Matters regarding Limerick, Limerick Pubs, No Culture allowed

Current Affairs
81

I wouldn’t frequent Aubars as much as CM but the place has definately changed over the past year or so. Upstairs still get its fair share of tossers but the women* there are the best looking in town - plenty of stunners.

Past midnight move downstairs and the place is a mix of the traditional aubars, coppers and teds. A very weird mix of people but a good laugh all the same. The last night I was there a few very tastey polish girls floating about too.

*generally savage birds but mainly bimbos who can’t hold any decent sort of conversation

82

Limerick will be empty this weekend I’d say? Anything going on down there at all?

83

Tom The busker had more words for me today.

Tom: Have you a job?
Me: I do, why?
Tom: They are going hiring a million cleaners
Me: Why?
Tom: To clean up the mess the government have made of the free state.
Me: right job

Walked off

Tom shouts after me: I came up with that one just there

84

[quote=“The Runt”]Tom The busker had more words for me today.

Tom: Have you a job?
Me: I do, why?
Tom: They are going hiring a million cleaners
Me: Why?
Tom: To clean up the mess the government have made of the free state.
Me: right job

Walked off

Tom shouts after me: I came up with that one just there[/quote]

You and Tom the busker are developing quite the rapport

85

Ya, he stops me most days I go past now. I will have to vary my route. He says he’s gonig up to the match and will be playing to squeeze box around croke park so keep an eye out for him.

86

Whats all this about Au-bars?.. Great spot. It has changed big time in the last year or so. You still get some of the wanna be’s upstairs but down stairs and out front are great… Best pulling spot in town bar none!!!

87

‘Funding not in place’ to complete Limerick’s Opera Centre development

Published Date: 29 January 2010

FEARS that the much-awaited Opera Centre development in Limerick may not materialise have been heightened after the company auditors confirmed that “no funding is currently in place to complete the project”.
While the directors of the company believe financial support for the project will be maintained, the auditors BDO said “there is no certainty that this will be the case”.

The company behind the €350m shopping centre - Regeneration Developments Ltd - owed creditors €117.5m by the end of 2008, according to the latest accounts submitted to the Companies Registration Office, which were signed off this January 18.

Some €112m has now been spent on the unbuilt site, which was been in the pipeline for four years, with €86m owed in bank loans. Interest on bank loans rose to €3.6m in 2008, from €1.7m in 2007.

Shareholders loans - which are unsecure - came to €30.7m, while bank borrowings were secured with a guarantee for €50m from three of the directors.

The company, Regeneration Developments, had a loss before taxation of €3.1m that year, nearly double their loss in 2007.

However, their operating profit increased from €15,582 to €205,011, and net assets increased from €1.7m to j4.9m by the year end.

In their report, the auditors raised concerns as to whether “continued funding for day-to-day operations can be maintained” and whether the “directors will be successful in obtaining the necessary financing to develop the sites, should the company decide to do so.”

Given these uncertainties, the auditors said they were unable to determine whether or not an extraordinary general meeting should be called.

"The directors are confident that normal operational expenditure can be met from ongoing income. However, interest is being rolled up on bank loans used to purchase the various properties.

“The directors believe this ongoing support will continue, but there is no certainty that this will be the case,” they stated.

88

Anybody been in this new Bourkes pub?
From the picture I’m guessing it’s what was formerly O’Riardas/Old Mollies?

It’s described as being old style, which if done properly would be good as the premises always had a real old time feel to it but went downhill badly the past 5 years.

89

Limerick regeneration ‘a mirage’

Madam, – Finally a Government Minister tells the truth (Front page, February 6th) when Willie O’Dea admits that the €1.7 billion for Limerick regeneration will not be forthcoming.

This news will be devastating for the countless families in Limerick’s troubled estates who had looked forward to a bright new future free from crime gangs, arson, murder, violence and anti-social behaviour.

Many will recall the images of the fleet of shiny black Mercedes cars sweeping into the deprived estates of Moyross and Southill and Ballinacurra Weston and St Mary’s Park all heralding a new dawn of enlightened local government and a vindication of the rights of people living in local authority housing.

Sadly the dream was only a mirage. The hope raised among the residents merely words spun by well-paid spin doctors.

The tragedy is made all the more depressing by the comments of the leaders of the failed regeneration effort saying that private investment will come to the rescue. There is no way that private investment will make up the shortfall.

In effect, private investment will engage in what can only be described as an ethnic cleansing exercise, where families in local authority housing are evicted to make way for new private marinas, waterside apartments and leisure centres.

This awful image of privilege over people is the sad reality of regeneration in Limerick today. All those who promised false hope to people living with crime and violence should hang their heads in shame. – Yours, etc,

SEAN O’NEILL,

Quinn’s’ Cottages,
Prospect,
Limerick.

90

If you look back on this thread you will see that I said from Day 1 that the “Regeneration” would go down in history as the greatest scam every pulled by Limerick City Council. It now looks like it’s coming to fruition.

Meanwhile the directors of the farce will continue to drive around in their company cars, hire their relatives and enjoy a €300 per week lunch allowance.

91

Imagine all the swordfish that could get you.

Why hasn’t/won’t it work?

92

Because despite all the promises in the world the Government were never going to actually commit the amount of money needed to make it work. All the window dressed external consultant reports and designs all sound nice and pretty but they needed serious bucks to make them work, I think 1.25bn was the original figure quoted, they are now offering €25m per year to be reviewed on a annual basis.

The funny thing is, one of those Bord Snip type reports actually recommended that the Government invest heavily in the project because the amount of construction employment it would create and the social benefits meant the Government would be reaping the benefits of it from day one.

93

Inviting private investment is really the final insult then. No construction project is safe in the hands of a fianna fail government though. Ultimately greed will get the better of them.

This kind of thing has been done to black people in every northen city in the US for decades. Clear the poor out of the valuable city centre real estate under the pretence of regeneration, and when enough time has passed send in the profiteers. Scandalous.

94

Na, in fairness the places they’ve cleaned these latchicos out of is worth fuck all (relatively speaking), where the real value to Limerick City council has been in duping the County Councils of the surrounding areas into rehousing the regeneration tenants on a “temporary” basis. Towns are all over Limerick, Clare and Tipp have been feeling the effects of this policy and it doesn’t look the scum are going to moved back to the city anytime soon.

95

I know that side of it alright but if the property isn’t worth much, why is private investment getting involved?

96

That thing about private investment was just a straw clutched at by Dillie O Wee

97

while a nice bit of the scum have been dispersed nicely i cant for a minute believe that was anyones original plan.

whatever the cost of this thing started at it is now apparently at 3bn, that includes schools, churches, shopping centres etc, ie the absolute finished product where scum(or the ‘poor’ as wtb would call them) would be somehow cleansed and all would be good again in the ghettos.
however it was never a quick fix and i cant find anywhere where it says what the annual funding allocation was to be, be that promised or assumed funding.
i think 25m per year is a good starting point in this environment.

98

That chap in the letter seems to have a different take on events.

99

If I have the right fella, I think the letter writer is an ex-RSF councillor who likes to get a few column inches.

100

Are the Limerick County Board now going to Croke Park to ask them to mediate?