Another day in Limerick

If you are in Ireland and you are reading this you will probably have heard about the shooting of Roy Collins in Limerick City. I couldn't quite believe it when I heard the news, he had been my boss for 3 years in a pub I had worked in a few years ago. It really hit home today when I was listening to the news and heard the heart breaking statement his father made about his sons brutal murder. I have always defended Limerick and it's bad reputation to friends at home, but at the moment I'm thinking about all the things I've seen over the past few years. This is the second person I have known that was killed by the senseless violence that is accepted in this city. My heart goes out to the family, and his two young daughters. He was a genuinely lovely guy who was not involved in the gang fueds, but yet he and his family have been victimised over the past. It's odd I hadn't seen him in a few years, but he came into the restaurant a few days ago, and I was chatting to him-catching up. It's unreal to think that someone I just bumped into is dead now.
Something really has to change in Limerick, and I'm hoping that all the proposals that have been made by the government in the past two days(as a result of Roy's murder) aren't empty promises that don't address the real issues.