The Limerick Blogger: latest Limerick news and Limerick events

Whilst travelling today I caught a brief news report about a member of Limerick Chamber of Commerse offering an invitation to national media editors to stay in Limerick for the weekend so that they will get “a different perspective” of Limerick.

It would be my belief that this would not work.

The cancer that is the “stab city” moniker that Limerick has, and it’s rep for being a bit of a shithole is not so much being spread by the media as much as it once was. You might get some ingoramus comment from the likes of Brendan O’Connor of the Sunday Independent or an off the cuff remark about Thomond Park being a knifes throw from the city centre, but of late, the media has been for the most part factual in it’s reporting of Limerick City.

Where I see the problem more nowadays is in personal blogs and holiday journals, and were it not for these types of online media, it would probably go un-noticed.

More and more often one can find some travel journal where in international visitor to the country is told by the driver of a private bus company, or even Bus Eireann, that Limerick is known as “Stab City.” There are also those that would hear the slur from hotel receptionists and other representatives in the tourist industry who, should in all honesty, be more professional.

Exhibit A

Limerick Ireland, well we found out that this place was a not so safe place, and I didn’t want to scare any of you, but the nickname for this place known by almost everyone as “Stab City”. So we actually ended up cutting our trip there a day short,

So this tourist cut their trip to Limerick a day short because the citizenry of this country felt the need to bad-mouth the city.

Exhibit B

So we left early Saturday and drove to Killarney via Limerick (aka “Stab City”). We had lunch there, then drove the 1st half of the Ring of Kerry to Portmagee (photos still to come), finding Ballycarbery Castle on the way.

Using blogsearch on google will pull up loads more examples of tourists being told by native Irish as well as professionals whose job it is to promote the country badmouthing the city. Give it a try.

So rather than wining and dining newspaper editors who will take what they can get and continue doing what they are doing there needs to be a different approach.

A campaign needs to be set up to name and shame any tourist professional, be it a state owned or private enterprise, who allows it’s employees to smear the city. These could be identified by way of making private contact with those who write these blog posts. Once the offending organisations are known, they could be contacted and given an opportunity to respond. If the response is unsatisfactory, they would be “outed.”

With regard to newspapers, be they local, national or international, or even magazines that use the slur, these two could be identified and asked for a response.

Were someone like the Limerick Co-Ordination office to set up such a campaign, they would be able to get interested parties to pool their resources. Surely the likes of Limerick Leader, Limerick Post, Limerick Independent, Live 95FM with their researchers and numerous readers and listeners would be able to submit examples of smears being used in both regional papers around the country as well as national papers.

The US based website, Media Matters for America, has been doing a great job of presenting inaccuracies in the US media from the right-wing broadcasters and publications in that country. Something on a similar line could be done for Limerick. There would be not too many companies willing to be associated with negativity.

Pleasuring the media hacks of the likes of the Independent or the Times will accomplish bugger all. “Please don’t write bad things about us” won’t work. “Write smears about us and we will embarras you” would work better.

IT firm Avocent International has announced 57 reduncancies at its plant in Shannon as well as some more in Dublin. The company said that it was making the cuts as part of a cost-cutting drive to improve competitiveness.

The restructuring will affect research and development, marketing, technical support and also involve the transfer of Asia operations from Shannon to a newly opened regional hub in Singapore.

A high Court appointed examiner has 70 days to come up with a plan to save the Dunne Hotel group from bankruptcy after an application was made to the court by the company on Friday, it is reported in this morning’s Sunday business Post.

The Limerick based hotel group employs 200 people, and owns some high profile hotels in the region, including, The Shannon Shamrock in Bunratty, and the Two Mile Inn and Patrick Punch’s hotel in Limerick.

From the paper

The family-owned business had annual revenues of more than €36 million in 2006 and has properties valued at €86 million. However, it has suffered in recent times and is now unable to meet its debts.

The paper also reports that the Dunne group of hotels made a pre-tax loss of €1.1 million in the last twelve months, compared to a €1.1 million.

The same paper reports that Barringtons Private hospital made a pre-tax loss of over €200,000 in 2007. Costs associated with the hospital’s breast cancer care review which took place last year is being cited as one of the reasons for the loss.

Seeing as we are officially heading for a recession apparently and anyone under the age of thirty who is too young to remember when times were bad in this country may be about to get a bit of a hole opener its about time that we had a bit of a thread to participate in one our of national sports – bitching and doom and gloom about the property and business market…. No rumours or speculation please, just information based on facts. Some of the news items have been covered previously on the blog and will get a brief mention here to start things off. Some of the recent business closures and sales are below

Kielys @the parkway and the Sony shop on O’Connell St have closed.

