The following report comes from the Saturday Herald, 1 June 1901: Mr Dennis Madden, of Broad Street, Limerick, sends us some particulars of a very ingenious contrivance which he has invented and constructed and which soon may be seen in full working order on the Shannon. It is, as the picture...

The modern Olympic Games began in Athens in 1896 when fourteen nations competed in forty-three events in nine sports. Only men competed in the first games. It was four years later when women were allowed to compete in a small number of events. There was no Limerick participant in the first...

The following image from Getty Images taken 16 March 1926 shows Mrs. Thomas McKessy and ten of her 21 children, upon her arrival in New York on the SS Aurania. The caption with the image mentions that her husband arrived in New York in September 1925. The family were going to the Bronx Thomas...

The ‪#OurCityOurStories‬ is a new video campaign by the Office of Communications/Marketing in Limerick City & County Council, celebrating Limerick City Centre’s brilliant mix of characters & stories! As part of this Our City Our Stories series the story of a Prince buried in St...

Limerick in 1916 was a bustling city with over 38,000 residents in the urban area and over 140,000 in the county. Although large portions of men of working age were fighting in the First World War, the city was still heaving with people. As in other cities across Europe, women during this...

The following story and poem comes courtesy of Liam O’Brien. Lieutenant. Colonel Galloway was a retired British army officer who had served during the First World War. He and his wife moved to Ireland in the 1930s, purchasing a house and land on the banks of Lough Gur in Co. Limerick. I...

UPDATE 17 August 2016: Limerick’s Life has been shortlisted in this competition. Public voting is now open and will remain open until the 23 August and you can vote for Limerick’s Life by clicking the image below Thank you for your consideration. Limerick’s life has been...

In the 1980s the OPW restored the humble cottage on the outskirts of the village of Bruree in County Limerick. This cottage was the home of Éamon de Valera the future President of Ireland who held that office from 1959 until 1973. Éamon de Valera was born Edward de Valera in New York, ...

The Limerick Grand Prix ran on the streets of Limerick, Ireland, between 1935–1938 (except 1937). The first race in 1935 was known as “Round the Houses” and the route ran 2.76 miles (4.44 km) through William Street, Roxborough Road, Careys Road, Rossbrien Road, Punches Cross,...

Limerick has a long and vibrant history and has witnessed huge changes in the last two centuries. These changes have been captured in Sharon Slater’s Limerick – Ireland in Old Photographs. Through the 128 pages of the book she shows how the city has grown, recalling shops and...

Joseph Patrick Carroll Naish, who was better known as J Carrol Naish, was born in New York in 1896. The son of a Limerick couple, he grew to become an American character actor who was nominated twice for an Academy Award. Naish was married from 1929 until his death to actress Gladys Heaney...

The following plaques are inserted into the internal walls of Abington Church (Church of Ireland), Murroe, Co. Limerick. This church was opened 7 November 1870 replacing an older church in the parish. Where possible obituaries from the Limerick Library Local Studies Collection have been...

The poem “The Praises of Limerick” was published by Peter Brereton, a ballad sheet printer operating out of Lower Exchange Street, Dublin in the 1860s. It is told from the view of a native of Limerick who has left the city for a new life but misses home. The poem has been...

The following guest post on Friarstown Abbey comes courtesy of Liam O’Brien:   Between the Parishes of Fedamore and Donaghmore/Knockea, across the fields from the R511 (Limerick to Fedamore road) stands a real hidden gem of Limerick’s heritage.   Friarstown Abbey is said...

The following amusing tale of a police chase after some apple stealing rouges was recalled in The Limerick Reporter and Tipperary Vindicator, 24 August 1858. The Orchard- The Thieves – The Chase Time– Five o’clock in the morning. Scene– The Abbey river, enveloped by a...

The Rise and Fall of the Bard of Thomond Michael Hogan was born in New Road, Thomondgate in 1832. He gave himself the name “The Bard of Thomond”. He was one of six sons born to Arthur Hogan and Mary Nolan and was baptised in St Munchin’s Church. Arthur Hogan was a wheelwright at Stein’s...

As Limerick expanded into the Newtownpery area of the the city in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century new streets were names. These new builds incorporated street signs into the buildings often on the corners but occasionally, as with Baker’s Place, in the centre of purpose...

The Goad fire insurance plans are unique primary source materials capturing what is, in many cases, otherwise undocumented information about buildings, land use and urban design. The 1897 plan of Limerick was originally produced to aid insurance companies in assessing fire risks. The building...

Gerald of Wales was the archdeacon of Brecknock, Wales from 1175 to 1204, and historian he visited to Ireland in the 1180s. He wrote Topographia Hibernica about his travels during this period, one of his stories involved meeting the “Bearded Lady” of Duvenald, king of Limerick...

On the 6 May 2016 a plaque was unveiled to commemorate the visit of Charles Dickens to Limerick in 1858. The plaque was erected by the Limerick Writers Centre. We were asked to say a few words about Limerick in 1858 to set the scene for the visit of Mr Dickens. Limerick in 1858 was a real...