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Mar 31

Irelands Young Filmmaker of the Year 2019 Announces Winners

by richanthon in Entertainment, Festival, News, Youth 0 comments 1874

Irelands Young Filmmaker of the Year 2019 announces winners. Jane Foley, founder of Fresh Film Festival, second place finalist Cal Arnold O’Driscoll, 16 from Dublin 7, first place winner Sean Treacy, 14 from Wicklow and third place finalist Milosh Hughes, 18 from Malahide, Dublin and comedian Pat Shortt at the Senior Finals of Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year Awards 2019 in the Odeon, Castletroy on March 28th. Picture: Zoe Conway/ilovelimerick

Irelands Young Filmmaker of the Year 2019 announces winners

Irelands Young Filmmaker of the Year 2019 announced its Junior winners on Wednesday, March 27 and its Senior winners on Thursday, March 28 at the Fresh Film Festival 2019 in Limerick.  The competition, which received a record of more than 1,700 entries this year, announced the winners at the Odeon Castletroy.

14-year-old Sean Treacy from Ashford in Wicklow took home the title of Ireland’s Young Senior Filmmaker of the year 2019 for his short film ‘Rue’, a story about a boy who regrets his last words to his best friend. Speaking about his win, Sean said, “To win here today is an absolute honour, especially considering the quality of the films that were entered! I think this year’s films are the highest quality that Fresh Film has ever received. They were all absolutely outstanding and any of them could have placed first. I am really honoured and chuffed that it was this film that won. It’s one the actors and I worked really hard on, I couldn’t have done it without them, and they were amazing. I can’t thank Fresh Film Festival enough for organising the whole event, it was just fantastic!”

Sean also directed the short film ‘Spark’, in which the body of a camera brings a young boy’s dream to life, which was also screened during the festival. Sean had previously come second in Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year 2018 for his film ‘Brother’ in which two kids become unlikely friends after they are forced to spend time together.

Irelands Young Filmmaker of the Year 2019 announces winners

Pictured are comedian Pat Shortt, first place finalist Rhianna Keane, 12, Fresh Film Festival Founder Jane Foley, Emma Sams, first place finalists Irina Daw, 12, Rowan Knox, 12, and Art O’Rourke, 13, at the Odeon, Castletroy on March 27th at the Fresh Film Festival 2019. Pictures: Zoe Conway/ilovelimerick

Students from Clare who were part of the Sparks Film Group took home the title of Ireland’s Young Junior Filmmaker of the year 2019 for their short film ‘CAT-astrophe’, in which a strange cat is found and weird things begin to happen. Emma Sams, the group’s mentor from the Spark’s Film Festival in Clare spoke about their win, “Well it’s brilliant! They put so much work into putting the film together. It came from a small festival held at the Scarriff public library in Scarriff, East Clare, called Spark’s Film Festival, which has been going for a few years. It’s a miniature version of Fresh Film Festival. These guys came and did some workshops during the week of the festival and put so much work and effort into putting the film together. It’s brilliant to see that they’ve been rewarded for all their hard work, thanks to Fresh Film Festival”.

At the Seniors, Cal Arnold O’Driscoll, aged 16 from Dublin was the second place winner for his film ‘Big Bad World’, in which two Irish teens from the ’90s, finally break the rules by going on their very own vacation. Milosh Hughes, aged 18 from Malahide in Dublin took home third place for his film ‘Descensus’, which is a story about a young who boy loses his grip on reality as constant nightmares cause him to spiral into madness. Waterford’s SWAY Project for Waterford city won Best Group at Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year 2019 for their film ‘Big Trouble in Little John’s Park’.

At the Juniors, students of Kilcoona National School in Galway, were the second-place winners for their film ‘Some Time in the Woods’, which follows Anna and her five friends as they go into the woods for a picnic, where Anna stumbles upon an old pocket watch which leads to them travelling back in time. While Ivan Fair aged 11 from Westport, Mayo took home third place for his film ‘I Miss You’, a sad story about a boy who misses his brother that died, and how he copes with his grief.

Vigga Wagner from Copenhagen in Denmark won the International Film Award for her film Bubblehead which follows a girl who lives a solitary life with her pet fish that meets a cute boy when she visits the pet shop after her goldfish dies.

