Limerick City & Environs
Limerick City (Luimenach) (pop. 80,000) has long suffered a terrible reputation.
“Ghastly, to be avoided at all costs“ were the words of one and the sentiments of many of our friends when we mentioned the place. While all agree that County Limerick is attractive, the city is widely regarded as “the armpit of Ireland”.
The municipal motto “Urbs Antiqua Fuit Studiisque Asperrima Belli” (“an ancient city well versed in the arts of war”, adapted from a reference to Carthage in Virgil’s Aeneid ) is pretty ironic. Nowadays Limerick is nicknamed ”Stab City” for the number of murderous assaults carried out in the course of gang warfare between feuding criminal clans and rival drug lords, whose power is such that eye-witnesses to crimes tend to “forget” seeing anything, and local juries never convict.
Limerick has also been notorious over the years for its Roman Catholic zealotry, with confraternities and novenas at every turn. It comes as little surprise to learn that fanatical bigots drove Eastern European Jews from the city in 1904, the only anti-Semitic pogrom in Irish history.
Frank McCourt’s famous childhood autobiography, Angela’s Ashes, describes the squalor of poverty in the 1930s and 40s in Limerick, which he called the “city of dark miseries”.
Some view these perceptions as unfair, and insist they should be balanced against the positive factors. Limerick has a colourful history, and there are plenty of interesting landmarks and places to visit. There are also several attractive areas on the outskirts of the city.
Limerick City History
King’s Island (Inis Sibhtonn), at the top of the Shannon Estuary and the junction with the river B, would have been the first point at which the Shannon could be forded. The earliest map of Ireland, produced c.150 AD by Ptolemy, shows a place called ‘Regia’ at the same site. History also records an important battle involving Cormac Mac Airt in 221 and a visit by St. Patrick in 434. The name Luimneach dates from at least 561, and probably derives from ‘Loimeanach’, meaning a bare marsh.
The Viking sea-king, Thormodr Helgason, built the first permanent Norse stronghold on King’s Island in 922 AD. He used the base to raid the length of the Shannon, pillaging ecclesiastical settlements. In 937 AD the Limerick Norsemen were defeated by those of Dublin on Lough Ree. They were subsequently reduced to the level of a minor clan, but often played a role in the endless power struggles of the next few centuries.
The arrival of the Anglo-Normans to the area in 1172 changed everything. Domhnall Mór O’Brien burned the city to the ground in 1174 in a bid to keep it from the hands of the newcomers, who finally captured the area in 1195, and the city charter was granted in 1197. King John Castle, built on the orders of that monarch, was completed c.1207, and St Mary’s Cathedral was constructed at around the same time.
Limerick soon prospered as a port and trading centre. The walled settlement on King’s Island became known as “English Town” while another settlement on the south bank of the river was named “Irish Town”. A 1574 document prepared for the Spanish ambassador attests to its wealth: “Limerick is stronger and more beautiful than all the other cities of Ireland, well walled with stout walls of hewn marble…for the most part the houses are of square stone of black marble and built in the form of towers and fortresses”.
In 1651, Oliver Cromwell’s army besieged the city, which supported the claims of Charles II to the throne. Famine and plague lead to the death of 5,000 residents before heavy bombardment of King John’s Castle led to breach and surrender in late October of that year.
The Williamite War saw French and Irish forces (numbering 14,000) regrouping in Limerick following their defeat at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. The Williamite besiegers breached the walls on three occasions, but the defenders prevailed. Eventually the Williamites withdrew to Waterford, only to return in August 1691. Limerick was now the last stronghold of the Catholic Jacobites, under the command of Sarsfield. The promised French reinforcement failed to arrive, and, following the massacre of 850 defenders on Thomond Bridge, the city sued for peace. On the 3rd October 1691 the Treaty of Limerick was signed using a large stone as a table. The treaty allowed the Jacobites to leave under full military honours and sail to France. Two days later French reinforcements finally arrived. Sarsfield was urged to continue the fight, but refused, insisting on abiding by the terms of the treaty. He sailed to France with 19,000 troops, and formed the Irish Brigade. After they had left the treaty was repudiated by the Williamites, a point of bitterness in the city to this day.
