Make Your Local Government Work!
Mayor of Limerick, Jim Long, is heading over to Spain to attend a street naming ceremony in honour of Limerick author, Kate O’Brien. Nothing particularly wrong with this. It’s good that there’s a representative from Limerick in attendance and that person should be the Mayor of Limerick. It shouldn’t, however, be Jim Long. I have been sent a transcript of an email conversation that one Limerick citizen had with Jim Long. It takes a lot to shock the ol Cap’n but the abject ignorance, stupidity, aggression, bullying and an alarming inability to spell on Jim Long’s behalf has left me a little slackjawed in surprise. But I’ll get to that in a while. Why bring up the Spanish visit? Well, the problem is that Kate O’Brien’s house here in Limerick has been allowed to fall into a shocking state of dereliction. It has been set on fire a few times and it is a monument to Limerick City Council’s apathy towards the City it is supposed to represent. If you were to challenge Jim Long on this subject, he will readily inform you that the house is privately owned and, therefore, outside the responsibility of Limerick City Council. This is, however, incorrect. Yes it is privately owned but it is NOT outside the responsibility of Limerick City Council.
Extract from Derelict Sites Act 1990.
10.—It shall be the duty of a local authority to take all reasonable
steps (including the exercise of any appropriate statutory powers) to
ensure that any land situate in their functional area does not become
or continue to be a derelict site.
There you go. How long has Kate O’Brien’s house been in this state? Years. Yep, Jim Long has passed by this derelict site regularly but, in fairness to him, probably didn’t know whose house it was. To an active and functioning City Council, this wouldn’t matter because they would have stepped in and made the necessary repairs. Here’s a picture of the current state of Kate O’Brien’s House.
Jim Long is proud to accept the invite of the Spanish local authority to attend the street naming ceremony in honour of Kate O’Brien but does not appear to care about the eyesore her house has become. Strange that. Well, not really. We’re used to such double standards from Limerick City Council. I will be posting further about this scandal but I’m going to keep this one brief.
The transcript of the email conversation that I have been sent is absolutely shocking. The Mayor of Limerick City hurled abuse that you would probably not hear from a schoolyard bully at someone who appears to simply want to ensure that local government is doing their job. I can’t currently print the contents of this conversation as there are legal proceedings in progress. I can assure you that, once I get clearance, it will be printed in its entirety. I will also be contacting the Mayor myself in the coming days to question him about what is going to happen with Kate O’Brien’s house. I’m going to dedicate my next few posts to this subject.
If you wish to contact the Mayor, his email address is available on the Limerick City Council website. I urge you to question Jim Long about his inactivity on this and other issues. I would also urge you not to use any foul or abusive language in your communication with him. Use facts. Do not level false accusations at him. If you have any pertinent evidence, that is completely different but you will only play into his hands by abusing him. He is quite abusive himself. Abusive and utterly childish. I can’t stress this enough; please use your communication with the Mayor cleverly and with respect. From the conversation I’ve viewed, he does not seem to be a particularly pleasant individual. He met intelligently worded emails with abuse and bullying. When this conversation is eventually published, you will not believe it. If you have had similar experiences with him, please send them on. Once verified, I will publish them. I’m reliably informed that several articles are already being drafted, waiting for the go ahead to print.
I know Jim Long personally and have done for some time and I have to tell you that your description of him does not go far enough. He comes across as a right bully. It doesn’t suprise me that this person had abusive emails from him. I have never been crossed by him but I don’t like the man and I was depressed when I heard he’d become mayor.
Comment by Bad Lou Tenant — September 3, 2011 @ 3:04 pm
BLT, my apologies for the delay with approving your comment but I had to delete some of the language. The situation to which you’ve alluded is interesting but not printable in its current form. We are not here to attack Jim Long but to get him and his fellow councillors to do what’s right, starting with Kate O’Brien’s house. Please be advised that, though there has been no block on expletives ever on this site, this post will not delve into personal mud-slinging. I haven’t edited your wording but I’ve had to delete a large portion of your comment. This will continue for anyone who throws any verbal abuse or unsubstantiated accusations. Jim Long still has a chance to put things right, should he condescend to read this, and that is at the heart of what matters.
Comment by captainpurplehead — September 3, 2011 @ 3:38 pm
At this point I’d call him those names to his face. There is nothing at all wrong with having an opinion captain. Kate O’Brien’s house is one thing but there are plenty of other examples I could give you. I’m hoping to get proof of the incident I explained in my last comment before you deleted it as soon as I can. I think you should publish that email conversation. How could it hurt any legal proceedings?
Comment by Bad Lou Tenant — September 3, 2011 @ 4:50 pm
I don’t doubt that you have an intense dislike for the man. I have no deleted two other comments in their entirety because the most important issue here is that this work is done on Kate O’Brien’s house. I have now got it on good authority that Limerick City Council are obliged to do something about it and have been for quite some time. I do not think that name calling and profanity will benefit any part of this discussion and can only harm the overall cause. As for the email conversation, I have been advised by the person who sent it that his wish is that it remains unpublished. However, at some point that stance will change. I can only tell you that the content of the Mayor’s side of this discussion constitutes behaviour that would be out of order for anyone but is completely unacceptable from a person holding such high office. In the case of legal proceedings, publishing the details, all of which are contained within the email conversation, would predjudice the case. Believe me, I would love to publish it but I have been sworn not to by the person who sent it until such time as legal matters have been discharged.
Comment by captainpurplehead — September 3, 2011 @ 4:59 pm
Captain purple head !!!! well that name does suit you no doubt. Still unemployed i see ! was it because you received very little following in your attempt to get into city council ? What i would suggest is that you apply for one of the many jobs in fas or are you happy to sponge off the tax payer so you can have your pints and your cosy little council house. As for bad lou tenant this man is obviously reaching out for some sort of love and attention as his mother and father obviously did not give him that. Can i ask both of you to try harder in getting out of unemployment, show some get up and go. we are all down at the moment but if people like the two of you would concentrate on getting employment i think Limerick would be a far better place other then that 30 paracetemol washed down with a can of dutch gold on dole day would suffice.
Comment by joe benson — September 27, 2011 @ 12:19 pm
But Joe, I’m a self employed pirate. I pay tax. Where are you getting this from or are you just another pathetic moron, waxing about something that he doesn’t understand. Thanks for the suicide recipe but I won’t be using it anytime soon. If you have anything informed or with any substance to contribute. Please feel free. For instance, are you happy about the state of Kate O’Brien’s house?
Comment by captainpurplehead — September 27, 2011 @ 12:26 pm
Add it up now, Cap’n.
Joe thinks you’re unemployed, you live in a council house and once tried to run as a councillor. It shouldn’t be hard to figure out who he thinks you are. You could work it backwards from there until you arrive at Joe.
Comment by Balthazar B — September 27, 2011 @ 3:07 pm