Other entries received Highly Commended Awards on the day. In addition to the Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year awards, a number of specialist awards were presented for both the Juniors and the Seniors including the Radharc Trust Award (documentary), the Boulder Media Animation Award, the RTE 60 Second Short Film Award and the RTE Factual Award, in addition to the International and Audience awards.

Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year is the highlight of Limerick’s Fresh Film Festival, which is now in its 23rd year. Other highlights of Fresh Film Festival 2019 include feature screenings and workshops including an Industry Master class with The National Youth Film School.

Fresh Film Festival encourages young people from Ireland and overseas, aged 7 to 18 years, to create, exhibit and share films.  The festival provides an opportunity for these young filmmakers to have their work seen on a cinema screen for the first time and to compete for the title of Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year.

“Ireland’s Young Filmmaker has a very interesting approach,” says Jayne Foley, Director of Fresh Film Festival. “Storytelling is at the core,” she says, “because the budget is usually either low or non-existent, filmmakers have to be very inventive with plot and location.” Jayne adds, “The festival is a forum where young film-makers can meet each other. Even at that stage networking is important. You may end up meeting the same people again later in your career. As advocates of young filmmaking, we also try to showcase films abroad. We’ve brought Irish films and young filmmakers to Korea, Austria, Germany, and Edinburgh. This year we are excited to have a number of international young filmmakers coming to Fresh and sharing their filmmaking experience with us.”

For more information on the Fresh Film Festival, go here.

For more stories on the Fresh Film Festival, go here.

Mar 26

BNest Social Incubator Showcase 2019 gives a voice to Midwest Social Enterprises

by richanthon in Local Buisness, News 0 comments 1731

Pictured at the BNest Social Enterprise Incubator Showcase 2019 at Nexus Innovation Centre, UL was Eamon Ryan and Kasia Zabinska, BNest (4th and 5th back row left) with the graduates of the BNest 2018-2019 programme. Picture: Conor Owens/ilovelimerick.

PHOTOS – BNest Social Incubator Showcase 2019 gives a voice to Midwest Social Enterprises

BNest, the first dedicated Social Enterprise Incubator, is an initiative created specifically to support social entrepreneurs nurture their start-ups, and caters to all types of organisations from charities to businesses with a social conscience. On Tuesday, March 12, BNest held their Showcase Day 2019 at Nexus Innovation Centre in UL to highlight these enterprises and the substantial progress that has been made with the help of BNest, as well as to allow others to view the real social impact that each individual organisation is having on the broader community they are serving. BNest Social Incubator Showcase 2019

Since September 2016, in partnership with Nexus Centre UL, BNest have been running a six-month programme in which emerging social enterprises learn how to get their new organisations off to the best start by focusing on key areas related to developing their enterprises, in terms of business, social and personal aspects.

Eamon Ryan who founded and self-funded BNest said, “We are the first fully-fledged social incubator in Ireland, and the idea was to create a peer group which shared experiences that could help one another. BNest has been given a home by the University of Limerick, where participants have access to the full facilities of the Nexus Innovation Centre. Last year, eight enterprises completed the programme, and this year another ten enterprises took part.”

BNest Social Enterprise Incubator Showcase 2019

Pictured at the BNest Social Enterprise Incubator Showcase 2019 at Nexus Innovation Centre, UL was Shay Kinsella, Share A Dream Foundation, Pauline Gannon, BNest, Dr Sarah Miller, CEO of The Rediscovery Centre, Eamon Ryan and Kasia Zabinska, BNest and Professor Kerstin Mey, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Engagement at University of Limerick. Picture: Conor Owens/ilovelimerick.

At the BNest Social Incubator Showcase 2019, the graduates showcased their enterprises, which are achieving real social impact across the Midwest, dealing with various issues from mental health to the environment.

In addition to the display booths, a short informal presentation was made by each enterprise including Bereft.ie, a support service for families that provides an online resource, and Thinking Jobs, a specialist recruitment agency aimed at getting a significant number of adults with Disabilities into sustainable and long-term employment.

Guest speakers included Shay Kinsella, founder and CEO of Share a Dream Foundation, Dr Sarah Miller, CEO of The Rediscovery Centre, a creative space connecting people, ideas and resources for greener living in Ireland and Professor Kerstin Mey, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Engagement at University of Limerick.

