The Limerick Blogger: latest Limerick news and Limerick events

Limerick Animal Welfare Officers and Gardai are said to be investigating claims that swans on the shannon are being captured to be eaten, reports the Limerick Chronicle.

Eastern European imigrants are being blamed for the dissappearance of the swans, which are are a protected species in Ireland. Swan meat is a delecacy in Eastern Europe.

Individuals are reported to be using fishing rods with bread attached to them as bait, to capture them.

This is not the first time that water fowl have become the victims of anti-social behaviour in Limerick. In July, a possible wipe out of ducks in Adare was blamed on hungry Eastern Europeans also, and in November 2004, members of the criminal fraternity were reported to have been using Limerick City’s swans as target practice.

There has been another death on Limerick roads today after a motorist was killed in a single vehicle collision near the village of Bothar in County Limerick.

Live 95fm reports that the crash occoured at approximately 1200 hrs. The car was discovered wrapped around a tree.

The dead motorist is said to be male.

Update: It turns out the car ran into a lorry and was not a single vehicle accident after all.

More evidence has emerged that terror suspects are passing through Shannon has been revealed today.

One of the world’s biggest terror suspects is to be on board a flight which is to refuel at Shannon in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

The full story is here.

Although it is doubtful that this terror suspect is destined for torture.

Live 95FM, and Clare FM have more.

In the closing moments of his Sunday Brunch podcast(mp3), Sunday Tribune columnist Richard Delevan singled out Limerick as a hub of “mindless joyriding and vandalism” when giving his description of the scenes during last weekends riots in Dublin.

I mean this basicly reminded me, I mean, this is something that if you took all the incididents of joyriding and basic vandalism that happens in any provincial town centre on a Saturday night, em, you what happens in, you know, in Limerick, just this kind of mindless violence that happens when people have too much drink on them, this just em it seems that that is just what came out on the streets yesterday and was done in broad daylight.

As Mr. Delevan “does not do comments” anyone is free to post their opinions here.

And yes I am aware of the irony of posting this beside a story about violence.

Firstly I would like to inform Mr. Delevan that Limerick, despite its flaws is infact a city and not just some provincial town. I would also add that Limerick is not the only place in the country where joyriding and vandalism exists.

The statement also made, “if you took all the incididents of joyriding and basic vandalism that happens in any provincial town…” begs the question, If you took all the incidents of joyriding and basic vandalism that happens in Dublin” would the destruction have been better or worse?

Five men from Limerick, who were convicted for their roles in a pitched battle which took place outside Supermacs on the Ennis Road, will know the result of their appeal cases in ten days.

Kieran Ryan, Patrick McCarthy, Edward McCarthy, David McCarthy and David Sheehan were before the Court of Criminal Appeals today hoping to get out of prison after they received hefty sentences which, amazingly enough were handed down by none other than Carol Moran, in June of 2004.

Lawyers for the men claim that the judge in the original case should not have taken into consideration that the men were locked in a bitter inter-family feud at the time.

Kieran Ryan, Patrick McCarthy, Edward McCarthy and David Sheehan were all sentenced to six years each in prison for their involvement in the battle which was described as being like a scene from “Braveheart” by witnesses.

David McCarthy was sentenced to five years and three months for the same charge.

Judge Moran’s moment of clarity was shortlived however, as he gave the four other men before him softer sentences.

Philip Collapy and Anthony Keane received sentences of two years each after they pleaded guilty to posession of weapons.

Raymond Collopy and Declan Sheehy were sentenced to two and three years respectivly for violent disorder outside the fast-food restaurant.

Kieran Ryan (pictured on the right above) gained notoriety after he was one of the Ryan brothers “kidnapped” just days before the shooting of rival gang leader Kieran Keane.

Locally based comedian, Pat Shortt has another string to add to his bow as his new single, the Jumbo Breakfast Roll has entered the Irish Single charts at Number 1 holding off the challenge of Shayne Ward and Westshite.

As if once wasnt unlucky enough on Friday for the gas main to be hit out at Coonagh, some muppet driving a digger obviously wasnt too fresh after the weekend and managed to hit it again today! Fortunately, there wasnt too much damage done this time , with no need to evacuate anyone. One lane inbound and outbound were closed off from about two o clock until approx 5pm!

Mayor Diarmud Scully will be oblidged to tow the party line from now on after his friends at Fine Gael have decided to restore his party whip, so says the Limerick Leader. although they say it more professionally. This means that should he decide to run in the constituency of Limerick East under a Fine Gael banner in the future, he is free to run.

However he will not be able to run in the 2007 election for the Dai as the Fine Gael party has already selected who should run for the Limerick East constituency. Michael Noonan TD and Kieran O’Donnell have already been picked. The chances of a three candidate strategy being run by Fine Gael is unlikely, so it would be more like 2012 before we are likely to see Mr. Scully with the letters “TD” after his name.

Mr. Scully is said to be “reasonably pleased” by having his party whip restored after it was decided during a meeting at the Limerick Remada Hotel during the weekend by the Fine Gael National exuitive comittee.

Mayor Scully lost his whip after he won the mayoral office by voting against his fellow Fine Gaeler Maria Byrne and winning the office for himself with the help of Fianna Fail councillors and Independents. Talk about shitting on your own doorstem!

Meanwhile an offer to reduce the tempriture in Hell to zero degrees centigrade if John Gilligan is made mayor of Limerick was rejected by Liemrick City Council.

The EV+A project has often been criticised for not getting the ordinary man on the street involved. However, a new project being run by the ENSO Art collective are planning to do just that.

The group are seeking imput from members of the public on their opinions of Limerick, such as the problems facing the city and asks how these problems can be solved.

A website has been created for people to post their comments and ideas. These comments will all be collated and put into what they call a “new treaty for Limerick” and will be presented to the people of Limerick during the EV+A festival.

A back seat passenger of a car has become the first person to die on Limerick roads in 2006.

The man, believed to be in his 20s, was travelling in a car which collided with another car near Castlemahon, County Limerick in the early hours of this morning.

He was pronounced dead on arrival at Limerick’s Mid West Regional Hospital.