The Limerick Blogger: latest Limerick news and Limerick events

2006 will go down in the history of Limerick City, for this year was the year Limerick City Council finally made providing entertainment a priority for the people of this great city. And although many would feel nothing monumental occurred this year, reality shows that this was very much a year of development but the spokes are turning and the latter part of the year has been spent planning for next year, an idea unimaginable by public entertainment providers in this city thus far.

The year kicked off with Limerick’s annual ‘Un-fringed’ festival, headline acts including comedian Karl Spain and The Frames. Un-Fringed is one of those great festivals I urge people to search for information on and enjoy it at their pearl (see links at bottom of post). The city’s contempory arts festival EV+A spralled right out across the city and was acclaimed as Irelands best arts festival, from presentations in Limerick City Gallery of Art to free coffee in the ‘Story Café’ the two month long festival was as per usual a hit.

This year also was the year of the ‘mini-Munsterfests’ which saw parades running from the city centre to ‘Fortress Thomond Park’, debates and book signings by top rugby analysts and meet ‘n’ greets organised with the team. Also Limerick Boatclub (although now closed) was the place to be this year with amazing gigs catering for new audiences in the city was a haven for those who really enjoyed a good night out.

The announcement that for the first time in the cities 800-year history a professional entertainment company will run Limerick Springfest (incorporating the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and International Band Recital) and Limerick Riverfest. Eightball Promotions and Media set up Limerick City Festivals office and within only six weeks of having the contract pulled off Limerick Springfest. A festival marred in controversy because Limerick City Council didn’t release the funds for two parades thus meaning Limericks Band Parade was mixed with the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Critics complained that the parade was the shortest in years, although organisers pointed out that this years was the first in decades to actually begin on time and had the exact same amount of groups as 2005 parade, but prided themselves with bringing more bands to the International Marching Band Parade then Limerick has seen since 2001 (before 9/11).

Eight weeks later and Limerick got a real sense of how a city should celebrate a three day weekend. Riverfest ’06 showcased the city at its best! The city was a festive playground from the International BBQ on Georges Quay right across the city to an extreme sports expo outside Peter Clohessys. Crowds numbering in the thousands enjoyed the sports and BMX action in Arthurs Quay Park, while Crusis Street played host to an outdoor circus, the riverfront was the scene of high speed boat-racing and an incredible firework display, the cities theatres showcased the best of limerick as Riverfest brought with it a fringe festive, and Budweiser Global Beats meant we had 54 free gigs to attend to.

Only 1 month later the city had another glorious weekend, as 15,000 people took to O’Connell Street to watch the historic Heineken Cup final on Europe’s largest screen. After the final whistle the city was on a high for two days straight the atmosphere was in one word awesome. On the Sunday 40,000 people stood on O’Connell Street to welcome to team home through rain and strikingly cold winds they sang and celebrated. As Paul O’Connell came up to the mic Queens ‘We are the Champions’ blasted out loud, red fireworks exploded and confetti fell from the buildings, Mayor Diarmuid Scully renamed O’Connell Street, Paul O’Connell Street, just for the special day.

The summer sun shone down on Bedford row as the city council organised an opening bash on the newly pedestrianised street, with free food and a weekend of free outdoor concerts as well as street theatre.
The year was finished with Limericks Christmas celebrations, which included an Ice Rink, Panto’s, Santa, Acrobats and an abundance of Carol Singers.

These are only the most major of this years festivals, there are just too many to summarise its only a pity that the general public are largely unaware of these festivals and how to be a part of them. Many are only advestised at the back of The Limerick Post the weekend of the events, I recommend checking as soon as you can to be part. People in Limerick complain that “nothing ever happens here�, but we actually have a huge array of different festivals unfortunately these suffer from poor attendance due to little funding meaning the money goes to the actual event rather than promotion of it and also an indifference to these events by Limerick-men and –women, who generally need to be told by a friend that attending is worthwhile but be aware things do happen here as you can see the list above is long other events of note would include ‘Cuisle’, Limerick City International Poetry Festival, Euroshow (Funderland) funfair, ‘Sionna’ Music and Dance Festival, Twilight Summer Festival, Red Bull flugtag, ‘Music in the Parks’ Band festival, Guinness Christmas Racing Festival, Fresh Film Festival and many more….

