THOUGH poverty affects lives in every town and city, the awful impact it has on people’s lives is seen at its starkest, and sometimes its most brutal, in Limerick.

IT takes a hell of a spectacle to put Lady Gaga in the shade but the eccentric pop star was no match for French bravura this week.

TRAVELLERS are hiding their identity from fellow students and work colleagues because of perceived stigma about their culture, according to research about their educational experiences.

Dedicated places for Travellers should be made available in the VEC system to enable their further education, according to a new report on Traveller education, which is being launched today.

A SENIOR judge said that crime is so low in Limerick there isn’t enough work for his court this week.

A SENIOR Garda officer said yesterday that children in deprived areas of Limerick see local gang figures as people with status and glamour who fill a void in their lives.

THE author of a study exposing the use of children to carry out gangland activities has said more input from health and welfare authorities is needed rather than more gardaí.

A study by University College Cork has found that criminal gangs in Limerick are grooming marginalised young children to carry out violent, drug-related crimes.