The Limerick Blogger: latest Limerick news and Limerick events

Friday night you can party like it’s … the Year of the Ox,

From the blurb:

Celebrate the Year of the Ox this Friday !

Never shy of an excuse for a party, Trinity Rooms have got together with the far East’s favourite beer, Tiger to throw a huge party to celebrate Chinese New Year on Friday 30th January.

It’s the year of the Ox which traditionally is the chinese symbol for strength and hard work so as a gesture of chivalry it’s been decided that all girls will be free on the night which will see the venue transformed with Chinese Lanterns, Silk Screens, Silhouette Dancers and lots of Free Tiger Beer to celebrate the New Year.

On the night there’ll be games like a 6 foot tall Game of Jenga, Lots of Free Chinese Food and a chance to win concert tickets and Tiger Beer Merchandise all with a musical soundtrack provided by Friday Night residents Johnny Hammond and Erick.

At midnight there will be an authentic Chinese Fire Show in the Clubhouse Courtyard to usher in the Year of the Ox which is traditionally the year of prosperity and hard work so if you’d like the good times to roll (again!) head along and celebrate your way into 2009!

Elaine Culhane from Trinity Rooms said “The venue will be transformed this Friday and the Chinese Fire Act is flying in from the Uk especially for the show direct from the New Year Party in London’s Chinatown”

So don’t sit at home, think Global,  and get down to the Chinese New Year Party at Trinity Rooms this Friday 30th January and remember in honour of the year of the ox,  guys go free until 11pm and Girls go free until 12.30 am !

Having performed worldwide at the Montreal, Adelaide, Melbourne and Edinburgh Comedy Festivals and becoming a regular fixture at the Kilkenny Cat Laughs Festival, Andrew Stanley is one of the top comics working the Irish Circuit today. Whether it’s performing as Resident MC in numerous clubs around the country, one of which is the legendary Comedy Cellar in Dublin, or as a quality act in his own right Andrew is always high energy and quick witted enough to keep audiences thoroughly entertained.

In the past 2 years Andrew has travelled to the Adelaide Fringe Festival twice, made his debut at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and was invited to the prestigious Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal. He also travelled to the Edinburgh Fringe where he teamed up with Australian comic Damian Clark in a show entitled I Dare Ya (“Great late night fun” Independent On Sunday) which was then turned into a highly successful TV show on RTE2.

He has also taken part in TV shows such as The Liffey Laughs (RTE) and Just For Laughs (RTE) to name but a few Andrew is also the regular warm up for a number of Irish TV productions and his varied style of audience interaction and surreal observational stories grabs the audience from the moment he walks on stage and is sure to have them crying out for more when he leaves.

Doors are at 8pm with Support from Fred Cooke, Alan & Mikey and Maire Louise.

Admission is just €8 with Student ID and €12 without including Indie Nation Late Club.

Advance Tickets from LSAD Students Union and online at www.ticketmaster.ie

Two of Limerick City’s hotels face an uncertain future after it was revealed that both have run into difficulty.

Management at the Castletroy hotel are working on a plan to save the 130 jobs there.  It is hoped that they will have something in place by Friday.

A statement released after meetings with staff stated that the hotel will continue trading as normal.

Further to our meeting of this morning in the hotel and for the sake of clarity, please be advised that Castletroy Park Management Ltd the company which operates the Castletroy Park Hotel continues to trade as normal.

Meanwhile, the owners of the Marriott Hotel on Henry Street have surrendered the lease for the property.

Nicholas street is making the headlines today for all the wrong reasons .

The day began with a raid on the Mucky Duck Pub by members of the Gardai and the Criminal Assets Bureau.

Searches of the premises were underway for several hours.  The investigation of the bar is in relation to serious crime in the city.

Later in the day, a man was taken to St. John’s hospital after he received stab wounds in an attack on the same street.

The attack happened at approximately 1600 hrs near St. Mary’s Church.  He is now being treated for a wound to the neck, however his injuries are not said to be life threatening.

No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing.

The Army Bomb disposal unit had to be called in after a suspect package was discovered in a field near Glasgow park.

A number of controlled explosions ha to be carried out in order to ensure the package was safe.

Meanwhile, Gardai on the southside discovered a number of guns and ammunition as part of their investigations into serious crime in the city.

Two sawn-off shotguns, a rifle, and sixty rounds of ammunition were found in the base of a wall on the Childers Road last night.

The area was sealed off while a forensic examination of the area was carried out.