The city even has some mad festivals such as Limerick Festival of Church Music in March which is described on the Shannon Region tourism site as “Competitions in sacred music, featuring choral groups�, these people are actually battling it out to see who sings praise the best. Theres a cinema festival (of sorts) which is running from May ’06 to March ’07 and is so to let everyone see and learn about all the cities minority cultures. We have more dance and classical music festivals then anywhere else

As I have mentioned something new about festivals in Limerick is that for once the city is now planning festivals ahead of the actual event. In 2007 prepare to witness a much-improved Springfest, an internationally acclaimed Riverfest and the Limerick Blogger can reveal talks are underway with to open up The Gaelic Grounds during the summer of 2007 to top Irish and international acts. The Limerick Blogger will keep you up to date on this information, as it becomes public, keep checking here throughout the year. Also see the Limerick newspapers and these websites:

LimerickSpringfest.com – Already updated with info on Springfest ‘07

LimerickRiverfest.com – All the listings for Riverfest

Sionna.com – Offical Website for Sionna music and dance festival

ShannonRegionTourism.ie – A comprehensive list of all the cities annual festivals (also includes once off closer to the date)

VisitLimerick.com – a list of festivals in the city

Also a good list of arts events in the city is posted on the city councils website, unfortunately we cannot link directly to the page but visit www.limerickcity.ie and under the ‘EVENTS’ heading click into ‘Arts Events’

The Sunday Times newspaper for December 31, 2006 has made a lame attempt to link the attack on Gavin and Millie Murray to an ongoing feud between the McCarthy-Dundons and the Keane-Collopy gangs.

In the article, entitled “Focus: A tale of two cities.” due to appear inthe paper this morning, the story’s author, Brian Carroll claims that the attack on the children might be linked to the Gangland Feud.

What is his basis? It turns out that another child, Jordan Crawford was shot in the leg in Southill so if a child isbeing attacked, it must be part of the feud.

From the article:

The two children are back in Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, having been allowed out for three days over Christmas. Their mother has since been rehoused on Cratloe Road in Limerick, but her estranged partner, Niall McNamara, remains homeless.

“I’m not in a feud with anyone. I have never been into drugs,� McNamara said last week, while he tended to Gavin and Millie. “Nobody has explained to me why my children were burned, why my house was burned. For four and a half months I have been here in the hospital. I’m the one giving the children their baths with them screaming with the pain. I want to know why this happened.�

The attack is possibly linked to a feud in another part of the city. In November, another Limerick child hit the headlines. Five-year-old Jordan Crawford was shot in the leg by gunmen intent on killing his uncle, Paul Crawford, a member of the McCarthy-Dundon gang. The gunmen, who were acting for the Keane-Collopy gang, couldn’t get Paul so they shot the boy with a machine gun.

It is also worth mentioning that up until now, there is no statement claiming that the people who attacked the Crawford home deliberately shot Jordan because they could not get Paul Crawford. While the shooting of Jordan Crawford, whether it be accidental or otherwise, is horrendous, one has to ask, is Mr. Carroll trying to make things sound worse than they really are?

Mr. Carroll has obviously not come across initial reports that the reason the car was fire-bombed was because Sheila Murray refused to give some scum bags a lift to the District Court, making it more a random act of violence against an ordinary member of the public than a feud related incident. By all accounts, Sheila Murray was not mixed up in either side of the ongoing feud.

