The rundown image of Limerick's city centre remains a challenge to be addressed by the corporation in collaboration with the private sector, according to the City Manager, Mr Brendan Keating.
Now 20 months in the post, he says his job is about giving the city back to the people, both visitors and residents, principally by tackling traffic congestion. O'Connell Street, the city's main thoroughfare, still takes southern-bound traffic through the city centre. "O'Connell Street has to be made more pedestrian-friendly if it is to continue as a thriving city-centre location."
He holds Edinburgh's Royal Mile as an example of what the main street could become, an elegant urban landscape, showing off its Georgian architecture. The redesign of streets to give greater priority to pedestrians, cyclists and buses is a priority. Motorists will end up ceding that space. "The car in the longer term will not have the range of options which it now has."
Despite the urban renewal which has taken place since the mid-1980s, he believes there is "very significant unreleased potential". He adds: "We will be addressing the whole area of traffic congestion by the provision of additional infrastructure, such as the fourth river crossing and the completion of the southern ring road."
His contract will run out in 2006. By then he expects some of the targets to be met. "The city centre's shopping potential will have been significantly enhanced."
But he is reluctant to depend on examples of cities from elsewhere. "What is appropriate for Barcelona may not be appropriate for Limerick."
His office, with probably the best view in Limerick, overlooks the River Shannon as it flows into its estuary. The corporation building represents, he says, "a milestone in the process of urban renewal as it is in Limerick today". He states: "It demonstrates quite clearly that if the public sector are willing to invest, others will follow. If the public sector have a confidence, then the private sector will pick up on that."
There are challenges which give him something to strive for, but Limerick "presents itself as a modern city now. Everything about it now is about development. There is a tremendous atmosphere in the place and a tremendous entrepreneurial adventure about it."
The river provides much of the city's new focus and its scale and beauty make Limerick unique, he says. The current navigation project, begun last year as an addition to the £100 million main drainage scheme, will make the Shannon navigable to its estuary. It is expected to make Limerick a "very strong boating centre".
The challenge will be to turn that into a strong tourist attraction. Despite its King John's Castle and medieval heritage, the city has failed to attract the number of tourists it would like.
Mr Keating is following a family tradition. His father, Seamus, was city and county manager of Galway for more than 20 years and the last person to hold that position before the function was split.
The eldest of nine, Mr Keating, nevertheless, is the only one to have gone into local government. The others pursued diverse careers such as banking, child psychology and teaching. His father's advice was to work hard and to be honest. His spiritual home is Galway, where he did a business degree after spending six years in Rockwell College. Being the son of a career county manager, he spent his childhood in Tralee, Donegal, Clonmel and Dungarvan. "If you are to succeed and broaden your experience, it is essential that you work in a number of local authorities and travel."
He worked for Sligo Corporation, starting as an assistant staff officer after graduation, moved on to Laois and Meath, did a short stint in Donegal and returned to Meath as county secretary, before taking up the post of assistant city manager in Cork for five years.
His tenure was dominated by the Lee tunnel project, since named after Jack Lynch.
He says he has taken the helm in Limerick Corporation at a critical time for the city's development. "It is a great time to be here.