title: ATP Tour Masters 1000

text: Currently, the following nine tournaments are part of the ATP Masters 1000: Canadian Open (alternating yearly between Montreal and Toronto), Italian Open (held in Rome), Indian Wells Masters, Miami Open, Monte-Carlo Masters, Madrid Open, Cincinnati Masters, Shanghai Masters and Paris Masters. Since 2009, five of the tournaments have been held on outdoor hard courts, three on clay and one on indoor hard court, whereas from 1990 until 2008 there were two indoor tournaments at the top-9 level.


title: ATP Tour Masters 1000

text: In 2009, the Shanghai Masters replaced the Madrid Open, which was until then held as an indoor event, in the eighth slot of the year with the Madrid Open switched to clay courts, replacing the Hamburg Open in the spring clay court season. The Shanghai Masters was designated as an outdoor event despite the facility having a retractable roof and having been used as the indoor venue for the ATP Finals from 2005 until 2008.


title: ATP Tour Masters 1000

text: The achievement of winning all of the active nine ATP Masters titles over the course of a player's career.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: The 9K38 Igla (, "needle", NATO reporting name SA-18 Grouse) is a Russian/Soviet man-portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM) system. A simplified, earlier version is known as the 9K310 Igla-1 (NATO: SA-16 Gimlet), and the latest variant is the 9K338 Igla-S (SA-24 Grinch).


title: 9K38 Igla

text: The Igla-1 entered service in 1981, the Igla in 1983, and the Igla-S in 2004. The Igla has been supplemented by the 9K333 Verba since 2014.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: The development of the Igla short-range man-portable air defense system (MANPADS) began in the Kolomna OKB in 1972. Contrary to what is commonly reported, the Igla is not an improved version of the earlier Strela family (Strela-2 and Strela-3), but an all-new project. The main goals were to create a missile with better resistance to countermeasures and wider engagement envelope than the earlier Strela series MANPADS systems.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: Technical difficulties in the development quickly made it obvious that the development would take far longer than anticipated, however, and in 1978 the program split in two: while the development of the full-capability Igla would continue, a simplified version (Igla-1) with a simpler IR seeker based on that of the earlier Strela-3 would be developed to enter service earlier than the full-capability version could be finished.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: The 9K310 Igla-1 system and its 9M313 missile were accepted into service in the Soviet Army on 11 March 1981. The main differences from the Strela-3 included an optional Identification Friend or Foe system to prevent firing on friendly aircraft, an automatic lead and super elevation to simplify shooting and reduce minimum firing range, a slightly larger rocket, reduced drag and better guidance system extend maximum range and improve performance against fast and maneuverable targets, an improved lethality on target achieved by a combination of delayed impact fuzing, terminal maneuver to hit the fuselage rather than jet nozzle, an additional charge to set off the remaining rocket fuel (if any) on impact, an improved resistance to infrared countermeasures (both decoy flares and ALQ-144 series jamming emitters), and slightly improved seeker sensitivity.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: The seeker has two detectors – a cooled MWIR InSb detector for detection of the target and uncooled PbS SWIR detector for detection of IR decoys (flares). The built-in logic determines whether the detected object is a target or a decoy. The latest version (Igla-S) is reported to have additional detectors around the main seeker to provide further resistance against pulsed IRCM devices commonly used on helicopters.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: The 9M313 missile features an aerospike mounted on a tripod (Igla's 9M39 missile has aerospike attached directly to the seeker dome), which reduces a shock wave, thus providing less dome heating and greater range. The name Igla is derived from these devices.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: Like many other MANPADS, Igla-1 and Igla feature so-called rolling airframe missiles. These missiles roll in flight (900–1,200 rpm) so steering the missile requires just a single pair of control surfaces, unlike roll-stabilized missiles, which require separate control surfaces for pitch and yaw. Both 9M313 and 9M39 missiles contain a gas generator, which drives a small gas turbine to provide electrical power, and the pistons, which move the canards used to steer the missile in a bang-bang mode. In addition to that, two exhaust tubes of the gas generator are placed perpendicular to the steering canards to provide maneuverability immediately after launch when the missile airspeed is too low for canards to be effective. Later versions of Igla are reported to use proportional control to drive the canards, which enables greater precision and less oscillation of the flight path.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: According to the manufacturer, South African tests have shown the Igla's superiority over the contemporary (1982 service entry) but smaller and lighter American FIM-92A Stinger missile. According to Kolomna OKB, the Igla-1 has a P (probability of kill) of 0.30 to 0.48 against unprotected targets which is reduced to 0.24 in the presence of decoy flares and jamming. In another report, the manufacturer claimed a P of 0.59 against an approaching and 0.44 against receding F-4 Phantom II fighter not employing infrared countermeasures or evasive maneuvers.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: The full-capability 9K38 Igla with its 9M39 missile was finally accepted into service in the Soviet Army in 1983. The main improvements over the Igla-1 included much improved resistance against flares and jamming, a more sensitive seeker, expanding forward-hemisphere engagement capability to include straight-approaching fighters (all-aspect capability) under favourable circumstances, a slightly longer range, a higher-impulse, shorter-burning rocket with higher peak velocity (but approximately same time of flight to maximum range).


title: 9K38 Igla

text: The Igla–1M missile consists of a Ground Power Supply Source (GPSS), Launching Tube, Launching Mechanism & Missile (9M313–1).


title: 9K38 Igla

text: The newest variant, which is a substantially improved variant with longer range, more sensitive seeker, improved resistance to latest countermeasures, and a heavier warhead. Manufacturer reports hit probability of 0.8–0.9. State tests were completed in December 2001 and the system entered service in 2002. Series produced by the Degtyarev plant since 1 December 2004.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: Since 2014 the Igla is being replaced in Russian service by the new 9K333 Verba (Willow) MANPADS. The Verba's primary feature is its multispectral optical seeker, using three sensors as opposed to the Igla-S' two. Cross-checking sensors against one another better discriminates between relevant targets and decoys, and decreases the chance of disruption from countermeasures, including lasers that attempt to blind missiles.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: From 28 July 1992 to 2 August 1992 the Indian Army mounted Operation Trishul Shakti to protect the Bahadur post in Chulung when it was attacked by a large Pakistani assault team. On 1 August 1992, Pakistani helicopters were attacked by an Indian Igla missile and Brig. Masood Navid Anwari (PA 10117) then Force Commander Northern Areas and other accompanying troops were killed. This led to a loss of momentum on the Pakistani side and the assault stalled.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: The first combat use of the Igla-1E was during the Gulf War Operation GRANBY. On 17 January 1991, a Panavia Tornado bomber of the Royal Air Force was shot down by an Iraqi MANPADS that may have been an Igla-1E (or Strela-3) after an unsuccessful bombing mission. The crew, Flt Lts J G Peters and A J Nichol, were both captured and held as prisoners of war (POWs) until the cessation of hostilities.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: It is uncertain if an AC-130H lost was hit by a 'Strela' missile or a more recent Igla since Iraq had SA-7, SA-14 and SA-16 missiles at the time, according to the SIPRI database.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: During the Iraq War, American and coalition forces suffered a number of helicopter losses. A third of them, around 40 aircraft were due to hostile fire, including losses to small arms fire, Anti Aircraft guns, Rocket-propelled grenades and MANPADS; any kind of combat helicopter was shot down from small observation helicopters to armoured Apache gunships. Among the losses to MANPADS, some were reported as losses to older Strela-2 (SA-7) or Strela-3 (SA-14) while others were due to more modern Igla-1E (SA-16) missiles.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: Igla-1E missiles were used in the 1994 shoot down of a Rwandan government flight, killing the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi and sparking the Rwandan genocide.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: During the Cenepa War between Ecuador and Peru, both the Ecuadorian Army and the Peruvian Army (which had 90 functioning firing units) utilized Igla-1E missiles against aircraft and helicopters.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: A Peruvian Air Force Mi-25 attack helicopter was shot down on 7 February 1995 around Base del Sur, killing the 3 crewmen, while an Ecuadorian Air Force A-37 Dragonfly was hit but managed to land on 11 February. Hits on additional Ecuadorian aircraft were claimed but could not be confirmed.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: On 16 April 1994 during the Siege of Goražde, while attempting to bomb a Serbian tank an RAF Sea Harrier was shot down by an Igla fired by the Army of Republika Srpska. The pilot ejected and was rescued by the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: During Operation Deliberate Force, on 30 August 1995; a French Mirage 2000D was shot down over Pale by an Igla fired by air defence units of the Army of Republika Srpska. The pilots, Lt. Jose-Manuel Souvignet (pilot) and Capt. Frederic Chiffot (back-seater), were captured and freed in December 1995.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: During Operation Allied Force, two A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft were hit by Igla-1E missiles. On 2 May 1999, one A-10 was hit over Kosovo and was forced to make an emergency landing at Skopje Airport in Macedonia due to damage. The following day, an A-10 was hit beneath the cockpit, however serious damage was avoided due to the warhead failing to detonate.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: The 2002 Khankala Mi-26 crash occurred on 19 August 2002 when a team of Chechen separatists brought down a Russian Mil Mi-26 helicopter in a minefield with an Igla; this resulted in the death of 127 Russian soldiers in the greatest loss of life in the history of helicopter aviation. It was also the most deadly aviation disaster ever suffered by the Russian armed forces, as well as their worst loss of life in a single day since 1999.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: On 26 January 2014, the militant group Ansar Bait al-Maqdis shot down an Egyptian Mi-17 over the northern Sinai peninsula using a suspected Igla-1E or Igla. How the group came to obtain the weapon is currently unknown.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: During the 2011 military intervention in Libya, Libyan loyalist forces engaged coalition aircraft with a certain number of Igla-S. Three Igla-S were fired against British Apache attack helicopters of the 656 Squadron Army Air Corps operating from the amphibious assault ship . According to the squadron commander at the time, they were all dodged by insistent use of decoy flares by the gunships who in exchange successfully engaged the shooters.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: On 23 March 2015, a Libya Dawn-operated MiG-23UB was shot down with an Igla-S (reportedly a truck-mounted Strelets variant) while bombing Al Watiya airbase (near Zintan), controlled by forces from the internationally recognized House of Representatives. Both pilots were killed.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: On 12 August 2003, as a result of a sting operation arranged as a result of cooperation between the American, British and Russian intelligence agencies, Hemant Lakhani, a British national, was intercepted attempting to bring what he had thought was an older-generation Igla into the United States. He is said to have intended the missile to be used in an attack on Air Force One, the American presidential plane, or on a commercial US airliner, and is understood to have planned to buy 50 more of these weapons.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: After the Federalnaya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti (FSB) detected the dealer in Russia, he was approached by US undercover agents posing as terrorists wanting to shoot down a commercial plane. He was then provided with an inert Igla by undercover Russian agents, and arrested in Newark, New Jersey, when making the delivery to the undercover US agent. An Indian citizen residing in Malaysia, Moinuddeen Ahmed Hameed and an American Yehuda Abraham who allegedly provided money to buy the missile were also arrested. Yehuda Abraham is president and CEO of Ambuy Gem Corp. Lakhani was convicted by jury in April 2005, and was sentenced to 47 years in prison.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: Video has surfaced showing rebels using an Igla-1E on a Syrian government helicopter. Such weapons were believed to have been looted from a Syrian army base in Aleppo in February 2013. In 2014, a member of the rebel group Harakat Hazm was filmed aiming an Igla-1E into the air on the same day that the group was filmed operating BGM-71 TOW missiles. Whether these weapons were raided from regime stockpiles or supplied via overseas is unknown. However, Russia reportly denied Syrian demand for Iglas in 2005 and 2007, fearing these weapons to be used by Hezbollah.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: On 14 June 2014, Russian separatist forces near Luhansk International Airport in Eastern Ukraine shot down an IL-76 of the Ukrainian Airforce probably using an Igla MANPADS, killing all 49 Ukrainian service personnel on board.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: The Igla saw extensive use by Ukrainian forces during the early stages of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine due to the initial lack of more modern MANPADS systems such as the FIM-92 Stinger missile.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: On March 22, 2022, the Ukrainian 80th Air Assault Brigade claimed to have shot down a Russian cruise missile over the Mykolaiv Oblast with an Igla system.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: On April 17, 2022, Ukrainian forces reported shooting down a Ka-52 attack helicopter with an Igla MANPADS.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: On April 21, 2022, Ukrainian forces located in the Kharkiv Oblast reportedly shot down a Russian Su-34 aircraft with an Igla system.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: On May 22, 2022, Ukrainian paratroopers from Lviv downed a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft with an Igla system.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: On June 18, 2022, Ukraine's 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade downed a Russian Sukhoi Su-25 attack aircraft with an Igla system.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: On 12 November 2014, Azerbaijani forces shot down an Armenian Army Mi-24 of a formation of two which were flying near the Azerbaijani border. All three on board died when the helicopter was hit by an Igla-S MANPADS fired by Azerbaijani soldiers while flying at low altitude, and crashed.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: On 13 May 2016, PKK militants shot down a Turkish Army Bell AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopter using 9K38 Igla (SA-18 Grouse) version of this missile system. The missile severed the tail section from the rest of the helicopter, causing it to fragment in midair and crash, killing the two pilots on board. The Turkish government first claimed that it fell due to technical failure before it became clear that it was shot down. The PKK later released video footage of the rocket being fired and striking the helicopter.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: Igla and Igla-1 SAMs have been exported from the former Soviet Union to over 30 countries, including Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cuba, East Germany, Egypt, Hamas, Ecuador, Eritrea, Finland, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, North Korea, North Macedonia, Peru, Poland, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. Several guerrilla and terrorist organizations are also known to have Iglas. Alleged Operatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam a terrorist organization fighting for a homeland for Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka were arrested in August 2006 by undercover agents of the FBI posing as arms dealers, while trying to purchase the Igla. In 2003 the unit cost was approximately US$60,000–80,000.