Professor Kerstin Mey spoke about the cohesive relationship the University of Limerick had with BNest saying, “I think you are fantastic role models for our students, the university is aiming to broaden out entrepreneurship education, including education for social entrepreneur to stimulate young people to direct their energy and their passion towards identifying and finding solutions for the issues we are facing in society, that is climate change, sustainability, or community cohesion, so it is great to see all the projects.”

Shay Kinsella spoke about his social enterprise, Share a Dream Foundation. Shay built an inclusive play centre that was suitable for all ages and abilities. Shay said, “Let’s build something in Limerick that no one else in the whole of Europe has, something really special, then all the kids, instead of going to Disney, can come to Limerick and we’ll look after them”. Share a Dream Foundation opened Dreamland, an inclusive play centre two years ago now and have had over 23,000 visitors across Ireland.

The next speaker was Dr Sarah Miller who spoke about the importance of creative social enterprises that connect people, ideas and resources. From an early age, Sarah looked at, “waste management and how we could be more resourceful.” Sarah said, “My real career as a social enterprise manager started when I moved to Ballymun.” Sarah was exposed to the, “surplus of furniture which was being disposed of to landfill also there is very high unemployment rates in Ballymun.” From there Sarah set up the Rediscovery Centre, which “rediscovers the value of waste materials” and employs the local people of Ballymun.

Current BNest Incubator participant, Project Inspire, led by Kelly Fitzgerald of Tait’s House Community Enterprise, helps young people to prepare for their future. Kelly says that working with BNest has, “Given us more confidence in how to grow our initiative. The ongoing support for our project will continue to be invaluable as we move into a brighter future.”

Limerick Gateway to Education, an educational support charity, was part of the BNest Incubator from 2016 to 2017. Founder, Suzanne Roche said, “I took part in the BNest Incubator programme and its content and ongoing support for our project has continued to be invaluable. It’s a fantastic programme as you have on the spot follow up if issues arise. A great programme to get involved in, if you’re a start-up.”

Eamon concluded, “These passionate people have worked on their projects for the past 6 months and it was so exciting to have a showcase event, so people could learn about each of the projects and meet the people behind them. It was a privilege to have people in this group working on real issues and problems facing our community and society in general.”

For more information visit or email Kasia Zabinska, BNest Manager at [email protected].

For more stories on BNest go here

 

Mar 26

Limerick’s All-Ireland Hurling Champions named Limerick Person of the Year 2018 

by richanthon in Award, News 0 comments 1875

The All-Ireland Limerick Senior Hurling Champions were the winners of Limerick Person of the Year 2018. John Kiely, Limerick hurling manager, Richard Lynch, founder and editor of ilovelimerick.com and Paul Browne, Senior Hurler, pictured at the award ceremony for Limerick Person of the Year 2018.

PHOTOS – Limerick’s All-Ireland Hurling Champions named Limerick Person of the Year 2018

The All-Ireland Limerick Senior Hurling champions have been named Limerick Person of the Year 2018.

The team which brought the Liam MacCarthy Cup back to the Treaty City and County for the first time in 45 years last year have been honoured at this year’s awards.

Limerick was brought to a standstill last August when the hurlers competed in the All-Ireland Final in Croke Park.  The city and county erupted in joy and celebration when the final whistle blew after an agonising final few minutes in the match against Galway.

Nearly 100,000 greeted the victorious team at their homecoming, while thousands of people continue to celebrate as the players accompany the Liam MacCarthy Cup as it travels to all corners of the county.

Accepting the award on behalf of the hurling panel, manager John Kiely paid tribute to all the monthly winners: “Having listened to the stories of all the other award recipients, we’re humbled to even considered on the same page as these people.  Their stories are just incredible, they’re powerful, they are inspiring, they are just ladened with courage and determination and they epitomise the people of Limerick in a very very unique way.”

“At the same time, I hope that our journey made their road and other people’s road a little bit easier this last year.  To have been where we were last August and ended that phase of our history, I think, it’s a wonderful thing for us all and it opens up the door to an even brighter future.”

“On behalf of the team and the management I would like to thank you all for your support over the last number of years, it’s been incredible and inspiring for lots of young kids running around with hurleys in their hands.”

At the gala event in the Clayton Hotel in Limerick today (Thursday 21 February 2019) Cervical Cancer campaigner Vicky Phelan was also honoured with a Special Achievement Award.

