WATCH A Look Back on I Love Limerick 2025

WATCH A Look Back on I Love Limerick 2025

I Love Limerick 2025 – a look back at some memorable moments from our past year

Wishing you all the greatest success and happiness for the coming year as we look back at some memorable moments from our past year with I Love Limerick in 2025.

St Gabriel’s Foundation receive life-changing equipment thanks to record-breaking rower

I Love Limerick news in 2025 kicked off with St Gabriel’s Foundation securing not one, but two InnoWalk machines, following the incredible fundraising efforts which included Kate Healy’s Guinness World Record-breaking 24 hour rowing attempt in December 2024 at the Crescent Shopping Centre.

InnoWalk machines are dynamic standers designed to provide children who are unable to walk with a chance to simulate walking, offering physical and emotional benefits including improving breathing, muscle strength, and overall development.

Receiving the innovative machines was made possible through a huge collaborative effort between St Gabriel’s dedicated staff, parents, local clubs, and generous sponsors.

Hundreds march through Limerick City calling for ‘Justice for Joe Drennan

A protest held in Limerick on Saturday, February 8, has called for Justice for Joe Drennan, a journalism students killed in a hit-and-run incident in 2023. The protest in Limerick City called for Justice for Joe Drennan aimed to put pressure on the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to appeal the sentence given to the man responsible for the journalism student’s death.

oe Drennan’s parents, Tim and Marguerite, called for changes to Ireland’s sentencing laws at the Bedford Row protest, Marguerite told I Love Limerick, “We need to change the law. The law needs to be changed and that’s just final.”

Joe’s father, Tim, emphasised the case highlights a need for the law to change and the wider issue with concurrent sentencing, saying, “Joe’s sentence wasn’t justice for him. His killer basically got away free like, it’s basically to change the law in regards to concurrent sentencing and it just helps somebody else as well besides Joe, it could happen to anybody in the country.”

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Limerick City European premiere of major feature film Bonhoeffer

In 2025, I Love Limerick was there when the red carpet was rolled out at Limerick’s Belltable for an exclusive premiere of Bonhoeffer, a major feature film inspired by the life of German theologian and anti-Nazi resistance figure Dietrich Bonhoeffer. 

The screening of the €22 million Irish-Belgian co-production took place at The Belltable on February 25, ahead of its official cinematic release in Ireland and the UK on March 7 with director Todd Komarnicki saying he would “be thrilled to make movie after movie here”.

Filmed extensively across Limerick, Clare, and Tipperary, the region saw locations transformed into 1940s Germany for the filming of the major feature film set during World War II.

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Sarah Corbett Lynch thanks the people of Limerick for support as she releases ‘A Time For Truth’ memoir

I Love Limerick spoke with Sarah Corbett Lynch as she launched her memoir in 2025, ‘A Time For Truth: A Daughter’s Search for Justice and Healing’ at a special launch event where the young author says the book has “given me a voice”.

The courageous memoir officially launched with a special event at O’Mahony’s Bookstore on Thursday, March 6, shares Sarah’s story following the tragic events surrounding her father’s death in 2015 and her journey of grief, healing, and a search for justice.

The book went on to win biography of the year at the An Post Book Awards later in the year, being shortlisted for overall Irish Book of the Year.

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Sarah Lavin and Tiarnán O’Donnell receive hero’s welcome at Castletroy College

Castletroy College was filled with excitement and pride this week as more than 1,300 students gathered to welcome back Olympian Sarah Lavin and Paralympian Tiarnán O’Donnell.

The return of the athletes who represented Ireland at the Paris Games in 2024 marked a significant moment for the school, which is commemorating its 25th anniversary.

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University of Limerick International Students showcase St Patrick’s Day spirit in Limerick

Limerick’s St Patrick’s Day parade was a spectacular display of culture, community and celebration, with the celebration’s message embodied by over 300 University of Limerick international/local  students who marched in the parade bringing the energy and a buzz to the thousands who lined the city’s streets.

Representing the university community hailing from all corners of the world, students proudly showcased their diverse backgrounds while immersing themselves in Irish traditions through the St Patrick’s Day Parade and experiencing some trad music at Limerick’s Milk Market.

The amazing volunteers were giving back to the community and celebrating Irish culture. Linda Fitzgerald, Student Volunteering Manager, highlighted the participants’ dedication, saying, “ We have over 300 of our students here who are volunteering, giving back their time here to the community. They’ve been volunteering all semester, all this academic year, and they’re here now to showcase the University of Limerick in its finest, and we’re here to have some fun giving back to the community!”

