Park endangered by Limerick City Gallery

This story was in the Leader this evening.

Apparently the City Gallery is too overcrowded, and it is planning to extend on three sides.

Which leads me to conclude that the People's Park will shrink.

The Park already lost space in the opposite corner to that hideous block of apartments during the Celtic Tiger years. No fault of the City Gallery perhaps.


However, if the City Gallery does need to expand, I'd much rather it relocated rather than take away the space of a valuable public amenity.

Many visitors I've spoken to speak very highly of the park but not so much of the Gallery. (Maybe they found it too overcrowded - though in fact most of them just told me they thought it was boring, each to their own when it comes to art I suppose...)

It just seems a pity that should these plans go ahead, the Park will be further reduced in size.

Photo: Tourist Republic

Why did Alan Kelly MEP call for the resignation of Mayor of Limerick Kevin Kiely?

I find it outrageous that Labour MEP Alan Kelly would call for the resignation of an elected holder of public office on the grounds that he doesn't agree with what he says. Freedom of speech is enshrined in our constitution, and I believe that Mayor Kiely was simply exercising this right in his comments reported in the Irish Examiner this week.

There is nothing wrong with Mr Kiely criticising so-called "welfare tourism" where it does exist. My criticism of him would be that he didn't indicate that social welfare fraud by Irish people is equally as harmful as abuse by those from overseas.

According to the Limerick Leader, Mr Kelly said that Mr Kiely's comments smack of "right wing comments." Surely as a member of Fine Gael, a right-wing party, it is only right and proper that Mayor Kiely should be coming out with right wing comments? I recall that Leo Varadkar mooted the idea of adopting a Spanish-style pay immigrants to go home style policy in the last 18 months or so. It must be said that the Spanish system and any proposals Varadkar mentioned would be limited to non-EU nationals.

Despite what Mr Kelly was reported to have said in the Leader, Limerick has not always been welcome to outsiders. To say so is just a warm and fuzzy meaningless electorate-pleasing soundbite.

I believe Alan Kelly should retract his call for the Mayor's resignation. I too disagree with Mayor Kiely's sentiments, and am actually alarmed at his grasp of how the social welfare system in this country operates. However, he has simply voiced his opinion, thereby encouraging much-needed debate on the issue of welfare entitlements.

Headline writers: Beware the Diving German

This tale which is a warning for football headline writers everywhere appeared in Mary Hannigan's Planet Football this morning.

Klinsmann is not prepared to bear this cross

IT’S not entirely uncommon for the expression ‘he’ll be crucified for that’ to be used in a sporting context, but German paper Die Tageszeitung took it a step further when writing about Jurgen Klinsmann after Bayern Munich were hammered by Wolfsburg in the league and then Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

Beside the headline “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life” (taken from Monty Python’s Life of Brian) the paper used a crucifixion image of Klinsmann on a cross. “From Germany’s superstar to Bayern’s bogeyman,” read the sub-headline. “Sonny boy Jurgen Klinsmann loses one match after another. Why the fallen saviour faces crucifixion.” Did Jurgen see the, eh, funny side? Well, no. The paper promptly received a letter from his lawyers claiming that their client had been “deeply and massively violated” by the image, and that they were suing for damages. They reckon, if successful, the case will cost Die Tageszeitung €100,000.

Bayern spokesman Markus Hoerwick said the affair was “perhaps the worst gaffe ever made by the German media”, a comment, incidentally, that drew this response from the UK Telegraph: “A little hyperbolic given that the German media was in the hands of Goebbels for a decade”. Lovely.

Editor Bascha Mika insisted the paper only “nailed Klinsmann to the cross metaphorically” as a reference to how the club had turned against him, after he had been their golden boy. “I expected a better sense of humour from Bayern Munich and especially from Jurgen Klinsmann,” she said.

Most of all, it reminds us that The Daily Telegraph will always be The Daily Telegraph.