the top horseracing trainers in the USA. Her love of horses, from the age of six, she attributes to her grandfather Dick Nevin and her father Michael who both trained and rode horses all their lives. Dick started training for Larry Keating in Fethard before opening his stables at Ballintemple, Fethard, where he was joined by his sons Michael and Richard.
Michelle Nevin, photographed some years ago with her parents at Baltimore, Maryland, USA. L to R: Chris Nevin, Michelle Nevin and Michael Nevin.
Michael and Chris opened and ran the successful ‘Gateway B&B’ in Fethard before moving to USA. Their daughter Michelle, now with fifty horses in her care, first started her training career at the very bottom, riding out for various trainers in the US. Taking advice from her father Michael, she was intent on ‘learning the trade’ fast. Michael told her that, “Not one trainer is right about everything, so you have to pick out the pieces that are good and put it all together to what suits you!”
Wise words indeed! Michelle, former assistant trainer to Rick Dutrow (junior), set out on her own in early 2013 at Gulfstream Park. Since then, she has won over 352 races including the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes with ‘By the Moon’. Her total racing life-earnings estimated on ‘EQUIBASE’ website is quoted as $18,140,321.
Michelle Nevin photographed with fellow pupils from Presentation Patrician Secondary School who took part in an exchange trip with the Lycee Professionnel in St. Aignan s/Cher in France in 1994.. Back L to R: David Fanning, Stephen Keane, Roger Daly, Lisa McCormack, Liam O’Sullivan, Thomas Bourke, Trevor Spillane and Pádraig Cloonan. Middle: Lee Anne Burke, Áine Cloonan, Laura Doyle, Gary Lonergan, Michael Bourke and Colin Lee. Front: Treasa Doocey, Shona Coen, Deirdre O’Meara, Michelle Nevin, Linda Blake and Jimmy Butler.
Fethard & Killenaule Youth Project
Fethard & Killenaule Youth Project would like to advise any young person who would like to get in touch with us to please use our YWIT Facebook page, as we are trying to ensure that we can continue to deliver quality youth work service even though we can’t currently use or open our buildings due to the coronavirus threat.
For the moment we will use our Facebook page to update our young people and their families with notifications about our Youth Centres and give contact information for our staff members, particularly during these unprecedented times! Thank you and best wishes to you all, – Karen, Shane and Tjasa.
A list of free, online, boredom-busting resources!
CLICK HERE (or image above) for a list of free resources supplied by ChatterPack on March 17, 2020, which you might like to share with others to keep children occupied while at home during this present situation of Coronavirus (Covid-19) prevention.
Heidi’s Happy Feet Fundraiser
The fundraising Coffee Morning in aid of the ‘Heidi’s Happy Feet’ due to be held in Fethard Convent Community Hall on March, 29, has unfortunately been cancelled as a precaution due to the present situation with Coronavirus (Covid-19). However, those wishing to donate to the cause can still do so on ‘Heidi’s Happy Feet’ GoFundMe page online.
Contact local Garda if you need help
If you have any concerns for the elderly or vulnerable people living alone or yourself, please contact An Garda Siochana at Clonmel at any time Tel: (052) 6177640. You may also contact local Garda Shane O’Neill at Fethard Station on Mobile: 085 8859244.
Faces and Places from the Past
The following are a selection of photographs of faces and places taken in our locality that may bring back memories to many of our readers and visitors to fethard.com Please send any comments or photo information, names and event, to fethardnews@gmail.com
These photographs were taken in August 1989 at a Fethard Community Games Fun Sports in the Barrack's Field.
Fethard Community Games Committee August 1989, Tom Marshall, Margaret O'Donnell, Canon James Power PP, Peggy Colville and Joe Keane. Below are some of the boys and girls taking part.
For Facebook members, many of these photos are also published on Fethard Faces and Places from the Past page. This Facebook page is used for sharing old Fethard photographs with members of the group and is open to anyone interested in joining.
Fethard News Items for inclusion on this website and on the weekly Fethard News page on The Nationalist can be emailed before noon on Mondays to fethardnews@gmail.com or delivered by hand to Joe Kenny, Rocklow Road, Fethard.
This site is maintained by Joe Kenny, Rocklow Road, Fethard, Co. Tipperary, Ireland.
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