Record-breaking 23,500 volunteers come out as Team Limerick CleanUp 2025 marks 10 year anniversary of TLC

A record-breaking 23,500 volunteers will take to the streets of Limerick City & County for the 10th edition of Team Limerick Clean-Up (TLC) – Europe’s largest one-day tidy-up.

Thousands of participants from every town in Limerick, alongside City volunteers, will form part of the tidy army that will celebrate a milestone TLC; businesses, schools, neighbourhood groups, Tidy Towns committees and sports clubs across the county have all registered to join the celebration. Indeed, 89 schools from across Limerick will take part, 51 sports clubs, 41 Tidy Towns groups alongside 463 volunteer groups.

Spotlight Stage School announces leadership transition as founders retire after 39 years of excellence

After 39 years of inspiring and shaping the lives of young performers, Spotlight Stage School founders Margaret Hough and Judy O’Connor are retiring, marking the end of an incredible era in the arts community in Limerick.

Under the guidance of Margaret and Judy, Spotlight has had a profound impact in fostering creativity, confidence, and a passion for the performing arts in generations of students. In the spirit of continuity, Margaret and Judy are excited to announce that Spotlight Stage School will continue its legacy under the leadership of former pupil Sadhbh McCoy.

Limerick’s Ava Crean triumphs at 2025 Regeneron Great Limerick Run

I Love Limerick spoke with Limerick’s Ava Crean who stood out with an elite performance at the 2025 Regeneron Great Limerick Run as the 19-year-old was the first female to cross the finish line in the marathon just one week after running in the Manchester Marathon.

The sun filled the streets of Limerick along with a record-breaking 18,000 participants in this year’s Regeneron Great Limerick Run, with runners taking on the full marathon, half marathon, and six-mile events. Among the highlights of the day was Ava Crean’s inspired performance, which saw her win the women’s marathon.

The Limerick runner’s win was made more impressive by the fact is wasn’t part of her plan, and hadn’t aimed to race competitively in the Regeneron Great Limerick Run at all having run her first ever marathon in Manchester one week earlier, she told I Love Limerick, “After getting 2:49 in Manchester, I said to myself ‘I will do limerick for fun’ and I told everyone that I will do it easy, but inside I knew I would get competitive – but only competitive to beat my old time, I didn’t know at all I would win,” she said, adding about her quick turnaround and recovery, “It was a bit hard, but I wasn’t in pain or anything, my legs were just very tight when I ran Limerick.”

Limerick celebrates 10 year anniversary of Marriage Equality in Ireland

This May, Limerick groups came together to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the landmark marriage equality referendum in Ireland, which passed by popular vote on May 22, 2015.

Regarded as a social revolution, Ireland made history in 2015 by becoming the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage through a national referendum. Voter turnout for the referendum was exceptionally high at 61 per cent and was carried by a significant majority in Limerick. To celebrate this historic day, activists came together to plan a series of events in Limerick from May 19 to 25.

utorial College celebrates 40 years of ‘continuous support’ through education

Tutorial College celebrated the incredible milestone of 40 years of providing high-quality and dedicated education to students in Limerick.

Founded in 1985 by John and Mags Halloran, Tutorial College has grown from its humble beginnings to one of the most trusted names in education, all while remaining a family business.

The college, on O’Connell Crescent in Limerick, is in a historic building which once housed Crescent College and was taken over by the Halloran family. John Senior explained the building’s origin while sat in the beautiful auditorium, saying, “ There was great history associated with the building, it was founded, I think in 1948 or 1950, they decided to convert the houses on the Crescent into a college and they combined it with this, they built this hall at the same time and like there was a concert here every year run by the Cecilians for years and years after that.”

Paschal O’Grady of legendary entertainment duo Tom and Paschal passes away

Limerick bid farewell to one of its most cherished entertainers, comic Paschal O’Grady, who passed away peacefully on June 13th, 2025, at the age of 93. Known to generations simply as one half of “Tom and Paschal,” he leaves behind a legacy of laughter and local pride that spanned more than six decades.

Born in 1932 in Ballinacurra, Paschal’s path to the stage began in an unlikely place — the local Scout troop. There he met Tom O’Donnell in 1945, forging a friendship that would blossom into one of Ireland’s best-loved comedy acts. Their natural rapport first shone through in sketches performed at Scout rallies and community gatherings, but it was in 1959 that they truly stepped into the limelight with their first major show, Tom & Paschal’s Christmas Crackers, staged at Limerick’s Mechanics Institute.