The way I see it, and as someone who has been watching the news coming out of Limerick this Christmas, is that it has been quieter than usual in Limerick, and the so-called paper of record that is the Sunday Times had some extra space (which isn’t hard when a single copy, consisting of six sections, two magazines, and countless pieces of advertising crap from the likes of Dell and Aldi etc., consumes half a tree) that needed to be filled, and what better way to fill it than to regurgitate not even yesterday’s news, but the day before yesterday’s news.

The full article can be found here.

With New Year’s Eve only hours away, no doubt most of you will have decided on a New Year Resolution for 2007. Maybe it is to cut down on chocolate or quit smoking, or to lose weight. No doubt most of you will break your resolution by February 1st.

But one young Limerick boy has already decided on his resoloution, and he is determined to keep it. He wants to be able to walk before the end of 2007.

Darragh Ryan (9) sufferes from Cerebral Palsy as well as epilepsy. Since he was born he has been confined to a wheelchair, although he is able to stand with the help of a K-walker.

In 2006, a new method of microsurgery was made availible in Spain. The surgery called Microtomia, is a form of keyhole surgury which leaves little or no scarring and has a far shorter recovery time.

In order to receive this surgery, Darragh would have to travel to spain and attend the Centro Medico Teknon in Barcelona.

But this would all cost money, alot of money.

And the call went out to the general public for help, and they responded. According to Darraghs father, Sean, it was ordinary individuals who donated money, people from “all walks of life and not just well-to-do’s.”

One of the many events organised to raise funds for Darragh’s surgury was this Tractor Run which took place in County Cork in October.

Once the money was raised, It was time for Darrah to make the trip to Spain.

The surgery was carried out on the afternoon of 24th November, and within three hours of going into theatre, he was back in his room recovering. The procedure involved bilateral surgery on the rectus Anterius (which is just above the knees), his hamstrings and his Achilles Tendons.. The surgery was carried out by Dr. Lluis Terricabras.

For the following five weeks, Darragh has to wear casts on both legs. While at the Medical Centre in Spain, Dr. Terricabras gave him a choice of two colours, Yellow or Red. He chose the red of Munster over the Barcelona Away strip colour of Yellow.

Darragh meets with surgeon Dr. Lluis Terricabras and physio Laura Lopez after his surgery.

Darragh will have to undergo rigourous physiotherapy following his operation, but by all accounts he is up to the challenge, and it is hoped that the Munster crazy young boy will be able to walk onto Thomond Park on his own two feet.

After the article on the Limerick Blogger appeared in the Limerick Leader this week, Darragh’s father Sean contacted us and wanted to extend a great big thank you to those who gave their time to organise events to raise money so Darragh could live his dream of being able to walk. A special thank you also goes out to those who coughed up cash.

It is also hoped that Darragh’s story will make people more aware of this surgery and it’s availability.

You can find out more about Darragh Ryan’s story from the website helpdarraghwalk.com

Information on Cerebral Palsy can be found here.
Information on Epilepsey can be found here.

If you wish to speak to someone on these conditions, Enable Ireland or Brainwave are good places to start looking for information.

Images and Material for this article come from the Lets Help Darragh Walk website.

There is no love lost between Sinn Fein and their Republican Sinn Fein counterparts. But things should prove interesting for both organisations as they come within a hairs breath of running into each other on January 7th in Limerick City.

Yes, Marching season is upon us again, and now that it is the 50th Anniversary of the death of Sean South (Of Garryowen) both political movements are putting their best efforts into putting on a show to remember.

But unlike last year where Sinn Fein held their Sean South commemoration a week after the Republican Sinn Fein one, this year they will be holding them on the same day, and with the same assembly point on Bedford Row.

Republican Sinn Fein members will be dolling up their kids in paramilitary get-up in time for their gathering on the newly pedestrianised street at 1400 hrs. They will then march off to the republican plot in Mount St. Lawrences Cemetary.

The other Sinn Fein will be meeting at the same place, 45 minutes later.

Both organisations are getting their top brass out to speak at this very special anniversary, being the 50th and all.