title: 9K38 Igla

text: Large numbers have been sold to the government of Venezuela, raising United States concerns that they may end up in the hands of Colombian guerrillas. Photo evidence of the truck mounted twin version in service with the Libyan Army emerged in March 2011. 482 Igla-S missiles were imported from Russia in 2004. Some were unaccounted at the end of the civil war and they could have ended up in Iranian inventory. Israeli officials say Igla-S systems were looted from Libyan warehouses in 2011 and transported by Iranians through Sudan and turned over to militants in Gaza and Lebanon.


title: Limerick

text: Limerick ( ; ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 census, Limerick is the third-most populous urban area in the state, and the fourth-most populous city on the island of Ireland at the 2011 census. The city lies on the River Shannon, with the historic core of the city located on King's Island, which is bounded by the Shannon and Abbey Rivers. Limerick is also located at the head of the Shannon Estuary, where the river widens before it flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Limerick City and County Council is the local authority for the city.


title: Limerick

text: At the 2016 census, the Metropolitan District of Limerick had a population of 104,952. On 1 June 2014 following the merger of Limerick City and County Council, a new Metropolitan District of Limerick was formed within the united council, which extended the city area. The Metropolitan District includes the city urban area and extends outwards towards Patrickswell in the west and Castleconnell in the east. The City Metropolitan Area however excludes city suburbs located within County Clare.


title: Limerick

text: Limerick is located on the River Shannon with four main river-crossing points near the city centre. To the south of the city is the Golden Vale, an area of rich pastureland. Historically, much of the city's industry was based on this agricultural hinterland.


title: Limerick

text: originally referred to the general area along the banks of the Shannon Estuary known as . The earliest settlement in the city, , was the original name for King's Island during the pre-Viking and Viking eras. This island was also called , 'The Dark Foreigner's Island'. The name is recorded in Viking sources as .


title: Limerick

text: The city dates from 812; however, history suggests the presence of earlier settlements in the area surrounding King's Island, the island at the historical city centre. Antiquity's map-maker, Ptolemy, produced in 150 AD the earliest map of Ireland, showing a place called at the same site as King's Island. History also records an important battle involving Cormac mac Airt in 221 and a visit by Saint Patrick in 434 to baptise an king, Carthann the Fair. Saint Munchin, the first bishop of Limerick died in 652, indicating the settlement was a place of some note then. In 812 the Vikings sailed up the Shannon and pillaged the city, burned the monastery of Mungret but were forced to flee when the Irish attacked and killed many of their number. The Normans redesigned the city in the 12th century and added much of the most notable architecture, such as King John's Castle and St Mary's Cathedral.


title: Limerick

text: In early medieval times Limerick was at the centre of the Kingdom of Thomond which corresponds to the present day County Clare, the Kingdom also included North Kerry and parts of South Offaly. One of the kingdom's most notable kings was Brian Boru, ancestor of the O'Brien Clan of Dalcassians. The word Thomond is synonymous with the region and is retained in place names such as Thomondgate, Thomond Bridge and Thomond Park.


title: Limerick

text: Limerick in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was sometimes called the most beautiful city in Ireland. The English-born judge Luke Gernon, a resident of Limerick, wrote in 1620 that at his first sight of the city he had been taken by its "lofty buildings of marble, like the Colleges in Oxford".


title: Limerick

text: During the civil wars of the 17th century the city played a pivotal role, besieged by Oliver Cromwell in 1651 and twice by the Williamites in the 1690s. The Treaty of Limerick ended the Williamite war in Ireland which was fought between supporters of the Catholic King James II (Jacobites) and the Protestant King William of Orange (Williamites). The treaty offered toleration to Catholicism and full legal rights to Catholics that swore an oath of loyalty to William III and Mary II. The Treaty was of national significance as it ensured closer British and Protestant dominance over Ireland. The articles of the Treaty protecting Catholic rights were not passed by the Protestant Irish Parliament which rather updated the Penal Laws against Catholics which had major implications for Irish history. Reputedly the Treaty was signed on the Treaty Stone, an irregular block of limestone which once served as a mounting block for horses. This stone is now displayed on a pedestal at Clancy Strand. Because of the treaty, Limerick is sometimes known as the Treaty City. This turbulent period earned the city its motto: (an ancient city well studied in the arts of war).


title: Limerick

text: The peaceful times that followed the turmoil of the late 17th century allowed the city to prosper through trade in the late 18th century. During this time Limerick Port established itself as one of Ireland's major commercial ports exporting agricultural produce from one of Ireland's most fertile areas, the Golden Vale, to Britain and America. This increase in trade and wealth, particularly amongst the city's merchant classes saw a rapid expansion of the city as Georgian Limerick began to take shape. This gave the city its present-day look including the extensive terraced streets of Georgian townhouses which remain in the city centre today. The Waterford and Limerick Railway linked the city to the Dublin–Cork railway line in 1848 and to Waterford in 1853. The opening of a number of secondary railways in the subsequent decades developed Limerick as a regional centre of communications. However, the economic downturn in the European conflicts of the French Revolution and Napoleonic eras, and following the Act of Union 1800, and the impact of the Great Irish Famine of 1848 caused much of the 19th century to be a more troubled period.


title: Limerick

text: The Limerick boycott was an economic boycott waged against the small Jewish community for over two years in the first decade of the 20th century. It was accompanied by a number of assaults, stone throwing and intimidation, which caused many Jews to leave the city. It was instigated in 1904 by a Redemptorist priest, Father John Creagh.


title: Limerick

text: During the Irish War of Independence, the Limerick Soviet was a self-declared soviet that existed from 15 to 27 April 1919. A general strike was organised by the Limerick Trades and Labour Council, as a protest against the British Army's declaration of a "Special Military Area" under the Defence of the Realm Act, which covered most of Limerick city and a part of the county. During the strike a special strike committee was set up to print their own money, control food prices and publish newspapers.


title: Limerick

text: By the mid-20th century, Limerick was characterised by economic stagnation and decline as many traditional industries closed or left the city. However, there were some success stories. In 1942 Shannon Airport (located in County Clare, 20 km west of the city) opened for the first time offering transatlantic flights. In 1959, Shannon Airport enabled the opening of the Shannon Free Zone which attracted a large number of multinational companies to the region. A long campaign for a third level educational institute to be located in the city finally bore fruit with the establishment of NIHE Limerick in 1969 which eventually became the University of Limerick in 1989.


