Cheebah and all that - Limerick, Ireland

Limerick soccer in Thomond Park

As anticipation grows ahead of Limerick's return to Premier league football today, interesting to look at this programme from 53 years ago when Limerick made European competition debut and hosted Swiss team Berne also in Thomond Park

This was Limerick's first foray into Europe and in a clear display of very different times they had to enlist the support of many- primarily in the field of translation. They also felt the need to remind the home supporters that what was the Swiss anthem at that time, had the same melody as the British one.

Todays 32 page programme differs significantly in quality and colour but it will also include a history section (like its 1960 counterpart)- wonder will it include this fact on why Limerick play in Blue?

Despite it being the first foray into Europe the amount of advertising in this programme is limited to four pages- however interesting to see this full page spread for two hotels still with us. Coincidentally, today,  both are the only two operating in city centre that fall under the 'fair hotel scheme'.

This match was in August the start of the soccer season and unlike today Limerick's players were looking at a winter schedule-

Hopefully, today will see a new chapter open and we will be seeing more of these European clashes in the years ahead. Some of them might even give us memorable stories like the excellent one told in this documentary from last year

 

Jack Monday

 Over the last year, I attended some lectures in the Hunt museum on aspects of hidden local history. John Logan spoke of 18th century Limerick and the various groups placed in city workhouse. He also spoke of executions and highlighted three, one involving the ravishing of a child, another for the slaying of a sheep and the third for the stealing of a plate! The condemned's last words were printed up and sold on the streets of the city the next day for a penny a go.

This tabloidesque habit wasn't my favourite local history story of the last year though. That came from a more recent era and a different source. Jack Monday was a West African fitter working on a ship that docked in Limerick during the war of independence. Inspired by the stories they heard of the Irish fight, those onboard made the decision to fly the Irish flag on departure (Maritime custom was that you should fly the flag of the country one is departing when leaving). Enraged by the non fluttering of a union jack, the ship was boarded. In the subsequent scuffle two black and tans were stabbed. Monday was taken from ship and thrown in jail. It was only in the civil war that followed, he eventually was released, whereupon he joined the  fledgling Irish army, presumably one of the first black men to do so.

Cultural Dig

 

Limerick Working Arts Group The SpiritStore is working on an exciting new project as part of this years ev+a International Art exhibition. The Catherine St Cultural Dig is an investigative Art project that links the residents of the street with artists brokered by the SpiritStore.

One of the results of the dig will be presented on site at the corner of Catherine St and Thomas St on Saturday March 13. The Butchers and history of the streets meat industry are the inspiration for this event.

At 6.00 there will be a serving of the traditional Limerick dish of Packet and Tripe. Also on Site there will be a video piece based on tales surrounding the the food by the women who have cooked it for a lifetime.Pigtown archivist and author Mike Finn will read and Teaspach theatre group will also be in attendance.

Spiritstore will be hosting a weekend festival based on the results of the dig on the street in May. Details on this to be announced on the SpiritStore blog.

Round the Houses

"ROUND THE HOUSES"

From cobyrne on twitter. Year is 1935 in Limerick. cobyrne reckons "Pretty sure the route is William St. past CBS to Roxboro, down past Peoples Park to O'Connell St and back up to William St"

PS: Other great footage on that site, include fall of Limerick to free staters in 1922

Come here to me

One of the best Irish blogs I have encountered over the last year is the relatively new Dublin blog, come here to me. With three writers, it deals with different aspects of Dublin life and culture. They have a monthly 'pub crawl' where they visit five different pubs and report back. There is really interesting social history pieces like when an 'iceberg' floated down the grand canal, all the houses James Connolly lived in and an article on the Hellfire Clubs. They have unearthed some great music and film gems as well, including this rare Behan documentary on Dublin. Also, it doesn't appear that anyone of them is using this as a springboard to a media career. Refreshing.

Shane

Rapido

Video for Rapido - history of hip hop

Know they are a lot of hip hop historys out there but for the Irish viewer this Rapido special will have a special resonance as it was shown here back in the very early 90s. Nearly an hour long , links for part 2, part3, part4, part 5 and part 6.

