The Limerick Blogger: latest Limerick news and Limerick events

Two of Limerick’s biggest production facilities, Dell at Raheen, and Vistakon in Plassey, were last night targetted by a hoax bomb alert.

A man, reported to have had a foreign accent, called the 999 emergency service, saying “death to Westerners” before informing them that there was a bomb at the two factories.

Management at Vistakon decided to evacuate their facility while a search was carried out in the newly expanded plant.

Dell however decided not to evacuate their plant following consultation with Gardai, and an assessment of the situation.

According to the Limerick Chronicle today, Gardai are said to have believed the bomb threat was a hoax from an early stage due to the vagueness of the caller.

Attempts are being now made to trace the call, and identify the caller.

In the glorious sunshine in the University of Limerick today Brian O Driscoll led out 47 Irish Hopefuls onto the training ground ,for an open training session sponsored by O2.The turnout of people was absolutely amazing at least 2000 , turned up to show their support and to obtain a priceless photo or two with their heroes. There certainly was a frenzy when Brian O Driscoll apperared, on several occasions he had to be ushered away from the crowds of fans. The Munster players in the squad were a major attraction for the autograph and photo hunters.The squad will will be whittled down to 30 on August 12 the day after Ireland’s first warm up match against Scotland.
Click on:
http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/

Credit also has to go to Damien for this one.

I have now set up a facility which will allow you to receive updates from limerickblogger.org on your mobile phone through the twitter.com website.

If you are registered with twitter.com, and are currently receiving mobile alerts from the site, you will just need to subscribe to alerts from us.

Our twitter profile can be found here.

If you are not a twitter member, you will need to sign up and do the following

Go to Twitter and sign up.
Under ‘Settings’ and ‘Phone and IM’ choose ‘Activate Phone’.
Enter your phone number (including +353 for the country code)
It will then give you a code to text to the Twitter UK number for activation.
Text the activation code.
Go back to http://twitter.com/limerickblogger and click on “add limerickblogger�.

Instructions blatantly thieved from Irishelection.com

Remember, signing up, and receiving messages is completely free.

It is also worth mentioning that WE DO NOT have access to your telephone number when you sign up with our account.

At the moment, I am just doing daily updates, to see if it works for everyone, but it opens the possibility of us sending the latest scandal happening in the city or county to your mobile within minutes of us finding out about it.

h/t to Damien MulleyI for the story.

Irish hi-tech startup companies, frustrated by not gettig anywhere knocking on the doors of venture capitalist and pretty much getting nowhere, they have decided to pool their resources and send their own delegations to the US to form links with businesses in Silicon Valley themselves, in the hope for new business opportunities.

But the campaign to create links with Silicon Valley companies received a major boost when Enterprise Ireland endorsed the Paddy’s Valley project and assisted with contacts in the US

The tour will take advantage of new Aer Lingus trans-atlantic routes and is scheduled to take place in December of this year. It is hoped that this tour, organised by Limerick based organiser, James Corbett, will be the first of many, thus strengthening startups in Ireland with the US.

Paddy’s Valley Website

The full press statement can be found below the fold.

(more…)

RTE takes it’s annual opportunity to show dilapidated houses in Limerick for a half hour and maybe get a few words from Councillor John Gilligan whose appearance in these programmes is as certain as the appearance of Glenda Gilson is in the Evening Herald.

The programme was delayed pending the outcome of the Kieran Keane appeal case which concluded last week.

Anyway, feel free to discuss the show here.

It‘s that time of the year again, when one has to search the net for flights and accommodation to follow Munster.

10/11/07 Wasps v Munster 5.30 pm Twickenham (Most likely)
17/11/07 Munster v Clermont Auvergne 1pm Thomond Park.
08/12/07 Llanelli Scarlets v Munster 5.30 pm Stradey Park.
16/12/07 Munster v Llanelli Scarlets 1 pm Stradey Park.

11/01/08 Clermont Auvergne v Munster
18/01/08 Munster v Wasps

The Davin Arms, on the Ennis Rd is to close within the next couple of months, staff have been notified of so .This well known watering hole as referred to by some of the people that frequent it, opened its doors first to the public in 1963 It is owned by the Hayes Family. Due to its proximity to the Gaelic grounds, it used to be thronged on match days, it was also a great meeting point for people going to the matches as well as been a social outlet. There is a certain degree of disappointment in the vicinity as this part of city is very lacking in having a proper Pub. Financial losses for the past number of years are given as the reason for its closure. There are up to fifty staff employed.
The staff have been told that site could be redeveloped, Lidl being mentioned. Supermac’s which is next to the Davin is leased from the Hayes‘s, it is due to relocate to across the road to the new Ennis Rd Retail Park. It is certainly all change out the Ennis Rd direction with the new developments and more in the pipeline it seems.

Three men, who viciously assaulted Darren Coughlan (18) on 4 November 2005, were handed down six and seven year prison sentences for manslaughter.

Joseph Keane, (19) from Greenhills Road in Garryowen, the son of murdered crime boss Kieran Keane, received a six year sentence.

Richard Treacy, (18) from St. Mary’s Park, also received a six year sentence.

Shane Kelly (20) who has clocked up a whopping 71 previous convictions in his short time on Earth, received a seven year stretch.

During the trial, the court had previously been told that Mr. Coughlan was in no way connected to the feuding gangs, and apart from the odd minor public order offence, he had not come to the attention of the Gardai in the 12 months leading up to his death.

Whilst on a night out, a car stopped on the street beside Mr. Coughlan and three men demanded to know where someone called Mark Coughlan was.

One of the men pointed at him and shouted “There he is.”

Mr. Coughlan attemped to escape but tripped, allowing his attackers to catch up with him, kicking and beating him.

The court also heard that Mr. Coughlan lost conciousness while in hospital and died three days after the attack. He was kept on a life support machine after he died as he expressed a desire to have his organs donated.

During her victim impact statement, Darren’s mother told the court that she wished for the senseless killings of innocent people to stop.

RTE news has more on this story.

A aircraft pilot from Clonlara died over the weekend as he attempted to land his plane after a display flight at the Ardfert Summer Festival in County Kerry.

John Keane, a retired mechanic with the Air Corps got into difficulty when trying to land the Cesna light aircraft he was piloting at a private airfield at approximately 1620 hrs yesterday.

Those who were present in Ardfert at the time are quoted in the Monday edition of the Limerick Leader as saying that there wasn’t a cloud in the sky at the time,, and weather conditions were good.

Mr. Keane was one of three pilots taking part in the festival, however he was the only one in the air at the time of the crash.

The State’s Air Accident Investigation Unit were carrying out investigations into the crash.

Mr. Keane was pronounced dead at the scene and his remains moved to Kerry General Hospital where a post-mortem was carried out today.

For the past half a century, the people of Ballinanty have been able to avail of the services of their local post office, next to Tommy Cassidy’s shop.

But An Post have saw fit now to discommode the elderly, infirm, and just about anybody in the area that require the services of the post office, by locating it to Watch House Cross.

But An post spokesperson Anne McHugh claims that it’s not that big a deal.

“The post office will remain in the same general area. It is the same contractor, it will provide the same range of services but it will be more accessible as it is a better and more suitable premises,”

The over 1,500 people who signed the petition at Tommy Cassidy’s shop, many of whom are from Moyross disagree.

Those who wish to keep the post office where it is might also consider asking ComReg, the communications regulator, ot intervene or maybe act as an arbitrator in this matter.

Anne McHugh doesn’t live in Ballynanty, nor is she elderly or infirm, which is why local consultation should have taken place before An Post made this rash decision.