title: Limerick

text: Limerick city is under the jurisdiction of Limerick City and County Council. The council has responsibility for local services such as sanitation, planning and development, libraries, collection of motor taxation, local roads and social housing in the city. The council comprises elected councillors with an appointed full-time CEO as the city (and county) manager. Local elections are held every five years and the councillors annually elect a Cathaoirleach or chairperson to chair the council. The 21 councillors from the 3 local electoral areas in the City Metropolitan Area also elect a mayor to represent the city. The Mayoral position is largely ceremonial and has much reduced responsibility following the merger of the Limerick local authorities. As of mid-2021, the mayor was Councillor Daniel Butler. Former well-known mayors include TDs Donogh O'Malley, Stephen Coughlan, Michael Lipper, Jim Kemmy and Jan O'Sullivan.


title: Limerick

text: Throughout most of the city's history, from 1197 when it gained its first charter, Limerick City had its own local government authority, Limerick Corporation later known as Limerick City Council. The council was one of the oldest in Ireland and was only exceeded in age by Dublin City Council. In October 2012 the Government of Ireland published "Putting People First- Action Programme for Effective Local Government" which set out government policy for reforms across all the main areas of local government in Ireland. Among the recommendations was the merging of Limerick City Council with Limerick County Council. The changes came into effect on 1 June 2014 following the implementation of the Local Government Reform Act 2014.


title: Limerick

text: By the 1960s onwards the city had outgrown its boundary considerably; the city boundary was only altered slightly and never reflected the overall urban area of the city. A limited boundary extension on the city's north side in 2008 enlarged the city boundary by 1,020 hectares increasing the city's area by almost 50% and raising the population by an estimated 7,000. The previous boundary, encompassing 2,086 hectares, was delineated in 1950. Newer suburban districts such as Dooradoyle, Castletroy – including the University, Gouldavoher, and Raheen were continually administered to by Limerick County Council until the merger of the two authorities in June 2014. This local government structure in Limerick caused a number of inefficiencies, most notably in the area of planning. A number of suburbs such as Westbury and Parteen to the north of the city are governed by Clare County Council.


title: Limerick

text: Following the merger of the two authorities in 2014 a new Metropolitan District of Limerick City was set up that included the city urban area and also settlements close to the city such as Patrickswell and Castleconnell. The Metropolitan district returns 21 councillors to Limerick City and County Council which in total has 40 councillors returned from across Limerick City and County. The Limerick City Metropolitan District is divided into 3 local electoral areas: Limerick City East, Limerick City North and Limerick City South which elect eight, six and seven councillors respectively.


title: Limerick

text: Following the 2019 local elections, Fine Gael was the largest party on the united authority with 13 seats followed by Fianna Fáil with 12, Labour with 3, Sinn Féin and the Green Party (Ireland) with 2 each, the Social Democrats with 1 seat, and Independents and other parties the remaining 6 seats.


title: Limerick

text: For elections to the Dáil, Limerick City is in the Limerick City constituency. From 2011, the constituency boundaries changed in accordance with the proposals of the Constituency Commission and the subsequent Electoral (Amendment) Act 2009. This changed the electoral boundaries from Limerick East and Limerick West to Limerick City and Limerick. Limerick city encompasses the city, the suburban areas of Castletroy and as far east as Murroe. It also includes part of North County Tipperary. The Limerick county constituency takes in most of the rest of the county. For European parliament elections, Limerick is in the South constituency.


title: Limerick

text: Limerick's climate is classified as temperate oceanic (Köppen "Cfb"). Met Éireann maintains a climatological weather station at Shannon Airport, 20 kilometres west of the city in County Clare. Shannon Airport records an average of 977 millimetres of precipitation annually, most of which is rain. Limerick has a mild climate, with the average daily maximum in July of and the average daily minimum in January of . The highest temperature recorded was in June 2018, and the lowest in 2010. Limerick is the cloudiest city in the country, averaging only 1,295 sunshine hours annually, 3.5 hours of sunshine every day. There are on average 62 days of no recordable sunshine, 6 days of thunder, 22 days of hail and 11 days of snow per year. Shannon Airport is located by the ocean at an elevation of 14 metres, so snow is less common at the station than in the city itself.


title: Limerick

text: In 2014, Limerick became Ireland's inaugural "National City of Culture", with a variety of artistic and cultural events occurring at locations around the city throughout the year.


title: Limerick

text: The Limerick City Gallery of Art on Pery Square is the city's chief venue for contemporary art exhibitions. It is home to a permanent collection of Irish art, which shows works from the early 18th to 20th century. The gallery houses the National Collection of Contemporary Drawing founded by the artist Samuel Walsh in 1987. Limerick's major contemporary art event is EVA International, Ireland's Biennial of Contemporary Art. EVA International, centered mainly in the Limerick City Gallery of Art, is curated by varying guest curators and includes contemporary artworks by both international and Irish artists.


title: Limerick

text: Other Limerick arts groups include Contact Studios, which provides individual studio spaces for visual artists; Ormston House, a contemporary art gallery; and Limerick Printmakers Studio and Gallery, which provides printmaking facilities, a venue for exhibitions and events and an education programme.


title: Limerick

text: The Lime Tree Theatre officially opened at the Mary Immaculate College campus in October 2012. The venue hosts theatre, music, comedy, traditional arts, schools' performances and conferences.


title: Limerick

text: The Belltable Arts Centre on O'Connell Street hosts local playwrights and drama productions. The University Concert Hall located in the University of Limerick is a 1,000 seat venue and provides a large venue for national and international acts to visit the city. Limerick is also the home of street theatre companies, including "The Umbrella Project".


title: Limerick

text: Limerick's literature scene is supported by projects like the Limerick Writers' Centre, which was established in 2008 and runs a range of writing activities in the city. Limerick natives include Pulitzer Prize winning author, Frank McCourt; novelists Kate O'Brien, Michael Curtin, Kevin Barry and Donal Ryan. Poets from Limerick include Michael Hogan, Desmond O'Grady, and John Liddy.


title: Limerick

text: The city is the setting for Frank McCourt's memoir "Angela's Ashes" and the film adaptation. The Frank McCourt Museum situated in Frank's former school on Hartsonge Street opened in 2011 and contains artefacts from the book. Limerick has also been the setting or location for a number of other films, including the dramas "The Real Thing" (2002), "Cowboys & Angels" (2003) and "Lost & Found" (2015).


title: Limerick

text: The Irish Chamber Orchestra and the Irish World Music Centre are both based in the University of Limerick. The university has a thousand-seat state-of-the-art concert hall that hosts visiting performers. The city's music scene has produced bands such as The Cranberries, guitarist Noel Hogan's MonoBand, and The Hitchers. Electronic musician Richard D. James, more commonly known as Aphex Twin, was born in Limerick in 1971. The Limerick Art Gallery and the Art College cater for painting, sculpture and performance art.


title: Limerick

text: The Limerick International Band Championship is an annual competition featuring marching bands from Limerick, the rest of Ireland, and the rest of the world. It is typically held around just after Saint Patrick's Day, with the bands parading through the city centre, and attracts large crowds.


title: Limerick

text: Dolan's Warehouse on the Dock Road is a venue specialising in live music, established in 1998. Baker Place was a nightclub that held mainly local underground nights until its closure in 2011. In 2020, it was announced that the Dromkeen-based Shiloh Trust was seeking planning permission to convert the former premises of Baker Place into a bible school.


title: Limerick

text: A limerick is a type of humorous verse of five lines with an AABBA rhyme scheme: the poem's connection with the city is obscure, but the name is generally taken to be a reference to Limerick city or County Limerick, sometimes particularly to the Maigue Poets, and may derive from an earlier form of nonsense verse parlour game that traditionally included a refrain that included "Will [or won't] you come (up) to Limerick?" The earliest known use of the name "Limerick" for this type poem is an 1880 reference, in a Saint John, New Brunswick, newspaper, to an apparently well-known tune.


title: Limerick

text: RTÉ lyric fm, a state-run classical music radio station and part of RTÉ, broadcasts nationally from studios in the city centre on Cornmarket Square which opened in 1994. Limerick's local radio station is Live 95FM, broadcasting from 'Radio House', near the waterfront at Steamboat Quay. Spin South West, owned by Communicorp, broadcasts to Counties Kerry, Clare, Limerick, Tipperary and southwest Laois from its studios at Landmark Buildings in the Raheen Industrial Estate. Student radio station, Wired FM, broadcasts on 99.9FM from Mary Immaculate College. Wired FM also has studios in Limerick Institute of Technology. Limerick City Community Radio broadcasts on 99.9FM every Saturday and Sunday. University Hospital Limerick has a radio station on 94.2FM, but this can be heard only in the hospital and surrounding area. West Limerick 102 is broadcast from Newcastle West. The national broadcaster, RTÉ, has radio and television studios in the city, which are periodically used to broadcast programming from Limerick.


title: Limerick

text: Several local newspapers are published in the city, including "The Limerick Post" and "The Limerick Leader" and magazines include the "Limerick Event Guide", "Business Limerick" and "Limerick Now".


title: Limerick

text: Limerick city is approximately 25 km from Shannon Airport. Tourist attractions in the city centre include Limerick City Museum, King John's Castle (1210), St Mary's Cathedral (1168), the Hunt Museum, The People's Museum of Limerick, the University of Limerick, Georgian houses and gardens and the Treaty Stone. There are several seasonal tours, including Angela's Ashes walking tour of Limerick City, historical walking tour, and boat tours along the River Shannon.


title: Limerick

text: The city centre is divided between the traditional areas of "English Town" on the southern end of King's Island, which includes the King John's Castle; "Irish Town", which includes the older streets on the south bank; and the current economic centre further south, called "Newtown Pery". Newtown Pery was built in the late 18th century before the Act of Union and, unusually for an Irish city and unique in Limerick, is laid out on a grid plan. The Limerick City Museum (formerly aka the Jim Kemmy Municipal Museum), is located in Istabraq Hall, City Hall, Merchant's Quay. It contains displays on Limerick's history and manufactures.


