Mary I - does the I stand for Invisible?

BESman

I've always argued that one of the most important elements of a vibrant city centre is a university campus. Galway and Cork are very good examples of this with both city centres very much populated by students day and night. While this has disadvantages too, I think overall it has a very positive effect on a city centre.

I always felt that Limerick suffers from having two large third level campuses situated on the outskirts of the city. But then I remembered Mary I. Correct me on the figures, but there must be at least 4,000 - 5,000 students in Mary I but you would never know this by walking around town. Where do all these students go when they're not in lectures or at home? Its just my opinion that their presence isn't very visible around the city. I think Mary I is a good resource which should be targeted more by retailers and others to get them into town and bring a bit of life back into it.

Insect Overlord

3,000-odd students, all well serviced by Centra and Clem Smith's on the Dock Road, Fennessy's on New Street, Scott's on Courtbrack Avenue, Bobby Byrnes' on O'Connell Avenue and Spar off the Childers Road.
I'll add more to this later.

BESman

Insect Overlord wrote: »

3,000-odd students, all well serviced by Centra and Clem Smith's on the Dock Road, Fennessy's on New Street, Scott's on Courtbrack Avenue, Bobby Byrnes' on O'Connell Avenue and Spar off the Childers Road.
I'll add more to this later.

I've always seen groups around Fennessy's and Scott's alright. Not sure about Bobby Byrne's, I go there for lunch the odd time and tends to be full of professionals in the area. I was kind of thinking more towards the pedestrianised high streets. Might be a bit of a walk for them but its these areas (Bedford Row, Thomas Street, Cruises Street) that are dead and could do with 3,000-odd students.

source

BESman wrote: »

Insect Overlord wrote: »

3,000-odd students, all well serviced by Centra and Clem Smith's on the Dock Road, Fennessy's on New Street, Scott's on Courtbrack Avenue, Bobby Byrnes' on O'Connell Avenue and Spar off the Childers Road.
I'll add more to this later.

I've always seen groups around Fennessy's and Scott's alright. Not sure about Bobby Byrne's, I go there for lunch the odd time and tends to be full of professionals in the area. I was kind of thinking more towards the pedestrianised high streets. Might be a bit of a walk for them but its these areas (Bedford Row, Thomas Street, Cruises Street) that are dead and could do with 3,000-odd students.

The reason is 15 minutes walk into town from Mary I, or a 5 minute walk around the corner to the local shop/pub or their apartment.

15 minutes doesn't sound like a lot but if you only have an hour for lunch you're not going to spend 30 minutes of it walking into and out of town, when there are perfectly good alternatives on the college doorstep.

syklops

When I was going to school in Limerick we used to call Mary I the Virgin Megastore. As it turned out it was an inaccurate name as I had a relationship with a girl going there and she weren't no virgin.

She and I spent a lot of time in here room, ordering delivered pizza when getting hungry. Maybe thats where the rest of them are too.

BESman

source wrote: »

The reason is 15 minutes walk into town from Mary I, or a 5 minute walk around the corner to the local shop/pub or their apartment.

15 minutes doesn't sound like a lot but if you only have an hour for lunch you're not going to spend 30 minutes of it walking into and out of town, when there are perfectly good alternatives on the college doorstep.

That's a fair point, but most students would have bigger gaps between lectures than just an hour. I know I did. And I don't think I'd spend my college days going to the local Spar. You take a trip into town to see the place. Maybe have a drink somewhere, pass the time. You can't do that when you start working.

Mc Love

syklops wrote: »

When I was going to school in Limerick we used to call Mary I the Virgin Megastore. As it turned out it was an inaccurate name as I had a relationship with a girl going there and she weren't no virgin.

She and I spent a lot of time in here room, ordering delivered pizza when getting hungry. Maybe thats where the rest of them are too.

Ha ha i think that was the nickname for it alright - and I have no idea how it managed to get it as per your description

Irish Wolf

tbh what's in the city centre to lure them in? When I go into the city centre on a weekend, it's in-turnaround-out, maybe stop for a coffee.

This is not a Mary I problem, imo, it's a LCC problem, that has watched as the city turned to a ghost town and watched as businesses either closed or moved out to the suburbs in the 12/13 years I've lived here.

xsiborg

syklops wrote: »

When I was going to school in Limerick we used to call Mary I the Virgin Megastore. As it turned out it was an inaccurate name as I had a relationship with a girl going there and she weren't no virgin.

sweet jesus, lol, now's probably not the best time to mention that my mother did her teacher training in Mary I... *shudders*...

course, then i wouldn't be here if... never mind... :pac:

boomkatalog

I went to Mary I, finished last year and spent a lot of time in the city.

