The Limerick Blogger - latest Limerick news and Limerick events

DEVELOPING: The region is currently being battered by storm force winds. In it’s latest report, Shannon Airport recorded a wind gust of 50 knotts( (58mph)

If you have any reports of power outages, debris, flooding, or any other storm damage, you can post them in the comments section on this post for the benefit of other readers.

I hope to have more updates later…

UPDATE: Kilcornan is out of power at the moment according to Live 95FM

UPDATE: Blog readers reporting debris between Limerick City and croom. Also fallen trees en route between Bruff and Limerick.

We kinda guessed he would be pleased with this.

Maurice Quinlivan, Sinn Féin representative in Limerick and Limerick East election candidate, has reacted positively to John Fitzgerald’s proposal to extend the City boundary past the three areas of Moyross, Pineview, Craeval and Delmage.

In a statement received by the Limerick blogger he welcomed the request by the new Czar for Moyross, who suggested the extension, which Mr. Quinlivan has consistantly proposed since May of this year.

“The preliminary plan presented to County Councillors represents significant progress in the quest to end the unique and somewhat absurd situation whereby these three Limerick City Council housing estates are in County Limerick despite the wishes of the overwhelming majority of the residents. In the door-to-door Survey we in Sinn Fein carried out in the 3 estates this Summer we found that 93% of respondents wanted to be in the City. People had no affiliation whatsoever to the County and indeed felt their needs were never addressed by the County Council. They also felt that as things stood they had no political representation and almost 97% of them didn’t know who their local County Councillors were. I would now call on Limerick City Council to issue a clear statement that they are willing to incorporate this area into the City’s jurisdiction.”

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank Limerick County Council for responding positively to the approach to them from John Fitzgerald and indeed to our approach to the County Council in May with the findings of our survey in relation to this matter that we conducted in the areas concerned. Therefore, Sinn Fein once again calls on the Minister to move with some urgency to resolve this anomalous and bizzare situation by transferring these three estates into the jurisdiction of Limerick City Council. We also wish to reiterate our gratitude to the local residents for their co-operation in the carrying out of the survey. It is the intention of Sinn Fein to do all that we can to pursue this matter to a successful conclusion.â€? “

Alan Kelly (19) from O’Malley Park, who is currently on remand for threatening another man, was refused temporary release from Limerick Prison to attend the funeral of his son.

On Friday, the District Court rejected an emergency application for bail to allow Kelly to attend the baby’s funeral on compassionate grounds.

On the day Kelly was arrested, his girlfriend miscarried and it was hoped that Kelly could get a few hours out to attend the funeral.

Judge Tom O’Donnell told solicitor John Devane, representing Mr. Kelly, that he did not have the power to grant a temporary release as it was in the hands of the govenor of Limerick Prison.

The Prison authorities were also unable to release Kelly as he was on remand, and legally, they were unable to release him.

Mr. Devane, who is also running for the upcoming general election, has described the turn of events as “heartless.”

JP McManus has been splashing out to help educate the kids of Limerick in areas where the Government can’t be arsed.

In the first of his gestures reported this week, he has assisted in the provision of a mini bus for the kids on the Northside Learning Hub, a project which encourages children to stay in school rather than leave early.

One of the first groups to use the new mini bus were the Corpus Christi school Under 13s Gaelic Football team.

In another donation, Mr. McManaus purchased new electronic whiteboards for the Rosbrein School for the hearing impaired. The boards were initially requested by the school from the Department of Education, but they were refused.

Now all five classrooms of the 28 pupil school have an electronic board each. The boards cost €5,000 a piece.

These will be a great advantage for the students as, having little or no hearing, they depend more on visual stimulation than those of us who are able to hear.

Limerick City Council has reached an agreement with one of it’s tennants that he and his family quit one of their houses in the first week in February.

Paul Foran, who was renting a house at Whitecross Gardens in Moyross, has agreed to take himself and his eight kids out of the house.

City Council had initially applied under Section 62 of the housing Act to boot Foran out for repeated instances of antisocial behaviour at the Circuit Court, which was granted.

During an apeal at the High Court, Justice Eamon De Valera struck out the apeal after the court was told that Foran had agreed to move out in February.

Only time will tell how long he will be able to let himself or his kids act the bolix in the private rented market.

This act should be used more often in this part of Limerick.