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

 

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I Love Limerick Chronicle Column

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Limerick Chronicle I Love Limerick Tuesday 16th of January 2018 pg 30

 

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Limerick Chronicle I Love Limerick Tuesday 16th of January 2018 pg 31

 

 

Pictured at the Limerick Person of the Year Award 2016 were Claire Culhane, Richard Lynch, Grace Culhane, Luke Culhane, winner of the Limerick Person of the year Award 2016, Olive Foley and Dermot Culhane. Picture: Cian Reinhardt/ilovelimerick

 

The 14-year-old Limerick boy, Luke Culhane, whose viral video warning against cyberbullying and the late Anthony Foley – posthumously receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award – were today the top recipients at the Limerick Person of the Year 2016 awards.

The creation of a powerful video – ‘Create No Hate’ – saw Luke Culhane, from Castletroy View, selected as the January award recipient and made enough of an impact to have him selected all of 12 months later for the Limerick Person of the Year 2016.

Limerick person of the year 2016

Luke Culhane, whose viral video warning against cyberbullying went viral was named Limerick person of the year 2016. Photo: Sean Curtin True Media.

A budding filmmaker and blogger, Luke was motivated to create the video after being a victim of cyberbullying himself and, with over 500,000 views, its success was such that the story was picked up by Sky News, BBC, MTV, Fox, RTE and UTV, among others.

The international admiration for his efforts stretched all the way to December when he was named Young Person of the Year by prominent French newspaper Mon Quotidien.

Accepting the award, Luke Culhane said: “Thank you so much to everyone that supported the video, the main thing is that helped loads of other children after I Skyped a school in South Africa it inspired them to make their own video. It’s not just me that won, it’s the whole of Limerick.”

Today’s event, held at the Clayton Hotel, Limerick, also saw Olive Foley, wife of the late Anthony Foley, receive a Lifetime Achievement award on behalf of her husband, whose death on October 16th last led to one of the single greatest outpourings of sadness ever experienced across Limerick.

The legendary Shannon, Munster and Ireland No. 8 Anthony moved with his family from Murroe to Killaloe when he was 3 years old but had an indelible connection with Limerick over the years.  He was schooled at St. Munchin’s, where he first gained prominence as a schools rugby star, before going on to become the most coloured captain in the history of Shannon and Munster rugby.

Speaking at today’s event, Limerick Leader Editor Eugene Phelan said:  “It’s fair to say that the two recipients today were utterly inspirational in very different ways but we are here with mixed emotions in relation to them today.

“We all marvelled at Luke’s courage and, indeed, technical ability in putting this video together. It relates to an area that all of society is exercised and very concerned about but when it is a 13-year-old member of that society, as he was then, we are all humbled by what he did.  Luke is clearly a leader and I suspect that this is the start of what will be a hugely successful career in film and one that, will no doubt, leave its mark in a very positive way on society.”

Speaking of the award to Anthony Foley, Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Cllr Kieran O’Hanlon said: “With regard to Anthony Foley, all of us who love rugby and sport generally were totally shocked by news of his death. I don’t think I have ever seen anything like the collective sense of loss that greeted this.   He was an incredible man both on and off the field.

Limerick Person of the Year 2016

The 14 year-old Limerick boy, Luke Culhane, whose viral video warning against cyberbullying and the late Anthony Foley Ð posthumously receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award – were today the top recipients at the Limerick Person of the Year 2016 awards. Photo: Sean Curtin True Media.

“We all celebrated his rugby achievements and got so much joy here in Limerick from that.  But the other side of Anthony was what he did off the field, his charity work and just how he held himself as a person. He was arguably the most modest sports star and this is an acknowledgement that he totally deserves.”

Speaking at the event, Olive Foley said:  “I’m pretty sure Anthony would be recoiling with the attention here today.  He was very proud of his association with Limerick and from a sporting perspective will always be associated with Munster and Shannon, with many of his greatest rugby moments here in Limerick.

“We know that everyone here misses him and it goes without saying that we do. But we really appreciate the fact that he is thought of and remembered so fondly, including with this Lifetime Achievement Award.”

Now in its 16th year and sponsored by The Limerick Leader, Southern Marketing Design & Media and the Clayton Hotel, the Limerick Person of the Year Award was set up to honour the achievements and success of local people.

