Sick of negative press on Limerick city

Amazotheamazing

marienbad wrote: »

But the estates are the city ! Limerick is just a nexus of streets around William St/O'Connell St surrounded by housing estates and the really shocking thing to me is how really small a city it is and how it Ballyhas become so problematic.

Next time you are in Eason have a look at a map of Limerick , google just dos'nt show how small it is.

It small size make even those areas you mention susceptable to anti social behaviour and crime

I don't need to google to know how small Limerick is.

I think it's important to differentiate between the estates. For example, i think it's far easier to solve the problems in Moyross as it's within walking distance of excellent schools and facilities. It's near fairly quiet areas like Thomondgate, Clareview and Farranshone etc.

We need to stop treating the problem areas as interchangeable. The deprivation in Southill, imo, is far, far worse than it is Moyross. Each area needs it's own solutions. The population of Moyross is about 3,500 and declining and in general the problems are centred on Pineview and Delmege.

When you break the problem down into hard numbers you can see we're not dealing with legions of people here.

munstergirl

This thread has turned into a bashing limerick city.

I've already said i love living in limerick, i feel safe in limerick and am happy living here.

I would not live in a city i didn't like i would move.

But i choose to live in limerick, shop in the city, socialise in the city with never a bit of trouble.

90,000+ people live in city and suburbs most quite happy.

Some families have been living in fear of their neighbours that should never have been allowed to happen. The gardai need to reclaim the streets of the small few estates. Lets build a new prison while we are at it.

CiaranMT

munstergirl wrote: »

This thread has turned into a bashing limerick city.

Nobody here is 'bashing' the city. Bashing would be calling it a scumhole, a disaster area, Detroit of Ireland, what have you. Nobody's been doing that.

Areas of Limerick city have urgent social problems, which need to be dealt with by the people in charge. Do you disagree?

marienbad

munstergirl wrote: »

This thread has turned into a bashing limerick city.

I've already said i love living in limerick, i feel safe in limerick and am happy living here.

I would not live in a city i didn't like i would move.

But i choose to live in limerick, shop in the city, socialise in the city with never a bit of trouble.

90,000+ people live in city and suburbs most quite happy.

Some families have been living in fear of their neighbours that should never have been allowed to happen. The gardai need to reclaim the streets of the small few estates. Lets build a new prison while we are at it.

with an apology in an advance to the poster as I take it he/she is sincere but is it not a Limerick bashing thread.

That Limerick- Stab city is a cliche ,is true , Try to generate one ! First requirement -there must be substantial truth contained within the cliche, No crediblity-no legs-no handy cliche; Stab City contained sufficient truth to have legs- we have to live with it -for now

If you cant state the unvarnished reality and try to deal with it,. Or you choose to state the City Hall combination comb-over p.r. job with a soupcon of reality, then its forever going round in circles

Locals and Some realy heavy duty outside expertice followed by a plan, a budget ,a review,some hire and fires, a plan, a budget ,a review etc
woerks every where else

eroo

Someone's had a few sneaky beaky drinks!

krudler

CiaranMT wrote: »

Nobody here is 'bashing' the city. Bashing would be calling it a scumhole, a disaster area, Detroit of Ireland, what have you. Nobody's been doing that.

Areas of Limerick city have urgent social problems, which need to be dealt with by the people in charge. Do you disagree?

I've been to Detroit, Limericks worse.

liammur

I agree Limerick is a disaster area, but if Ireland keeps voting for the likes of bertie ahern,most other areas will quickly follow suit. Poverty will reign supreme in Ireland because there will be no money to regenerate the ballymuns of this world.

MissHoneyBun

Well in the world of showbiz, there's no such thing as bad press and I think we could all do with some comic relief and these guys are (pure?) hilarious (:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljPFZrRD3J8

liammur

MissHoneyBun wrote: »

Well in the world of showbiz, there's no such thing as bad press and I think we could all do with some comic relief and these guys are (pure?) hilarious (:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljPFZrRD3J8

V funny

Roadtrippin

MissHoneyBun wrote: »

Can we drop this 'perceive' nonsense? Limerick is considered unsafe for a reason, please stop looking to excuse the inexcusable. Also, you're naive if you think an annual documentary from RTE will have a substantial bearing on unemployment figures when a simple google will quickly tell any potential investor the state of affairs in Limerick. Going down the route of withdrawing information to suit localised interests is hardly the way forward as recent times have shown us all too well.

