The Square in Newcastle West could be renamed Con Colbert Square, after the municipal council voted unanimously this week on the proposal by Cllr Michael Collins. The proposal will now go before a meeting of Limerick City and County Council, before it goes to public consultation and a vote. Under the legislation, only those who pay rates or those who are residing in the Square, either as owners or tenants, will be entitled to vote on the name change. Colbert was executed for his part in the 1916 Rising, and Cllr Collins said it would be very apt on the centenary of the Rising to name the Square after him, though it was pointed out at the meeting that a similar renaming attempt was made on the 50th anniversary of the Rising but came to nothing. “I see this as unfinished work from 1966 which now needs to be completed,” said Cllr Collins.
In other Newcastle West related news, Limerick City and County Council has announced that it will buy Christmas lights for Newcastle West and will sell them to the local Business Association and Chamber for €1. The lights were ordered last year in a joint venture involving the Newcastle West Business Association and the Newcastle West Chamber at an expected cost of about €150,000 over three years, but the plan ran aground when the groups failed to raise the sum needed for the first payment. Now, though, the council has announced that it will buy outright the festive lighting system for the town and donate it to the town.