MAYOR John Moran said this week that he was willing to dig into his mayoral fund to meet a €100,000 annual operational cost deficit to keep the “loss-making” International Rugby Experience open until after the 2027 Ryder Cup, if it would bring representatives of the tourist attraction back to the negotiating table.
A shock statement issued by the International Rugby Experience (IRE) late last week announced that the attraction was to close on December 23 this year – less than two years after it first opened.
It was announced earlier in April that the IRE was to be gifted to Limerick by the JP McManus Charitable Foundation, but a statement on behalf of the tourist attraction this past week confirmed that negotiations between the Foundation and Limerick City and County Council over the handover of the building had reached a standstill.
During a special meeting of Limerick City and County Council this Tuesday to discuss the future of the landmark tourist attraction, Mayor Moran told Council members that there had been a request from the JP McManus Charitable Foundation to keep it open as is until 2028.
After that period, under the terms of the gift, it was to be open to the Council to change the use of the building
At the close of a fractious four-hour meeting within the Council chamber, which ran late into Tuesday evening, Limerick’s first citizen stepped in with the offer to help bridge a funding gap until the future of the iconic building could be decided – however emphasising his concerns over a stipulation in the proposed agreement between the JP McManus Charitable Foundation and the Council that, if transferred, the building could never be sold or mortgaged by the local authority.
He told the Council meeting that “perhaps that is something both sides can revisit, it would be really helpful if they could”.
Stating his preference to “save” the IRE, and the estimated 50 jobs associatied with it, Mayor Moran told councillors – who urged him to use his mayoral budget to help the Council take the operation into charge – that “there isn’t a magic fund of €40million that we can deploy to save this building and this operation if we want actually want to do other things”.
Closure warnings
With JP McManus and members of his team online (though not in a position to contribute) for much of Tuesday’s emergency meeting, Mayor Moran offered to meet the €100,000 annual operations cost outlined by the IRE to keep it open until after the 2027 Ryder Cup.
The Mayor said he hoped his offer would bring the IRE team back to the negotiating table.
Director General of Limerick City and County Council, Dr Pat Daly, assured councillors that every effort was being made to secure the proposed transfer of the IRE into Discover Limerick DAC, the Council-owned tourism company that manages other Limerick attractions including King John’s Castle.
Dr Daly pointed out, however, that the local authority was now well into the process of trying to secure the future for the city landmark but admitted they were at the end of progress “in certain ways”.
“We have been informed that there was intention to close (the IRE) at the end of October so that brought urgency to it. We are still in the process of looking for support but it doesn’t fit grant aid programmes,” he explained.
The meeting also heard that there were rumblings of the IRE closing earlier this past June.
Dr Daly said that the Council has a good working relationship with the McManus Foundation and hoped for an opportunity to go back and do what has to be done “sensibly”.
He suggested that the Council has “lots of ideas” for what the building could be used for into the future.
‘You have the budget, you deliver this’
Fianna Fáil councillor Michael Collins hit out at an earlier statement made by Mayor Moran that the ultimate decision of the future of the IRE lies with councillors.
He told Mayor Moran “you are the head of the Council and then, when it doesn’t suit you, it’s the councillors decision. So I’m going to put it back to you – it’s your decision and you can make the call. You have the budget, you deliver this, you put the money where it’s needed.”
Fine Gael councillor Liam Galvin accused Mayor Moran of throwing Limerick’s 40 councillors “under the bus” last Friday evening on national radio when discussing the breakdown of negotiations over the IRE.
“What is your recommendation? Because you threw us under the bus on Drivetime when you stated that it is the councillors that will have the decision. Let me remind the media and everyone here that it is not. It is the Mayor and the Director General that will have to come to this chamber with the recommendation,” Cllr Galvin declared.
The Abbeyfeale man went on to ask if the Minister for Finance and the Limerick government ministers have been asked to come up with the shortfall needed to sign the building over to the local authority.
“It’s very nice to stand up at the podium and take credit when the credit is yours, but you have to stand up at that podium as well and accept it when it’s not,” he told Mayor Moran.
Green Party councillor Sean Hartigan pointed out that the proposal to take over the International Rugby Experience would mean keeping the building forever and subsidising it to the tune of around €600,000 per year.
“The building is valued at €5m, cost €30m, and a change of charity status may involve paying back €12m in VAT,” he posted on social media following the meeting.
“It would seem that it was always the intention to hand it over to the Council and this is what most councillors want irrespective of the financial burden. They seem to think it’s what Limerick people want as well, is it? Do you think it’s a good use of money?”
‘Reimagined costs’
The multi-million euro IRE was first opened in May 2023, described as the brainchild of billionaire JP McManus and fronted by Munster Rugby legend Paul O’Connell.
In an interview with presenter Joe Nash on Live 95 radio before the meeting, IRE CEO Barry Hannon said that there had been numerous meetings with independent experts called in to examine the costings of the building’s handover.
These costings had been agreed in principal between the board and the Council on August 23, so, Mr Hannon told Live95, the board was very surprised to learn that councillors had been informed there would be a further €6.2m to be paid out.
The figures presented to councillors included the cost of stamp duty, VAT, redundancy payments and “reimagined costs”, which Mr Hannon claimed were “over-inflated and were not included in the heads of agreement” both parties had seen in August.
At the Council meeting this week, Council Deputy Director General Gordon Daly explained that additional information presented to councillors last week was so they have a view of “a full financial impact of the report on the Council and the budgetary implications”.
“It was additional information and clarification, and therefore, I would say, did not need the consent of the other party,” he told the Council meeting.
“There was no changes and it’s important to the options that you’ve seen today, the visitor numbers, the turnover, and all the substantial and material figures therein.”
As regards the immediate future of the building, the IRE has assured the public that it will honour all existing bookings and events before the current proposed closure date on December 23 (including the upcoming Santa’s Secret Workshop).
As of this moment, the building remains in the ownership of billionaire horse racing mogul JP McManus, who owns a string of other properties including the five star Adare Manor hotel and spa resort set to host the Ryder Cup golf tournament in 2027.