Perceptions matter. I for one am not happy with Limerick being perceived as Stab city etc.

Wouldn't exactly call myself naive for believing that media coverage impacts on peoples' perceptions. In fact, you are the naive one if you think that negative media coverage of Limerick has no bearing on the situation at hand. Anybody that knows a little bit about how the media works also knows that the coverage of certain problems and the lack of reporting on others is NEVER a coincidence in my opinion.

Nobody is asking to withhold or withdraw information. I think I made it pretty clear in one of my earlier posts that in some ways its good these documentaries draw attention to the problem at hand and raise awareness, especially among politicians that can then improve the situation by assigning more funding to fix the problem.
On the other hand, I know for a fact that other cities' PR offices and city hall do stop some negative news on their cities from being reported on to uphold a positive image and not scare away potential tourists, investors etc. So I find it's a bit of a double standard that some cities can withhold information consciously while Limerick cannot.

I think changing the problem at hand and changing the perceptions need to go hand in hand in order to improve things.

marienbad

Roadtrippin wrote: »

Perceptions matter. I for one am not happy with Limerick being perceived as Stab city etc.

Wouldn't exactly call myself naive for believing that media coverage impacts on peoples' perceptions. In fact, you are the naive one if you think that negative media coverage of Limerick has no bearing on the situation at hand. Anybody that knows a little bit about how the media works also knows that the coverage of certain problems and the lack of reporting on others is NEVER a coincidence in my opinion.

Nobody is asking to withhold or withdraw information. I think I made it pretty clear in one of my earlier posts that in some ways its good these documentaries draw attention to the problem at hand and raise awareness, especially among politicians that can then improve the situation by assigning more funding to fix the problem.
On the other hand, I know for a fact that other cities' PR offices and city hall do stop some negative news on their cities from being reported on to uphold a positive image and not scare away potential tourists, investors etc. So I find it's a bit of a double standard that some cities can withhold information consciously while Limerick cannot.

I think changing the problem at hand and changing the perceptions need to go hand in hand in order to improve things.

I have to say I just don't understand why you are so caught up in this perception issue. Limerick's reputation is well earned, so get used to it.
For every negative story we get 10 local politicians jumping on it giving out yet again about the Dublin media but at the same time keeping the negative story going to suit their own local agenda.

Until you change the story you wont change the reporting of it.

krudler

Roadtrippin wrote: »

Perceptions matter. I for one am not happy with Limerick being perceived as Stab city etc.

I literally havent heard a single person outside Limerick call it Stab City in about 10 years, thats a massive chip (possibly of Chicken Hut origin) on Limerick peoples shoulders. If anything it should be called Sawn Off City, or Semi Auto City, but they dont really have the same snappy ring to them, harder to fit on newspaper headline banners too.

cruiser178

jesus christ there are still many posters on this site,with their heads stuck in the sand,its like a jig saw that can not be pieced together,WAKE THE F UP,what prime time did for this city was great,in fact, not good enough,i want too see prime time 2,that piece of tv did not hit home hard enough(the voice of people that had to flee their home,through anti social behaviour,after all they put into their homes was not heard enough),we need more of name and shame,we need to show that the authorities of this so called "city" need to be taken out of power and put to sleep,for good.

sioda

krudler wrote: »

I've been to Detroit, Limericks worse.

krudler wrote: »

I literally havent heard a single person outside Limerick call it Stab City in about 10 years, thats a massive chip (possibly of Chicken Hut origin) on Limerick peoples shoulders. If anything it should be called Sawn Off City, or Semi Auto City, but they dont really have the same snappy ring to them, harder to fit on newspaper headline banners too.

I have heard Limerick referred to on many occasions in both Cork and Dublin as stab city in the past 12 months.

I get from your first point you don't like the city even though comparing anywhere in Ireland to parts of Detroit is utterly ridiculous. Never mind the social aspects but the massive difference in gun culture doesn't reflect any type of parity.