Pier One bar on Sarsfield St has closed and the Sarsfield hotel is now a hostel for asylum seekers.

The Globe on Cecil Street has finally been sold, no ideas as to what it will become.

The Davin Arms in Caherdavin has finally closed. Stories have indicated that it may be a future home to Aldi or Lidl but nothing official as yet.

Harris’s bar (at the most photographed building in Limerick in recent years) Riverpoint building has been closed for the last number of months. There are signs on the windows saying re-opening on the 1st of May…. !

Carlton coffee on lower Shannon street has closed, sign on the door says relocating to their other premises on Thomas Street.

What used to be the market night club on Robert Street has finally reopened as a nightclub called Angel Lane

No news yet as to an official start date to the Opera Centre. Although many of the planks of timber blocking the windows have recently got a lick of paint!!

If anyone has details of price drops for any new builds or houses in estates that have dropped in price recently please submit them. On average the cost of a house across the country is believed to have gone down about 20-30 thousand over the last year and a half.

Right, some of this is quite stale but here is a catch up on some of the sporting news from the last few weeks.
Soccer. Limerick 37 have had a poor run of form up to last Thursday night when they went away to Dundalk and beat them two nil. This result helped ease the pain of a home defeat in the FAI cup by Cork City and a draw in the league to bottom of table Athlone town preceded by a three nil home drubbing by Waterford. Manager Mick Kerley has made ten signings in recent days and some of the new boys have gone straight into the first team. Gary Sheehan and Paul Walsh, two of the new signings scored the two goals so hopefully the slump of recent times is over and the super blues will continue to climb up the table. Next home game is Friday the 4th of July so hopefully our American owner will have something to celebrate Independence day!

Boxing

Andy Lee is back in town at the UL arena on the 19th of July to hopefully get his career on track after suffering his first defeat back in March. His opponent is Willie “the gladiator” Gibbs. Gibbs, who is a cousin of Bernard Hopkins has an impressive record of 20 wins, 16 via knockout and just three defeats.

GAA

Clare beat Limerick last week in the Munster hurling championship.. I know feck all about hurling but when a team concedes four goals they generally wind up on the losing side and so it was with Limerick last weekend in Thurles. Limerick now go to the qualifiers, opposition yet to be determined.

UPDATE Limerick will have home advantage against Offaly in the qualifiers, game at the gaelic grounds on Saturday the 12th of July

Rugby

The European champions Munster have named Australian Tony McGahan as their new director of coaching following Declan Kidney’s departure to take over Ireland.
As the club’s defence and backs coach since March 2006, the Australian has been a key part of the Munster set up in recent times.
Most recent pictures of the works at Thomond Park are HERE

It appears to be coming together quite nicely

Leanne Moore has reached number one in the Irish single charts with her debut single “on wings” so fair play to her on that bit of success. The song was released to help raise awareness of deaths caused on the roads as a result of speeding.

TV3 courts correspondent Laura Ryan will become the new head of the Limerick Co-ordination office next month.

Ms Ryan is to finish up in the independent broadcaster on July 4th before taking over the role left by Mary Dundon, who has taken up a lecturing position at the University of Limerick.

Following her move to her native Limerick Ms Ryan hopes to complete her Masters degree, it is reported in the Evening Herald newspaper.

Three men are being questioned by Gardai investigating a gun attack on a number of houses in St. Mary’s Park back in March of this year.

While six houses in the estate sustained damage during the attack, there were no injuries.

On Wednesday, an 18 year old man was arrested and today two 21 year olds were taken in for questioning. The men are being held at Mayorstone and Henry Street Garda stations.

UPDATE: RTE News reports that two of the three individuals arrested this week in relation to the gun attack in St. Mary’s Park last March have since been released.

Woohoo! I hear you say.

That is until you hear who will be doing the inspecting.

The US Department of Homeland Security are currently in negotiations with the Irish government with the intention of installing a permenent team to inspect private aircraft landing at Shannon en route to the United States.

So, we will now have a situation where suspicious US aircraft landing at Shannon can be searched by none other than the US authorities, while we turn a blind eye to possible rendition flights at one of our own airports.

Thunderstorms and heav rain throughout the county have caused some serious flooding this morning

Local radio reports that Tesco in the Roxboro Shopping Centre was forced to close temporarily due to flooding, it is hope that the store will re-open later today.