title: Limerick

text: The Georgian core of the city, with its Georgian architecture in the Newtown Pery, was developed from the mid 18th century. This core includes O'Connell Street (George Street before independence) from the Cecil Street intersection running to the south west end of the Crescent, and south-east to Pery Street including Glentworth Street and Barrington Street. Other buildings of architectural note in the city are St John's Cathedral, designed by the notable Victorian architect, Philip Charles Hardwick. St Mary's Cathedral, at over 800 years old, is one of the oldest in Ireland. St John's Cathedral, whilst more modern, has Ireland's tallest spire at 94 m (308 ft).


title: Limerick

text: The Hunt Museum is based in the historic 18th-century former Custom House. The museum was established to house a collection of approximately 2000 works of art and antiquities formed by John and Gertrude Hunt during their lifetimes.


title: Limerick

text: The main park in Limerick is the People's Park which was opened in 1877 in memory of Richard Russell, a prominent local business man. The park is dominated by the Thomas Spring Rice memorial (MP for the city 1820–1832) and has a large collection of mature deciduous and evergreen trees.


title: Limerick

text: Limerick city centre changed significantly with the construction of several modern high-rise buildings in the early 2000s, in particular as part of the regeneration of the former docks area along the Dock Road. The suburban areas, where the majority of the population now live, have grown out from the centre along the main roads to Ennis (North Circular and Ennis Road areas/Caherdavin), Dublin (Castletroy and the university) and Cork (Ballinacurra/Dooradoyle/Raheen). Suburban houses are generally two-floor semi-detached homes for single families. These were built from the 1950s onwards in large estates by government projects and commercial developments, although there are many examples of Edwardian and older 1930s suburban homes on the main suburban thoroughfares leading towards the city (North & South Circular, Ballinacurra Road, O'Connell Avenue).


title: Limerick

text: Limerick city's nightlife is supported by a number of nightclubs and pubs which offer music. For example, Dolan's Warehouse is a small music venue which hosts local, national and international folk, indie, jazz, rock and traditional Irish music acts.


title: Limerick

text: In County Limerick, Adare village and the Foynes Flying Boat Museum, approximately 35 km (22 miles/30 minutes) from Limerick City along the scenic coastal N69 route from Limerick to Tralee, are also attractions. Bunratty Castle in County Clare is another local attraction, and is situated 15.4 km north of the city. Limerick is known to be the antipodes to the Campbell Islands of New Zealand.


title: Limerick

text: Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland (after Dublin and Cork) with a population of 94,192 in the urban area and 104,952 in the metropolitan district, according to the 2016 CSO census. The past census reported a large population decline in central city areas due in part to the Limerick regeneration process where in these areas the largest reduction was reported nationally and also to outward migration following the collapse of the local and national economy from 2008 onwards. The population of the Limerick Larger Urban Zone as defined by the EU is 162,413. The ethnic diversity in Limerick's population, which includes a large immigrant community, saw rapid growth during the Celtic Tiger and the following decade. The Polish community is one of the largest demographic groups in the Municipal District, with approximately 4,000 living and working in the area. Ireland's first Polish bank opened in 2007. The African community has set up a number of churches, which are now part of the cultural makeup of the city.


title: Limerick

text: Limerick has a large stock of local authority housing. Prior to the merger of Limerick City and County Council 41% of all housing within the old Limerick City Council boundary was local authority, which was the highest in Ireland. This figure is however no longer accurate given the larger metropolitan district of the city.


title: Limerick

text: Limerick is in the region dubbed "the Midwest". Also known as the "Shannon Region", this is primarily an economic and social concept. The region encompasses County Limerick, County Clare, North County Tipperary, Northwest County Kerry and south County Offaly, with its focal point centred on Limerick and its environs within an radius.


title: Limerick

text: The city's economic development has been driven in part by the University of Limerick, Limerick Institute of Technology, Shannon Airport in County Clare and Shannon Development (an economic development agency), whose precursor was SFADCO (Shannon Free Airport Development Company), an economic agency that provided tax incentives to companies locating in the area surrounding Shannon Airport. Limerick Chamber of Commerce, a representative body for businesses in the region, celebrated its bicentennial/bicentenary in 2015. As of 2015, Limerick had the highest disposable income per person in Ireland outside Dublin.


title: Limerick

text: Historically Limerick was an agricultural commodity-driven economy, due to its position as the first major port along the River Shannon. By the middle of the 18th century, Limerick Port grew to become one of Ireland's principal commercial ports, exporting agricultural produce from the most fertile tracts in Ireland known as the Golden Vale as well as produce from the surrounding counties. The city was one of the main meat processing areas in Ireland, and industry included confectionery and flour production. The city was known for its bacon industry, including the production of Limerick ham – however this went into decline in the mid-20th century. The fishing industry in Limerick, based on Clancy's Strand opposite King John's Castle and at Coonagh nearby, once employed hundreds of men. The boat most commonly used was the Gandelow which was also used as a small Lighter (barge) to ferry goods to and from larger ships in the port. In the 1920s the construction of a dam at Ardnacrusha severely impacted salmon breeding and that, and the introduction of quotas, had by the 1950s caused salmon fishing to diminish. By 2006, most fishermen had relinquished their drift net licences and the industry can now be said to be dormant.


title: Limerick

text: As with other cities in Ireland, a number of multinational companies are based in Limerick, and the city is a growing recipient of foreign direct investment. Dell had its main European Manufacturing Facility at the Raheen Business Park however in January 2009 Dell announced that it would close its Limerick computer manufacturing plant and move the production lines to Poland. The facility was the largest Dell manufacturing plant outside the United States and produced 30,000–60,000 units per day for export to the EMEA. Dell remains one of the largest employers in the mid-west with over 1,000 people employed in service and support. Analog Devices has its European manufacturing base in Raheen, 3 km south-west of the city centre. The site employs more than 1,000 people. Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Vistakon (the world's largest manufacturer of contact lenses) has a large facility in Castletroy in the National Technology Park and also employs close to 1,000 people. It is Vistakon's only production facility outside the United States and one of the largest contact-lens manufacturing plants in the world. Cook Medical, the world's largest privately owned Medical Devices company, employs over 800 people in Limerick at the National Technology Park.


title: Limerick

text: The Post-2008 Irish economic downturn had a profound effect on Limerick. The announcement in 2009 that Dell was to move its manufacturing facility from Limerick to Poland devastated the local economy. 1,900 jobs were lost at Dell and it is believed that for every job that was lost at Dell at least another 4 to 5 were at risk. The closure of the Dell manufacturing facility amounted to 2% of Ireland's national GDP. The downturn in the construction industry also cost many jobs as did the stalled Limerick regeneration programme which promised investment in Limerick's deprived city areas. As of 2012 unemployment had become a major problem across the city with the unemployment rate in the city at 28.6% which was almost twice the national average.


title: Limerick

text: The Crescent Shopping Centre is the largest shopping centre in Ireland, outside of Dublin, and the largest in the province of Munster. It is located in Dooradoyle about 3 km south of the city centre, and has over 90 shopping outlets along with restaurants and a 12-screen Omniplex Cinema. The city centre also has a large retail district which includes a mix of more traditional type of shops as well as some modern high street stores. Cruises Street is one of the main shopping streets. O'Connell Street, William Street, Bedford Row and Thomas Street) are also retail streets within the city. The city centre saw some works on remodelling in the early 21st century, with pedestrianisation works on Bedford Row, Thomas Street and parts of Catherine Street, as well as widening footpaths on William Street. These works have sought to address a reduction of footfall in the city centre (in turn influencing the closure of many city centre retail businesses) which occurred from the recession of 2008 onwards.


title: Limerick

text: During the Celtic Tiger years a number of shopping centres and retail parks opened in suburban areas of Limerick. In addition to the Crescent Shopping Centre, which expanded in the early 2000s, the Jetland Shopping Centre and Childers Road Retail Park opened in the mid-2000s. As of 2017, unfinished retail centres included the Coonagh Cross retail development and the Parkway Valley Shopping Centre on the Dublin Road.


title: Limerick

text: The plans for the Opera Centre, a proposed retail development described as "one of the biggest commercial development sites in the city's history", make up part of the "Limerick 2030" scheme.


title: Limerick

text: The Milk Market located at Cornmarket Row in the city centre sells locally produced foods and products and is governed by Limerick Market Trustees. In 2010 work was undertaken to redevelop the existing premises to an all-weather, all year round facility as it operated in an outdoor environment. The work involved constructing a large canopy over the existing market premises and was officially re-opened in June 2010. The Milk Market Project won the 2011 Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) 'Peoples Choice Award'.


title: Limerick

text: In 2013, a renewable energy strategy was launched for the region, and proposed a 20% reduction in CO-emissions, while ensuring that short-term actions were beneficial to the long-term goal of 100% renewable energy. The strategy was completed by the Danish Aalborg University.


title: Limerick

text: Shannon Airport is 20 km west of the city in County Clare. It is one of Ireland's main airports and is accessible from Limerick via the N18 dual carriageway and from other regions via the Limerick Tunnel. It has scheduled flights to European and North American destinations. There is no rail link to the airport. Coonagh airfield, a few kilometres west of Caherdavin, serves small private aircraft. Kerry and Cork Airports are around 1 hour 30 minutes and 2 hours drive away, respectively. Kerry Airport is connected via Farranfore railway station from Limerick railway station.


title: Limerick

text: Local public transport is provided by several companies. Bus Éireann, Ireland's state-owned bus company, operates a number of services subsidised by the National Transport Authority, while a number of provide operators also run commercial bus services in and around Limerick. An updated city bus network was introduced in Limerick City in December 2016, which introduced new routes. In May 2019, Bus Éireann further changed and improved the Limerick City timetable, including increased frequency and later operating times.


title: Limerick

text: Other rural buses run to towns and villages in the county and to Shannon Airport. There are also a number of Intercity and international buses from Bus Éireann's bus terminal adjoining Limerick Colbert railway station. These include hourly services to Dublin, Cork, Ennis and Galway. Bus Éireann have also commenced a Limerick to Galway Express service travelling on the M18 in addition to the regular service. Buses run every 2 hours to Tralee and Killarney. There are also regular daily services to Waterford and Athlone, and a daily service to London via the ferry from Rosslare Europort.


title: Limerick

text: There are a number of private bus companies in operation providing city and intercity services. Dublin Coach provide the M7 express service which operates every hour from Arthur's Quay which goes to Dublin or Ennis. JJ Kavanagh also provide Dublin to Limerick services from Arthur's Quay. Citylink run a number of services from Limerick to Galway and Cork and operate from Henry Street.