If you know anything about the Media influence in this city you would know that for many years in the early to mid nineties especially both Cork and Galway had no national news outlet or radio broadcaster thus Limerick always got head billing and this led to the stereotype that Limerick has been lumbered with. I am not saying Limerick is a perfect place but feicin hell in the scheme of things its no worse than any other major urban centre.

cruiser178

sioda wrote: »

I have heard Limerick referred to on many occasions in both Cork and Dublin as stab city in the past 12 months.

I get from your first point you don't like the city even though comparing anywhere in Ireland to parts of Detroit is utterly ridiculous. Never mind the social aspects but the massive difference in gun culture doesn't reflect any type of parity.

If you know anything about the Media influence in this city you would know that for many years in the early to mid nineties especially both Cork and Galway had no national news outlet or radio broadcaster thus Limerick always got head billing and this led to the stereotype that Limerick has been lumbered with. I am not saying Limerick is a perfect place but feicin hell in the scheme of things its no worse than any other major urban centre.

hey sioda,thanks for trying to back up limerick city,i love where i live but we have many social promlems,you wouldn't know what to believe,again thanks!!

marienbad

sioda wrote: »

I have heard Limerick referred to on many occasions in both Cork and Dublin as stab city in the past 12 months.

I get from your first point you don't like the city even though comparing anywhere in Ireland to parts of Detroit is utterly ridiculous. Never mind the social aspects but the massive difference in gun culture doesn't reflect any type of parity.

If you know anything about the Media influence in this city you would know that for many years in the early to mid nineties especially both Cork and Galway had no national news outlet or radio broadcaster thus Limerick always got head billing and this led to the stereotype that Limerick has been lumbered with. I am not saying Limerick is a perfect place but feicin hell in the scheme of things its no worse than any other major urban centre.

What are you on about ? what have the media or their location got to do with it ? This is all so Irish, Catholic and parochial where the exposure of a crime is regarded as worse than the crime !

Accept responsibility and face up the the problems, everything else will fall into place.

goingpostal

I think this thread should be retitled to "Sick of biased, inaccurate, lazy, deceitful, discriminatory press coverage of Limerick City".

MissHoneyBun

goingpostal wrote: »

I think this thread should be retitled to "Sick of biased, inaccurate, lazy, deceitful, discriminatory press coverage of Limerick City".

......otherwise known as the truth. Prime Time didn't exactly hire actors for their documentary ffs.The incidents that have been reported on are real, that happened in Limerick carried out by real Limerick criminals and that's just a fact.

You clearly haven't seen the documentary where the people were literally crying out for a voice. They saw the presence of the media as a positive platform to finally air their grievances and let people know what they're going through and I can guarantee if you were living with it on your doorstep, you'd feel the same. It's all very well to preach and make claims about everything being fine from an Ivory Tower.

I also find it ironic that the people banging on about negative media coverage are the very ones who clearly only see the negative in everything. If people like you put as much energy into doing something about these problems as you do moaning about the media then you'd be doing your city an infinitely better service.

seachto7

This is something that pees me off too.
Negative press or the truth? I don't the primetime doco was biased at all. It depicted certain people in certain areas of Limerick and how their lives are.
Yes, there are many good things happening in these areas, but the programme wasn't about that.
It seems many think that "we know this stuff goes on, but we don't want it reported on national tv". I think it should be reported, along with other towns and cities (which is the problem...). The more people know about it, the more something might be done to fix it....
What about the doco on the amount of homeless in Dublin? Couldn't that be considered negative press for Dublin?

Amazotheamazing

MissHoneyBun wrote: »

......otherwise known as the truth. Prime Time didn't exactly hire actors for their documentary ffs.

No,they hired scumbags to act like scumbags. Good work by RTE.

RonMexico

The manner in which people in this country prefer to pretend everything is rosy and point at someone else instead of facing up to the problems in their own backyard never ceases to amaze me.

It happens from the very top down.