Through the C18th the city recovered as a major trading port. Many important public buildings and infrastructure projects were paid for with local trade taxes.
Exports of food continued during The Great Famine, often requiring the deployment of troops to protect the port. While the famine reduced the population of Limerick County by 70,000, the population of the city actually rose slightly, as starving country people sought refuge in the workhouses.
A small number of Jewish tradesfolk fleeing from persecution in Lithuania began arriving to Limerick in 1878. Easter Sunday 1884 saw the first of a sporadic series of violent anti-Semitic attacks. In 1904 a young Roman Catholic priest, Fr John Creagh of the Redemptorist Order, delivered fiery sermons accusing “the Hebrews” of shedding Christian blood, suggesting that they would “kidnap and slay Christian children” and urging Catholics “not to deal with the Jews“. The Limerick Pogrom was the result: a shameful economic boycott waged for over two years against the Jewish community. Local Protestants, including many traders, supported them throughout the pogrom, as did several politicians of national stature (but Sinn Féin founder Arthur Griffith defended Fr Creagh). The majority of Limerick’s Jews were pauperised and forced to leave the city. Many, intending to travel to America, went to Cork, where church halls were opened to feed and house the refugees and people welcomed them into their homes.
The independence movement gained popular support in Limerick following the repressions and executions after the Easter 1916 Rebellion in Dublin. Royal Irish Constabulary forces carried out violent raids on the homes of suspected Sinn Féin sympathizers. Open conflict erupted on Roches Street in April 1920 between the Welch Fusiliers and the general population, involving stones and bottles on the one side and bayonets on the other. On the night of 6th March 1921, Limerick’s Mayor, George Clancy, and his wife were shot in their home by three Black & Tan operatives. On the same night the previous Mayor, Michael O’Callaghan, was shot in similar circumstances. These assassinations became known as the Curfew Murders. IRA reprisals included the murder of a Black & Tan officer on Church Street. The later Civil War also saw violence and looting in Limerick.
The development of the Shannon Industrial Zone really benefited Limerick, but failed to bring real prosperity to the city.
The entire area underwent something of a Renaissance during the Celtic Tiger era. Industrial estates at Raheen, Plassey, and Shannon Town, and energetic government intervention, brought in numerous foreign firms, employing thousands of people. The new wealth not only halted the high levels of emigration chronic through the 1980’s, but lead to the first large scale immigration for centuries. The city now boasts a Russian newsagent, a Chinese supermarket, a number of Nigerian food shops, and even a Mosque. However, the current recession has plunged the whole Shannon Zone into economic gloom, with high unemployment and a renewal of departures for foreign shores.
The city centre area is mainly Georgian, but much of Limerick’s architectural heritage has been compromised. In addition to the dilapidated state of many of the older buildings, several out of place modern edifices jar with their surroundings. The demolition of Cruise’s Hotel to make way for a fast food joint was an act of sheer barbarism.
The good news is that new planning regulations have resulted in an increasing number of historical buildings being refurbished rather than demolished; examples include the conversion of an historic bank to an up-market pub and the redevelopment of old stone-built warehouses and Georgian townhouses as luxury apartments. Ironically, however, tougher development requirements have resulted in tracts of wasteland on King’s Island remaining undeveloped due the discovery of historical remains.
A science and engineering focused third level college called NIHE, Limerick, now the University of Limerick (UL), furthered the area’s reputation as Ireland’s Silicon Valley. Limerick Institute of Technology is an important regional centre for business, engineering and science education.
The new University Concert Hall provides a large venue for national and international acts.
The Belltable Arts Centre on O’Connell St. provides an outlet for local playwrights.
The Limerick Art Gallery and the Art College cater for painting, sculpture and performance art of all styles.
Several city centre pubs host regular live music and poetry sessions.
A new marina has considerably increased Limerick’s tourism potential.