Martin McGuinness will be in Limerick to speak at the later commemoration, while “veteran republican” Mickey McManus is making the long trip down from Fermanagh to speak to the Republican Sinn Fein commemorators.

Here’s hoping they don’t bump into each other.

The Irish Peace Institute, based at the University of Limerick is to receive funding as part of an €815,000 grant being given out to cross-border projects by the Department of Foreign Affairs reconciliation fund.

The reconciliation fund was set up by the department in 1982 to help bridge the divide between the peoples of the island of Ireland and with Britain. This particular cash donation from the Department will benefit 35 groups both north and south of the border.

The Irish Peace Institute was established in 1984 by Doctor Brendan O’Reagan, and it’s aim is to foster peace through conflict resoloution. Another aim of the institute is to learn from previous conflicts in order to avoid future ones.

Other organisations who will benefit from the grant include, the 174 Trust in Belfast, Boyne Fishermen’s Rescue and Recovery Service in Co Louth, Creggan Enterprises in Derry, and the Pat Finucane Centre for Human Rights and Social Change in Derry.

The Liemrick Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is calling on the Department of Agriculture to carry out an investigation into animal cruelty after a cow was alledged to have been abandoned in an industrial estate and left to starve for three days.

The cow was discovered on Thursday at the Crossagalla Industrial Estate on the Ballysimon Road on Thursday, enquiries made to locals revealed that the cow was there since Christmas Day.

Noel Shinnors, from the LSPCA has told the Irish Independent, “There was barbed wire ingrained in the bottom of one of its legs, which caused one of the feet to swell to the size of a balloon,”

It is claimed by the owners of the animal that it became injured after it escaped from a field, but questions remain as to why it was left in the estate for three days without hay or water.

A vet who was called to the scene recommended the cow be destroyed, so it will be slaughtered next week.

The same independent story reports that the Hyde Road office of the LSPCA was bombarded with calls over the Christmas with reports of dogs being abandoned at the roadside.

US President John F. Kennedy on a meet and Greet at Limerick’s Greenpark Racecourse in 1963.(Limerick…A Stroll Down Memory Lane Vol. 3)

Secret papers released this week reveal that Gardai had received a threat to kill US President John F. Kennedy, just five months before he was shot in Dallas Texas.

One of three threats received in a telephone call to Gardai claimed that a bomb would be placed on an aircraft at Shannon Airport as the US President prepared to return to the states after his three day visit.

While this threat, and others, including a claim that a sniper would be waiting for Kennedy on his way from Dublin Airport to Aras An Uchterain, were treated as hoaxes, it was decided that almost half of the country’s Garda contingient would be stationed between Dublin Airport and the Phoenix Park.

In a letter to Department of Justice officials, Garda Commissioner Daniel Costigan said; “While any attempt on the life of the president is most unlikely, we cannot overlook the possibility of some lunatic, fanatical, Communist, Puerto Rican or some other such like person coming here to try to assassinate the president.�

It was also feared that British journalists would use the opportunity to rip the piss out of Ireland, should anything go wrong with the visit.

The article on the Limerick Blogger which appeared in this Weekend’s Limerick Leader. Click the above image to enlarge.

The above graphs are the visitor numbers to the Limerick Blogger in 2006. The green represents page loads and the blue represents unique visitors per day.

The County Edition of the Limerick leader reports today that a 14 year old boy is recovering in the Mid-Western Regional hospital after receiving several stab wounds at a house party on St. Stephen’s Night.

The boy received wounds to the body, arm and back, however Gardai say that these injuries were minor.

The incident happened at 0045 hrs outside a house on Ashe Avenue, Carew Park, onthe morning of 27th December.

Another house party in Ballinacurra Weston came to an abrupt halt after someone decided to shoot up the house it was taking place in.

This incident happened between 0045 on the morning of St. Stephen’s Day. No one was injured in the shooting incident.

An arson attack on the same house on Cliona Avenue occoured just over five hours later. This is also being investigated by Gardai.