Roadtrippin

Ok, just to make something clear - nobody in Limerick is unaware of the problems of the city and we don't pretend that they don't exist. The original post had nothing to do with denying that antisocial behaviour doesn't happen in Limerick.There seems to be a few people saying repeatedly "open your eyes - all Primetime documetary did was report the truth!" - but nobody debated that what was reported, doesn't happen in Limerick!
And to all of you saying people should start facing the facts, taking responsibility and do something about it... what would you have us do??? I'd like to point out the fact that giving scumbags screentime on RTE, doesn't equate in doing something about it. I mean, what do you think is in our power to do? If I could do something about the crime levels in those areas, I would - but I'm not a gard, I dont work for the county council or city hall and I don't work for any social service in these areas...

RonMexico

People could start by voting out the incompetent politicians who have been "representing" Limerick City in the Dail.

seaniefitz

worked and lived in Limerick for over 3 years in the 90's and loved it, great place to work, socialise and for sport.
go to a lot of munster games and normally stay for a night

was there on sat night and was saddened by how quiet it was and by the number of vacant premises, every second building seems to have a for sale/to let sign

when did the Bank Pub close?

Denis Brosnan was asked to prepare a report/plan for the city and when he presented it there was a strong reaction to his "limerick city centre is dead" comment

i am afraid he isn't far wrong

still had a great night though

marienbad

Roadtrippin wrote: »

Ok, just to make something clear - nobody in Limerick is unaware of the problems of the city and we don't pretend that they don't exist. The original post had nothing to do with denying that antisocial behaviour doesn't happen in Limerick.There seems to be a few people saying repeatedly "open your eyes - all Primetime documetary did was report the truth!" - but nobody debated that what was reported, doesn't happen in Limerick!
And to all of you saying people should start facing the facts, taking responsibility and do something about it... what would you have us do??? I'd like to point out the fact that giving scumbags screentime on RTE, doesn't equate in doing something about it. I mean, what do you think is in our power to do? If I could do something about the crime levels in those areas, I would - but I'm not a gard, I dont work for the county council or city hall and I don't work for any social service in these areas...

So what is your point in your original and subsequent posts then ? If it was just a rant at the seemingly endless futility of of Limerick's problems
and the coverage of them , fair enough , the whole country is sick of it also. But it is news and so must be covered.

By the way a small start might be to see people , all people as people and not as scumbags. What ever they are now they started out just a much a tabula rasa as the silverspoon brigade from the ncr !

Roadtrippin

marienbad wrote: »

But it is news and so must be covered.

Since when are the problems in Moyross, Southhill etc. news??? This has been going on for years!

marienbad wrote: »

By the way a small start might be to see people , all people as people and not as scumbags. What ever they are now they started out just a much a tabula rasa as the silverspoon brigade from the ncr !

Thanks for the lecture... the one post were I wasnt politically correct you have to call me on it I know everyone starts out as a blank slate and that a lot of the people from these areas are not necessarily scumbags. But you'll have to forgive me for labeling some of them as such for the way they behave and make other people's lives a living hell!

Btw, here's something concrete on the negative consequences that the RTE coverage has had - as a direct result, one of the families that were on it, talking about how their live has been affected badly etc., has been threatened by people from their area. If that kind of reaction can't be called scummy I don't know what it's called.

marienbad

Roadtrippin wrote: »

Since when are the problems in Moyross, Southhill etc. news??? This has been going on for years!



Thanks for the lecture... the one post were I wasnt politically correct you have to call on me it I know everyone starts out as a blank slate and that a lot of the people from these areas are not necessarily scumbags. But you'll have to forgive me for labeling some of them as such for the way they behave and make other people's lives a living hell!

Btw, here's something concrete on the negative consequences that the RTE coverage has had - as a direct result, one of the families that were on it, talking about how their live has been affected badly etc., has been threatened by people from their area. If that kind of reaction can't be called scummy I don't know what it's called.

That fact that it has been going on for years is envenmore newsworthy, news is not entertainment it is just news

Apologies on the scumbags thing, did'nt mean to come across all pc on you and I was'nt just referring to you. That expression has now become so pervasive it can stop us seeing whats behind it. Anyway apologies again.

liammur

Over another 100 top end jobs for Galway announced, it was only a week or 2 ago I posted the last 100 top jobs they've got. These are the jobs we so badly need to stimulate the region. FF have no shame

Roadtrippin

marienbad wrote: »

Apologies on the scumbags thing, did'nt mean to come across all pc on you and I was'nt just referring to you. That expression has now become so pervasive it can stop us seeing whats behind it. Anyway apologies again.