title: Limerick

text: Iarnród Éireann's Limerick Colbert station is the railway hub for the city and the Mid West Region with a number of intercity and commuter rail services. Limerick railway station opened on 28 August 1858, replacing an earlier, temporary station 500 m east, which had operated from 9 May 1848.


title: Limerick

text: There are also a number of disused railway lines including the Limerick to Foynes line which closed to freight in the early 2000s, having lost passenger services in the early 1960s, although the track is still in situ. This is the last remaining part of the North Kerry Line which closed to passenger traffic in the early 1960s and to freight traffic (other than Limerick – Foynes) in the mid-1970s, and has been lifted between Ballingrane (near Rathkeale) and Tralee.


title: Limerick

text: Limerick's central location in the mid–west of Ireland means many national primary routes converge on the city. The M7 (Dublin), N/M18 (Galway, Ennis, Shannon), N/M20 (Cork), N21 (Tralee) and N24 (Waterford) routes all start/terminate in or near the city. Road infrastructure is further supplemented by the southern ring road and Limerick Tunnel bypass of the city and the M20 bypass of Dooradoyle and Raheen to the south of the city. Connections to the other cities were improved with the completion of the M7 motorway in December 2010, and continuing upgrades ongoing to the N/M18 to Shannon, Ennis, Galway and Tuam – the final section opened in September 2017. A motorway is also planned between Cork and Limerick, with a proposed completion date in the mid-2020s.


title: Limerick

text: Historically, waterway transport has been key to Limerick's development. Vikings established the city as a maritime trading port. The city's position on a major Irish river system, the Shannon, enabled transport to the midlands of Ireland and further north and west. By the 18th century with the opening of canal systems throughout Ireland, Limerick Port established itself as Ireland's premier commercial port on the western side of the country. This was enabled by ease of access from the facilitated by the opening of canals but most importantly to the River Shannon. The opening of the Grand Canal in the 18th century provided further access to Dublin and the east of the country. There are also a number of disused canals in the vicinity of the city including the Park Canal & the Passey – Errina Canal on the old Limerick navigation. Waterway transport on the Shannon was regularly used to transport goods from Limerick to Dublin and vice versa however this mode of transport fell into decline in the 20th century. Originally Limerick port was located near the confluence of the Abbey and Shannon rivers at King's Island. Today the Shannon Foynes Port is located further downstream on the Shannon alongside the Dock Road. This general purpose facility port is operated by the Shannon Foynes Port Company who operate all marine activities in the Shannon estuary.


title: Limerick

text: Limerick is a centre of higher education in the region, and technical and continuation education within the city traces its beginning back to the formation of the Limerick Athenaeum Society in 1852, marking the foundation of the Limerick Institute of Technology. The Society's aims included "the promotion of Literature, Science, Art and Music". Limerick is now home to a number of higher-education institutions including the University of Limerick, Limerick Institute of Technology (one of the two constituent campuses of the ) and Mary Immaculate College and has a student population of over 20,000.


title: Limerick

text: The University of Limerick (UL), has a student population of over 13,000, and is about 5 km east of the city centre in the suburb of Castletroy. It was established as the National Institute for Higher Education (NIHE) in 1972, and in 1989 was the first university to be established since the foundation of the State in 1922. Its academic programs include courses in engineering, information technology, materials science, sports science, humanities, teacher education, social sciences and music. In 2007, the university opened a medical school. The Irish World Music Centre specialises in traditional music and dance, and UL is host to the Irish Chamber Orchestra. The campus includes a 50m Olympic-standard swimming complex, the first to be established in Ireland. The campus has one of the longest footbridges in Europe, "The Living Bridge". Thomond College of Education, Limerick was a teacher training college for secondary level and was integrated into the university in 1991.


title: Limerick

text: Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) has a student population of approximately 7,000 and is a centre for undergraduate and postgraduate education in business, engineering, information technology, humanities, science and art education. It is due to merge with Athlone IT to become the , in 2021/2022. The main campus is located at Moylish Park, about 3 kilometres north-west of the city centre, and the Limerick School of Art and Design is located on campuses at Clare Street and George's Quay. Additional facilities and outreach centres are located at O'Connell Street and in Ennis, County Clare and LIT has two campuses in County Tipperary, LIT Thurles and LIT Clonmel. These were formerly the campuses of the Tipperary Institute which merged with LIT in 2011. LIT was originally established in 1852 as a School of Ornamental Art. In the mid-1970s it was incorporated as the Limerick College of Art, Commerce & Technology (CoACT) and achieved the designation of a Regional Technical College (RTC) in 1993 and finally an Institute of Technology in 1997. LIT has connections with several enterprise centres.


title: Limerick

text: Mary Immaculate College is an education and arts college located just south-west of the city centre. The main focus is on the education of primary-level teachers. Mary Immaculate College is a constituent college of the University of Limerick.


title: Limerick

text: Griffith College Limerick (GCL) is a private college in Limerick. The college was established in 2006 when the Mid West Business Institute was acquired by Griffith College. The college runs full-time and part-time courses in accountancy, business, law, engineering, computing and IT and has a range of part-time courses available.


title: Limerick

text: Primary and secondary education in the city is organised in a similar fashion to the rest of Ireland. The City of Limerick Vocational Education Committee (CLVEC) provides education services for over 10,000 learners in the city at secondary and further education levels. It also runs Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh, an all Irish language secondary school. The other main secondary schools in the city are Castletroy College, Crescent College Comprehensive, Thomond Community College and Villiers which are all co-educational. Ardscoil Rís, St. Clements Redemptorist College, CBS Sexton Street and St Munchin's College are boys-only schools. Laurel Hill Coláiste, The Presentation, Ard Scoil Mhuire and Scoil Carmel are girls-only schools.


title: Limerick

text: Rugby, Gaelic football, hurling and association football are popular sporting pastimes in Limerick. The city and suburbs also has many tennis, athletics, cricket and golf clubs. The city is host to many large sporting events. Examples in the 21st century include the 2008 and 2009 Irish Open Golf Championships, the 2010 Irish Special Olympics, the All-Ireland Corporate Games and the World Baton twirling Championships. Limerick was designated as a European City of Sport for 2011 by the European Capitals of Sport Association (ACES).


title: Limerick

text: The National Elite Swimming Club is based in The University of Limerick Arena. Former World Boxing Champion, Andy Lee, who held the WBO middleweight title from 2014 to 2015, trained at St. Francis Boxing Club on Mungret Street in Limerick.


title: Limerick

text: Similar to the rest of Ireland, basketball was a popular sport in Limerick during the 1970s and 1980s, with up to four divisions in the men's and women's local leagues. It suffered a decline during the 1990s culminating in the complete demise of local league basketball in the city and surrounding areas. The main clubs in the city were St. Colm's and Marathon with St. Colm's in particular having a long history in the National Leagues. Limerick is currently represented in the National Leagues by the men's UL Eagles team and the women's UL Aughinish team. They both play their home games at the 2,500 capacity University Arena at the University of Limerick. There are a number of other teams at school and club level, including St. Colm's, Limerick Lakers, Taste of Europe, Limerick Celtic and Limerick Lions.


title: Limerick

text: Limerick Cricket Club is a member of the Munster Cricket Union and plays in competitions organised by the Union. The club has in the past provided players for the Ireland national cricket team.


title: Limerick

text: Four rowing clubs are located in the city, namely Limerick Boat Club, Shannon Rowing Club, St Michael's Rowing Club, and Athlunkard Boat Club. St Michael's member and Limerick native Sam Lynch won the World Rowing Championships gold medal in the Men's Lightweight Single Sculls in 2001 and 2002.


title: Limerick

text: Ireland's national sports of hurling and Gaelic football are widely played in the city and its surrounding suburbs. The Limerick county hurling team are the current All-Ireland champions, have won the last three senior hurling championships in a row, and are of the top four teams in the country historically.


title: Limerick

text: Na Piarsaigh is the only city club currently playing hurling at senior level. Claughaun (Clochán), Monaleen (Móin a'Lín) and Mungret (Mungairit) compete at intermediate level and Old Christians (Sean-Chríostaithe), Milford (Áth an Mhuilinn), Saint Patrick's (Naomh Pádraig) and Abbey Sarsfields (Sáirséalaigh na Mainistreach) compete at junior level.


title: Limerick

text: Limerick won the first All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1887 when represented by the city's Commercials club and repeated the feat in 1896. Since then, the game has lived mostly in the shadow of hurling but a resurgence in 2000 saw the county win its first Munster Under-21 title and has since reached three Munster Senior finals. Monaleen (Móin a'Lín) are the only city club to play football at the senior grade. Saint Patrick's (Naomh Pádraig), Claughaun (An Clochán), Mungret St. Paul's (Mungairit Naomh Pól) and Na Piarsaigh are at intermediate level and Milford (Áth an Mhuilinn), Abbey Sarsfields (Sáirséalaigh na Mainstreach) and Ballinacurra Gaels (Gaeil Bhaile na Cora) play at junior level.


title: Limerick

text: A number of secondary school's compete in the Dr. Harty Cup, which is the Munster Colleges Hurling Championship. Limerick CBS has won the cup on 10 occasions, including four in a row from 1964 to 1967 and most recently in 1993. The school also won the Dr. Croke Cup, the All-Ireland Colleges Hurling Championship, on two occasions, in 1964 and 1966. Ardscoil Rís has won the championship on five occasions, in 2010, 2011, 2013,2015 and 2021 and St. Munchin's College won it once, in 1922.


title: Limerick

text: Both the University of Limerick (UL) and Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) have been successful in the Fitzgibbon Cup, the All-Ireland Higher Education Hurling Championship. UL first won the championship in 1989 and have won it four times in all. LIT's two wins came in 2005 and 2007. Both of the colleges met in the final in 2011, with UL scoring an injury-time goal to win.


title: Limerick

text: Limerick's Gaelic Grounds (Páirc na nGael), on the Ennis Road, is the county team's home venue for both sports and has a capacity of 49,000 following reconstruction in 2004. In 1961 it hosted Ireland's biggest crowd for a sporting event outside Croke Park when over 61,000 paid to see the Munster hurling final between Tipperary and Cork.


