AN EARLY CHRISTMAS present was delivered to Finance Minister Michael Noonan today as the Mayor of Limerick threw him a special reception.
While debate in the Dáil in Dublin was still mired in rows over Fine Gael’s proposed tenancies bill, Minister Noonan had decamped to his home city to be honoured by Limerick City and County Council.
Limerick Mayor Kieran O’Hanlon, a long-time acquaintance of Noonan, said he was throwing the bash to mark the minister’s achievements “locally, nationally and in the international sphere”.
The city has been the focus of a regeneration plan for a number of years and O’Hanlon attributed much of this to Noonan’s efforts:
It’s true to say, and few would argue, that Michael’s guiding hand has been pushing these projects over the line for the people of Limerick and the mid west region. This reception is a way of saying thank you.
At the reception at the Civic Offices in Merchant’s Quay in Limerick, Noonan said: “I feel honoured and very appreciative that the mayor decided to do this. I’d like to thank him, I’m looking forward to it, all my friends are here. I’ve known Kieran a long time and it was very decent of him to award me a mayoral reception and I appreciate it very much.”
Noonan, who has been a TD in Limerick since 1981, was given an oil painting by local artist Tom Greaney, entitled ‘In the Spring’, as part of the tribute.
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