Mayor of Limerick holds meeting with JP McManus over International Rugby Experience
Visitor attraction closed last Christmas after deal between council and businessman fell apart
MAYOR John Moran will not be attending a briefing this Thursday, where JP McManus will address the International Rugby Experience (IRE) closure for the first time.
Sources close to Mr McManus have said the businesman intends to "set the record straight" about the saga, which has seen the award-winning building in the city centre out of use for six months.
But Mayor Moran, whose offer of €100,000-per-year over three years in a bid to keep the attraction open was rejected by IRE bosses, will not be present at the behind-closed-doors meeting as it clashes with an long-standing overseas trip.
In a statement issued on the eve of the 12noon meeting, he said: "While I cannot attend myself, I do believe it will be very helpful for JP (McManus) to meet with other councillors, for everyone to share both hopes and concerns and engage in further open and constructive dialogue."
He added he had recently met Mr McManus and members of his family and team, alongside senior council officials.
The facility, initially funded thanks to a €30m investment by the JP McManus Charitable Foundation closed at Christmas with he loss of 50 jobs.
It came after Mr McManus had, in April 2024, agreed to gift the multi-storey complex to the city, as well as €1.2m funding.
However, a difference of opinion between the council and the businessman around its operational costs led to the deal falling apart.
"It goes without saying that we all want to find a sustainable solution to secure the building's future and allow Limerick to benefit from the generosity of JP and Noreen and all of their family. Hopefully this sprit of collaboration and transparency will help to find a potential solution," said Mayor Moran.
Earlier this week, a source close to Mr McManus, who has secured the 2027 Ryder Cup at his five star Adare Manor resort, said he feels there is a different story to the one put forward by local authority bosses when the closure emerged last October, particularly around the cost of the facility’s operation.
“He wanted to gift the whole building, the whole thing to council, and they’d be free to use it for whatever they wanted after 2027, so long as it was of a civic nature. He is perplexed as to why this was thrown back at him,” the source said.
It’s understood Mr McManus is hurt that it was made all about money.
“This is where JP is concerned. There is no recognition of the fact this is a state-of-the-art civic building being gifted to the city.
The architecture is world class. But all the narrative has been about €100,000 here, €100,000 there, and it’s going to be tough going. At the same time, they are looking for €40m for a new library in the Opera Centre,” said the source.
“The reason JP built this in O’Connell Street was so the city centre, which we know is ailing, would get a boost from it. He cannot understand why the whole focus was on the day-to-day operational cost,” they added. “Effectively, this gift has been thrown back in his face.”
In November last year, council director general, Dr Pat Daly, noted property transfers are a “complex matter” and the local authority has always engaged “in good faith”.
At the annual meeting of Limerick’s metropolitan district, which took place this Monday, the outgoing cathaoirleach, Cllr Kieran O’Hanlon said the way the saga has been handled “was highly offensive”.
“It highlights the dysfunctional nature of Limerick City and County Council,” added the Fianna Fail man.
He acknowledged the International Rugby Experience presented “challenges” given the limited appeal of the sport.
“It isn’t every day that someone walks in and gives you a gift worth €30m. I certainly wouldn’t have refused it, and I’d have done everything in my power to make it work,” concluded Cllr O’Hanlon.
When contacted, Limerick City and County Council officials stated they do not comment on proceedings relating to behind-closed-doors meetings.