I'm a massive rugby fan. I spent six weeks covering the World Cup in France last year. I've always been a huge fan of Young Munster. My cousin Ray Ryan is very well known, and supporting the Cookies has always been a family thing. In saying that, Munster have cost me a mortgage. Literally! I remember working with the Leader when they got to their first Heineken Cup final, climbing up through the stands to talk to Richard Harris and that. After that, I was hooked. A friend of mine, Tara Robinson, is a nuts Munster fan who came home from Brazil for the 2006 final. I met so many people following them around - we had a great time and probably spent the GDP of a small country. Munster and sport in general are followed with so much passion in Limerick.
I'm here about a week and two days, and it's so far, so good. I've been mostly meeting and greeting people. I'm from Limerick and I've worked in the city before, so that helps. But it is quite a big brief - trying to put Limerick in the headlines for all the right reasons. There are quite a lot of stakeholders - business, education, community groups, sports societies. So many people to meet! Everyone's been very friendly. It's strange because I've been a journalist for 10 years, I suppose I'm still working in news, it's just the other side of it. But promoting positive events in Limerick is natural to me - I've strong civic pride and I've spent years getting people from Dublin to come down for weekend breaks. I don't expect to be able to change the world, but I'm enthusiastic. Helping the city's image might be a slow, gradual change, but someone has to do it!
I grew up in Dooradoyle, and did European Studies at UL. Then I went to Galway and did a post-grad in journalism. I actually finished my thesis this summer so I'll be getting my diploma in October. I started off in the Limerick Leader, and I had a brilliant time there and learned so much. I loved it! Then I went up to The Star in Dublin and then on to TV3. I had a brilliant time in Dublin, but to be honest I could never see myself settling down there. Limerick is home. My family lives here, my boyfriend lives here and runs a business in the city. So it just kind of made sense. I loved TV3, but when I saw this opportunity come up I felt it ticked all the boxes for me, and I was lucky that it worked out.
First of all I'm not on the M50 for an hour and a half every day, and in Dublin you're so used to everyone being busy and rushing everywhere. What I love about Limerick is that I can walk down the street and people will say hello to you, and everyone's so friendly and welcoming. Myself, my boyfriend and Dougie, our Scottish terrier, live out in the Clare Glens. It's not technically in Limerick, but it's not too far out! Living out in the country is great. When you're used to hearing sirens and car alarms, hearing cows instead is great.
I socialise in Nancy Blake's. I think we all do! It's great that you can go in there on a Friday or Saturday night and meet loads of people you know in there. I love the White House - I practically lived in there when I was with the Leader! I love the fact that it's still the way it was and there's some really interesting people. But the Unicorn in Dooradoyle was my local for a long time. They have the best carvery in Limerick!
Riverfest was brilliant, and I think it can only become bigger. There's such a strong arts and culture scene here, and it's great to have that kind of left bank in Limerick. The City Arts Office are brilliant, I've just been going through the notices of what they have coming up. Even the Pride festival coming up, you can see the posters around - there's so much creativity in Limerick, especially among young people. All these festivals are put together by the people involved because they believe in what they're doing.
There are great boutiques here, great shopping - much better than Galway. I know it's a very girly thing, but you can do boutique trails. Our fashion students sweep the boards every year, especially this year. Collette Fitzpatrick, who anchors the TV3 news, is a great friend of mine and I brought her down to Limerick to see for herself. She was amazed. You always find that people who visit Limerick for the first time find such a difference from their perception of the city and their experience here.