The Limerick Blogger: latest Limerick news and Limerick events

From the article entitled “Fitzgerald tackled on “boundary” issue by Mary Earls in the Limerick post this week

“Mr Fitzgerald told deputy Michael Noonan that he had no intention of consulting members of the Bruff area and the councillors involved. He didn’t even talk to the one councillor, Cormac Hurley, who will lose his seat if this goes ahead.”

That is a quote from Councillor Richard Butler, who is bitching and moaning because John Fitzgerald proposed a boundary extension for Limerick City which would see it taken out of County Council hands.

He is very concerned for his colleague Cormac Hurley and his losing his seat. If Cormac Hurley thinks he served the people of Moyross with distinction, then he can be assured a seat on the City Council. Or is he afraid that the the number of votes he would receive from the people of Moyross would be proportional to the amount of dedication and work the County Council has put into the area?

Also, Eddie Wade seems to have a bee up his arse about poor people blighting his parish, God love him.

Pointing out that Southill is adjoining his parish, Cllr Wade said that he “is opposing any extension to the city boundary and making no secret of itâ€?.

“There are a lot of politicians silent on this and riding two horses at the same time

“A few acres were recently bought by Limerick City Council next to Rathbane Golf Club. And now my major concern is, were these lands bought with the intention of coming into the county. This is a very serious question and one that I am very concerned about and my neighbours are very concerned about. I don’t want to oppose the goodwill of regeneration but this is very close to my battlefield. And I am concerned that the city will soon want to extend into Donoughmore and Ballysheedy,â€? concluded Cllr Wade.

The county Council has gotten rich off the existance of Limerick City and it’s Council. The City Council provides the municipal services like water to places like Castletroy while the County Council get the rates from the big shopping centres and factories.

Now it is payback time. It is time for the City to collect what the County Council owes them.

The Stone Jug, also known as the Permanent TSB, or the Cork and Limerick Savings Bank, or just the Limerick Savings Bank depending on how old you are, is one of the most historic buildings in the city. When the bank opened in the 19th Century, the maximum amount of money you could have in one account was £150. Picture: Limerick, A Stroll down memory Lane Volume 3

The former Permanent TSB bank, known affectionately as the Stone Jug, was this week sold to another financial institution for a cool €1.72m.

Sarsfield Credit Union, which is currently based on O’Connell Street, bought the building on Wednesday at auction at the Perry Hotel.

The move from O’Connell Street to the Stone Jug by the Credit Union opens the possibility of the Beltable Arts Centre expanding, however, according to the Limerick Leader (City Edition), the centre has no plans to expand at this time. The Arts Centre building is owned by Sarsfield Credit Union.

Sarsfield Credit Union hope to move into the building as soon as redecorations are complete.

The makers of the boardgame Monopoly are planning on making an All-Ireland version of the money-hungry boardgame and they are asking the public to vote to get their county on the board.

But with 32 counties and only 22 squares on the board, ten counties will be left out.

At present, Limerick is number 17, and is located on the pink block of the board.

those familiar with the game will know that the purple squares, are the most expensive streets on the board, while the brown squares, are the cheapest.

So here is the address to get voting.

http://www.monopoly.ie/index.aspx

Loads of development stories in the Post this week, including one promising a 20 storey building for the city centre.

Anyhow, here goes.

YET ANOTHER towering 20-storey glass fronted building could soon dominate the Limerick skyline

The building is proposed for the riverside site at Limerick Boat Club, who, as part of the package, will be provided with a new headquarters, at the same location. The club is also promised a yearly financial bonus.

The Limerick Post has learned that Michael Daly, who acts for the Fordmount Consortium, is behind the project. Fordmount are responsible for the Marriott Hotel and shops on Bedford Row. It was earlier revealed a footbridge across the river, from the Boat Club to Poor Man’s Kilkee, and leading into Bedford Row, was in the pipeline.

Massive extension to Parkway retail park proposed

The Dublin Road area is taking on a new dimension with the extension to the Parkway Retail Park, a new 90 bedroomed hotel, discount store Aldi,and retirement village at Castletroy Park Hotel, all within an area of a few hundred yards.

THE planned multi-million euro extension to the existing Parkway Retail Park, stretching to the Groody River, is up and running, and a new set of traffic lights has been installed at the sole entrance/exit, on the Dublin Road.

Councillors have a problem with the construction of a new apartment block on Clancy Strand.