Pat Reddan, General Manager, Clayton Limerick Hotel said: “We are delighted to sponsor such an event that showcases the very best of Limerick and the people who call it home, they truly are all inspirational.”

Congratulating all nominees, Dave O’Hora of Southern Marketing Design & Media said: “each of the nominees have in their own way made an outstanding contribution to the cultural, sporting, business and community scene in Limerick, today Limerick celebrates and it should.”

Past winners of the title include philanthropist JP McManus, world champion boxer Andy Lee, rugby stars Paul O’Connell and Tony Ward, author Donal Ryan, transatlantic rower Paul Gleeson and Thomond Park developer Pat Whelan.

The Limerick Person of the Year 2016 judging panel consisted of Eugene Phelan, Editor of The Limerick Leader; Conn Murray, Chief Executive of Limerick City and County Council; and Cllr. Kieran O’Hanlon, Mayor of the City and County of Limerick.

For more information on Create No Hate click here

To read past stories on Limerick Person of the Year click here

Rugby legend Paul O Connell awarded UL doctorate honour

Dr Paul O Connell with Richard Lynch from I Love Limerick. Photo by Jonathan Baynes for ILoveLimerick.com

Limerick rugby legend Paul O Connell was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science at a ceremony in front of 1,000 invited guests on Thursday November 5, 2015.

The former Ireland captain, who bowed out of international rugby after picking up a hamstring injury at the World Cup last month, is the 100th person to receive an honorary doctorate at the University of Limerick.

Irish head coach Joe Schmidt, Munster players past and present, his family and friends, including wife Emily, son Paddy and daughter Lola were at this special event celebrating.

“I am delighted, I am a bit overwhelmed by it. I had a look through the list of previous conferees – it is great company that I will be keeping. I had a lovely phone call from Declan Kidney this morning – I was at his conferring previously,” said Paul.

O’Connell, who won 108 Irish caps over a glorious Irish career, said that the University, where he completed three of four years of a computer engineering degree before professional rugby came calling in 2001, had played a “big part” in his life.

“When you grow up in Limerick, the University ends up being a big part of your life, even if you don’t go here as a student,” he said.

“To get appreciated by your home university is something that is very special. I have played in teams all my life, great Munster and Irish teams and to be getting individual honours sometimes when you play a team sport is a bit strange and it can be a bit embarrassing because you are never in that situation, it is never about the individual when you are part of a team.

For 15 years the Munster icon has trained almost daily on campus in UL, and has a long association with the campus that dates back his days as a swimmer in the original PESS swimming pool as a four or five year old, he explained.

Asked about a break with that routine now with his move to Toulon in the offing – albeit with months of rehab for his injury ahead of him – he said simply: “It is part of life, part of the circle of life.

“I think the Toulon move is something I gave a lot of thought to and I swayed back and forth as to whether it was the right thing or the wrong thing to do. But I think for whatever I want to do for the rest of my life, I think I will be all the better for having this experience and it is something I am really looking forward to,” he said.

“Limerick will always be my home and it will always be somewhere I would like to come back to.”

O’Connell explained why he wouldn’t rule out a return to education in the future: “I have had good excuses with having two kids and having a senior role in the Irish team and Munster team as well. I have toyed with it, I have come in and spoken to the University plenty of times about the possibility of coming back and doing various things and I cooled on the idea as well. But I probably have 18 months left playing rugby and I will be taking a little bit of time out after that and who knows, I could end up back here as a student as well,” he admitted.

UL President Professor Don Barry paid tribute to the rugby legend, who has been a director of the UL Foundation since 2011, saying that the occasion was an “opportunity to honour those who have inspired, who have led with courage and passion and who have made great contributions in their fields of endeavour.

“Much thought, consideration and deliberation goes into deciding who is worthy – except when it is a real-life super hero, and particularly when his name is Paul O’Connell.

“Today I am very proud that UL bestowed upon Paul our highest honour. He was already an important member of the UL family, but today he accepted a place in the history of this institution,” he added.

Read Richard’s tribute to Paul O Connell here.

Read more about Paul O Connell here.

Read more about UL here.

Watch our exclusive interview with rugby legend Paul O Connell