title: Limerick

text: There are three golf clubs associated with Limerick city. Limerick Golf Club was founded in 1891 and is located at Ballyclough, due south of the city centre. Castletroy Golf Club was founded in 1937 and is located in the suburb of Castletroy in the southwest of the city. Rathbane Golf Club is based at Rathbane Golf Course, a municipal facility opened in 1998 on the southern outskirts of the city and operated under licence for Limerick City Council. Limerick has won the Irish Senior Cup, the blue riband event of Irish amateur golf, on four occasions and was the first Irish club to win the European Club Championship, in 1980. Castletroy has won the Irish Senior Cup once.


title: Limerick

text: Limerick Golf Club was host to the JP McManus Invitational Pro Am, one of the largest pro-am events of its kind in the world. It has contributed over €95m to local charities since its inception in 1990. The event moved to the larger Adare Golf Club in 2005 as it had outgrown the Ballyclough venue. Adare also played host to the Irish Open in 2007 and 2008.


title: Limerick

text: Rugby Union is popular in the city and is widely played at all levels, with Limerick sometimes referred to as the "spiritual home of Irish rugby". Since its inception in 1991 the All-Ireland League has been dominated by Limerick City teams, with three clubs winning the competition 13 times between them: Shannon (9); Garryowen (3) and Young Munster (1). Other senior rugby clubs in the city include Old Crescent, Thomond, and UL Bohemians. Richmond and St.Marys are city clubs playing in the junior leagues.


title: Limerick

text: The city's secondary schools compete in the Munster Senior and Junior Cups and a number of schools have had notable success at both levels. The most successful rugby school in the city is Crescent College who have won the Senior Cup eleven times and the Junior Cup five times. The school is affiliated to Old Crescent RFC. St Munchin's have won the Senior Cup five times since 1968 and the Junior Cup three times. Limerick CBS won the Senior Cup on four occasions in the 1920s and 1930s and the Junior Cup in 1932. Ardscoil Rís has won the Junior Cup twice, in 2003 and 2005 and Castletroy College won both senior and junior competitions in 2008.


title: Limerick

text: All Munster European Heineken Cup matches are played at Thomond Park Stadium, where the Munster team held a record of being unbeaten in the Heineken Cup for 26 consecutive games until the 16–9 defeat by Leicester in January 2007. Munster has won the Heineken Cup twice, in 2006 and 2008. The main street O'Connell Street was crowded for the 2006 match. Munster recorded a famous 12 – 0 victory against the New Zealand All Blacks in 1978 at Thomond Park and came close a second time when the teams met again in 2008, losing 18–16. Munster also defeated an Australian touring side at Thomond Park in 2010.


title: Limerick

text: Rugby league is also played in Limerick and the city is represented in the Munster Conference of the Irish Elite League by Treaty City Titans. In 2013, Thomond Park hosted rugby league matches in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, and an academy was set up to identify players to play for Super League clubs.


title: Limerick

text: Association football is popular in the city and suburbs, and the city was historically represented in the League of Ireland by Limerick FC. The club first joined the league in 1937. There have been a number of variations of the club, and their most successful period was from the 1960s to the 1980s when they won 2 League of Ireland championships and two FAI Cups. The club played at Markets Field until the mid-1980s when they controversially moved to a new venue. Limerick FC returned to the Market's Field in June 2015, following the purchase of the venue by the Limerick Enterprise Development Partnership (LEDP) from Bord na gCon. However, the club suffered a financial collapse in 2019 and lost its licence.


title: Limerick

text: In place of Limerick FC, a new club called Treaty United F.C. was created. The women's team, Treaty United W.F.C., began playing in the 2020 season of the Women's National League. The men's team were not able to begin playing until the 2021 season, joining the League of Ireland First Division.


title: Limerick

text: Limerick Racecourse is located 10 km outside the city at Greenmount, Patrickswell and holds flat and National Hunt meetings throughout the year.


title: Limerick

text: The racecourse superseded Greenpark Racecourse, a course inside the city, which closed in 1999 after 130 years of racing.


title: Kota Factory

text: Kota Factory is an Indian Hindi-language web series created by Saurabh Khanna, directed by Raghav Subbu & produced by Arunabh Kumar for The Viral Fever. The story is set in Kota, Rajasthan, an educational hub famous for its coaching centres. The show follows the life of 16-year-old Vaibhav (Mayur More) who moves to Kota from Itarsi. It shows the life of students in the city, and Vaibhav's efforts to get into an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) by cracking the Joint Entrance Examination. It also stars Jitendra Kumar, Ahsaas Channa, Alam Khan, Ranjan Raj, Revathi Pillai and Urvi Singh in prominent roles.


title: Kota Factory

text: Saurabh Khanna, the creator of the show, said that he aims to change the popular narrative surrounding Kota and preparation for IIT-JEE & NEET in Indian pop culture to a more positive one via the show. The series premiered simultaneously on TVFPlay and YouTube from 16 April to 14 May 2019. The series received a generally positive response from critics, praising its black & white setting, realism, and the major technical aspects of the series.


title: Kota Factory

text: On 30 August 2021, Netflix announced that the series would be renewed for a second season, which was released on 24 September 2021. On 26 September 2021, Raghav Subbu confirmed that the third season was in the works.


title: Kota Factory

text: The screenwriter Saurabh Khanna who worked on The Viral Fever's "Yeh Meri Family", started the scriptwriting process of his another project for TVF, after the release of "Yeh Meri Family" in July 2018. It was reported that the series is based on a teenager who joins a coaching institute that prepares students for the Indian Institute of Technology entrance examination(JEE Advanced), and deals with intense academic pressure and a colourful hostel experience. While Khanna compared the script of the series to Biswa Kalyan Rath's "Laakhon Mein Ek", a similar web show released in late 2017, and a documentary "An Engineered Dream", by Hemant Gaba, Khanna stated that the script is distinctively different from both the works as this show is set in India's coaching hub of Kota in Rajasthan.


title: Kota Factory

text: Khanna drew the inspiration of the series as he and the creative team of TVF (Arunabh Kumar, Amit Golani, and Biswapati Sarkar) were IIT graduates. The series star Jitendra Kumar in a principal character as Jeetu Bhaiya, as like all the TVF series and sketches featuring Kumar. He was also an ex-IIT graduate studied in Kota, and his experience made them easier for him to work in the series. Khanna stated about his role, adding that, "Teaching is a very humble, underrated profession, where those who practice it are not that high up on the social ladder. That's not how it is in Kota. Teachers are heavily paid and they are, consequently, under pressure to extract the best from students. Jeetu is one such teacher, a well-to-do guy with a taste for fine things in life. He is a motivator, a friend, a guide, students' 'agony aunt' and does not do lip service to make a student feel good. When Vaibhav requests to be allowed to move up to the elite students’ batch, Jeetu snaps at him to not beg." One of the characters Uday, is played Alam Khan who also appeared in "Laakhon Mein Ek", having the similar storyline and role as of "Kota Factory", but Khanna conveyed it as unintentional.


title: Kota Factory

text: "Kota Factory" was shot in colour and graded into monochrome later during post production (black-and-white). The shooting was kickstarted in January 2019 and ended within 30 days. After the announcement of the series' second season being renewed, the makers started their works of writing in July 2019. The team initially planned to shoot the series in March 2020, but the shooting was delayed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in India. The makers later started the shooting process in September 2020, and was filmed across two to three months in and around Madhya Pradesh. The crew shot the series under the supervision of a special team designated as in order to observe the crew members abiding the COVID-19 protocol. In January 2021, the makers announced that the shooting of the series had been wrapped.


title: Kota Factory

text: The first season's soundtrack is composed by Karthik Rao and Simran Hora, and was produced by Ankur Tewari. It features twelve original compositions with two songs "The Gentleman" sung and written by Simran Hora and "Main Bola Hey!" sung by Abhishek Yadav, Manish Chandwani and Karthik Rao. The soundtrack album was released on 23 May 2019, through media streaming platforms and in YouTube through the official channel of TVF, where the songs are independently released without launching a separate jukebox format. In addition to the original soundtrack, "Kota Factory" also features two songs composed by Ankur Tewari, Karsh Kale and his rock band "The Ghalat Family", whereas the songs were written by Ankur Tewari. The songs were released as a part of the additional soundtrack released on 3 June 2019.


title: Kota Factory

text: The second season's soundtrack is also composed by Karthik Rao and Simran Hora. It features nine original compositions with two songs "Tere Jaisa" sung by Vaibhav Bundhoo and Kamakshi Khanna and "Umbilical" sung by Jazim Sharma and written by Alok Ranjan Srivastava. The soundtrack album was released on 24 September 2021.


title: Kota Factory

text: "Kota Factory" drew inspiration from the life of aspiring engineering students, who join the coaching institute in Kota, to crack the IIT entrance exam. This plot has been found similar to the 2009 film "3 Idiots", the web series "Laakhon Mein Ek" and the docu-drama "An Engineer's Dream". But, Tanul Thakur of the British magazine "The Wire", deploys the realistic portrayals of the series as compared to the feature films based on the same theme. Thakur stated that the first half of the series is interesting due to the "intellectual curiosity about the city, and its people". He added that apart from the realistic portrayals, it also added the acceptance to abnormalities in the coaching life, as instead of critiquing the coaching institute. The series also has the theme of how the life of a student in Kota goes it tells the hardships of a student.


title: Kota Factory

text: "Kota Factory" sponsored with Unacademy in order to promote the series, based on its storyline. In December 2018, TVF released the official teaser through its YouTube channel which received wide response from audiences. Later, the official trailer of the first season was unveiled on 28 March 2019. The series consisting of five episodes was released simultaneously through TVF Play and YouTube from 16 April 2019, with each episode being aired per week. The series finale premiered on 14 May 2019.


title: Kota Factory

text: After the second season being renewed Netflix acquired the distribution rights of the series; an official announcement regarding "Season 2" was made on 3 March 2021, where Netflix released several other original contents in their 2021 slate. This marked TVF's second collaboration with the platform after "Yeh Meri Family". On 30 August 2021, Netflix announced that the second season of the series will premiere on 24 September 2021.