I didn't wear a banner saying 'Mary I!' or anything, nor did my friends, so how would you know we were out and about?

Its a bit of a trek to town alright seeing as we're just as close to Dooradoyle, town is more for heading out or specific shops.

Have to say my first two years there were so full of life (and craic and alcohol and amazing memories) before the workload started to pile up, and I know my friends would all say the same. Its got a lot more going on then people give it credit for, we just don't have the same buzz as UL because its much smalled and there's no bar on campus (never was a big fan of scotts, seems to be pretty dead most of the time).

xsiborg

Irish Wolf wrote: »

tbh what's in the city centre to lure them in? When I go into the city centre on a weekend, it's in-turnaround-out, maybe stop for a coffee.

This is not a Mary I problem, imo, it's a LCC problem, that has watched as the city turned to a ghost town and watched as businesses either closed or moved out to the suburbs in the 12/13 years I've lived here.

that's a good point actually, LCC has more than it's fair share of bums, vagrants and beggars to make up the numbers that we miss out on by not having the students around the city centre, i mean, there are also the colleges like Griffith College and Limerick Senior College and the students from these colleges you don't see too many of them around the city centre.

i understand the point BESman is making in the OP, but cities like Galway, Cork, and even Waterford, have a sort of a central "town square" whereas all Limerick has at it's centre is, well, o' connell street, nothing but cars up and down all day, and far too many coffee shops, no one kind of central exhibition area so to speak.

EDIT: had to laugh at source's last post about mary I in the waffle thread, 'invisible' you say? source may care to disagree...

Gallee

You'll see a load of us Mary I's out tomorrow night and all this week was Rag Week.

grenache

BESman wrote: »

Where do all these students go when they're not in lectures or at home?

Shopping for shoes i would imagine.

Brian Lighthouse

I know students from UL and Mary I and when I`m in town I say hello to lots of students as I`m walking on the streets. I see them in coffee shops and bars at all times of the day.
If your in any doubt about students from either of Limericks Larger Colleges UL, MIC, LIT, LSAD, going into town, you should try to get into angel lane on a Tuesday or Thursday night.
I haven`t but I was amazed at the queue when I saw it.
Besides there are adequate canteen facilities and lounging areas in all the colleges, UL even has a cafe in every building (that is a lot of cafe`s)

AnCapaillMor

syklops wrote: »

When I was going to school in Limerick we used to call Mary I the Virgin Megastore. As it turned out it was an inaccurate name as I had a relationship with a girl going there and she weren't no virgin.

She and I spent a lot of time in here room, ordering delivered pizza when getting hungry. Maybe thats where the rest of them are too.

Dad???

xsiborg

i couldnt quite put my finger on it last night, but the word i was looking for was 'atmosphere', or rather the lack of a vibrant, cultural, energetic atmosphere in the city centre.

there's no kind of 'old world charm' in the city any more either like there was that 15 years ago when i first came down to limerick. i've seen the history of the city eroded away and replaced by miserable, little pound shops and over-priced coffee shops and restaurants with no character. i miss the likes of javas that used be on catherine street, or quinns pub on ellen street if you wanted something more substantial for dinner, instead they are now replaced by the likes of pretentious 'what recession?' coffee shops!

the reason i say limerick city has lost its charm was inspired by the fact that as im typing this, today instead of going to subway for lunch, i always passed by a little cafe called henry street deli. i just decided why not give it a try. the place is like a little gem, quite charming, and the food is top notch. i'd recommend anyone from around mary i pop down and try it out on their lunch break or between lectures, nice place to get some study done too!

toothie

I know it would appear that most students would have more than an hour off between lectures, but not all Mary I students do I'm afraid. I was lucky if I had time to grab a ready-made sandwich between lectures. I remember some days having lectures from 9 til 6, with a tutorial shoved in where lunch should have been!

