Waterford 0-16 UL 0-12 (AET)

Michael Collins’s vision of Ireland as a centre of economic excellence has been compared by many commentators both to our Celtic Tiger excess and our current woes, writes John Daly

Chuck Feeney, the grandson of an immigrant from Fermanagh, is not a household name.

Dr Ed Walsh, the founding president of the University of Limerick, has hit out at leading eurosceptic MEP Nigel Farage’s use of an address he gave to promote a no vote in the fiscal treaty referendum.

Rugby player Paul O’Connell is to receive the Freedom of Limerick city.

Donal Hickey previews the events set to mark St Patrick’s Day

NOBODY can deny that Ireland’s Leaving Cert exam, with its heavy emphasis on a points system which encourages parrot-style learning by rote, is utterly inadequate as a grounding for students to survive in higher education, in their career or in adult life.

THE views of teachers should be sought by colleges to help decide which students to admit into third-level courses, according to University of Limerick’s founding president.

The system by which second-level principals are appointed is defective and needs urgent reform. We need leaders, not people motivated by money, writes Pat O’Mahony

FORMER taoiseach Bertie Ahern has claimed €270,000 in expenses from the state since stepping down in 2008.

THREE former Fianna Fáil finance ministers were yesterday branded “intoxicated joyriders” for their role in incentivising speculative building and borrowing.

IT TOOK until the second-half, but Kerry eventually showed their undoubted class in this Munster U21 football semi-final at the Gaelic Grounds last night.

A prominent academic has said economic 'Martial Law' needs to be imposed to bring down rates of pay in Ireland's public sector.

DNA testing should be used to track runaway dads who dodge financial responsibilities for their offspring, a noted academic has said.

SPEAKING at a business conference recently on the topic of radical action for a new beginning, Dr Ed Walsh offered what he considers to be far-reaching suggestions to “avoid bricks being thrown through windows”.

THE man on the radio had a funny voice. Funny peculiar, rather than funny ha ha.

AFTER receiving his honorary doctorate at UL, Dr Jerry Kennelly spoke of his hopes that a global company he has established will follow the success of Stockbyte which he sold for €110 million four years ago.

SCIENCE, accountancy, sales, information technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical services are the areas the long-term unemployed should be considering if they are serious about retraining, according to a panel of recruitment and academic experts.

The founder of one of the country's leading universities has said there may be some merit in giving recognition to those who fail Leaving Cert honours maths.

STATE bodies, private investors and a Cork-based venture capital firm are in line for a share of a €33 million windfall following the sale of a Limerick firm to a US multinational.

LISTENING to some of the teachers and the union representatives moaning during the week one could be tempted to suggest that what we need is to bring back corporal punishment and flog those teachers.

At this time of the year, the public debate inevitably turns to teachers as they hold their annual conferences. The ensuing debate, both in and outside the conference halls, is guaranteed to generate much heat.

IN the wake of former minister Willie O’Dea’s ignominious exit from the the Cabinet, Taoiseach Brian Cowen now has a good opportunity to appoint a qualified person who is not just a party hack from a convenient constituency.

SIPTU has described a call for strike-breakers to be brought in in the event of industrial action at semi-State firms as "inappropriate".

UNIVERSITY of Limerick founding president Ed Walsh has urged the Taoiseach to answer the calls for a reformed Oireachtas by filling the upcoming Seanad vacancies with leading business figures rather than seasoned politicians.

TECHNOLOGY, competitive focus and enhanced trading ties with China can speed up Ireland’s recovery, according to leading industry analysts.

TOURISM spend will take as much as a €200 million hit following a decision by Aer Lingus to axe routes to America from Shannon and Dublin.

CELEBRITY lawyer Gerald Kean, invited by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to grill its top managers, believes he was approached because he is an outspoken critic of the health service — and not because he “likes a good party”.

PRIVATE sector job numbers plunged further yesterday with 150 immediate redundancies announced at one of the first multinationals to set up in this country.

THE decision by the US authorities to enable transatlantic passengers to complete all customs and other inspection clearances at Shannon, opens up huge opportunities for the airport and the wider region, former president of the University of Limerick, Ed Walsh, said yesterday.

A CORKMAN was last night honoured by his adopted city of Limerick for driving forward the foundation of the University of Limerick.

HUGE development in private healthcare in Limerick will give a significant boost to attracting foreign investment into the region.

EX-PRESIDENT of the University of Limerick Dr Ed Walsh yesterday warned of a disaster for industry on the western seaboard if Aer Lingus proceeds with its controversial proposal to end the Shannon-Heathrow route.

DOUBTS about the future of the proposed €100 million private clinic at Adare Manor have been dispelled following a meeting of its management committee.

THE decision by BUPA to withdraw from the Irish market has thrown a huge question mark over a proposed €100 million private clinic in the grounds of Adare Manor.

ANGRY exchanges flared at an emergency meeting of the Shannon Foynes Port Committee (SFPC) yesterday over the proposed sale of Limerick docks for commercial development.

THE Cork engineer who has appealed the decision of Limerick County Council to grant permission for a €100 million private hospital in Adare, yesterday accused the council of withholding information from him.

Dr Edward M. Walsh has today been appointed as chairman of Stokes Bio Limited, an advanced research spin-off from the Stokes Research Institute at University of Limerick.

ENVIRONMENTALIST Duncan Stewart conceded yesterday he was “upset” at options being put forward for nuclear energy when he walked out of a conference on Thursday.

DEBATE on whether or not Ireland should go nuclear has been kick-started by one of the country’s leading educationalists, who yesterday made the surprising claim that, compared to other means of production, atomic energy is safe.

LIMERICK and Clare could face fines of up to €50 million under international pollution laws, if carbon emissions are not tackled.

OF all the snobberies, scientific has to be the most infuriating.

THE president of the University of Limerick Professor Roger Downer has decided to step down from his post on health grounds. He made the announcement at a meeting of the UL governing authority yesterday.

A 100-bed private hospital and clinic to be located in the grounds of Adare Manor will provide 380 jobs when it opens in two years time.