IT has emerged there are no significant changes to a new planning application for the construction of 49 apartments on Clancy Strand.

The controversial development, sited alongside the protected structure, Jackson’s Turret, has evoked strong objections from local residents, backed by local and national politicians on the basis that a five-storey, 49 apartment block would be out of character with the historic riverside area, would impact negatively on the local traffic management, would intrude physically into the adjacent cul de sac, Priory Park and put severe pressure on the water and sewerage infrastructure.

And finally

ROBERT Butler, always one with an eye for a site with potential, is planning to go head-to-head with the new shopping development currently underway at Clondrinagh, alongside the Coonagh roundabout.

Mr Butler, who, inside the last two years, purchased the former Texaco station close to Elm Motors, and a landbank across the road, and practically adjoining the new shopping centre, has now applied to Limerick County Council to develop a retail park, at Clondrinagh.

All the stories can be read here at archiseek.

Updated at 1800. Scroll down for more

It is looking likely that the election will be called today…

We received an email from one of the candidates which indicated as much.

We get first dibs on calling it for May 17th., althoguh our emailer thinks it could also be the 18th.

Blogorrah has it also

The calling of an election today is looking unlikely it would seem Dail has been adjourned until next week.

Updated at 1700 hrs Scroll Down for more

A man in his 30s has been shot dead in Thomondgate this morning.

The incident happened at 1030 hrs as he was travelling on a motorcycle in the area.

The Gardai have called for the services of the state pathologist, and are also appealing for the public to come forward with any information they may have on the shooting.

RTE have named the shooting victim as Noel Campion (34) who was a father of three children.

At 1040 hrs this morning. a car rammed into the rear of the motorcycle which Campion was travelling on as a pillion passenger.

Campion jumped from the motorbike and ran to avoid the shots of a waiting gunman.

It is understood that up to six shots were fired in the attack this morning.

There is also this from RTE.ie

Gardaí later found a partly burnt silver Volkswagen car in the Moyross area of the city. It is being examined as part of their inquiry.

Noel Campion was due before the District Court this morning charged with traffic offences, and was on his way to the courthouse when he was shot.

That would explain how they knew where he was going to be at the time.

From RTE

A 20-year-old man is in custody in Limerick tonight after a loaded revolver was discovered at the back of a house in the Cravel Park area of Moyross.

The man was arrested was as part of a number of search operations in the area following the murder earlier today of 34-year-old Noel Campion, who was shot dead in the Thomondgate area of the city.

The man is being held at Mayorstone Garda Station.

h/t topper in comments.

After several attempts at writing this in a way that would seem, polite, I have decided to just tell it like it is. Noel Ahern is a gobshite.

From Dáil transcript of 24th of April. Question put to him by Aengus O’Snodaigh (Sinn Féin)

[I would like to] ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if he will establish as a matter of urgency, due to the deteriorating situation with drug misuse in Limerick and particularly around heroin abuse and its associated problems, a local drugs task force dedicated to providing services in Limerick City.

And the Minister Noel Ahern’s response:

Up-to-date and comprehensive data on the misuse of drugs will start to become available in the autumn with the publication of the first results from the second all-island Drug Prevalence Survey, the fieldwork for which is now nearing completion. Furthermore, with respect to heroin misuse in particular, another national study is being commissioned by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs and figures from this are expected to be available in early 2008. These surveys will give us a much clearer view of the prevalence and changing nature of drug misuse all over Ireland. Meanwhile, I can assure the Deputy of my commitment, and that of the Government, to tackling the drugs problem in Limerick City and, indeed, all over the country. With regard to Limerick City, I feel, however, that the drug problem there can best and most effectively be dealt with through the establishment of a subgroup of the Midwest Regional Drugs Task Force, rather than through the establishment of a separate Local Drugs Task Force structure.

This is the problem with Government in this country. If your friend wants a mobile phone licence, or a broadcasting licence, we can pull a few strings, but when something is suggested that might actually benefit the community, you get the response “Ah sure ’tis grand the way it is” even though it is not!

The response from local Sinn Féin election candidate, Maurice Quinlivan,

[The minister needs to] listen to health professionals and to communities and wake up to the reality that the drugs crisis has the potential to spiral out of control here in Limerick. How can the minister argue that the situation has improved when clearly one only has to look around to see open drug dealing and drug taking on the streets of Limerick. The Minister needs to really engage with communities and act now. If the government was serious in tackling drug misuse and it associated problems it would act immediately. However as it has proved over the years it doesn’t seem to understand or have a handle on the problem, it really is time for change.

