The real Limerick marches defiantly
A GREAT deal of nonsense has been written in various international newspapers about Limerick in recent months.
True, some decent journalists have written fairly and honestly about what they found - and we all know there are serious issues Limerick has , but others - risibly - depicted Limerick as a place where the economy has utterly crumbled, where the local population cowers in fear from gangs and shops sell cigarattes and tea bags individually.
This tripe has been filed by feature writers who only have ears for the kind of material that fits in with their preconceived notions. they feel no need to double-check the things they present as facts - or even single-check them. They come under the category of 'too good to check'. These reports are then dispatched into the world wide web, where they are taken as gospel by lazy journalists from London to Frankfurt. In the internet age, this is how myths grow up and cities have their good names besmirched.
There was no sign of these intrepid correspondents last Sunday, when 5,000 people marched through the streets of the city behind the family of Roy Collins. They were there to show their support for a deeply courageous family who have taken a public stand - and they sent a powerful message to those responsible for Roy Collins' barbaric murder.
Those who marched are the real people of Limerick people, the kind of citizens who make up the overwhelming majority of our population. Seeing so many of them taking to teh streets was truly an uplifting sight.
As Mayor John Gilligan so rightly said: "The people of Limerick are sick of these criminals...The city will continue, it will grow, it will prosper. But that cannot happen in tandem with people whose only interest is to spread the disease of drugs and inflict appalling injuries and death on people as they see fit. This is not acceptable."
Not before time, legislation is before Cabinet which will give gardai new powers to deal with gangland criminals. This battle will eventually be won and when it is we hope the international media will deem it worthy of their attention. But frankly, we doubt that.
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Weather for Limerick
Monday 21 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: South
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Cloudy
Temperature: 13 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: South