Kess73

xsiborg wrote: »

i couldnt quite put my finger on it last night, but the word i was looking for was 'atmosphere', or rather the lack of a vibrant, cultural, energetic atmosphere in the city centre.

there's no kind of 'old world charm' in the city any more either like there was that 15 years ago when i first came down to limerick. i've seen the history of the city eroded away and replaced by miserable, little pound shops and over-priced coffee shops and restaurants with no character. i miss the likes of javas that used be on catherine street, or quinns pub on ellen street if you wanted something more substantial for dinner, instead they are now replaced by the likes of pretentious 'what recession?' coffee shops!

the reason i say limerick city has lost its charm was inspired by the fact that as im typing this, today instead of going to subway for lunch, i always passed by a little cafe called henry street deli. i just decided why not give it a try. the place is like a little gem, quite charming, and the food is top notch. i'd recommend anyone from around mary i pop down and try it out on their lunch break or between lectures, nice place to get some study done too!

Nooooooooooo. Don't fill it up with students. I like that place and don't want any shutterbug students* in there.

I miss Javas (original version, not what it became in it's last three or four years) something rotten, and Quinns was easily my favourite pub in Ireland for daytime food or for anytime drinks. Used to walk into Quinn and if Christie was behind the bar there would be stare outs that would not have been out of place in any of Sergio Leone's westerns. He was a Man utd nut, and my scouse accent and footballing allegiance led to plenty of banter. Cracking guy who always made a trip to Quinns a good experience.



*This of course may just mean one person, but for the sake of equality I shall tar all students** with that tiny tiny brush.:)



** The fact I may have once been a student means nowt.:pac:

BESman

Gallee wrote: »

You'll see a load of us Mary I's out tomorrow night and all this week was Rag Week.

I think Rag Week proves my point. Would anyone have known? Not an egg or toilet roll in sight.

RonMexico

BESman wrote: »

I think Rag Week proves my point. Would anyone have known? Not an egg or toilet roll in sight.

You are confusing Rag Week with those little scrotes at Halloween.

wnolan1992

BESman wrote: »

I think Rag Week proves my point. Would anyone have known? Not an egg or toilet roll in sight.

Surely that's a good thing? Last thing we (students of UL, LIT, MI, etc) need would be people going into town doing the bollix during RAG/Charity Week, that's the fast track to ending up like Galway.

Amazotheamazing

Close Mary I and start a proper Arts faculty in UL. Better for the city to have UL concentrated mostly in one place. Also, the Catholic Church should have no hand, act or part in the training of teachers in Ireland.

Insect Overlord

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Close Mary I and start a proper Arts faculty in UL. Better for the city to have UL concentrated mostly in one place. Also, the Catholic Church should have no hand, act or part in the training of teachers in Ireland.

One of the very stupidest posts I've read on this forum in quite a while

Edit: a) Apologies to Amazo. My reply here last night was blunt, way below standard, and failed to address either of the points being made.

b) Mary Immaculate College and UL are not one and the same. "Concentrating" the whole student population in one area because of that misconception wouldn't be logical. Other posters have made good points to that regard later in this thread.

c) If anyone wants to seriously debate the role of the Catholic Church in Irish education, I'd recommend the Humanities forum.

d) If anyone wants to debate a general reform of Limerick's 3rd Level institutions, start a new thread about it.

Amazotheamazing

Insect Overlord wrote: »

One of the very stupidest posts I've read on this forum in quite a while.

From the new President's opening lecture this week.


THE recent lowering of the boundary walls at Mary Immaculate College is a clear statement, according to its newly elected president, that the third level institute is “open for business.”
Speaking at his inaugural lecture, Prof Michael Hayes said it is time to: “Re-imagine what it means for Mary Immaculate College to be a Catholic College.”
Michael A Hayes was born in Limerick city in 1957 and lived on the Ennis Road as a child. He attended St. Philomena’s, Crescent College and St Munchin’s College before studying at St. Patrick’s College in Maynooth.
He moved to the UK in 1980 where he lived until last year.
A priest of the Archdiocese of Southward in South East England and an internationally respected academic in the field of Pastoral Theology, in .October 2011, he took up the position of President of Mary Immaculate College (MIC).
Addressing guests at the new Lime Tree Theatre on the campus, Prof. Hayes referred to the lowering of the boundary walls as an attempt to convey a number of important messages.
“It says: ‘This place is part of our shared heritage’. It says: ‘We belong to your community and you are part of ours. It says: ‘Come in, you are welcome here. This is your space’.”
He explained that the message was an expression of the vision of Catherine McAuley and the mission of the Sisters of Mercy who co-founded the college in 1898 and stressed, in particular, the importance of celebrating and asserting the identity of the College in accordance with its founding ethos and the Mercy tradition.
The Very Rev. Fr. Tony Mullins, Diocesan Administrator and Chair of the Board of Trustees and An Bord Rialaithe at MIC told the crowd: “Despite the challenges that lie ahead, this gathering of the college community this afternoon marks the beginning of a new chapter in the life of MIC.
“Under the leadership of our New President, Prof. Michael A Hayes, a renowned academic in the field of theology and religious studies, and with a talented strong team of educators and student leaders, we can have confidence in a future of great promise”.
Also in attendance was Ruairí Quinn, Minister for Education and Skills who said that MIC will play a central role in ensuring that initial teacher education courses develop teachers for the future who are “equipped with the knowledge and ability to apply educational theory and research effectively in practice, to adapt to the challenges they will face throughout their careers and to best support all students to achieve their full potential”.
The University of Limerick President Don Barry referenced the special relationship between the two colleges.
“UL has a long and productive relationship with Mary Immaculate College and we are proud of this creative and ongoing partnership, which has facilitated genuine innovation while drawing on the unique MIC ethos and enriching the academic life of UL”.
Prof Hayes concluded his inauguration by affirming his confidence that the college would “do great work yet”.

