Gambling on its Future

The name is Burghéis a dá mhíle of which Two Mile Borris in County Tipperary is so called because located two Irish miles from the town of Thurles (an Irish mile, a measure commonly in use until the 19th century, was just over a quarter longer than its English equivalent). A common place name in Ireland, Borris (Buirgheas) is thought to derive from the Norman for burgage or borough. This tower house, which probably dates from the 16th century, now sits in the middle of a farmyard behind a local guesthouse.
Its future could be open to question because bizarrely, in 2011 the local authority (and indeed An Bord Pleanála, the national planning authority) granted permission for construction in Two Mile Borris of ‘The Tipperary Venue’. This scheme was intended to feature a casino, a racecourse, a 500-roomed hotel, an 18-hole golf course, a greyhound track, a 15,000-seater entertainment venue, and parking for 6,000 cars. Other features included a sprint track, an all-weather floodlit track, an equestrian centre, a replica of the White House (originally designed by James Hoban, who was born in neighbouring County Kilkenny) parking space of 6,000 cars. The project faltered due to a decline in the economy, but also because the proposed casino did not conform to Ireland’s current gambling legislation. But at least part of it may yet be constructed: two years ago Tipperary Co Council agreed to extend the duration time applicable to the planning permission until March 2023.

3 comments on “Gambling on its Future

  1. Vincent Delany says:

    The original proposal was utterly unsustainable and unjustifiable.

  2. Bob Frewen says:

    Shame on TippCoCo to extend planning to 2023!
    To put the Borris casino complex in perspective, in the 1840’s my ancestor (also a Robert Frewen) founded the annual Tipperary Races at our family home, Baronstown House, near Limerick Junction which was the then ‘centre’ of Ireland due to the nascent railway network. Its June meeting was one of Ireland’s major annual sporting events, with clauses written into farm servants’ contracts allowing time off for attendance. Despite special trains from Dublin and Cork being laid on by the railway companies, the biggest ‘gate’ over the two day June meeting between 1847 and the 1920’s rarely surpassed 5,000. That is enough to feed a few slot machines, which is probably all the Borris promoters really want.

  3. Dear lord that proposal sounds shocking!

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