Participation numbers continue to drop, but the Munster Branch of the GUI celebrated another good year in 2015, with Gary Hurley, John Murphy, and clubs Tramore and Dooks presented with awards during the annual delegates’ meeting at the Hibernian Hotel, Mallow, last week.

There was delight for students all around the country — but particular elation for an exclusive club of just six who got 12 higher-level As in their Junior Certificate results.

Following the shock decision to cancel the Andy Lee-Billy Joe Saunders fight at Thomond Park, a former mayor of Limerick speculated yesterday that ‘the Hand of God’ could have played a part, as it did for footballer Diego Maradona in 1986.

The happiest group of people at last night’s low-key annual delegates meeting of the Munster Branch of the Golfing Union of Ireland in Mallow were the representatives of Ballyneety Golf Club, formerly Limerick County, who were awarded the Munster Branch Club of the Year award for 2014.

Golf membership in Munster continues to decline, according to figures released by provincial officials.

The newly-elected Limerick City and County Council has moved to resolve a bitter, legacy row from the old Limerick City Council into which President Michael D Higgins was drawn.

The former Mayor of Limerick Jim Long has conceded defeat on 303 votes after Count Two in the Limerick City West seven-seater.

By Jimmy Woulfe, Irish Examiner Mid-West Correspondent

Local politics along the banks of the Shannon is entering uncharted waters due to the unification of the city and county to form a united assembly.

A controversial decision to rename Shannon Bridge in Limerick city centre after president John F Kennedy has been put on hold.

A major JP versus JFK row has erupted in Limerick over the renaming of a bridge at a secret session of the city council.

The announced closure of an all-girls secondary school in Limerick poses a massive challenge on the already stressed placement system, a former mayor of the city has warned.

The first steps to remove a controversial anomaly in golf’s handicap system were taken at this week’s Golfing Union of Ireland Munster Branch AGM at the Hibernian Hotel, Mallow.

The appointment of the chief executive of Limerick City of Culture 2014 could cause reputational damage to the city, a councillor has claimed.

The controversial handicap system operated by CONGU (Council of National Golf Unions of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) will be discussed at the Annual Delegates Meetings of the Irish provinces.

New York City police say five people, including a toddler, are dead after a stabbing at a Brooklyn residence.

The former mayor of Limerick has said he has “serious concerns” for the future after learning the Aughinish Alumina plant plans to extend the height of bauxite residue deposits to 100ft on lands adjacent to the Shannon Estuary.

The fire service is billing the HSE for call-outs to road traffic accidents where casualties have to be cut free from wreckage.

After some controversial incidents on the professional front in recent times, golf’s reputation as a game of honour and self-regulation has come under a little bit of fire.

Retired Garda John Moloughney (Templemore) has been elected Chairman of the Munster Council of the Golfing Union of Ireland.

Cash-strapped Limerick families may plan “Muslim-type funerals” if coffinless burials are permitted in city cemeteries, a former mayor has claimed.

Pedro The Great, ridden by Seamus Heffernan, gave Aidan O’Brien a record twelfth Keeneland Phoenix Stakes success at the Curragh yesterday.

Several local authorities across the country have elected new mayors tonight.

It was a chance for the Red Army to pay homage to its spiritual leader.

In his home city, rugby legend Paul O’Connell “walks on water”.

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

The mayor of Limerick has described the departure of gangland crime victim Steve Collins and his family from the city, as a “sad day for Irish democracy”.

The home of the great Limerick writer Kate O’Brien has been saved from dereliction by a mystery benefactor who plans to turn it into a cultural centre.

A senior Garda has said officers will be “coming after” others involved in the brutal murder of Shane Geoghegan.

Shane Geoghegan was one of ‘us’ but cultivating an ‘us versus them’ mentality just adds to social divide which has allowed gun crime to flourish, writes Michael Clifford

“The real Limerick is represented by Shane Geoghegan, not by the people who killed him. The friendship, the welcome, the spirit and the passion that he embodied. That’s what Limerick is all about.”

He’s a favourite of Queen Elizabeth and interviewed the rich and famous, but when he comes back home, Terry Wogan resists the trappings of his showbiz career.

Limerick publicans have their fingers crossed that they are not facing into another Good Friday drink court battle with the huge Munster versus Ulster Heineken Cup quarter-final set for the Easter weekend at Thomond Park.

MUM Natasha Wallace was in despair yesterday as her six-year-old son Colby broke down in tears and told her: “Santa won’t be able to find me.”

PEOPLE yesterday queued to place ribbons on a special Christmas tree in Limerick city to remember loved ones who have died.

PEOPLE found drinking in public places in Limerick now face a €75 on-the-spot fine, as a result of a bylaw introduced by city council.

A CITY mayor is determined to get the boot — the right one, of course.

FALLING golf club membership is set to continue in Munster, the GUI Branch’s annual delegates meeting has been told.

FINANCE Minister Michael Noonan yesterday played a key role in giving Limerick City Council the green light to proceed with a huge property deal in Limerick city centre involving a three acre-plus site that was falling into dereliction.

THE ‘let’s go for it’ spirit of Ronan O’Gara was invoked by the Mayor of Limerick yesterday as he called on the city to get on der bikes.

ART forged a powerful statement of public grief and anger yesterday to embrace the third anniversary of a notorious Limerick murder in a message of solidarity with the innocent victims of violence and their families.

COMPUTER company boss Michael Dell yesterday gave a morale-boosting talk to workers at a Limerick plant which shed 1,900 workers in 2009.

A MOVE to develop a “ghost” shopping site in a Limerick suburb is causing fears it may further erode city centre retailing.

LIMERICK’S Belltable was turned into a noise chamber yesterday when a nearby garage disrupted it’s official reopening.