COUNCILLORS this week publicly apologised to JP McManus over the local authority’s management of the failed handover of the Irish Rugby Experience (IRE) last year.
This came ahead of a private briefing which will see councillors and representatives of the IRE sit down behind closed doors for discussions.
Limerick horse racing mogul and philanthropist JP McManus is set to address the elected representatives of Limerick City and County Council (LCCC) at a closed-door meeting this Thursday (June 26).
In April 2024, it was announced that the 30,000sq/ft landmark building on Limerick’s main thoroughfare and its entire operations were to be gifted to Limerick City and County Council, with Discover Limerick DAC to oversee its day-to-day operations.
The closure of the €30m premier city tourist attraction last December – just days before Christmas and with the loss of around 50 jobs – and the events which led to negotiations between the Council and the IRE breaking down will be discussed at the private briefing between JP McManus, the IRE, and Council members at County Hall in Dooradoyle.
Ahead of this Thursday’s meeting, at the Annual General Meeting of the Metropolitan District on Monday (June 23), outgoing district Cathaoirleach Cllr Kieran O’Hanlon took the opportunity to apologise to Mr McManus and his wife Noreen.
“I’m extremely disappointed and annoyed at the way the whole thing was handled,” the Fianna Fáil man said.
“We have one of the biggest gifts coming to us from one of the greatest people Limerick ever had – JP McManus. Not only did we refuse it, but we insulted the McManus family in the process.”
In his 12 months as Cathaoirleach of the Metropolitan District, Cllr O’Hanlon told Council members that his opinion wasn’t even sought by the local authority on the matter.
“It wasn’t asked, high up or low down, and I think it shows how dysfunctional this organisation has become,” Cllr O’Hanlon hit out.
“I would like to apologise to JP McManus on behalf of the councillors for the way this was handled.”
The multi-million euro IRE first opened in May 2023 and was closed just 18 months later.
As of this moment, the building remains in the ownership of the billionaire horse racing mogul, 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.
It was initially planned that the IRE would be gifted to the people of Limerick, but talks between representatives from the IRE and the Council fell apart in October last year.
At the time, IRE explained that it was “unable to advance” the proposed deal with the Council, leading to the IRE’s closure in December 2024.
In response, the Council said it was “disappointed” with the IRE’s decision to close its doors, stating that it had made “every effort” to secure the deal.
Mayor John Moran acknowledged at the time that a €1.2m gift from the JP McManus Charitable Foundation, to go along with the handover of the building, would not be enough to keep the IRE open. He suggested that “several hundred thousand more” would need to be put up from the Council budget.
A counter-offer from the Mayor to use €300,000 from his Mayoral Fund to help keep the facility open for the next three years was subsequently rejected by the IRE.
Cllr O’Hanlon now wants the government to bring forward a review on the functions of the democratically-elected mayor’s role on the back of the IRE row.
“Hopefully this will reflect the mandate given to councillors here because I think we have been sidelined by the office of the directly-elected mayor. Our powers and responsibilities have been diluted and there’s things going on that we don’t know about,” he said.