No apologies needed - you were quite right in pointing it out. That term is overused.

Bock the Robber

CiaranC wrote: »

Its the medias JOB to report on this situation.

I'd love to see the JOB description.

Jambo221

Bock the Robber wrote: »

I'd love to see the JOB description.

Your reply is to a quote over two weeks old from the first reply on the thread, your ability to make a relevant post is amazing.

Maybe duty would have been a better word to use, but that's not what you need to focus on in the post.

Bock the Robber

Jambo221 wrote: »

Your reply is to a quote over two weeks old from the first reply on the thread, your ability to make a relevant post is amazing.

Maybe duty would have been a better word to use, but that's not what you need to focus on in the post.

I think I can be the judge of what I need to focus on. What do you reckon?

Jambo221

Bock the Robber wrote: »

I think I can be the judge of what I need to focus on. What do you reckon?

I'd reckon that since you quoted the first reply that you didn't bother reading much of the rest of the thread, and that your main objective is most likely to incite negative responses.

Bock the Robber

Jambo221 wrote: »

I'd reckon that since you quoted the first reply that you didn't bother reading much of the rest of the thread, and that your main objective is most likely to incite negative responses.

In that case you didn't put much thought into it.

The media have no defined job. It's facile and naive to suggest that they have any role or duty. They do whatever they think will maximise the audience and therefore advertising revenue.

That's the point of my comment and the reason I went back to the start of the thread.

Will the Central Committee for Permitting Opinions now approve?

Mc Love

IBTL

Insect Overlord

Cork Boy wrote: »

Fixed that for ya;)

Most pointless thread-bump I've ever seen. Deleted.

Mc Love wrote: »

IBTL

But, this thread is still relevant enough to keep open, so I won't lock it.

chief justice 1

wilie o " dea td is demanding action ? on todays limerick post page 6 intimidation of residents in the ballynanty area five famllies have moved out of the area because of threats that were made. so here we go again ? when is this going to stop ? you had keys park southill 15 famllies hounded out of ther homes. you had 20 families houded out of there homes in fairview crescent garryowen . and now ballynanty thats " 40 families flee there homes when is this going to stop ???? limerick city has the highest drop in population in the country,in the 2011 census .

CiaranMT

Ah, Willie, the most reliable man around for empty soundbites.

RonMexico

When he had the power to take action himself he did sweet F.A.

The sooner Limerick is rid of him as a representative the better.

goingpostal

I love negativity and whining and moaning. Tis great, says I.

Insect Overlord

sherdydan wrote: »

so dahs not limerick citay?

Banned (1 week) for making the same stupid joke, over and over, despite ample warning of the consequences.

seachto7

In Dublin yesterday, and it was heaving. Now I know it's comparing apples and pears, but was also in Clonakilty recently and Cork city, and I can't help but notice the difference in atmosphere between those places and Limk city. Limerick city centre is really gone to the dogs. More and more people I know in Limerick are just stating the obvious, that's it's a kip. I know you can't really talk about it, as nobody wants to hear it.

It's the layout of the place is the problem too. It's horribly planned as a town centre, zero atmosphere, and too many scumbags. Is it in danger of turning into a little Detroit where hardly any business will be done in the centre anymore? A few token shops does not make up a CBD.

You know what I would like in Limerick? A little like you have in continental towns and cities: a main square. I would like nothing more than to sit in a main square with a coffee and a book, and pass an afternoon watching the crowds go by. There isn't really anywhere to do this in the city centre, nor is there in many towns in Ireland for that matter.

Visually, Limerick is a dive. There are plenty of good things going on other than that, and the covered market is a great addition to the town, but the O Connell street area leaves a lot to be desired. If a buddy of mine came over form abroad, I wouldn't take them near the town. I'd head straight for somewhere else..