The full release is below the fold:

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Election candidates are going overkill on the election posters before the election has even been called. Picture : Limerickblogger.org

Lashing up the election posters could prove to be a costly mistake for politicians in Limerick, given that it is a week before the traditional Bonfire night on April 30th.

However, one candidate is keeping her posters locked away until at least the election is called.

Green candidate, Trish Forde-Brennan believes that candidates are hitting the panic button by putting up their campaign posters too early.”While I appreciate that we candidates wish voters to recognise us and perhaps get a sense of us, I believe that some candidates are over-reacting and hitting the panic button in placing their posters up before the election date is called.

“Legally, the law on this issue is open to interpretation and there is a gap in legislation which we need to plug. As a Green candidate, I will not be putting my posters up before the election is called and I hope that other candidates desist temptation to do otherwise. The electorate is not foolish and we will not be judged by the speed by which our posters go up.”

What goes up, must come down: A campaign poster belonging to Fine Gael’s Kieran O’Donnell blows gently in the breeze. Were we having typical Irish weather someone could be replacing a windscreen this evening. Picture : limerickblogger.org

Meanwhile, election posters are proving to be an unsightly and in some cases, unsafe problem. Up to four posters are being mounted on street poles around the city, with the lowest ones being less than three feet from the ground, impeding local residents from parking their cars properly.

Pictured at the launch of the National Youth Council of Ireland’s election website hearourvoice.ie are (from left to right)Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail, Meath East), Roderic O Gorman (Green Party, Dublin West), James Heffernan (Labour, Limerick West), and Shaun Tracey (Sinn Fein, Dublin South) They are accompanied in the picture are NYCI’s Claire Boyler and Marie Claire McAleer. Picture : Blogorrah.com

Posing for the National Youth Council of Ireland’s Election website might have been a good photocall for Limerick West’s Labour candidate James Heffernan, but either he failed to respond to their questionaire, or is against every proposal they put forward.

James Heffernan on hearourvoice.ie

The good people behind the website asked every election candidate a series of yes/no questions and then rated them on their answers. Some didn’t even respond and only one party leader, Trevor Sargent, responded.

Candidates were given a star rating based on the answers to the questions they were asked on several issues. The only Limerick candidates to score on the survey were:

Michael Brennan (PD, West Limerick) 4 Stars
Trish Forde-Brennan (Green Party, Limerick East) 4 Stars
Maurice Quinlivan (Sinn Féin, Limerick East) 5 Stars

Updated at 2100 hrs. Scroll down for more

Yesterday’s developments

Live 95FM reports that protesters from Palliskenry and Kildimo have spent a second night sleeping within the County Hall building.

The county Council has obtained a court order from the high court giving them permission to remove the protesters.

No doubt, there will be more developments as the day goes on.

Ed Myres will be covering the protest on Limerick Today. a live webstream of the programme will be available at live95fm.ie from 0900hrs (0800 UTC).

From Live95fm.ie

Director of Water Services at Limerick County Council, Paul Crowe, says the Council has acted honourably in its attempts to deal with the issue.

Doing your thing at 2 o’clock in the morning was a tactic used initially by US troops using Shannon Airport, it was also a tactic used by the department of Justice when they executed deportation orders. The reason being that it would avoid protesters.

Also carrying out works when they are the subject of a court review isn’t very honourable.

The Limerick Post reports that the water protesters have been removed from County hall

Full story

Looks like the Post got it wrong. The sit in is still ongoing according to Live 95FM.

The case of the protesters was before the High Court again this afternoon, where representatives for the council told the court that two protesters left of their own free will, while two remained in the Council building.

The Council is seeking an order to jail the two remaining protesters.

From RTE.ie

Five people are continuing to occupy the public hallway at Limerick County Council’s offices in a row over their local water supply.

The council secured a temporary injunction at the High Court last night compelling them to withdraw from the offices.

Breakingnews.ie

Lawyers for the council told the High Court this evening that two protesters have since left and that two are in breach of the court order, they are believed to be Donal O’Brien and Kenneth McCarthy.

They will now be issued with notice of the council’s application for orders to jail them and the matter is back before the court on Friday.

Also

Protesters leave council building – Irish Examiner