Tipperary

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This article is about the Irish town of Tipperary. For other uses, see Tipperary (disambiguation)

Tipperary
Tiobraid Árann

Location

WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates:
52.474416° N 8.161983° W

Irish Grid Reference
R889358

Statistics

166 m (544 ft)

Population (2002)
- Town:
- Rural:

4,546
418

Tipperary (Irish: Tiobraid Árann) is a town in the south-west of County Tipperary, Ireland with a population of c.5,000 within the urban environs.

The town is a medieval foundation and became a centre of population in the reign of King John. Its ancient fortifications have disappeared but its central area is characterised by a large built environment with wide streets radiating from the principal thoroughfare of Main Street. There are two impressive historical monuments in the Main Street, namely the bronze statue of Charles Kickham, poet and patriot and the 'Maid of Erin' statue erected to commemorate the Irish patriots, Allen, Larkin and O'Brien, historically known as the "Manchester Martyrs". These monuments are a reminder of the important part played by the people of the town and district in Ireland's struggle for self-determination. The first engagement of the Irish War of Independence took place at nearby Solloghead Beg quarry on 19 January 1921 when Dan Breen and Seán Treacy led a group of volunteers in an attack on members of the Royal Irish Constabulary who were transporting gelignite.

It is often mistaken as the county capital, which is not the case as the county was divided into two council areas in 1898, North Tipperary and South Tipperary, with administrative centres of Nenagh and Clonmel respectively. However, it has a large agricultural catchment area in West County Tipperary and East County Limerick and was historically a market town of some significance. It still boasts an extensive butter-making and milk processing industry today. The town is situated on the N24 route between Limerick and Waterford and has a railway station on a line following the same route, but has an infrequent service. However, the nearby station of Limerick Junction has full services to Cork City and Dublin in addition to Limerick and Waterford.

Welcoming signs on roads entering the town quip "You've come a long way..." in reference to the World War I - era song written by Harry Williams and Jack Judge "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" popular among the British military as a marching song. However, with distance from home the over-riding theme, local people prefer the old song of remembrance "Tipperary so far away" which commemorates one of its famous sons, Seán Treacy, who died at the hands of British forces in Talbot Street, Dublin in October, 1920.

The town was the site of a large military barracks of the British army in the 50 years before Irish Independence and served as a military hospital during World War I. On September 30, 2005, Her Excellency, Mrs. Mary McAleese, President of Ireland, in a gesture of reconciliation, unveiled the newly refurbished Memorial Arch of the barracks in the presence of several ambassadors and foreign emissaries, military attaches and town dignitaries; a detachment of the Local Defence Force, the Number 1 Irish Army Band and various ex-service organisations paraded. In a rare appearance, the Royal Munster Fusiliers banner was carried to mark the occasion. However, given the notoriety of the place in the folk memory, there was only a small representation of townspeople in attendance. The Arch is the only remaining porch of what was the Officers mess and has panels mounted bearing the names of fallen members of the Irish Defence Forces (on United Nations service), and American, Australian and United Kingdom armed services. The area surrounding the edifice is beautifully landscaped.