Yesteryears: Vandalism at the historic St Patrick's Well just outside Clonmel

This week for our Yesteryears series we go back 30 years to August 22, 1992. Our lead story that week, by Michael Heverin, related to vandalism at the historic St Patrick’s Well just outside Clonmel.

Chairman of the St Patrick’s Day Society, PJ Long, described how the amenity was being used as a toilet with human excrement found floating in the water or along the ledge around the well.

Used condoms were also being found by the caretaker when he arrived in the morning. A gate on the church was ripped off its hinges while brickwork was also hammered out of the church walls.

Also that week, then editor Tom Corr, wrote about the final preparations that were being made for Clonmel’s staging of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann the following week, with 7,000 people already booked into accommodation in the town.

Fleadh ’92 was expected to generate revenue of at least £7 million locally.

In another front page story the Environment Minister Michael Smith shut the door on South Tipperary County Council’s plan to site a new Clonmel dump at Ballypatrick.

The article stated that officials were now likely to consider a single high-tech dump for the entire county at an alternative site.

Olympic gold medallist Michael Carruth was on his first official visit outside of Dublin since his victory in the boxing ring of Barcelona when he was due to attend that weekend’s Hot Rod meeting at the Racetrack in Rosegreen.

Racetrack director Pat Maher said they were “thrilled to get the best known sportsman in the country,” for the event.

Heartiest congratulations were being extended to Mrs Veronica Crowe (née White) of 45 Davitt Street Tipperary on the birth of her baby girl at Limerick Regional Hospital, on Monday, August 17, 1992.

In a high-speed dash to Limerick, being driven by her brother-in-law, Pat Jones, the expectant mother was met on the outskirts of the city by a Garda Patrol team and escorted through the busy city to make it just in time for safe delivery at the hospital.