Vicky, who unfortunately wasn’t able to make the Limerick Person of the Year 2018 ceremony was honoured for her work in uncovering the Cervical Check scandal and her tireless support of other women who have been affected and are fighting for justice.

Details of a new Limerick Hall of Fame were announced at the gala ceremony, with the late Cranberries lead singer Dolores O’Riordan being the first inductee.

Dolores’s mother Eileen was presented with a special framed front page of the Limerick Leader to mark the announcement.

Limerick Person of the Year 2018

Richard Lynch, founder and editor of ilovelimerick.com, and Eileen O’Riordan pictured at the award ceremony for Limerick Person of the Year 2018.

PJ O’Riordan, Dolores’s brother said this award was something very special.  “It’s a huge honour to be here for her induction into the Limerick Hall of Fame.  Dolores was a very proud Limerick woman right to the end.  Anyone who might have doubted that at any time need only to listen to any of her songs, you’ll hear that fine County Limerick accent, something her fans and music critics remarked upon.”

“It’s a pity she wasn’t here last year to witness the Limerick Hurlers All-Ireland win.  She was a huge hurling fan all her life, not many people realise that.  She is with us in spirit and I’m sure she would be delighted with this induction and she’d be very proud with this.

Now in its 18th year and sponsored by The Limerick Leader, Southern Marketing Design & Media and the Clayton Hotel and supported by Limerick City and County Council, the Limerick Person of the Year Award was set up to honour the achievements and success of local people.

Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Cllr James Collins said “Congratulations to the Limerick Senior Hurlers and Vicky Phelan on receiving their awards today.  In their own way, they have helped to make Limerick a better place.  The hurlers contributed to a summer to remember for all Limerick people.  The way they conducted themselves on and off the pitch is a credit to all and the confidence they have shown mirrors the new-found confidence and renaissance of Limerick hurling.

Vicky Phelan’s bravery has been incredible.  From the first moment she spoke out about the Cervical Check issues to her support of other women, she has been an inspiration to all.”

“I would also like to congratulate all the other monthly recipients for their hard work and dedication in promoting Limerick.  You are doing extraordinary things and are making Limerick a much better place for everyone.”

Eugene Phelan, Editor of the Limerick Leader said “The 12 nominees have, in various different ways, made a vast contribution to Limerick and its people in the past year, from the joy of the Limerick hurlers and Ladies Football team to the bravery of women like Vicky Phelan and Leona O’Callaghan.

Pat Reddan, General Manager, Clayton Limerick Hotel said “Clayton Hotel Limerick is honoured to be a sponsor of The Limerick Person of the Year Awards. It gives us the occasion to recognise extraordinary achievements by amazing, selfless individuals, living in the Limerick area, that seize the opportunity to make our county and country a better place.”

Congratulating all nominees, Dave O’Hora, Managing Director of Creative and Media Agency Southern said “As a company, we work with branding and creativity every day and these individuals and groups do incredibly creative things to add to the depth and meaning of brand Limerick, and we salute them for that.”

Past winners of the title include philanthropist JP McManus, world champion boxer Andy Lee, rugby stars Paul O’Connell and Tony Ward, and anti-bullying campaigner Luke Culhane.

The judging panel for Limerick Person of the Year 2018 consisted of Cllr. James Collins, Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Eugene Phelan, Editor of the Limerick Leader and Conn Murray, Chief Executive of Limerick City and County Council.

For more information on the Limerick Senior Hurling team, click here

For more stories about Limerick person of the year award, click here

 

Mar 26

Cliona’s Foundation receives Mayoral Reception for helping Irish families

by richanthon in Charity, News 0 comments 1630

Mayoral Reception for Cliona’s Foundation – Pictured are Alan McGrath, Terry Ring, co-founder Clionas Foundation, Daniel Butler, Mayor of the Metropolitan District of Limerick, Fionn O’Hehir, Jimmy Crowe and Brendan Ring, co-founder Clionas Foundation. Picture: Conor Owens/ilovelimerick.

