Auctioneer thanks RC values for property boom

Who is Mark FitzGerald praying for these days? None other than Pope Pius VI and Pope John Paul II. Sherry FitzGerald's chairman gives the two pontiffs credit for the baby boom that has fed the property boom over the past few years. Humanae Vitae, he says, is one of the reasons why we have such a large population, while the Irish visit of John Paul in 1979 reinforced Catholic values and sent the birth rate soaring. Population figures were on his mind at the opening of his new branch office in O'Connell Street, Limerick last Thursday. He noted that Limerick has gone from 63,000 in 1961 to 100,000 today, thanks in no small way to the strength of the confraternity movement there. Unlike Dublin, it has plenty of development land around it - 680,000 acres compared to Dublin's 230,000 - so the city is set to get even bigger. Sherry FitzGerald is hoping to catch a bit of the action, now that it has posted young Des O'Malley to head up the new Limerick operation. Meanwhile, in Dublin, plans are underway to open a new office in Castleknock where the main player is the indefatigable Jim Flynn. He is already fending off competition from Lisney since they opened their surprisingly successful branch office in Blanchardstown town centre.