Gardai investigating the murder of 71 year old Jimmy Boyce who was found dead at his home in St Mary’s Park in early March say they have arrested five people.

Boyce, a former UN peacekeeper who lived alone, was found beaten to death in the bedroom of his house on March 8th. Neighbours had raised the alarm when he wasn’t seen for a number of days.

Gardai said Thursday two women aged in their twenties and thirties, and three men, one in his forties and two in their late teens, were arrested in the Limerick city area as part of the investigation.

Four are being held under section 30 of the Offences against the State Act. One is being detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. All five are being held at various Garda Stations in Limerick and Shannon.

RTE reported Thursday one of the arrested, a 19 year old man, and is being questioned about the murder while the other four are being held for withholding information.

Boyce, who had received a UN medal, served in the Congo with UN forces in 1961.

The Jury in the trial of a man, accused of murdering Garryowen rugby captain Shane Geoghegan in November 2008, have been discharged after they failed to reach a verdict.

The jury, which consisted of just ten people after two were excused earlier this week, returned to the courtroom Wednesday and informed Mr Justice Paul Carney they could not reach a unanimous decision on whether 25 year old Barry Doyle murdered Shane Geoghegan.

They told the judge they believed they would never be able to reach a verdict.

Doyle of Portland Row, Dublin, was charged with the murder of the 28 year old rugby captain at Kilteragh, Dooradoyle on November 9th, 2008.

Mr. Geoghegan was leaving a friends house in the Clonmore estate after watching an international rugby match on TV, when he was approached, chased and fatally shot a number of times in what is believed to be a case of mistaken identity.

During the trial, which lasted two weeks at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin, the jury was shown video tapes of interviews carried out by Gardai while he was in custody.

They showed the accused admitting to the murder however the jury was told to disregard the video taped evidence when his defence argued he was induced by detectives into making the confession.

The Irish Times explains,

“He said it was the defence’s case that there was psychological pressure, coercion and inducement and that his client was the victim of threats and promises.

He said that the defendant’s solicitor had done a deal with the gardaí that if he admitted to the murder, the mother of his sick child, Victoria Gunnery, would be released from custody.

“Do the right thing. Don’t keep Vicky away from the young one any longer than she has to be,” he quoted from a memo of interview.

“What could that mean other than ‘Tell us what we want to hear and Vicky will be released’?” he suggested. “There’s the threat and the promise.” Mr Justice Paul Carney told the 11 jurors to have due regard to the fact that there was no corroboration with the interviews.”

The jury had deliberated for nearly 11 hours until Wednesday when they revealed they had still not reached a verdict.

A TV3 news reporter, who was in court Wednesday evening, said the accused “smiled to the back of the courtroom” where his family were upon hearing the news of the hung jury. The family of Mr. Geoghegan were said to be visibly upset.

Doyle was remanded in custody and will face a re-trail.

This and that from here and there.

:: A man was killed in a road accident in Co. Limerick Tuesday morning.

Gardai in Bruff are investigating the fatal two vehicle accident at Ballyfookeen Bruree, on the N20 just before 6.30am.

The victim, 34 year old John Hinchey from Oakfield Fr Russell Road in Raheen, died when the van he was driving collided with a lorry approximately two miles outside Charleville. He was the sole occupant of the van. The driver of the lorry received minor injuries.

The road was closed for a time Tuesday while Garda Forensic Collision Investigators examined the scene. Witnesses are asked to contact the Gardai in Bruff on 061 940382 or any Garda Station.

:: An article on Limerick and the economic downturn and the departure of Dell appeared in Télérama, weekly French magazine, last month. We only discovered it now but thought it was worth a look. We’re a small town apparently.

You can view that here (translated), or the original here.

:: The Clondalkin Youth Band were crowned 2011 Parade Champions at the Limerick International Band Parade and Competition on Sunday, watched by thousands of spectators.

Best Irish Band was won by Mullingar Town Band and Newcastle West Pipe Band won the Best Local Band category. Limerick City Brass and Reed Band won the Most Entertaining Performance while City of Limerick Pipe Band won Best Uniform. The Special Judges award went to St Brigid’s Accordion Band from Armagh.

The musical parade and competition, which is part of the Limerick St Patrick’s Festival, was led by The Irish Army Band, The Band of the First Southern Brigade.

:: First Year LCFE photography learners are exhibiting a selection of their work at the College’s 9th Annual Photography Exhibition which opened at the South Court Hotel, Raheen, on the 16th March and runs for the rest of the year.

Find out more on that here.

:: A surprise sporting legend will be the guest speaker at the 2011 Mayor’s Ball which will take place in the Limerick Strand Hotel on Friday May 6th.

Mayor Maria Byrne has nominated The Lourdes Invalid Fund and St Gabriel’s School to benefit from the Ball which is traditionally a highlight of the Limerick social calendar, which this year will have a sporting theme.

Those wishing to book tables for the Mayor’s Ball or any further details should contact Pat Dowling, Event Organiser, Limerick City Council, 061-407202 or Siobhan Carroll, Mayor’s Office, 061-407347.

:: The Milk Market Limerick hosted the first in what is to be a series of family-fun market events on Sunday, March 20.

The event, “Mayhem at the Milk Market”, attracted over 12,000 visitors – a record number for the Sunday Market. The great feedback has encouraged the organisers, the Limerick Market Trustees, to confirm that they will organise more family-orientated Sunday market events throughout the year and will actively encourage other event organisers to use the venue.

