*Jerome O’Connell and Matt O’Callaghan. Photograph: Sport Action Photography

ROSLEVAN BASED Jerome O’Connell has been appointed as news editor of The Limerick Leader.

On Monday, The Limerick Leader announced that Jerome with immediate effect would take up the role of news editor of the newspaper and its website, Limerick Live.

For the past seventeen years, the Pallaskenry native had been the Leader’s GAA correspondent, covering at detailed length the remarkable rise of the Limerick hurlers at minor and U21 which has resulted in the Treaty County claiming the All-Ireland SHC title in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Prior to joining the Limerick Leader, Jerome worked as a news and sports reporter with Clare FM for twenty months. He initially joined his local newspaper as a news reporter before moving to the sports department and then becoming GAA correspondent in 2005.

Now living in Roslevan, Jerome is married to Claire Gallagher, herself a former award winning news journalist with The Clare People, they have two children together.

He said, “After seventeen years as GAA correspondent with The Limerick Leader, it’s time to blow the final whistle. A sincere thank you to all I encountered on that memorable sporting journey. I’ve been privileged to have a front row seat for almost two decades of action. Today, I take up the position of News Editor with The Limerick Leader and limericklive.ie and will do my best to ensure the newspaper and website continue to give a voice to all in Limerick”.

Jerome’s move comes just over two months after Áine Fitzgerald was appointed as the paper’s first female Managing Editor. She had previously been News Editor prior to Donn O’Sullivan’s resignation.

Ennis reporter Cian O Broin, formerly of this parish will be among the members of the newsroom now taking their instructions from O’Connell.