title: Kota Factory

text: Devasheesh Pandey of "News18" praised the cinematography, art direction, sound design as well as the acting performances of the show and gave it a rating of 3.5 out of 5 saying that, ""Kota Factory" maintains an edge over other shows in the genre, courtesy of its on-point, deadpan humour and a relatably bittersweet aftertaste of existential battle that the protagonist is facing." Ishita Sengupta of "The Indian Express" found the show to be engaging and applauded it saying that, "The ingenuity of "Kota Factory" lies in its ability to deal with different narrative strands and coalesce them effortlessly." Ishita also felt that the performances of the actors, specially Mayur More and Ranjan Raj, add a lot of value to the show. Rahul Desai of "Film Companion" was impressed with the mature depiction of the subject at hand and praised the acting performances as well as the writing of the show saying that, ""Kota Factory"’s biggest asset is its writing which somehow maintains a semi-dramatic progression without compromising on the factual tone of the series."


title: Kota Factory

text: Gautam Batra of "Koimoi" praised the direction and the acting performances of the show and gave it a rating of 4 out of 5 saying that, "the web series has taken a very less dramatic route to narrate the story which makes it extremely relatable watch." Priyanka Bansal of "The Quint" praised the show for presenting a fresh perspective on the education system in India. Impressed with the acting performances, production quality and music of Kota Factory, Priyanka gave the show a rating of 3.5 out of 5 and said that, "If you are looking for something worthwhile, The Kota Factory can be a nice watch that will make you think not about death and gloom but leave you with optimism." Tanul Thakur of "The Wire" praised the show for being realistic and relatable but felt that the show shies away from criticising the culture of coaching institutes prevalent in the Indian society. Dilip D'Souza writing for "The Caravan" praised the storytelling, as well.


title: Last Judgment

text: The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; or ) is part of the Abrahamic religions and the "Frashokereti" of Zoroastrianism.


title: Last Judgment

text: Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, resulting in the approval of some and the penalizing of others. The concept is found in all the canonical gospels, particularly in the Gospel of Matthew. The Christian tradition is also followed by Islam, where it is mentioned in the 43rd chapter ("Az-Zukhruf") of the Quran, according to some interpretations. Christian futurists believe it will follow the resurrection of the dead and the Second Coming of Jesus, while full preterists believe it has already occurred. The Last Judgment has inspired numerous artistic depictions.


title: Last Judgment

text: The doctrine and iconographic depiction of the Last Judgment are drawn from many passages from the apocalyptic sections of the Bible, but most notably from Jesus' teaching of the in the Gospel of Matthew and in the Gospel of Luke.


title: Last Judgment

text: "Article IV – Of the Resurrection of Christ" in Anglicanism's Articles of Religion and "Article III – Of the Resurrection of Christ" of Methodism's Articles of Religion state that:


title: Last Judgment

text: Anglican and Methodist theology holds that "there is an intermediate state between death and the resurrection of the dead, in which the soul does not sleep in unconsciousness, but exists in happiness or misery till the resurrection, when it shall be reunited to the body and receive its final reward." This space, termed Hades, is divided into Paradise (the Bosom of Abraham) and Gehenna "but with an impassable gulf between the two". Souls remain in Hades until the Last Judgment and "Christians may also improve in holiness after death during the middle state before the final judgment".


title: Last Judgment

text: Anglican and Methodist theology holds that at the time of the Last Day, "Jesus will return and that He will 'judge both the quick and the dead'," and "all [will] be bodily resurrected and stand before Christ as our Judge. After the Judgment, the Righteous will go to their eternal reward in heaven and the Accursed will depart to hell (see )." The "issue of this judgment shall be a permanent separation of the evil and the good, the righteous and the wicked" (see The Sheep and the Goats). Moreover, in "the final judgment every one of our thoughts, words, and deeds will be known and judged" and individuals will be justified on the basis of their faith in Jesus, although "our works will not escape God's examination."


title: Last Judgment

text: Belief in the Last Judgment (often linked with the general judgment) is held firmly in Catholicism. Immediately upon death each person undergoes the particular judgment, and depending upon one's behavior on earth, goes to heaven, purgatory, or hell. Those in purgatory will always reach heaven, but those in hell will be there eternally.


title: Last Judgment

text: The Last Judgment will occur after the resurrection of the dead and "our 'mortal body' will come to life again." The Catholic Church teaches that at the time of the Last Judgment Christ will come in His glory, and all the angels with him, and in his presence the truth of each one's deeds will be laid bare, and each person who has ever lived will be judged with perfect justice. The believers who are judged worthy as well as those ignorant of Christ's teaching who followed the dictates of conscience will go to everlasting bliss, and those who are judged unworthy will go to everlasting condemnation.


title: Last Judgment

text: A decisive factor in the Last Judgement will be the question, were the corporal works of mercy practiced or not during one's lifetime. They rate as important acts of charity. Therefore, and according to the biblical sources (Mt 25:31–46), the conjunction of the Last Judgement and the works of mercy is very frequent in the pictorial tradition of Christian art.


title: Last Judgment

text: Before the Last Judgment, all will be resurrected. Those who were in purgatory will have already been purged, meaning they would have already been released into heaven, and so like those in heaven and hell will resurrect with their bodies, followed by the Last Judgment.


title: Last Judgment

text: The Eastern Orthodox and Catholic teachings of the Last Judgment differ only on the exact nature of the in-between state of purgatory/Abraham's Bosom. These differences may only be apparent and not actual due to differing theological terminology and evolving tradition.


title: Last Judgment

text: The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that there are two judgments: the first, or particular judgment, is that experienced by each individual at the time of his or her death, at which time God will decide where one is to spend the time until the Second Coming of Christ (see Hades in Christianity). This judgment is generally believed to occur on the fortieth day after death. The second, General or Final Judgment will occur after the Second Coming.


title: Last Judgment

text: Although in modern times some have attempted to introduce the concept of soul sleep into Orthodox thought about life after death, it has never been a part of traditional Orthodox teaching, and it even contradicts the Orthodox understanding of the intercession of the Saints .


title: Last Judgment

text: Eastern Orthodoxy teaches that salvation is bestowed by God as a free gift of divine grace, which cannot be earned, and by which forgiveness of sins is available to all. However, the deeds done by each person are believed to affect how he will be judged, following the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. How forgiveness is to be balanced against behavior is not well-defined in scripture, judgment in the matter being solely Christ's.


title: Last Judgment

text: Similarly, although Orthodoxy teaches that sole salvation is obtained only through Christ and his Church, the fate of those outside the Church at the Last Judgment is left to the mercy of God and is not declared.


title: Last Judgment

text: The theme of the Last Judgment is extremely important in Orthodoxy. Traditionally, an Orthodox church will have a fresco or mosaic of the Last Judgment on the back (western) wall so that the faithful, as they leave the services, are reminded that they will be judged by what they do during this earthly life.


title: Last Judgment

text: The icon of the Last Judgment traditionally depicts Christ Pantokrator, enthroned in glory on a white throne, surrounded by the Theotokos (Virgin Mary), John the Baptist, the Apostles, saints and angels. Beneath the throne the scene is divided in half with the "mansions of the righteous" (), i.e., those who have been saved, to Jesus' right (the viewer's left), and the torments of those who have been damned to his left. Separating the two is the river of fire which proceeds from Jesus' left foot. For more detail, see below.


title: Last Judgment

text: The theme of the Last Judgment is found in the funeral and memorial hymnody of the Church, and is a major theme in the services during Great Lent. The second Sunday before the beginning of Great Lent is dedicated to the Last Judgment. It is also found in the hymns of the Octoechos used on Saturdays throughout the year.


title: Last Judgment

text: Lutherans do not believe in any sort of earthly millennial kingdom of Christ either before or after his second coming on the last day. On the last day, all the dead will be resurrected. Their souls will then be reunited with the same bodies they had before dying. The bodies will then be changed, those of the wicked to a state of everlasting shame and torment, those of the righteous to an everlasting state of celestial glory. After the resurrection of all the dead, and the change of those still living, all nations shall be gathered before Christ, and he will separate the righteous from the wicked. Christ will publicly judge all people by the testimony of their faith – the good works of the righteous in evidence of their faith, and the evil works of the wicked in evidence of their unbelief. He will judge in righteousness in the presence of all and men and angels, and his final judgement will be just damnation to everlasting punishment for the wicked and a gracious gift of life everlasting to the righteous.


title: Last Judgment

text: Although the Last Judgment is believed by a great part of Christian mainstream churches; the some members of Esoteric Christian traditions like the Essenes and Rosicrucians, the Spiritualist movement, and some liberal instead believe in some form of universal salvation.


title: Last Judgment

text: Max Heindel, a Danish-American astrologer and mystic, taught that when the Day of Christ comes, marking the end of the current fifth or Aryan epoch, the human race will have to pass a final examination or last judgment, where, as in the "Days of Noah", the chosen ones or pioneers, the "sheep", will be separated from the "goats" or stragglers, by being carried forward into the next evolutionary period, inheriting the ethereal conditions of the New Galilee in the making. Nevertheless, it is emphasized that all beings of the human evolution will ultimately be saved in a distant future as they acquire a superior grade of consciousness and altruism. At the present period, the process of human evolution is conducted by means of successive rebirths in the physical world and the salvation is seen as being mentioned in Revelation 3:12 (KJV), which states "Him that overcometh will I make a "pillar" in the temple of my God and "he shall go no more out"". However, this western esoteric tradition states – like those who have had a near-death experience – that after the death of the physical body, at the end of each physical lifetime and after the life review period (which occurs before the silver cord is broken), a judgment occurs, more akin to a Final Review or End Report over one's life, where the life of the subject is fully evaluated and scrutinized. This judgment is seen as being mentioned in Hebrews 9:27, which states that "it is appointed unto men once to die, but "after this the judgment"".


title: Last Judgment

text: Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) had a revelation that the church has gone through a series of Last Judgments. First, during Noah's Flood, then Moses on Mount Sinai, Jesus' crucifixion, and finally in 1757, which is the final Last Judgment. These occur in a realm outside earth and heaven, and are spiritual in nature.