Shane

1984

Video for Breakdancing on the streets of Limerick 1984

At occasional Cheebah team meetings over the last four years, many projects are talked about. One that is always pencilled in is to get the above footage from 'Reelin in the years' and put it up on youtube and start trying to find out more about the particiapants.

Well finally somebody else has done it. I know that on a thread over at the limerick Blogger a few years ago this was mentioned and some names came out. However those comments are now deleted so if you can shine light on those involved we would love to hear more. Comment below.

UPDATE: Thanks to Colz and Cool C for the comments below. Keep them coming. Colz has also written a great personal account of why 84-85 was so important to many Irish youth. Unsurprisingly not everyone liked Dizzy Footwork. They were once referred to in a Dáil debate in 85. The speaker was Ned O Keeffe, Cork FF TD who would later become famous over his concern about "Babe" and its effects on the Irish Bacon industry and more recently for this outburst. Back in 85 Ned was talking about the need for Youth training and employment skills. He declared that skills like that of the tinsmith should be preserved and then went onto attack an event. The event was called the 'Youth Year Roadshow'  and Ned maintained that it

"is an insult to our youth. Among the Roadshow's many features are... a... breakdancing performances by the Mars breakdancing team — Dizzy Footwork.That is demeaning our youth and is an insult to them"  !! (full transcripts)

This was the only reference ever to breakdancing in the history of the Dáil. Coincidentally, Ned's constituency colleague Sean Sherlock (Labour) made the only reference to hip hop.

Shane

It's a jazz thing

Photo owned by richardkaby (cc)
Big night this Wednesday for the Limerick Jazz Society as Soweto Kinch comes to town as part of the David Lyttle 3. Upstairs in Dolans- full details here. David Lyttle says on his own site "I'll be starting an 8-date Irish tour (April 29th) with rapper and saxophonist Soweto Kinch and bassist Damian Evans. We'll be playing some hard-swinging contemporary jazz and some deep, grooving hip hop."
Definitely music to move to and maybe get 'abnormal' to. That was the fate for jazz followers predicted by one District Judge Coll in Dundalk back nearly 80 years ago.

found in a copy of  Workers Life (1981) archived as part of the excellent Irish Left archive over on Cedar Lounge Revolution

Shane

Know your City

Last Sunday Newstalk covered Limerick in their documentary series urban beauty, urban blight. The emphasis was definitely on the positive with contributions from the likes of Mary Coll, Jon Kenny, Denis Leonard and Shelia Deegan. There was a snappy vox pop bit at the start with people on the street defending the city strongly. Some interesting pointers as to future city direction including a reference to the need to create a real heart to the city and the suffocating issue that is the boundary extension. If you haven't much idea of the citys architectural development or indeed social geography it is worth a listen (click here). Just treat some of the hyperbole for what it is.
The newstalk documentary didn't look at anything much beyond the last thirty years, but there are interesting lessons to be learnt from further back too. Paul Tarpey, myself and the size2shoes duo were amongst a very healthy group of about fifty people who attended a walking tour of the key sites associated with the Limerick Soviet. This month marks the 90th anniversary of the Soviet and Labour historian Dominic Hough will conduct the tour again this Sunday as part of the commemorations. He will be joined by local playwright and actor Mike Finn. Definitely worth an hour of your time. There is also a number of other events happening. Check here for full details.
Sticking with industrial disputes and indeed republicans both of which are intertwined in the Soviet story, RTE recently rebroadcast the fascinating story of the Ferneka plant in Limerick. Interunion disputes, strikes and kidnapping  all feature. Listen back here.

Shane

Ten years ago today

On the night of 11th December,morning of the 12th 1998, dozens of Gardai entered and shut down a city centre club in Limerick City. When they issued their demand to the dj to desist from playing, he was dropping an r'n'b number. It wasn't exactly bangin' techno!. But it was good and memories of those nights still live on fondly in many peoples hearts. In fact, the visit on that night ended a particularly purple patch in Limerick club history.