LIMERICK’S new Mayor John Moran has big plans for the city and county. Much bigger, it turns out, than a giant neighbourhood litter tray.
Moran’s “aspirational” vision for the future will be unveiled to the 40 elected members of Limerick City and Council next Monday.
The over 100-page document may or may not include a monorail system, but there’s bound to be a few surprise stops along the Mayor’s roadmap for Limerick.
Some of Moran’s tantalising objectives include taller buildings in the city centre, extra resources for Gardaí, a wider range of retail businesses, and a partridge in a pear tree.
Not only that, the Limerick property magnate also wants to turn Abbeyfeale into a town of the future and make the Cappamore-Kilmallock district the playground of Limerick.
On top of all these magical notions, Mayor Moran is going to wave a wand and see Limerick accommodate 50,000 new residents by 2040. He’s some man for one man.
If your lifelong dream has always been to be a monorail conductor, it might happen yet. Let’s just wait for the trumpets to sound on Monday first.
Fine Gael councillor Stephen Keary will surely be impressed though, with talk of using the Vienna model of housing and reimagining Limerick city centre with Barcelona styled super-blocks. “Aspirational”, he says? Not by half.
The mayor, who owns properties across Limerick and Dublin, as well as properties in France and New York – and more power to him for it – also wants to see motorised transport cut in the city and green spaces increased.
Maybe former Limerick Mayor Michael Sheahan wasn’t so daft after all when he suggested replacing Brown Thomas with a fountain and a meadow?
Moran’s meeting with council members next week certainly promises to be a real firecracker.
Social Democrats councillors Elisa O’Donovan was far from impressed with an article published by The Ditch last week that revealed Mayor Moran gets more than €25,000 a month in rent from his transatlantic property portfolio — more than €300,000 a year.
“There is something very wrong when a Mayor earns the same in one month from renting their private properties than a councillor earns in a whole year,” Cllr O’Donovan posted on social media.
Moran is clearly a savvy operator with a real business head and just because he has invested his communion money wisely is no reason for Cllr O’Donovan or The Ditch to be getting all in a tizzy, surely?
Or is it? Should we all be horrified by this news because of the lack of homes for families across Limerick and Ireland?
Either which way, it will be interesting to gauge the mood in County Hall next week and see how the new Council reacts to all of this as we enter into the beginning of a very exciting five-year term.
With talk of four calling birds and three French hens, there is bound to be festivities aplenty. Oh, and please let there be a monorail!
Moran’s “aspirational” vision for the future will be unveiled to the 40 elected members of Limerick City and Council next Monday.
The over 100-page document may or may not include a monorail system, but there’s bound to be a few surprise stops along the Mayor’s roadmap for Limerick. I suppose, like our poor auld local representatives, we’ll have to wait for the big unveiling to see the complete Moran wish-list.
Some of Moran’s tantalising objectives include taller buildings in the city centre, extra resources for Gardaí, a wider range of retail businesses, and a partridge in a pear tree.
Not only that, the Limerick property magnate also wants to turn Abbeyfeale into a town of the future and make the Cappamore-Kilmallock district the playground of Limerick.
On top of all these magical notions, Mayor Moran is going to wave a wand and see Limerick accommodate 50,000 new residents by 2040. He’s some man for one man.
If your lifelong dream has always been to be a monorail conductor, it might happen yet. Let’s just wait for the trumpets to sound on Monday first.
Fine Gael councillor Stephen Keary will surely be impressed though, with talk of using the Vienna model of housing and reimagining Limerick city centre with Barcelona styled super-blocks. “Aspirational”, he says? Not by half.
The mayor, who owns properties across Limerick and Dublin, as well as properties in France and New York – and more power to him for it – also wants to see motorised transport cut in the city and green spaces increased.
Maybe former Limerick Mayor Michael Sheahan wasn’t so daft after all when he suggested replacing Brown Thomas with a fountain and a meadow?
Moran’s meeting with council members next week certainly promises to be a real firecracker.
Social Democrats councillors Elisa O’Donovan was far from impressed with an article published by The Ditch last week that revealed Mayor Moran gets more than €25,000 a month in rent from his transatlantic property portfolio — more than €300,000 a year.
“There is something very wrong when a Mayor earns the same in one month from renting their private properties than a councillor earns in a whole year,” Cllr O’Donovan posted on social media.
Moran is clearly a savvy operator with a real business head and just because he has invested his communion money wisely is no reason for Cllr O’Donovan or The Ditch to be getting all in a tizzy, surely?
Or is it? Should we all be horrified by this news because of the lack of homes for families across Limerick and Ireland?
Either which way, it will be interesting to gauge the mood in County Hall next week and see how the new Council reacts to all of this as we enter into the beginning of a very exciting five-year term.
With talk of four calling birds and three French hens, there is bound to be festivities aplenty. Oh, and please let there be a monorail!
