North Tipp villagers 'deeply frustrated' with works delay

THE long-suffering, extremely patient, villagers of Carrigahorig were said to be “deeply frustrated” with the ongoing delay of their promised works, during a recent meeting.
Cllr Michael O'Meara told a monthly meeting of Nenagh Municipal District in Nenagh Civic Offices that he and other members of the Council had a meeting with locals in Carrigahorig a couple of weeks previously, “which gave the local authority a very strong idea of what is needed there. The locals are very worried that the project has been stalled over the last year.
"We need to see action on the ground. Many people are concerned about the project's future timeline. As a local authority we need to do our best to keep the locals fully up to date and informed,” the Cllr said
Cllr O'Meara pointed out that the funding for the works will be coming from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). With that in mind he asked for an update from a meeting held with TII the previous week.
Liam Brett, Director of Services, told Cllr O'Meara that the project is a priority but “we don't have the funding in place yet.”
The meeting was told that the local group will meet the Council Executive during the next few weeks.
Traffic speeding has been a persistent problem in the village for many years, with some residents describing it as "excessive".
There have been a number of accidents due to the speeding. In one incident a few years ago a car struck the front door of a house.
Parts of the N65 road in and around Carrigahorig are also prone to flooding, which exacerbates traffic problems. A road improvement scheme to improve the speeding and flooding issues has been promised for several years.
In November 2024 the go-ahead was given for improvement works including bus stops, new footpaths, a new pedestrian crossing and a junction realignment. The works will cost €1.6 million.
A preliminary design has been carried out by consultants.
Part 8 planning permission has been granted and the consultants can now do a detailed design.
It is hoped that this detailed design work will start in early 2026.
“We are hoping TII will grant the funding in February or March,” commented Cllr O'Meara. “There is no reason it shouldn't happen.”
Work has been carried out on an attenuation pond in the village. This pond filters the water before it goes into the local river.
Cllr O'Meara said the improvement works might start in early 2027.
Another problem in the locality is flooding incidents at the N65 junction to Lorrha in Ballyquirk townland.
This flooding happens when Lough Derg rises significantly during severe flooding events. The most recent flooding events took place in 2019, 2015/2016 and 2009.
Cllr O'Meara told the Tribune that it's possible that the threat of flooding at the Ballyquirk junction has lessened in the last few years.
“I think the ESB are managing Ardnacrusha better, which means the threat of flooding at that junction is less,” he said.

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