title: Last Judgment

text: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) teaches that the last judgment for each individual occurs after that individual has been resurrected. People will be judged by Jesus Christ. Jesus' twelve apostles will help judge the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve Nephite disciples from the Book of Mormon will help to judge the Nephite and Lamanite people.


title: Last Judgment

text: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that people will be judged by their words, their works, their thoughts, and the intents of their hearts. Records that have been kept in heaven and on earth will also be used to judge people. Jesus Christ will act as the advocate for people who had faith in him and such people will enter God's presence based on Jesus' merits as opposed to their own.


title: Last Judgment

text: In art, the Last Judgment is a common theme in medieval and renaissance religious iconography. Like most early iconographic innovations, its origins stem from Byzantine art, although it was a much less common subject than in the West during the Middle Ages. In Western Christianity, it is often the subject depicted in medieval cathedrals and churches, either outside on the central tympanum of the entrance or inside on the (rear) west wall, so that the congregation attending church saw the image on either entering of leaving.


title: Last Judgment

text: In the 15th century it also appeared as the central section of a triptych on altarpieces, with the side panels showing heaven and hell, as in the Beaune Altarpiece or a triptych by Hans Memling. The usual composition has Christ seated high in the centre, flanked by angels, the Virgin Mary, and John the Evangelist who are supplicating on behalf of those being judged (in what is called a Deesis group in Orthodoxy). Saint Michael is often shown, either weighing the deceased on scales or directing matters, and there might be a large crowd of saints, angels, and the saved around the central group.


title: Last Judgment

text: At the bottom of the composition a crowd of the deceased are shown, often with some rising from their graves. These are being sorted and directed by angels into the saved and the damned. Almost always the saved are on the viewer's left (so on the right hand of Christ), and the damned on the right. The saved are led up to heaven, often shown as a fortified gateway, while the damned are handed over to devils who herd them down into hell on the right; the composition therefore has a circular pattern of movement. Often the damned disappear into a Hellmouth, the mouth of a huge monster, an image of Anglo-Saxon origin. The damned often include figures of high rank, wearing crowns, mitres, and often the Papal tiara during the lengthy periods when there were antipopes, or in Protestant depictions. There may be detailed depictions of the torments of the damned.


title: Last Judgment

text: The most famous Renaissance depiction is Michelangelo Buonarroti's "The Last Judgment" in the Sistine Chapel. Included in this fresco is his self-portrait, as St. Bartholomew's flayed skin.


title: Last Judgment

text: The image in Eastern Orthodox icons has a similar composition, but usually less space is devoted to hell, and there are often a larger number of scenes; the Orthodox readiness to label figures with inscriptions often allows more complex compositions. There is more often a large group of saints around Christ (which may include animals), and the hetoimasia or "empty throne", containing a cross, is usually shown below Christ, often guarded by archangels; figures representing Adam and Eve may kneel below it or below Christ. A distinctive feature of the Orthodox composition, especially in Russian icons, is a large band leading like a chute from the feet of Christ down to hell; this may resemble a striped snake or be a "river of Fire" coloured flame red. If it is shown as a snake, it attempts to bite Adam on the heel but, as he is protected by Christ, is unsuccessful.


title: Last Judgment

text: Belief in Judgment Day ( or ) is considered a fundamental tenet of faith by all Muslims. It is one of the six articles of faith. The trials and tribulations associated with it are detailed in both the Quran and the hadith, (sayings of Muhammad), from whence they are elaborated on in the


title: Last Judgment

text: creeds, Quranic commentaries (tafsịrs), and theological writing, eschatological manuals, whose authors include al-Ghazali, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Majah, Muhammad al-Bukhari, and Ibn Khuzaymah.


title: Last Judgment

text: Like Christianity, Islamic eschatology has a time of tribulation preceding Judgement Day where strange and terrible events will serve as portents; there will be a second coming of Jesus (but in different roles); battles with an AntiChrist (Al-Masīḥ ad-Dajjāl, literally "Deceitful Messiah".) and struggles with Gog and Magog; and a Rapture-like removal of all righteous believers before the end. A "Day of Resurrection" of the dead ("yawm al-qiyāmah"), will be announced by a trumpet blast; Resurrection will be followed by a "Day of Judgment" ("yawm ad-din") where all human beings who have ever lived will be held accountable for their deeds by being judged by God. Depending on the verdict of the judgement, they will be sent for eternity to either the reward of paradise ("Jannah") or the punishment of hell ("Jahannam").


title: Last Judgment

text: In this process, the souls will traverse over hellfire via the bridge of sirat. For sinners, the bridge will be thinner than hair and sharper than the sharpest sword, impossible to walk on without falling below to arrive at their fiery destination, while the righteous will proceed across the bridge to paradise ("Jannah").


title: Last Judgment

text: Not everyone consigned to hell will remain there. Somewhat like the Catholic concept of purgatory, sinful Muslim will stay in hell until purified of their sins. According to the scholar Al-Subki (and others), "God will take out of the Fire everyone who has said the testimony" (i.e. the "shāhada" testimony made by all Muslims, "There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is his prophet") "and none will remain save the kafirun. "


title: Last Judgment

text: While early Muslims debated whether scripture on Judgement day should be interpreted literally or figuratively, the school of thought that prevailed (Ashʿarī) "affirmed that such things as the individual records of deeds (including the paper, pen, and ink with which they are inscribed), the bridge, the balance, and the pond are realities to be understood in a concrete and literal sense."


title: Last Judgment

text: In Judaism, beliefs vary about a last day of judgment for all mankind. Some rabbis hold that there will be such a day following the resurrection of the dead. Others hold that this accounting and judgment happens when one dies. Still others hold that the last judgment only applies to the gentiles and not the Jewish people.


title: Last Judgment

text: In Jainism, there is no day of judgement as such. Jains believe, however, that as the 5th era comes to an end, evil will increase and the religion and good will decrease. Only four Jains will remain in the world: a monk, a female monk, a shravak and a shravika, A deity from the heavens will descend upon the earth and gather them, and ask them to take "Anshan", or vow to fast (without any food or water) until death.


title: Last Judgment

text: "Frashokereti" is the Zoroastrian doctrine of a final renovation of the universe, when evil will be destroyed, and everything else will be then in perfect unity with God (Ahura Mazda).


title: Last Judgment

text: The doctrinal premises are (1) good will eventually prevail over evil; (2) creation was initially perfectly good, but was subsequently corrupted by evil; (3) the world will ultimately be restored to the perfection it had at the time of creation; (4) the "salvation for the individual depended on the sum of [that person's] thoughts, words and deeds, and there could be no intervention, whether compassionate or capricious, by any divine being to alter this." Thus, each human bears responsibility for their own fate, and simultaneously shares in the responsibility for the fate of the world.


title: Last Judgment

text: In English, "crack of doom" is an old term used for the Day of Judgement, referring in particular to the blast of trumpets signalling the end of the world in Chapter 8 of the Book of Revelation. A "crack" had the sense of any loud noise, preserved in the phrase "crack of thunder", and "doom" was a term for the Last Judgement, as Eschatology still is.


title: Last Judgment

text: The phrase is famously used by William Shakespeare in "Macbeth", where on the heath the Three Witches show Macbeth the line of kings that will issue from Banquo:


title: Last Judgment

text: The meaning was that Banquo's line will endure until the Judgement Day, flattery for King James I, who claimed descent from Banquo.


title: Mellody Hobson

text: Mellody Hobson (born April 3, 1969) is an American businesswoman who is president and co-CEO of Ariel Investments, and the chairwoman of Starbucks Corporation. She is the former chairwoman of DreamWorks Animation, having stepped down after negotiating the acquisition of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc., by NBCUniversal in August 2016. In 2017, she became the first African-American woman to head The Economic Club of Chicago. She was also named to chair the board of directors of Starbucks in 2021, making her one of the highest profile corporate directors in the US.


title: Mellody Hobson

text: As of 2020, she is listed as #94 in "Forbes" list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women. On December 26, 2020 it was announced she was being named the chairwoman of Starbucks Corp., the first black woman to be chairperson of an S&P 500 company.


title: Mellody Hobson

text: The youngest in a family of six children, Hobson graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago in 1987 and from Princeton University in 1991. At Princeton, Hobson was a member of the Cottage Club.


title: Mellody Hobson

text: Soon after her graduation from Princeton, Hobson joined Ariel Investments, a Chicago investment firm that manages nearly $13 billion in assets as an intern. She rose to become the firm's senior vice president and director of marketing. In 2000, she ascended to become the company's president. It is also one of the largest African American-owned money management and mutual fund companies in the US. She was a contributor to financial segments on "Good Morning America" for many years.


title: Mellody Hobson

text: Hobson is also chairman of the board of trustees of Ariel Investment Trust. She is a regular contributor on financial issues on CBS This Morning and formerly a spokesperson for the annual Ariel/Schwab Black Investor Survey.


title: Mellody Hobson

text: Hobson is on the board of many organizations, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., the Chicago Public Education Fund, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and the Sundance Institute. She is also on the board of directors of the Starbucks Corporation, and formerly of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. Hobson has been acclaimed in selections such as "Time's" 2015 Time 100 List, the magazine's annual list of the one hundred most influential people in the world)., "Ebony" magazine's "20 Leaders of the Future" (1992), Working Women Magazine's "20 Under 30" (1992), the World Economic Forum's "Global Leaders of Tomorrow" (2001), "Esquire"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s "America's Best and Brightest" (2002), "The Wall Street Journal"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s 50 "Women to Watch" (2004).


title: Mellody Hobson

text: Hobson created and hosted a show on ABC on May 29, 2009, called "Unbroke: What You Need to Know About Money", featuring celebrities such as the Jonas Brothers, Oscar the Grouch and Samuel L. Jackson.


title: Mellody Hobson

text: In the American television drama "The Good Wife", actress Vanessa L. Williams based her character, self-made businesswoman Courtney Paige, on Hobson, studying her via Hobson's TED talks.


title: Mellody Hobson

text: In 2017, Hobson was named to head the Economic Club of Chicago, the first African-American woman to do so.


title: Mellody Hobson

text: On June 4, 2018, Hobson was named as vice-chair of Starbucks Corporation. After heading the finance committee she was elected to chair the board in 2020.