Limerick Pride Parade 2025 shows a community ‘United in this Together’

The sun shone on Limerick City as the 2025 Limerick Pride Parade made its way down O’Connell Street with hundreds of people walking in support and hundreds more showing their support by lining the street and filling the air with their cheers and applause.

Leading this year’s parade under the theme of ‘United in this together’ was the 2025 Grand Marshal, Tonie Walsh, long-time activist in the LGBT community having served as president of the National LGBT Federation (NXF) from 1984 to 1989, when it was briefly co-defendant with Senator David Norris in his constitutional action (Norris V. Ireland).

Jerry Twomey cycles the coast of Ireland to honour his father and raise funds for Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association

Jerry Twomey is currently cycling around the coast of Ireland to raise Motor Neurone Disease (MND) awareness and to raise funds for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (IMNDA), a cause close to his heart.

Jerry is carrying out the fundraising cycle in honour of his late father, John Twomey, originally from Tramore, County Waterford, who passed away following an eight-year battle with MND.

Jerry remembers his father’s courageous fight, telling i Love Limerick, “ In 2010, my dad, John Twomey, passed away of Motor Neurone Disease after an eight-year fight. It was a long, arduous fight, but he managed to do that fight with the biggest smile on his face somehow.”

Róisín Ní Riain returns with five medals from 2025 World Para Swimming Championships

Róisín Ní Riain and her Ireland teammates made a triumphant return to home soil following a hugely successful 2025 World Para Swimming Championships competition in Singapore.

In what is noted as the first major championships of the LA Cycle, the Limerick swimmer had a remarkable outing as she took on some of the world’s best in the sport, joining her four Team Ireland teammates as they lined up in 15 events across the week.

Team Ireland brought home an amazing seven medals from the 15 events, with Ní Riain achieving the remarkable feat of winning five medals; the Drombana swimmer won silvers in the SB13 100m Breaststroke, S13 400m Freestyle and S13 100m Backstroke, along with bronzes in the S13 100m Butterfly and SM13 200m IM.

Ryder Cup community event gets the Adare Manor 2027 Ryder Cup countdown underway

The golfing world had eyes glued to New York for the final day of the 2025 Ryder Cup, where Europe successfully defended its title, ensuring it comes to Adare Manor as champions for the 2027 Ryder Cup.

As the final day of games unfolded, Adare village was experiencing some of the fun the Ryder Cup will offer as a community engagement event swept over the Limerick village.

As part of the final day, the golden putter was presented to Adare Manor in New York, which symbolises the official handover of the competition, which will be its 100th anniversary of the historic competition.

Thomond Primary School celebrates 10 years of education

Thomond Primary School was full of laughter, song, and smiles this week as the primary school celebrated the significant milestone of a decade of educating pupils on the northside of Limerick City.

Students, staff, and families gathered to mark the special milestone, which included a rendition of “Happy Birthday” sung by the school‘s pupils. Sinéad Toomey, Thomond Primary School Principal, shared the school’s gratitude for the support of the community as the school held a “wonderful celebration to celebrate 10 years of our school”.

Thomond Primary School was founded in 2015 when St Munchin’s Boys School, St Munchin’s Girls School, and St Lelia’s Infant School came together to amalgamate the three education providers under one roof.

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Jackie McCarthy O’Brien shares her incredible life story with the launch of ‘We Made It, Kid’

Limerick legend Jackie McCarthy O’Brien officially launched her memoir, ‘We Made It, Kid,’ sharing her extraordinary life story on and off the pitch.

‘We Made It, Kid’ was released on October 2 with an official launch event on Tuesday, October 7, at O’Mahony’s Booksellers to a gathering of family, friends, and supporters.

Born in Birmingham in 1961 to an Irish Mother and Jamaican father, Jackie grew up in Limerick after spending her early years in an industrial school. She was put in an industrial school as a baby by a priest for being an “illegitimate” black child and was not recovered by her mother until she was five.

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Limerick Hollywood star Constance Smith celebrated with theatre show and new sculpture

Limerick is honouring one of its incredible women in history, telling the story of Constance Smith through ‘Connie’ at Theatre Royal from October 18 to November 9th, and Ormston House has unveiled a new sculpture in honour of the Hollywood star at People’s Park.

Staged in Limerick’s historic Theatre Royal, Connie will be the first public performance in the building for almost 30 years. The new Limerick play is a bold, immersive theatrical event that reimagines the incredible life of Limerick-born Hollywood actress Constance Smith.