“Our next major “Mayhem at the Milk Market” family-fun event will be on Easter Sunday, April 24. Because it will be Easter means it will be an Eggstraordinary event. We are going to have lots of new family-fun dimensions, with added madness, surprises, more stalls and shops and a very special family menu. The details will be on our website in early April,” David O’Brien, Market Manager said.

Limerick celebrated its largest ever St Patrick’s Day event with over 4,600 participants taking part in this year’s parade,  aimed at celbrating Limerick’s status as EU city of Sport 2011.

The Northside Learning Hub once again took the honours for their interpretation of the ‘Amazing Circus of Sport’ while the Filipino community won the Most Entertaining Group award.

Gardai reportedly estimated that close to 70,000 people thronged the streets to watch five of Limerick’s most popular and successful sporting heroes lead the Parade including transatlantic rower Sean McGowan, Munster rugby hero John Hayes; Limerick GAA star, Gary Kirby, Ireland’s most capped hockey player, Eimear Cregan, and former soccer player and manager Eoin Hand.

With over 4,600 participants, it is believed Limerick city hosted the largest regional parade in the country.

The crowds were entertained with fire-breathers, stilt walkers, local belly-dancers from Shahira Dance group, clowns and live music while Limerick’s talented arts and community groups showcased their talents with brightly coloured floats and entries.

All this was to be seen between the roar of motorcycle engines courtesy of the Goldwing Club of Ireland and the Munster Harley Davidson enthusiasts.

The Limerick Military Entry was led by the 12th Infantry Batallion from Sarsfield Barracks who proudly marched down the traditional route of O’Connell Street past the review stand.

“It was a fantastic parade truly showcasing the best of Limerick sport and our hundreds of community groups who put in such a wonderful effort with their imaginative floats and demonstrations,” Mayor of Limerick, Cllr Maria Byrne said.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan, Minister of State, Jan O’Sullivan, Kieran O’Donnell TD and Willie O’Dea TD were also in attendance.

“We were blessed with the weather and the thousands of spectators on the streets really enjoyed themselves on what was a very enjoyable day.”

Below is a slideshow of some of our photos of the Day.

Senator David Norris, who formally announced his intention to seek nomination to contest the upcoming Presidential Election on Monday, will take his campaign to Limerick this week.

“Throughout my career I have striven to highlight injustice and have campaigned for many causes under the principles of fairness and justice,” the veteran politician said.

I have put myself forward because I believe the Irish people share those same principles and it would be the pinnacle of my career to represent their beliefs as President.”

The 66 year old civil rights campaigner is officially launching his Mid West campaign in Limerick on Wednesday with three events planned.

Campaign officials say he will visit to St. Munchin’s Family Resource Centre in Ballynanty before attending an event at LIT and the Enterprise Acceleration Centre.

He will then meet and greet with his supporters at No.1 Pery Square in the evening.

“As I travel around the country, meeting people from all walks of life, people hungry for principled political leadership – it gives me great heart to see that the determination of our people still burns bright. That innate sense of entrepreneurship and invention continues to flourish,” he said.

Limerick’s eco friendly 100 ft Christmas tree which sits on the river Shannon at Harvey’s Quay, toppled over Wednesday morning after the pontoons on which it stands began to take on water and sink.

City engineers confirmed Wednesday that port holes in the pontoons filled with water on one side and this caused the tree to lean into the river around 8am.

“The tree always remained secure on the River Shannon. There was no danger as it did not break its moorings and no damage has been caused as a result,” the city council said in a statement.

An investigation is now taking place to establish why the pontoons began to take on water. The tree now sits on its side just off of Harvey’s Quay.

The Tree was designed by consulting engineers White Young Greene and constructed in 2007 by the Moyross based company Speedline Engineering.

Cranes are expected to arrive at the quays later this week as the operation to salvage the tree gets underway.

In November 2009 the tree was swept away in a strong current and crashed into Shannon Bridge during a Christmas lighting ceremony.

Gardaí at Henry Street have launched a murder enquiry after the body of an elderly man was found at his home in St Munchin’s Street in St Mary’s Park yesterday evening.

It’s understood the body of 71 year old James Boyce was found in “suspicious circumstances” after neighbours raised the alarm when he wasn’t seen for a number of days.

Members of the Garda Technical Bureau carried out extensive technical examinations at the scene and a post mortem was carried out at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital Tuesday evening.

Gardai said late Tuesday the results of the post mortem have been supplied to investigating Gardaí. They are not being released for “operational reasons,” however it’s believed he died a violent death.

Investigators are appealing for anyone who may have seen Mr Boyce between the early hours of Saturday morning and late Monday evening, or who have may information to contact the Garda incident room at Mayorstone Garda Station 061 456989.

Meanwhile the death of another elderly man, who died after he was overcome by smoke during a fire at his house, also on Munchin’s Street, is not believed to be suspicious.

The victim, named locally as Frank Allen, was in his early seventies. He also lived alone. Gardai have ruled out foul play as the cause of the blaze which broke out on Sunday night.

Gardai say they are investigating the circumstances surrounding a stabbing incident in Limerick City early Friday morning.

A man in his late twenties remains in a serious but stable condition after he was discovered lying on the side of the street by firefighters who were attending a fire call at a house on Mary Street around 2am.

He was rushed by ambulance to the regional hospital in Dooradoyle where he is being treated for multiple stab wounds to the upper body.

Mary Street, Jail Lane along with sections of Athlunkard Street and Island Road were closed for a time while Gardai examined the scene of the incidents.

Investigators are appealing for anyone who may have information to contact Mary Street Garda station at 061 212464.

NEW DETAILS
The Irish Times has the complete details of the attack which was described as unprovoked.