Why on earth does the Catholic Church, a body that repeatedly covered up the rape of children, have any say at any level in our education system? All the Catholic teacher colleges should be shut and their students moved into the larger universities.

Amazotheamazing

xsiborg wrote: »

boards.ie soapbox, knock yourself out...

I actually don't think it's funny in the slightest to be complacent about the level of abuse the Catholic Church covered up in Ireland, and frankly, if we want a secular State, we need to remove the Catholic Church from our education system.

I also think it would be better for Limerick to have a proper Arts faculty in UL, comparable to that in NUIG and UCC then the current situation.

xsiborg

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

{irrelevant to the thread soapboxing}


.

boards.ie soapbox, knock yourself out...

xsiborg

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

I actually don't think it's funny in the slightest to be complacent about the level of abuse the Catholic Church covered up in Ireland, and frankly, if we want a secular State, we need to remove the Catholic Church from our education system.

I also think it would be better for Limerick to have a proper Arts faculty in UL, comparable to that in NUIG and UCC then the current situation.

nobody is being complacent about anything Amazo, it's just that there's a place, and a time, and a thread... and this isn't it.


EDIT: how would you think though that it'd be better for limerick to move all the students from mary i out to UL? the whole point of the OP was to encourage students IN to the city centre, not plonk them two miles outside the city centre!

from the OP:

BESman wrote: »

I always felt that Limerick suffers from having two large third level campuses situated on the outskirts of the city. But then I remembered Mary I. Correct me on the figures, but there must be at least 4,000 - 5,000 students in Mary I but you would never know this by walking around town. Where do all these students go when they're not in lectures or at home? Its just my opinion that their presence isn't very visible around the city. I think Mary I is a good resource which should be targeted more by retailers and others to get them into town and bring a bit of life back into it.

Amazotheamazing

xsiborg wrote: »

nobody is being complacent about anything Amazo, it's just that there's a place, and a time, and a thread... and this isn't it.

According to which rules?

I think anytime Mary I is discussed we should ask why a body that raped kids and covered it up is still running massive parts of our education system, it's not a question that can go away until the Catholic Church is no longer involved in Irish education. Remember it was large scale abuse and large scale cover up, across several countries and shattering thousands upon thousands of lives. It merits remembering.

Irish Wolf

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

we need to remove the Catholic Church from our education system.

I'm just curious, and as xsi has already posted, this probably isn't the place for this, but how do you propose this change would happen?

Amazotheamazing

xsiborg wrote: »

EDIT: how would you think though that it'd be better for limerick to move all the students from mary i out to UL? the whole point of the OP was to encourage students IN to the city centre, not plonk them two miles outside the city centre!

from the OP:

Just to deal with your edit, the best thing for Limerick is for UL to be the best it can be. That means, imo, having a proper Arts faculty. We need to improve the links between UL and the city. Anyhow, the status quo of Mary I as is clearly isn't doing much for the city anyway, as per the OP.

The city needs to realise UL is the most positive agent for change in the midwest at the minute and see how it can be fully utilised. Imagine if we had a top quality Arts faculty attracting a different type of student to Limerick, it would help give another aspect to Limerick city.

xsiborg

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

According to which rules?

well the Limerick Forum Charter states that:

Also remember boards.ie is a big site. If your thread is more relevant to another forum, it may well be moved there.

this is a thread about encouraging a student population into the city centre, not a thread about ireland's educational system.