 

Cliona’s Foundation receives Mayoral Reception for helping Irish families

By I Love Limerick correspondent Conor Owens

Limerick City Hall hosted a Mayoral Reception on Tuesday for the Cliona’s Foundation in order to acknowledge their incredible work in supporting families of children with life-limiting illness, as well as present awards to Fionn O’Hehir, Alan McGrath and Jimmy Crowe for their amazing courage while caring for a very sick brother or sister.  

Speaking at the reception was Mayor of the Metropolitan District of Limerick, Daniel Butler, who presented the awards to each of the three youngsters, as a way of recognizing their incredible selflessness in caring for their siblings. Also speaking at the event were the founders of Cliona’s Foundation, Brendan and Terry Ring, who thanked the Limerick County Council for the reception and their support to the charity.  

Family and friends of Adam McGrath, Jimmy Crowe and Fionn O’Hehir attended the event to show their support to the three brave young boys who showed tremendous love to their sick family members and went above and beyond in supporting them despite their young age. The boys were each awarded certificates by the Mayor as a way of congratulating them on behalf of the County Council.

The reception aimed to raise awareness of the incredible work being done by the Limerick charity, Cliona’s Foundation. The Foundation is the only charity in Ireland providing financial support to the families of children with a life-limiting condition all over the country from birth up to the age of 16 years of age to help with the nonmedical costs of caring for their child. These costs can include accommodation, car parking, travel, child-care, and specialist equipment.  They have supported over 530 families over the past 11 years. The incredible growth of the charity over the years has surprised even its founders. “It just goes to show the real need for this Foundation,” says Terry Ring. 

Mayoral Reception for Cliona's Foundation

Terry Ring, co-founder, Mayor Daniel Butler and Brendan Ring, co-founder at the Mayoral Reception for the Cliona’s Foundation. Picture: Conor Owens/ilovelimerick.

The Foundation was set up by Brendan and Terry Ring, following the death of their daughter Cliona, from an inoperable brain tumour in 2006. Brendan and Terry were shocked by the expenses needed to care for a seriously ill child and were struck by the number of families that were also facing this enormous financial hardship as they were blindsided by non-medical expenses. They set up the charity to help relieve these families of the stress of these costs. These costs can include accommodation, food, petrol and other miscellaneous expenses incurred by families who must take sick children to hospitals or other medical facilities for frequent treatments. “The financial strain to the families in these situations is what people often overlook,” says Brendan, “so it’s great for Limerick city to know the work that we do.” 

Since its inception, Cliona’s Foundation has raised over €1 million and helped more than 550 families across 29 counties. It is Brendan and Terry’s intimate understanding of the stress brought upon these families that explains the diversity of expenses covered by Cliona’s Foundation – from rent, food, utility bills to transportation for chemotherapy or alternative therapies, to a treat for a sibling and even covering the cost of a child’s funeral.  

For more stories featuring the Cliona’s Foundation, click here  

For more information on the Cliona’s Foundation, click here

Nov 27

Focus Ireland Thanksgiving Choral Concert celebrates 20 years of fighting homelessness in Limerick 

by richanthon in Charity, News 0 comments 2206

Patrick McLoughney, Meghann Scully, Triona O’Connor, Focus Ireland Limerick Services Project Leader, Mayor James Collins, Celia Holman Lee, Sinead O’Brien, and Richard Lynch, ilovelimerick. Pic: Cian Reinhardt/ilovelimerick

Focus Ireland Thanksgiving Choral Concert celebrates 20 years of fighting homelessness in Limerick 

Focus Ireland has been challenging homelessness and changing lives in Limerick since 1998. To mark the Focus Ireland 20th anniversary in Limerick City and County, the charity held a Focus Ireland Thanksgiving Choral Concert at St. Marys Cathedral and the event was a rousing success! The evening raised 3,000 euros.


Focus Ireland Ambassador Celia Holman Lee hosted the event. Cllr James Collins, Mayor of Limerick City and County was the guest of honour joined by Meghann Scully of SPIN South West who presented the musical acts.

Well-known and much loved local performers gathered at the cathedral to sing their hearts out in aid of Focus Ireland and all the support that has been provided to the community in Limerick over the last 20 years.

Focus Ireland Thanksgiving

Rebecca Reynolds, Patrice Kelleher and Máiréad Cummane, Focus Ireland. Pic: Cian Reinhardt/ilovelimerick

Performing on the night was the hugely popular soprano Sinead O’Brien accompanied by Tenor Derek Moloney, Unity Gospel Choir Limerick, Mary Immaculate College Community Choir, Cantette Children’s Choir, Parteen NS Choir, and St. Marys NS Choir.

