Forbes Magazine is in final talks with Limerick officials to organise a promotional event two years after it removed an inflammatory article referencing “stab city” and the “murder capital” of Europe.
Following a severe backlash, magazine editor Randall Lane committed to hosting a “30 Under 30″ event celebrating the entrepreneurial power of the city.
While there had been little public information on the promised gesture since, a spokeswoman for the magazine confirmed to The Irish Times that it was in planning for the coming months.
“Forbes is in conversation with the Limerick partners and discussing the details for hosting an event there this summer,” said Christina Vega Magrini, vice-president for corporate communications.
[ Article describing Limerick as ‘stab city’ did not meet standards, Forbes saysOpens in new window ]
It is unclear what involvement Limerick City and County Council has had in pushing the event. It did not respond to requests for comment.
However, Cllr Michael Collins, who as then mayor of the Treaty City immediately engaged with the publishers and secured the conciliatory event, welcomed any efforts to finally bring it about.
“There was a commitment given in 2021 that they would run some sort of an event in Limerick and they would come and visit, and I hope that that is still on the cards ... and that the commitment would be advanced,” he said.
Cllr Collins said he would like to see Mr Lane attend as he had committed to. Forbes did not address the prospect of his participation specifically.
“People like myself that would have been at the coalface at the time wouldn’t have forgotten [the Forbes article] but I think the general public would have forgotten it,” Cllr Collins said.
“We are resilient and we deal with things and we get on with it. I think we have done that and there are a lot of positive things happening [in Limerick] and have happened since.”
[ Stripe’s Patrick Collison takes Forbes Magazine to task over ‘stab city’ articleOpens in new window ]
The quickly withdrawn website feature was ostensibly a profile of the Collison brothers, founders of the multibillion-dollar tech company Stripe, but quickly honed in on Limerick and its associations with crime.
“Some call it ‘stab city’,” the article began. “Many folks think Ireland is all rolling green hills and five-star golf courses. But in the middle of the Irish countryside is a city called Limerick – known as the ‘murder capital’ of Europe.”
Correspondence from Mr Lane to Cllr Collins in April 2021, received under Freedom of Information, outlined his eagerness to rectify the public relations damage.
“As the world’s top advocate for entrepreneurship – including the world-famous Forbes 30 Under 30 list, which the Collisons have graced – perhaps we can figure out a way to turn this into something positive, as problem solvers do,” he said.
Mr Lane said the Limerick event would be covered on its “global platforms”, viewed by about 200 million people per month, “so the world can see the talent Limerick has incubated”.
