Race is on to finalise programme of events for Limerick this Christmas

THERE are strong hopes that a Christmas programme for Limerick can be finalised by the end of this week.

Councillor Dan McSweeney made the comments this Monday as there was continued silence from Mayor John Moran and the council over the festive programme for the city.

As things stand, the bulk of what is planned for December in Limerick will now be administered by Dr Pat Daly, the director general of the local authority, instead of the executive mayor.

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It comes after Mayor Moran exercised his powers to delegate responsibility.

“I as an elected member and I know my Fine Gael colleagues have been working extremely hard in recent days, engaging with the executive, engaging with the director general and all his team to secure a programme of events we can all be proud of,” Cllr McSweeney told Live95FM.

However, concerns have been raised over the timeframe of delivery, with the countdown to Christmas getting under way next month.

Just one event is confirmed so far - a procession on Saturday, November 22.

“I’m extremely concerned,” admitted Cllr McSweeney.

Following Christmas 2024, a sub-committee of councillors was put in place to provide suggestions for this year’s festive celebrations.

A number of events were proposed, with a briefing held as far back as July 16, Cllr McSweeney said.

The City West councillor told Live95FM that memos were provided for Christmas on August 8, but they were still not signed by September 24 when Mayor Moran signed over responsibility for the Christmas programme.

“It’s left an extremely short timeframe. If it was his intention to delegate powers, it should have been delegated much earlier. There was a huge opportunity for the mayor to be actively involved to create a brilliant Christmas for our city centre. But it seems he has taken the option of not exercising those powers,” the councillor added.

There are fears the festive offering in Limerick could be “very poor” according to priomh-comhairleoir, Cllr Catherine Slattery, who described it as “a farce”.

“Something is wrong here, something is not working out. This isn’t a blame game. It’s about the citizens of Limerick who deserve a good Christmas,” said Cllr Slattery, who leads the Fianna Fáil group in the metropolitan area, and sits beside Mayor Moran at monthly meetings.

A number of councillors have now called for everyone to come together and ensure there is a successful Christmas in Limerick.

Social Democrats councillor Shane Hickey-O’Mara said: “We are not here for each other’s political egos. We are here for Limerick - that’s our job,” he said.

He has been joined in the call by Sinn Féin councillor Sharon Benson and Cllr Ursula Gavan, Independent.

A public statement was expected from the mayor on Thursday, but did not materialise.

Limerick Live put a series of questions in relation to the matter to the council and Mayor Moran on Thursday last week.

This newspaper made a fresh enquiry to council on Monday.

There was no response.