The acts literally sang the roof off of the course culminating in a free for all with audience members including Celia Holman Lee, Richard Lynch and Mayor Collins joining the gospel choir and other acts on stage for a rendition of ‘Oh Happy Day’ from the movie ‘Sister Act’.

There was something for everyone’s musical tastes on the night and complimentary refreshments were provided by Mr Taits Café. A prize draw with some seriously superb spot prizes donated from local businesses closed the evening.

By taking part in the concert, performers and supporters helped Focus Ireland to provide continued support to Limerick families at risk of homelessness, and help those already directly impacted.

Focus Ireland Ambassador Celia Holman Lee said, “It breaks my heart to see the number of homeless children continue to rise. To be given an opportunity to raise awareness and much-needed funds so we can challenge this crisis is something that I feel very passionate about. As I am both a mother and a grandmother, my family means more to me than anything else in the world. We have to protect all families and ensure that all children in this country feel safe and secure.”


Rebecca Reynolds, Focus Ireland National Fundraising Initiatives Manager added: “Thanks so much to all who took part in making the anniversary event such a resounding success! We are so grateful to the musical acts, for Tait House for providing refreshments, to our ambassador Celia, to Meghann our superb MC for the night, to Mayor James Collins, to Richard Lynch and his ilovelimerick team for covering our event and to St Mary’s Cathedral for their amazing venue. The spirit of the Limerick community is second to none and we applaud the people of Limerick for coming out to support our anniversary.”

For more information on Focus Ireland, go here

For more stories on Focus Ireland, go here

Oct 08

International Beauty Brand Rain Africa Opens Flagship Store in Limerick

by richanthon in Beauty, News 0 comments 2261

Leanne Moore, Richard Lynch, Cllr James Collins, Mayor of Limerick City and County, Bev Missing, Rain Africa, Patrick McLoughney, and Edwina Gore. Pic: Cian Reinhardt/ilovelimerick

International Beauty Brand Rain Africa Opens Flagship Store in Limerick

RAIN Africa, an international brand of luxury bath and body products, has opened its flagship store for Ireland in Castletroy Town Centre, Limerick.

With a focus on natural ingredients from Africa, Rain Africa offers a unique experience with an extensive range of luxury body and bath products to those who desire only the best in personal pampering. Rain products are responsibly handmade from natural ingredients with African botanical actives.

Rain Africa has 22 stores across South Africa, one in New York, three in Cork. With 35% Irish shareholding, the company has ambitious plans for opening more stores in Ireland and using its base here as a springboard for the UK and Europe.

Attending the official opening, Mayor James Collins said, “Rain’s new store is a welcome addition to the retail offering in Limerick. It allows Limerick people to shop with a conscience and, in the world we live in, this is very important. I’m impressed with their five-star products.”

Other guests included fitness blogger Leanne Moore, men’s style expert Patrick McLoughney, Luke Culhane of Create no Hate and Richard Lynch of ilovelimerick.com.

Bev Missing, Co-Founder of Rain Africa, said, “We have been extremely grateful for the way in which our concept and products have been received so far. More and more, consumers want to know that the products they’re buying are natural, handcrafted and harvested in a sustainable environment. With Limerick’s fair-trade status it made sense for us to launch our flagship store here as we share the same values of fair trade. We want to firmly establish ourselves in Ireland with a few more stores and then use it as a launch pad to tackle the UK market.”


The company is proud to have recently achieved “Fair Trade Guaranteed-status” and is one of the few companies in the international beauty industry that is both Fair Trade and Beauty Without Cruelty accredited.

Rain Africa

Bev Missing, Rain Africa Founder, with Leanne Moore. Picture: Cian Reinhardt/ilovelimerick

Their focus on offering only natural products, which are ethically produced, and Fair Trade certified would appeal to those who shop with a conscience.

