The Limerick Blogger: latest Limerick news and Limerick events

A man has appeared in court and has been charged with the murder of 25 year old father of two, Roy Collins.

James Dillon (23) with no fixed abode was brought to Limerick District Court at 1630 hrs for the court hearing which lasted no longer than two minutes.

During the hearing, Detective Garda Paul Madden gave evidence of formally charging Dillon with the murder. The court was told that he made no reply when charged.

Solicitor John Herbert was assigned to Dillon’s defence, and Judge Tom O’Donnell remanded him in custody until April 22nd, noting that the question of bail was a matter for the High Court due to the seriousness of the charge.

Meanwhile, two other people who were taken in for questioning in relation to the murder, a 19 year old man and a woman, were both released without charge.

One of the biggest draws of the May Bank Holiday Riverfest will be absent this year as it was revealed that there will be no Riverfeast at the festival.

Organisers claim that they received insufficient funding from the Limerick Co-Ordination Office for the event, and as a result, will more than likely hold it later in the year.

From the leader:

Mr O’Sullivan said that the Cook-Off will take place later this year separate from Riverfest, but that damage had been done to its reputation with teams having to cancel flights and change holiday plans.

“City Hall has always been helpful with this but the Co-Ordination Office board would seem to have decided this is no longer worth investing in. We know money is being spent elsewhere – €5,000 on a fireworks display for example – and we could run this with €20,000 which is very little when you consider how important it is for the local economy,” he said.

Spokesperson for Limerick Co-Ordination Office Laura Ryan told the Limerick Leader that when speaking to Mr O’Sullivan last month, he had told her he would need at least €10,000 but that he had only said this would not be enough on Sunday last.

“Pat was told last year that while Limerick Co-Ordination Office runs Riverfest, it doesn’t have the necessary funding to be the main public sponsor. Failte Ireland is the main source of public funding for festivals like this and we told him that there was a grant of between €30,000 and €50,000 available for events with a running cost of over €100,000.”

Well, at least we have the tug-o-war to fall back on, eh.

Gardai investigating the murder of Roy Collins have uncovered two guns and components for a third in O’Malley Park.

One gun was found in a derelict house, while a rifle and the gun parts were found in open ground in the estate.

Meanwhile, it is being reported that hundreds of people have signed the book of condolence which was opened at City Hall this morning.

Searches for the gun used in the murder of Roy Collins are ongoing.

Limerick film maker David Noel Burke is having some success with his film “No Right Turn”

From the blurb:

‘No Right Turn’ is both a tribute to and a tongue-in-cheek pastiche of the classic Film Noir genre. Nina (Laura Bach) is a shapely femme fatale, who is saddled to her boyfriend Johnny (Tao Hildebrand), a bragging small-time crook, who straps a piece of raw liver under his nose when they have sex. One night, Nina meets Monella (Sira Stampe), an artistically withdrawn soul, whom Nina persistently tries to seduce. But Nina has a hidden agenda with this friendship. She wants Monella to help her steal Johnny’s hidden cash, and together they stage a fake kidnapping, which can only go wrong..

The film gets it’s premiere at CPH:PIX Film Festival in Copenhagen on April 23rd.

The official trailer is below. As yet, there is no date for when this will be released in these parts, however, If we hear anything, we’ll let you know.

Up to fifteen jobs are to go in Dromcollogher as Irish Dresden went into liquidation.

The news comes after a liquidator was appointed to the hand crafts company last Thursday. Changes in fashion as well as the current economic climate are being blamed for the closure of the company.

Irish Dresden has operated in Dromcollogher since 1962 when the Saar family fled communist East Germany for Ireland.

Gardai have said that they have had a major breakthrough in the investigation into the murder of businessman Roy Collins

The claim was made after they sought the extension of the detention period of two men, who were arrested in Ballinacurra Weston on the day of the killing.

It appears that investigating Gardai had a major breakthrough and require more time to question the two men on new information they have obtained.

A woman has also been arrested and is currently being detained at Mayorstone Garda Station.

Meanwhile, Mayor of Limerick John Gilligan has called on the government to introduce new legislation to deal with the criminal gangs. He has also called for them to be treated in the same way as subversives.

Mayor of Limerick, John Gilligan is to open a book of condolence at City Hall for Roy Collins, who was murdered as he worked at the Coin Castle arcade in Roxboro last Thursday.

The book will be opened at 1000 hrs on Wednesday, and will be located beside the reception area at City Hall.

Three Easter commemorations were held in Limerick this weekend.

The Organisation of National Ex-servicemen and Women held a wreath laying ceremony at the war memorial in Pery Square before attending a religeous service at the Dominican Church.

Following the service, they held a procession to the Republican Plot at Mount St. Lawrence’s cemetary where another wreath laying ceremony was held.

Sinn Féin were next to hold their 1916 commemoration, which gathered at the gates of St. Lawrence’s cemetary before proceeding to the Republican Plot.

After a reading of the 1916 Proclamation, Aengus O’Snodaigh TD gave an oration to the assembled gathering.

O’Snodaigh criticised the Government in his speech for their “corruption.”

“The corruption they presided over is going to cost us because Fianna Fáil is set to bail out their friends to the tune of Billions while at the same time special needs assistants are cut, a promised Cystic Fibrosis centre is delayed due to lack of funding and regeneration projects including the one desperately needed it this city face an uncertain future.”

Republican Sinn Féin were the third group to hold their ceremony, again at the Republican Plot.

The orator at this ceremony, Richard Walsh, used his speech to criticise Sinn Fein, and those who condemned recent acts carried out by the Continuity and Real IRA.

“Recent events in the Six Occupied Counties must also be mentioned. The announcement by RUC Chief Hugh Orde that special units of the British army had been returned to the occupied territory to carry out surveillance on suspected Republicans was soon answered with what have always been deemed legitimate acts of war. But former Republicans (sic) have sought to label these recent killings as acts of treason. True Republicans, however, are only too well aware from which quarters all of the treachery of the past two decades and more has come.” he said

Liveblogging at ScribbleLive.com

want to participate? simply follow the above link, or post on twitter with the tag #munosp

As many as 12 Limerick criminals could be tried before the non-jury Special Criminal Court, according to a report in the Sunday Times.

The paper reports that Gardai are to request that the Director of Public Prosecutions direct cases involving Limerick criminals to the SCC in order to avoid the intimidation of jurors, and their possible murder years down the line.

The news comes just days after Roy Collins was murdered at the CoinCastle Amusement arcade in what is believed to be a revenge attack against his family by members of the McCarthy-Dundon gang. It is believed that Mr. Collins was killed in retaliation for the fact that a relative of his gave evidence in a case against Wayne Dundon.

Dundon received a ten year sentence after he was convicted of threatening barman Ryan Lee at Brannigans Bar. His sentence was later reduced to seven years.

Lee was shot and injured within hours of the threat being made, however, no one has been convicted of the shooting.

Brannigans bar was later burned to the ground, again, no one was convicted of this.

Gardai are now said to have their sights set on twelve local criminals, who they believe, if put behind bars, will result in a dramatic reduction of organised crime in the Munster region.

Click here to read the Sunday Times report.