Limerick calls for ‘heroes’ to shape city

The youngest Irish man to climb Mt Everest and a World Transplant Athletics champion have addressed meeting of 400 people in Limerick to share ideas on how to best shape the future of the city.

Mark Quinn, who conquered Everest last year aged 27, and John Loftus, 63 who both hail from Limerick, spoke of their personal stories of triumphing against the odds and encouraged the people of the city to grasp the opportunity to do the same.

Mr Loftus, also known as “The Bullet”, and who runs an asset management agency, received a kidney in 2000 after contracting a virus that was slowly killing him.

The new Limerick Local Heroes Group is behind the community-driven, non-profit initiative that aims to energise people from all walks of life to create new and sustainable jobs for the people of Limerick.

There were numerous and varied contributions from the floor throughout the two-hour meeting ranging from suggestions to positioning Limerick as a hub for international trade with Africa, to establishing a new arts festival, developing a science museum, and putting more focus on the Shannon River as a tourist amenity.

All those at the meeting were invited to attend an “ideas forum” in Thomond Park on Feb 13.

Tony Frawley, spokesman for the Limerick Local Heroes steering group, said: “Limerick Local Heroes was born out of a frustration amongst genuine Limerick people drawn from all sectors in the city who believed their voices haven’t been heard in developing a future vision for Limerick, particularly in terms of job creation.”