Rain offers natural skincare products made from wild harvested ingredients that captures the goodness of Nature in a refined elegance and replaces the much-needed nutrients back into your skin that everyday stress and environmental contamination remove from your body. With eight ranges, Rain will wet anyone’s appetite for a little pampering.  Their baby range is as gentle as spring rain and contains no parabens, no SLES’s, no synthetic perfumes or any mineral oils. The Wild Cotton range is a firm favourite with its clean fresh linen fragrance, while Savannah offers that touch of sophistication and elegance. Men are not forgotten with a dedicated Men’s Range that was launched earlier this year.

Also, the store offered are natural room sprays, candles and reed which bring smells of nature, evocative of, Africa, into your home, together with a wide range of handmade gift items – each box individually cut from recycled cardboard and covered with local materials.

In support of breast cancer awareness month, Rain will be showing its support to ladies suffering from breast cancer by supporting the Marie Keating Foundation. Rain will donate 50c from each sale of Savannah products during October to this worthy cause.

Come to visit their new store situated in the Castletroy Town Centre, Limerick and experience the Rain difference!  Other stores can be found in Kinsale, Winthrop Arcade in Cork City, and Douglascourt.

Leading eco-ethical skincare company, Rain creates luxurious bath and body products by hand using natural ingredients and African Bio-actives.  The company is proud to have recently achieved “Fair Trade Guaranteed-status” and is one of the few companies in the international beauty industry that is both Fair Trade and Beauty Without Cruelty accredited.

For more information on Rain Africa, go here

For more stories on Rain Africa Ireland, go here

Jul 18

Good Food Outlet & Leanne Moore give Cliona’s Foundation food for soul

by richanthon in Business, Charity, News 0 comments 2730

Good Food Outlet and Leanne Moore of Go Gym Limerick have put together a healthy and delicious ready-made meal. From now until the end of September the Good Food Outlet will be donating one euro to the charity Cliona’s Foundation for every one of the meals sold. Pictured are Pat and Mary Power, Good Food Outlet, Leanne Moore, Go Gym Limerick, Brendan and Terry Ring, cofounders Cliona’s Foundation (back) with fitness model Eamonn Baggott, Richard Lynch, ilovelimerick, rugby star Joy Neville and fitness trainer Colm Moran. Picture: Zoe Conway/ilovelimerick. 

Good Food Outlet & Leanne Moore give Cliona’s Foundation food for soul

Fitness guru Leanne Moore is teaming up with the Good Food Outlet to raise vital funds for Limerick-based charity Cliona’s Foundation.

The Good Food Outlet and Leanne Moore have put together a healthy and delicious ready-made Go Gym Fitness meal that will be available to buy exclusively at the Good Food Outlet from now until the end of September. For every one of the Leanne Moore meals sold, the Good Food Outlet will be donating one euro to Cliona’s Foundation. Leanne is an official ambassador for the charity and was recently joined by fellow Cliona’s Foundation ambassador and World Rugby Referee of the Year Joy Neville to launch the meal.

Cliona’s Foundation is a Limerick-based charity that provides financial assistance directly to parents of children with life-limiting or chronic complex care needs across Ireland to help with the non-medical expenses related to caring for their child over a long period of time. The Foundation was set up by Brendan and Terry Ring, following the death of their daughter Cliona, from an inoperable brain tumour in 2006 aged 16.

Leanne Moore is one of Limerick’s brightest stars. After rising to fame on RTÉ’s You’re A Star in 2008, Moore has since cultivated a career in TV, music, and fitness. Along with her popular blog and social media following, Leanne made her business debut with Go Gym Limerick, a one of a kind gym experience located in Coonagh Cross which she launched with her business partners in 2017.

A family-owned business, the Good Food Outlet is a Limerick based food production company employing nine people and founded by Pat and Mary Power. After five years of food production, the Good Food Outlet opened its first retail outlet on the Ballysimon Road one year ago. The Good Food outlet makes healthy food accessible to the people of Limerick and provides food for a number of healthy-living goals. They also have the best selection of healthy fresh meals, high-protein foods, supplements and protein products in Limerick.

Leanne said, “We at Go Gym Limerick are delighted to team up with The Good Food Outlet on this project. Two local businesses coming together to help a local charity. I chose salmon for my meal because I adore fish but it will also be available with chicken so hopefully, it will appeal to everyone. I went for salmon or chicken in a pesto crust with baked sliced baby potatoes and mixed veg. Tasty and super healthy. It’ll be available from The Good Food Outlet and we will hopefully stock some in Go Gym too. People will pay the regular price for the meal and €1 of their money will go straight to Clionas Foundation. It’s amazing.”