The 2008 Limerick Person of the Year will be announced at a special ceremony at the Clarion Hotel this Thursday.

The guest for the evening will be NewsTalk radio presenter and RTE sports pundit, George Hook.  Having brought his radio show to the city, not to mention his trips down to cover Munster games, Hook is no stranger to Limerick.

• Sophie Lillingston, Children’s Carer
• Leanne Moore, Singer
• Castletroy College students on behalf of winning sports teams
• Limerick School of Art and Design tutors Anne Melinn and Patricia Keilthy
• Munster and Ireland rugby player John “The Bull” Hayes
• Mick Dolan, proprietor, Dolan’s Bar and Warehouse
• Wyn Crabtree, St Gabriel’s School Founder
• Gerard McDonnell, Mountaineer, First Irishman to climb K2
• Joe Hurley, Newcastle West Floods hero
• Pat Whelan, chairman of Thomond Park Re-Development Committee
• Brenda Shanahan, Winner, The Apprentice
• Richard Kennedy, chairman, IFA Dairy Committee

Two men have been taken in for questioning in relation to the death of 39 year old Mikey Molloy from Garryglass Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston.

The two men, aged in their late teens, were arrested in the city centre earlier today and are being held at Roxboro Garda Station 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.

Meanwhile, Mr. Molloy’s  remains will be removed from Cross’ Funeral Home at 1900 hrs tonight to Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Rosbrein.  He will be buried at Mount St. Oliver Cemetary following his funeral mas at 1100 hrs.

BBC news is reporting that Adams Kids at the Parkway Shopping Centre is one of 36 outlets to close.

The Administrators of the chain, PriceWaterhouseCooper, have released the names of those stores facing closure.  All other stores will remain open as normal.

Outlets in Cork and Tralee will also close according to the BBC report.

The closure of the 36 stores will result in the loss of 850 jobs throughout the Adams Kids chain in both the UK and Ireland.

Another city retailer faces an uncertain future after it has been placed in administration.

UK based Barratts Shoes, who have an outlet on Cruises Street, were placed in administration by it’s parent company, Stylo.  While Stylo itself is not in administration, trading of it’s shares on the UK stock exchange have been suspended.

Deloitte have been appointed administrators of the chain, however they say that stores will continue to trade as normal.

Another of Stylo’s companies, PriceLess, has also been placed in administration.

It is hoped that the chain can get some leeway with it’s creditors.  From SKY News.

They [Deloitte] hope creditors of PriceLess and Barratt will agree to place the businesses into a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) – a deal regarding the payment of their debts.

Under the CVA, creditors and landlords vary their terms of trade in order to give Barratts and PriceLess the necessary breathing space.

Meanwhile, it is expected that HMV will take over the running of the Crescent Shopping Centre’s Zavvi outlet within the next two weeks.  Zavvi’s outlet in the shopping centre was one of five Zavvi stores bought by HMV in the republic of Ireland.

Staff at both First Active and Ulster bank will find out their fate later today following a decision by their parent company, Royal Bank of Scotland, to make substantial cuts.

It is expected that First Active will be merged with Ulster Bank, and that areas where both have a branch, one of them will be closed.  According to RTE News, the First Active brand is expected to dissappear.

Both financial institutions have a branch on O’Connel Street in the City Centre.

The expected cuts come after RBS announced the biggest ever loss in UK corporate history. It is estimated that RBS lost in the region of €29bn in 2008.

Management at First Active are currently holding meetings with unions in relation to the proposed cuts, and they in turn will inform their members.

UPDATE: It is being reported now that 750 jobs will go as a result of the merger of First Active and Ulster Bank. There is no official detail on what will happen to both banks in Limerick, but it is expected that the First Active branch will be closed.

Customers with First Active are to be transferred to Ulster Bank.

The Limerick Leader Online is reporting that Gardai are investigating what they are treating as a suspicious death of a man in the city.

It is believed that the man was assaulted in his home in Ballinacurra Weston at approximately 2130 hrs on Friday night, and died at the Mid Western Regional Hospital on Saturday evening.

A post mortem carried out by state pathologist Marie Cassidy confirmed the man was assaulted.

The identity of the man has not yet been released, and it is understood that Gardai are following a definate line of inquiry.  According to the Leader report, the incident is not believed to be feud related.

UPDATE: The Irish Independent is reporting the name of the deceased as Michael Malloy, (39) from Garryglass Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston.