A young boy has died in Limerick Regional Hospital, he died yesterday after contracting meningitis. The The HSE has advised parents to bring their children to their local GP if they are showing symptoms of the virus. No other details such as name or age of the deceased boy have been released as of yet.
Plumbers all over Limerick have never been busier due to the ongoing bad weather which caused many water pipes to freeze in Limerick. Hundreds of homes throughout Limerick were left without water for up to a week, and some are still without water, due to frozen and bursting pipes.
The people who have been left without water are being assisted by Limerick city council, who have provided standpipe water points in various parts of the county. One plumber has said the biggest problem is water pipes bursting in the attics of many houses.
See below for a list of tips to prevent pipes freezing or bursting.
1: Switch Off Main Water Supply.
2: Turn Central Heating On Throughout The Day.
3: Regularly Check Pipes For Blockage
A quick update on the soap opera that is the Limerick Senior Hurling. Justin McCarthy’s appointment just over 12 months ago was heralded by some as the Messiah coming to resurrect Limerick from the dead.
After a timid League campaign and an unmerciful ass whipping at the hands of our next door neighbours Tipperary, the Messiah is been readied for crucifixion by last years panel. To date all but 6 of last years panel have withdrawn their services for this year. Recent departures of Gavin O’Mahony, Tom Condon, Dinny Moloney and Stephen Walsh increase the chances of anyone turning up for Limericks Waterford Crystal match at the end of this month getting a game at corner forward. Don’t forget to bring your helmet though, as they are compulsory from now on.
At the last county board meeting Justin Mc received a narrow 70-54 seal of approval. A swing of 9 votes against would have left Limerick looking for another manager. Understanding the complexity of the Limerick County Board set up is as challenging as understanding how a Pope is elected.
At this point the Limerick public is fed up. Pantomime season is over. Last season was bad enough with Justin putting out what he believed was the best hurling talent in Limerick available to him. What is to be in 2010 when all but 6 of last years panel will be kicking their heels in the sidelines?
Gardai are satisfied that a fire at St. Joesph’s hospital in the city was not malicious. The fire broke out at around 6.00 PM yesterday. Three units of the Limerick fire brigade were called to the scene, they attended the blaze for over an hour, before it was brought under control.
There was no patients in the building at the time of the fire, as work was being carried out. The chief fire officer said, all indications point to accidental cause.
Speaking on RTE’s Prime Time last night, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said that he was “not satisfied” with Bishop of Limerick Donal Murray’s response to the Murphy Report, and that he hoped “they will clarify their positions and respond appropriately”.
He also said that he will be writing to the bishops named in the report to remind them “that their responses are a matter for the people of the Dublin Archdiocese and not their own dioceses”.
“Everybody has to stand up and accept responsibility for what they did,” he concluded.
Update: Theologian and former professor of moral theology at St Patrick’s College Maynooth, Dr. Vincent Twomey, has called for Murray’s resignation in a strongly-worded letter in today’s Irish Times. He writes:
My instinct is to defend the church from unfounded attacks. But the revelations of the Murphy report are something else. The actions, or rather, for the most part, the inactions of the bishops named there are simply indefensible.
At the very least, it would seem, all were guilty of negligence – some, such as Bishop Donal Murray of Limerick, whose behaviour was described as “inexcusable”, more than others. But all were deemed guilty of inaction, of failing to listen to their conscience, as Mary Raftery put it on radio and television.
They were deemed guilty of putting the interests of the institution above the safety and welfare of children. Their failure to act when necessary, whatever the motivation, caused profound emotional damage to the victims of clerical sexual abuse and their families, and facilitated even more abuse. Their failure to act decisively has also, as Fr Tom Doyle, the American canon lawyer, said on Prime Time, caused untold spiritual damage to those entrusted to their pastoral care. To begin with, all bishops mentioned in the report should resign immediately from their current pastoral positions. The longer they delay in doing so, the greater the damage they will do to all faithful Catholics, and in particular to the survivors of abuse who are still paying the price for the sins of their priests and bishops.
Criticism of Bishop Donal Murray’s inaction in the face of child sex abuse complaints mounted yesterday. Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster, Bishop of Dromore John McAreavey stated: “All I can say is that any bishop today around whom there are serious questions in relation to the care and protection of children has serious questions to answer. I’m sure Bishop Murray is reflecting on that – I know that he has taken the view that he should remain but I think he will be thinking very seriously about that. I’m not sure I can say more.” Significantly, McAreavey also asserted that if he was facing the criticism that Murray now faces, he would himself resign from office.
McAreavey was speaking on Sunday Sequence, BBC Radio Ulster’s weekly programme that deals with religious affairs. The complete programme may be listened to here.
In other reaction from Northern Ireland, Derry priest Michael Canny conceded that the reputation of the Church was “in tatters”. “The issue is now one of trust, and that is why it will take the rest of my lifetime as a priest to build up that trust again, because the trust and confidence in the Church has been broken on a fundamental level.”
Meanwhile, speaking yesterday on RTE’s The Week in Politics, Willie O’Dea said that Murray should examine his position. “I know Donal Murray personally and I have always had a very good relationship with him, and I find him a decent man. I must say that I am bitterly disappointed to read what I have read in the Murphy report. [...] I am sure Donal Murray, who is a person who would think deeply about these things, is examining his situation at the moment and he will make the appropriate decision.”
On Saturday evening, Murray maintained that he had not acted wrongly. In a statement read at masses in the Limerick diocese, he reiterated: “I never deliberately or knowingly sought to cover up or withhold information brought to my attention. There were, as the report notes, occasions when roles/responsibilities were not clear or where I did not have full information concerning cases in which I was asked to become involved.”
A full account of the criticism Murray received in the Murphy Report may be found in our previous post.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny yesterday called for Bishop Donal Murray to resign.
The Irish Times quotes Kenny as saying: “This is another appalling litany of shame. Apologies here are not good enough. This is a case where men protected guilty men. This is where those in authority knew what was going on.” He insisted that people who were in positions if authority and knew what was going on should no longer continue in such positions.
Meanwhile, Labour justice spokesman Pat Rabbitte stated that Murray should not remain a patron of any schools. In a statement on the Labour website, he declared that “whether any such Bishop should remain as a patron of a school or otherwise continue in the management or supervision of education or health provision for children is a matter for the State. Therefore where a Bishop has been directly implicated in the Murphy Report, he should have no role as a school patron.”
The Irish Times also reports that Mary McCloskey, mother of the deceased Peter McCloskey (background at Bock the Robber), repeated her calls for Bishop Murray’s resignation, and quotes her as saying: “I am very, very disappointed with my church. I wonder how long I can stay with it.”
In an interview on Live 95FM yesterday, Murray maintained that he does not intend to resign, and defended his handling of the various incidents he is criticised for in the Murphy Report. “The question whether I remain on as far as I am concerned is a question for the people and priests of Limerick,” he said.
The report of the Commission of Investigation into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin, published yesterday, includes particularly scathing criticism of the Bishop of Limerick, Donal Murray.
It concludes that Murray was aware “for many years” of complaints and suspicions of child sexual abuse (page 6), and concludes in usually blunt language that Murray dealt “badly” with complaints he received (page 13), “inexcusably” failing to investigate a number allegations (page 14).
Despite these failings, The Irish Times today reports that Murray “insisted he does not intend to resign over his role into how the abuse was handled”.
As Bishop of Limerick, Murray previously received harsh criticism for his handling of the case of Peter McCloskey. McCloskey committed suicide in 2006, two days after clashing with Murray and Diocesan legal representatives. He was abused by Fr Denis Daly of Caherdavin as a ten-year-old boy. More information may be found in his mother’s statement and at Bock the Robber.
Excerpts from the report include:
“In the Commission‟s view, Bishop Murray must take some responsibility for the very poor handling of complaints against this priest.” (Page 467) “Overall, in their handling of the complaints against Fr Naughton, archdiocesan authorities, particularly Bishop Murray, the Valleymount parish priest and Archbishops Ryan and McNamara let down those families who, because they were good Catholics, trusted the Church to do something about this man.” (Page 467)
“In a statement [...] Bishop Murray stated that he was very aware that if he had derived “more information from the various interviews I conducted, it might have been possible to prevent some of the dreadful suffering of child abuse. I very much
wish that I had been able to do so. It is a matter of the greatest regret to me that I did not manage at that time to get to the root of the problem”. No attempt was made by Bishop Murray to revisit these concerns even after he became aware of Fr Naughton‟s abusive behaviour in Donnycarney and Ringsend.” (Page 457)
“[Fr Naughton] said that the bishop [Donal Murray] had told him that it was nothing to worry about and that “cranks often make allegations”. (Page 458)
“The parishioner stated that she also tried to talk to Bishop Murray when she was attending a confirmation service in 1984 but that “he dismissed me and pretended he didn‟t hear me, and walked away”. (Page 456)
“Despite the fact that he was the area bishop and was in touch with the priest on a regular basis between March 1993 and the time of his appointment as bishop of Limerick in February 1996, Bishop Murray failed to put a proper system in place.” (Page 512)
The Irish Times reports today: “Bishop of Limerick Donal Murray was among the former auxiliary bishops who dealt “badly” with allegations of child sex abuse in the Dublin diocese”, and concludes: “He will have very serious questions to answer over the coming days.”
So far this week only one story has dominated local media, The Floods. With the ESB scheduled to release more water from Parteen weir the situation is only going to get worse. For anyone living in an area at risk from flooding the advice being issued is
Advance Preparations:
. Be prepared to evacuate your home or business. Protect yourself, your family and others that need your help.
. Have warm clothing and wellingtons ready . Have medications to hand (if needed). Make a list of children’s essentials that you will have to bring with you if you are evacuated.
. Put sandbags at any openings where the water could gain access.
. Move your car to high ground if possible.
. Have your mobile phone charged. Keep a list of emergency numbers close to your phone.
. Listen to all public alerts issued by the Local Authority or emergency services
Actions to take if being evacuated:
. Turn off gas and electricity.
. Disconnect cookers, washing machines, dishwashers, etc., connected by rigid pipes to prevent damaging the machine and the pipes.
. Store any electrical items upstairs or above flood level.
. Co-operate with emergency services and local authorities.
Close off the flow valves on propane tanks, oil drums, or other fuel containers that supply your home through pipes and fittings.
. Move valuables and other items to safety. Place them above the flood level or upstairs. (It may be preferable to routinely store such items safely upstairs or on high shelves).
. Roll up carpets and rugs and place them out of harms way.
. Empty furniture that cannot be moved and put the contents upstairs.
. Raise furniture that cannot be moved elsewhere on bricks or blocks.
Move these pieces away from walls to assist the drying later. If pieces are too difficult to lift weigh them down with a heavy object to prevent them floating and causing damage to windows, etc.
. Remove curtains if there is time, if not tie them over the curtain rail.
. Remove cabinet doors and internal doors if time allows, if not leave them open.
. Unplug any exterior electrical connections such as outdoor lighting, pond pumps and filters
Over 100 homes were evacuated in the region and with flood waters expected to rise this number is sure to increase. Added to the risk of infection and disease are new reports of rats and other “vermin” making an already bad situation much worse.
As Ireland saw their world cup dreams shattered last night in Paris, the crisis surrounding Justin McCarthy and his selection team deepened last night.
4 more high profile names have withdrawn from the Limerick Senior Hurling squad leaving next years Limerick panel looking very “green” indeed. As reported in the Limerick Leader, the latest to quit are Brian Geary, Donal O’Grady, Seamus Hickey and Wayne McNamara joining Mark Foley, Stephen Lucey, Niall Moran, Damien Reale and James Ryan in their absence from the Limerick squad.
At this point it looks like the writing may be on the wall for Justin. Whatever happens Limerick Hurling will be worse for it and the long suffering fans will not be looking at 2010 with any kind of optimism.
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