LIMERICK councillors were never appropriately presented with a completely accurate account of the Irish Rugby Experience (IRE) gift proposal.
That’s according to a statement from IRE CEO Barry Hannon, seen by this newspaper, at a private meeting between elected members of Limerick City and County Council, representatives of the shuttered €30m tourist attraction, and billionaire JP McManus last week.
Mr Hannon also acknowledged that he was invited to attend a meeting with Council members last November, but did not believe it was beneficial for their business or for Limerick in general at that time.
“In our view, immediate engagement would have extended the very negative publicity being unjustly received,” he told councillors at the closed-door meeting last Thursday.
Mr Hannon went on to explain how it was always the intention of the McManus family to gift the IRE and the building to the people of Limerick once complete. It was also recognised, he said, that the building may be ready for its “next life” after 2027, noting how they had no objection to use of the building for an alternative civic purpose after that date.
“Eight months on from this extremely disappointing process, I am still very much at a loss why the matter was ultimately handled the way it was after the signing of the Heads of Terms. While we fully appreciate Heads of Terms are not binding, all of the indicators up to that point were positive,” his statement to Councillors said.
“We firmly believe that had the offer been presented fairly and with full context that the transaction could have been accepted or solutions found.”
Councillors were informed at last Thursday’s meeting at County Hall in Dooradoyle that they were presented with an amended version of the ‘joint position paper’ at their meeting on October 23, 2024. A document, it was claimed, had not been approved by the IRE.
“The amendments to that position paper were, in our view, misleading and prejudicial in respects to what we believe is an extremely generous proposal,” Mr Hannon told councillors.
On a personal level, Mr Hannon said he was particularly annoyed by the manner in which the proposal was handled in the Council chamber on October 23 and 29 last, and how the matter was thereafter dealt with in the broader media.
“This contributed significantly to reputational and commercial damage that was suffered as a business,” he concluded.
Limerick City and County County was asked for comment.