Born on Limerick’s Wolfe Tone Street in 1929, a series of incredible events led Constance Smith to Hollywood fame in the 1950s when she starred in over 30 films and presented at the 1952 Academy Awards.

Karen Ronan shares her networking journey at TEDxWomen event

Limerick’s Karen Ronan, currently CEO of Galway Chamber of Commerce, delivered a TED Talk at a TEDxWomen event in Tralee, which ran under the theme ‘Empowering Resilience’ at the Siamsa Tíre Theatre.

TED Tralee saw 20 national and international voices speak throughout the day-long event on Saturday, October 18, welcoming a record attendance and activities taking place over the whole weekend. Karen Ronan took the stage on Saturday, opening session 3 from 3:30 pm.

Speaking about her talk, ‘Bathrooms to Boardrooms: My Journey to overcome my Networking fear!’, Karen says when she first started out in her career, “the word networking filled me with dread”. 

A tribute to beloved Limerick florist Nancy Lawless

Green fingers certainly run in one Limerick family thanks to the dedication of Nancy Lawless, the founder of Lawless Flowers who sadly peacefully passed away, in the loving care of the staff at Corbally House Nursing Home, and in the presence of her adoring family on November 21^st, 2025.

Lawless Flower shop in Limerick was established in Bedford row by Nancy. She started with a little bit of money and a lot of hope. Her son Dan Lawless was always by her side to help.

Nancy opened the prominent city centre shop ‘Lawless Flowers’ on Roches Street in 1982. After many years of hard work Nancy retired. She was one of the best known and best loved florists in Limerick creating a reputation as one of the best flower shops in the country. Dan and his partner Clive run Lawless Flowers in Limerick Roche’s Street to this day.

Mango to open new Limerick store in landmark city centre building

Spanish fashion retailer, Mango, has been confirmed as the newest tenant for a major Limerick City store on Limerick’s O’Connell Street, sending “a strong signal of confidence in Limerick City”.

The high street fashion retailer, founded in Barcelona in 1984, is set to take up residence in the former Debenhams building in the heart of the city which has remained vacant since Debenhams went into liquidation in 2020. The building has gone under some substantial refurbishment in recent months, with planning permission for the overall redevelopment including an aparthotel and other retail space. Galway developer Michael McDonagh, with Healy Architects, has undertaken the project, which will develop the art-deco building.

Irish Aerial Creation Centre celebrates 10 years flying high

I Love Limerick met with The Irish Aerial Creation Centre (IACC) as they marked a major milestone celebration with its 10th anniversary in 2025, bringing creativity and community to Limerick and beyond. Evolving from an ambitious idea into what is now recognised as the national home for aerial dance in Ireland, the group’s roots can be traced back to Fidget Feet Aerial Dance Theatre.

Fidget Feet, Ireland’s national aerial dance company, has been operating for more than 27 years, and a strong partnership with the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick drove the company to set up a base in Limerick.

Speaking with I Love Limerick, Chantal McCormick, IACC founder, said, “ Fidget Feet is the national company for aerial dance in Ireland, and we are 27 years old. We’ve travelled all over Ireland, and we came to Limerick specifically because of the partnership with the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance. In 2008, I was lucky enough to get a trip to Montreal, and there we took a tour around the Cirque Soleil building, the headquarters. I came back to Ireland, and that was my dream; to have a space purely for aerial and circus and all the facilities needed to do that.”

Our visit to the Grey Hares elderly group for Christmas 2025

The Grey Hares Ensemble, a community group based in Limerick City, aimed at inviting people over the age of 60 to come together to explore the ageing process, continues to flourish at the Redemptorist Music Centre, guided by Dr Nóirín Ní Riain, after forming the the winter of 2024.

Described by Ní Riain as an “organic” gathering, the group was formed from a simple idea, Dr Ní Riain told I Love Limerick, “I just had this idea since I was ageing myself, ‘wouldn’t it be lovely to gather a few people around who were in the same boat.’

“And so it’s been quite extraordinary because we’ve become very, very friendly and really, I only knew one or two people before I contacted Mike Quirk, the first, first person, after that, really, I didn’t know anybody else. But we’ve become just firm friends, and we share like a family.”

The group has gone from strength to strength and continues to grow as they meet every two weeks, Nóirín explained, “ We share this ageing every two weeks. And also we have great fun, too. Because we laugh an awful lot, that’s the essence of it: you can’t, in old age, you can’t take yourself too seriously.”

The Grey Hares explore six guiding principles during their gatherings, including social connection, service to one another and to the wider world, spirituality, and music.