JP McManus says 'it remains unclear' why council refused his gift of Limerick rugby experience

JP McManus, front row centre, with Limerick councillors following his meeting to discuss the Limerick Rugby Experience last week. Picture: Brendan Gleeson

JP McManus has said it “remains unclear” why Limerick City and County Council refused to accept the gift of the International Rugby Experience “on behalf of the people of Limerick”.

The comments were made in a speech at a private meeting between Mr McManus and Limerick councillors to discuss the events leading up to the closure of the IRE, and share his “side of things”.

After saying his “love for Limerick” has always driven him to see what could be done to “help the city and county thrive”, Mr McManus shared details of the interactions between the IRE and the local council.

In a pre-written speech seen by the Irish Examiner, Mr McManus said there was “disappointment” after a report made by consultants hired by Limerick City and County Council led to “misrepresentation”.

Mr McManus said: “It was a matter of very fundamental concern and disappointment when we discovered that the report by the consultants, which was agreed to be presented to the councillors, had been changed without consultation and presented as a joint report, even though we had not been informed of the changes.

“In our view, this contributed heavily to the misrepresentation of the proposal to the councillors and The Heads of Terms Agreement was not honoured by Limerick City and County Council."

He said the “imbalanced orientation” of the presentation made it “nigh-on impossible” for the councillors to accept his donation.

Mr McManus went on to say the outcome “to date” in relation to the situation had been “mystifying and indeed disheartening”.

“It remains unclear to us why Limerick City and County Council would not accept this gift offer on behalf of the people of Limerick,” he added.

He said a number of questions remained unanswered, including why he was “advised by the council” that support funding was being sought from the Government to enable the offer to be accepted — comments that were denied by Micheál Martin on 95FM in October 2024, who said “no such request had been received”.

This comes as Limerick councillors said they were “surprised” to hear the chronology of events leading up to the closure of the IRE.

It is understood Mr McManus initially read from a prepared speech and told councillors he had no intention to proceed with “any further discussions” with the council regarding his gift.

He later on indicated he would reconsider, after being asked to by some councillors.

According to one councillor, who wished to remain anonymous, “nothing was confirmed either way".

“We could be told a definitive no in the weeks to come,” they said.

The attraction, which welcomed 60,000 visitors in the 12 months it was open, closed its doors in December 2024, leading to the loss of 50 jobs.

Mr McManus had offered the €30m building and additional funding of €1.2m to Limerick City and County Council — a gesture which had been refused by the council following worries about the costs of operating the attraction.

JP McManus indicated it was always intended that the building could be used for “any civic purpose” — but they “simply requested” the IRE would continue to be used as much up to the end of 2027.

Limerick City and County Council were contacted for comment but did not reply.