You go to places like Masstricht, Dingle, Utrecht, Brugges, many English towns, Kinsale, etc etc, and you could have a bit of pride walking around the centre "yeah, this is a nice place isn't it..."

Kess73

seachto7 wrote: »

In Dublin yesterday, and it was heaving. Now I know it's comparing apples and pears, but was also in Clonakilty recently and Cork city, and I can't help but notice the difference in atmosphere between those places and Limk city. Limerick city centre is really gone to the dogs. More and more people I know in Limerick are just stating the obvious, that's it's a kip. I know you can't really talk about it, as nobody wants to hear it.

It's the layout of the place is the problem too. It's horribly planned as a town centre, zero atmosphere, and too many scumbags. Is it in danger of turning into a little Detroit where hardly any business will be done in the centre anymore? A few token shops does not make up a CBD.

You know what I would like in Limerick? A little like you have in continental towns and cities: a main square. I would like nothing more than to sit in a main square with a coffee and a book, and pass an afternoon watching the crowds go by. There isn't really anywhere to do this in the city centre, nor is there in many towns in Ireland for that matter.

Visually, Limerick is a dive. There are plenty of good things going on other than that, and the covered market is a great addition to the town, but the O Connell street area leaves a lot to be desired. If a buddy of mine came over form abroad, I wouldn't take them near the town. I'd head straight for somewhere else..

You go to places like Masstricht, Dingle, Utrecht, Brugges, many English towns, Kinsale, etc etc, and you could have a bit of pride walking around the centre "yeah, this is a nice place isn't it..."

But if your buddy came over would you play Anthrax or Incubus first for them?


Would agree with you on the city centre though. It is miles behind Galway or Cork for a good few years now. In terms of facilities, range of shops and the abilities of local authorities.

Silentcorner

seachto7 wrote: »

In Dublin yesterday, and it was heaving. Now I know it's comparing apples and pears, but was also in Clonakilty recently and Cork city, and I can't help but notice the difference in atmosphere between those places and Limk city. Limerick city centre is really gone to the dogs. More and more people I know in Limerick are just stating the obvious, that's it's a kip. I know you can't really talk about it, as nobody wants to hear it.

It's the layout of the place is the problem too. It's horribly planned as a town centre, zero atmosphere, and too many scumbags. Is it in danger of turning into a little Detroit where hardly any business will be done in the centre anymore? A few token shops does not make up a CBD.

You know what I would like in Limerick? A little like you have in continental towns and cities: a main square. I would like nothing more than to sit in a main square with a coffee and a book, and pass an afternoon watching the crowds go by. There isn't really anywhere to do this in the city centre, nor is there in many towns in Ireland for that matter.

Visually, Limerick is a dive. There are plenty of good things going on other than that, and the covered market is a great addition to the town, but the O Connell street area leaves a lot to be desired. If a buddy of mine came over form abroad, I wouldn't take them near the town. I'd head straight for somewhere else..

You go to places like Masstricht, Dingle, Utrecht, Brugges, many English towns, Kinsale, etc etc, and you could have a bit of pride walking around the centre "yeah, this is a nice place isn't it..."

Ya the georgian buildings on upr O'connell st are a disgrace horrible looking things...and as for Henry St??...biggest kip in the country....that walk from Treaty Stone to the New bridge is an eyesore...don't get me started on Thomas St / Bedford row which for some reason people sit outside cafes and watch the day go by!!!!...I jest by the way

There are parts of the city which are typically urban bland, but go off shop st in Galway and you will see the same, or Patrick St in Cork...

We really don't help ourselves with our constant "Limerick baiting"...

we also get A LOT more negative press than any other town / city in the country which some us not only tolerate but encourage!!!

I don't know what you are expecting when you enter a regional city with a pop of 100k, Dingle, Westport, Kinsale, Killarney, Galway, Cork and Dublin are all tourist destinations, most towns outside of this are "kips" and large parts of Dublin can be considered kips...even parts of Cork City....Limerick is what it is, one of the better non tourist towns in the country...tourists are drawn to capital cities and coastal cities / towns or regions surrounded by mountains, Limerick has none of these, but I for one think we play our hand as best we can....

seachto7

Visually, it's not a nice town, and most tourists I know who go on holidays like to take pictures........