Good Food Outlet

Good Food Outlet and Leanne Moore of Go Gym Limerick have put together a healthy and delicious ready-made meal. From now until the end of September the Good Food Outlet will be donating one euro to the charity Cliona’s Foundation for every one of the meals sold. Pictured are Brendan Ring, cofounder Cliona’s Foundation, rugby star Joy Neville, Leanne Moore, Go Gym Limerick and Mary Power, Good Food Outlet. Picture: Zoe Conway/ilovelimerick.

Mary and Pat Power, owners of the Good Food Outlet commented, “What I love about Cliona’s Foundation, is that any money raised through fundraising has an impact straight away for a family who are under stress due to the cost of medical expenses. These donations provide immediate relief for these families, and the expenses Cliona’s Foundation provide money for are the things people don’t think of when a child is ill.”

Joy Neville adds,” Cliona’s Foundation receives no state funding. Since its launch, Cliona’s Foundation has raised in excess of €1.4 million and has helped more than 500 families across 29 counties. It is Brendan and Terry’s intimate understanding of the stress brought upon these families that explains the diversity of expenses covered by Cliona’s Foundation – from accommodation, rent, food, car parking, utility bills to transportation for hospital treatment or alternative therapies, to a treat for a sibling and even covering the cost of a child’s funeral.”

“Leanne has been a wonderful supporter for a number of years”, said Brendan Ring, co-founder of Cliona’s Foundation. “We are absolutely delighted and honoured that she, along with the Good Food Outlet have selected Cliona’s Foundation to benefit from this new healthy Go Gym Fitness meal. Funds generated will help us support some of the 18 families we currently have on our waiting list along with increasing our profile to the Good Food Outlet customer base and Leanne’s many followers. It’s Good Food that will be good for everyone involved.”

For further info contact Mary Power, Good Food Outlet at [email protected] or Phil Deegan, Cliona’s Foundation at [email protected].

For more information about Cliona’s Foundation, click here

For more stories on Cliona’s Foundation, click here

Jul 12

RuPaul wishes Happy Limerick Pride as Limerick LGBTQ community celebrate annual event

by richanthon in Gay, News, Pride 0 comments 2348

RuPaul wishes Happy Limerick Pride: Photographed together in 2005 in New York were RuPaul and Richard Lynch.

RuPaul wishes Happy Limerick Pride as Limerick LGBTQ Community celebrate the annual event

By ilovelimerick Correspondent Ryan O’Connell

World famous Drag Queen and TV personality, RuPaul has wished the Limerick LGBTQ Community a Happy Pride following the Limerick Pride Parade on Saturday, July 7.

Taking to Twitter, the Drag Sensation wished a “Happy Limerick Pride!” to the thousands of people who took to the streets of Limerick to celebrate the annual event. The tweet also featured a shout out to Limerick Pride Grand Marshall and old friend, Richard Lynch, with RuPaul tagging the ilovelimerick founder.

Richard said, ”I have known Ru since the 90s. He is an amazing human being and I felt very honoured he would think of me. I thought it was incredibly generous and kind of him”

The post, which RuPaul tweeted to his 1.24m followers and received over 1,500 likes, comes after a week-long celebration of Pride in Limerick. This is not the first time the star has shown support for the Limerick Pride celebrations, having wished the community “a lovely Limerick Pride” ten years ago in 2008, when Richard Lynch began working with Limerick Pride and founded ilovelimerick.

As ilovelimerick nears its tenth anniversary, RuPaul is also celebrating the tenth anniversary of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’, which has reached new heights across its ten-year run and is now a cultural phenomenon.

Speaking about his work with Pride and ilovelimerick over the past decade, Grand Marshall Richard Lynch, “September 2008 was the first year I worked with Pride and that year it became a week-long event which I called I Love Limerick as I wanted it to be integrative and give the music, arts, and culture of Limerick a platform. That Pride was the birth of ilovelimerick, which will officially be ten years old this September”.

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ has just finished airing its 10th season and has been renewed for an eleventh which is set to air later this year. Ilovelimerick is set to celebrate its ten year anniversary this September.

 

For more information on Limerick Pride, go here

For more stories on Limerick Pride and Pridefest, go here

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