Friday, 18.05.2007
Thurles, Co. Tipperary

THURLES

Thurles, birthplace of the GAA and home to the Feile rock festival phenomenon is a thriving town in the heart of County Tipperary. Built on the River Suir, Thurles has a population of about seven and a half thousand popeople and is a well-known racing and sporting centre.

Lár na Pairce is a local museum devoted to the GAA, while Hayes Hotel and nearby Holycross Abbey are all living monuments to the rich history of the place. Apart, of course, from Gaelic games there's soccer and rugby as well as greyhound and horse racing in sport-mad Thurles.

This Tipperary town is also a great place for education with a strong tradition in learning; the Ursuline Convent was founded in 1787 and the Christian Brothers School followed in 1800. The Pallatine College opened its doors in 1907 while Thurles Vocational School started up in 1928.

For futurists, there's the gleaming new campus of Tipperary Rural & Business Development Institute (TRBDI) built and opened in 1999. This classy, glassy campus houses National Diplomas in Sustainable Rural Development, Business Studies and Computer Software Development.

VEC courses ranging from software to needle-work can be found at Garmscoil Mhuire. Unlike most secondary schools, Scoil Mhuire offers third-level diplomas among its selection of night courses. Úna, the school secretary told Nightcourses.com that there's a course in Psychology, a City & Guilds in Engineering, (run in co-operation with the University of Limerick no less), and two well acclaimed computer courses - beginners and advanced. "We've got a full class on all courses", said Una. "On the other spectrum, then, we've got regular evening-classes in art and craft and an IPA child care course", she added. Many of the night-time teachers at Scoil Mhuire are also working there during the day, while lecturers travel from UL to take the engineering and computer engineering courses.

Once you're all trained up, there's plenty of jobs available in Thurles too. The town has a well-developed industrial sector that spans the agri-business area to modern high technology industries. Thurles has a well-esteemed tradition of building Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs.), and now the local TRBDI is there to partner this vibrant sector, especially in terms of student internships.

Local woman Marie Ryan, from Mitchell St reckons anyone living in her town has no shortage of evening course options. "The places with the best name for night courses are the Vocational School and the new TRBDI. I have friends who've been taking courses in those places and they're very happy with themselves" she told Nightcourses.com.

As well as the other modern institutions in Thurles, there's Colaiste Eile, an innovative institution in the heart of town which is there to provide learning opportunities for adults. For those jumping at a second chance, there's the regular Leaving Certificate subjects such as English, Irish, Maths, Geography, History, Home Economics and Business Organisation.

For anyone interested in a career in computers then there's courses at beginners and advanced levels covering Windows, DOS, Word Processing, Database, Spreadsheet, Finance, Publishing, and Internet.

On top of this special arrangements will be made for anyone needing other subjects according to Scoil Eile co-ordinator, Peig Hanafin. Peig can be contacted at Colaiste Eile Learning Centre, Slievenamon Road, Thurles, Co Tipperary. Tel. 0504 21166 or email coleile@iol.ie.

Finally, so that evening course takers in Thurles have no excuse, Thurles Public Library is open Monday to Saturday from 10am. You can phone the library on 0504 21555.

Also, note the TRBDI contact details: Tipperary Rural & Business Development Institute, Nenagh Road, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, Ireland. Tel. 0504 28000, Fax: 0504 28001.