The walk from the Treaty Stone to the New Bridge is grand but it's done and dusted in 10 minutes........:pac::pac:

But again, that's not quite the city centre.......:)

I won't knock what's going on in town, or the many excellent creative and sporting people that are here, but unfortunately I find it hard to "sell" the town to an out of towner these days... "uh, it's good if you like a rugby weekend..." ???

When people come down and see the "opera house" area, that is a thundering disgrace, that's the worst part, plus O Connell street seems to be full of "to let" or "for sale" signs, which is not the most inspiring sight......

It could always be worse though, I could be in Tipp town which never fails to depress me anytime I pass through it..

Kess73, I would only play them John Bush era Anthrax!! \m/
I'm not sure what Incubus album I would choose for them. I was listening to Light Grenades yesterday,and approve of it!

seachto7

Silentcorner wrote: »

we also get A LOT more negative press than any other town / city in the country which some us not only tolerate but encourage!!!

I don't know what you are expecting when you enter a regional city with a pop of 100k, Dingle, Westport, Kinsale, Killarney, Galway, Cork and Dublin are all tourist destinations, most towns outside of this are "kips" and large parts of Dublin can be considered kips...even parts of Cork City....Limerick is what it is, one of the better non tourist towns in the country...tourists are drawn to capital cities and coastal cities / towns or regions surrounded by mountains, Limerick has none of these, but I for one think we play our hand as best we can....

True enough, but I don't see why we should have to put up with a sh*thole of city centre? How come every time I come back from abroad or other places in Ireland, I walk downtown in Limerick and think "ah, for f**ks sake......."
For all Dublin's faults, and bad areas, the city centre, and COrk and Galway for that matter are way ahead of LImerick

CiaranMT

@Seachto7, I've experienced the exact same in Galway. My GF is up there and the place is hopping any time I go up there. It'll be even busier with the film fleadh and the Arts festival now as well.

Friend who was up for the Clare-Galway match in Salthill said the same thing too.

It opened my eyes really, as to how bad Limerick has regressed.

@Silentcorner, I'd disagree about the Georgian buildings. From the Crescent down to Mallow St, and up around the People's Park, I think looks really well. What's needed is massive restoration work along Patrick St, Catherine St, etc.

seachto7

@CiaranMT.

I agree. Another thing. Limerick should at least have something on a par with the Galway Arts festival or the Kilkenny Arts festival. The KK Arts festival looks good again this year. I don't know why Limerick doesn't go for something along the lines of this? Or to a lesser extent the Galway Arts festival?
Cork has the marquee....
Maybe with more gigs in the milk market, it could be like a mini Cork Marquee type festival...?

CiaranMT

seachto7 wrote: »

@CiaranMT.

I agree. Another thing. Limerick should at least have something on a par with the Galway Arts festival or the Kilkenny Arts festival. The KK Arts festival looks good again this year. I don't know why Limerick doesn't go for something along the lines of this? Or to a lesser extent the Galway Arts festival?
Cork has the marquee....
Maybe with more gigs in the milk market, it could be like a mini Cork Marquee type festival...?

Limerick missed the boat big time there.

Not much chance of something like that setting up right now either, the other festivals you mentioned are established and I wouldn't see promoters taking a chance on a new one atm.

grenache

Limerick city centre as a whole is quite depressing, the whole block layout means its devoid of any cosyness or atmosphere, unlike Galway or Cork. However there is definitely huge potential in the old English town part of the city around Nicholas St and around the Market Quarter too, if only the City Council could do a proper renovation job on these districts. There are smaller more pretty streets in these parts that would certainly catch the attention of tourists......especially Nicholas St, as its so near King John's Castle.

For me, the worst part, and an area that badly needs a clean up, is Catherine St (not the lower part they renovated last year obviously). For a main street in the city centre that is home to Pery's Best Western hotel, which is popular with tourists, it's a shabby run down ghetto. Vacant buildings with weeds growing everywhere. Basements covered in broken glass. And a lot of rough characters living in the Catherine St / Cecil St area in general (apologies to any nice people living on those streets).