Business magazine in talks to host promotional event after 'ill-informed' article on Limerick
BOSSES at the international business magazine Forbes are in advanced talks with council officials to host a major event in the city.
It comes two years after it published an inflammatory article, which made a number of false claims about Limerick and its crime rate.
The move caused a major backlash, and caused Limerick council officials to demand an apology from the publication, which is based in New Jersey, USA.
Within a day, the article, by Dublin-born writer Stephen McBride, had been removed from the Forbes web site, and its editor Randall Lane committed to hosting a '30-under-30 event' in Limerick, showcasing some of the best young business talent the city has to offer.
Now, it appears he had made good on this commitment, with negotiations to bring the event to Limerick at the final stages.
It's understood the event will take place in the coming months, with Christina Vega Magrini, vice-president for corporate communications in Forbes saying: "Forbes is in conversation with the Limerick partners and discussing the details for hosting an event there this summer."
The quickly withdrawn website feature was a profile of the Collison brothers, founders of the multibillion-dollar tech company Stripe, but quickly homed in on Limerick and its former associations with crime.
“Some call it ‘stab city’,” the article began. “Many folks think Ireland is all rolling green hills and five-star golf courses. But in the middle of the Irish countryside is a city called Limerick – known as the ‘murder capital’ of Europe.”
Mr Lane previously said the Limerick event would be covered on its “global platforms”, viewed by about 200 million people per month, “so the world can see the talent Limerick has incubated”.
Following the publication of the article, the hashtag #LimerickandProud began to trend on Twitter, as it did in 2015 in the wake of a negative documentary on the city by journalist Donal MacIntyre.
On both occasions, it was the former mayor of Limerick, Cllr Daniel Butler who brought this to the fore, and he has welcomed the move from Forbes bosses to come to Limerick.
"The article itself was delivered by an ill-informed amateur writer but I was disappointed it did not face adequate editorial scrutiny as it does not meet Forbes standards before being published," he said, "Last year in my term as mayor we did follow up on the matter which had been put on hold due to Covid-19 and hoped to see it delivered during my term. However, I am delighted to see this now happening and moving on from the negativity this is a huge opportunity for local young entrepreneurs. The platform this offers and the network it opens up could be transformational for some."