William Nelson, a native of County Down, born c.1830, the son of Robert Nelson, a merchant. He arrived in Limerick around 1850, to work in the Limerick Warehouse Drapery Company. He branched out on his own, working as a merchant before opening a store at 61 William Street in 1878. The following long-winded extract comes…
This picture appeared in the book Modhscoil Luimnigh 1855-1986, a history of the Model School, O’Connell Avenue. It contained the names of all but one of those in the picture. Model School class of 1911 Back row (from left): Daisy Forsythe, Queenie Wills, Maud Morrison, Olive Oakley, Lilly Rescusin, Lily Whitaker, Connie Whitaker, Ethel Ormston….
This article will give a year in review of life in Limerick in 1786. Touching on births, wedding, death and interesting events in between. The highlight of the Limerick calendar in 1786 was the Crosbie hot air balloon flight across the city. You can read about this event on the Richard Crosbie and his 1786…
100 Women of Limerick by Sharon Slater was launched in Ormston House, Patrick Street, Limerick on International Women’s Day 8 March 2022, by climate activist, Saoirse Exton, and former Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan. This hardback book, dedicates two pages to a woman, who was born in or spent a signifiant period of…
Listed below are the most likely reasons behind each street name in the city, though some of the street names have changed through time and some of the original reasoning for certain names have been lost entirely. Many of these street names did not appear in Gerry Joyce’s ‘Limerick City Street Names‘. Where possible a…
Due to the location of Limerick, on the banks of a large tidal river in the west of Ireland, it is not a stranger to bouts of extreme weather. The following article titled “Boisterous Weather” appeared in the Limerick Chronicle on 29 December 1921 A violent gale visited Limerick and district on Tuesday night, and…
The Forgotten Vice-Commandant. A Grandson’s Account of Johnny Mc Sweeney, Vice-Commandant of the 2nd Battalion Mid-Limerick Brigade, IRA by Pat McSweeney. This publication not only details the life of Johnny Mc Sweeney but the atmosphere in Limerick during the revolutionary period from Easter 1916 to the Irish Civil War. It is wonderfully illustrated and easily…
The Shannon Scheme was the construction of the Ardnacrusha Hydroelectric Plant in the mid to late 1920s. Construction involved the diverting of the Shannon River, the creation of two new channels and erection of the Hydroelectric plant. The following is a list of workers who died, during the Shannon Scheme. The list includes, names, place…
1 September – The poet Siegfried Sassoon died on this day, 1 Sept 1967. In 1917, he was posted to Limerick. He enjoyed his time in the city. 2 September – The Irish Nationalist politician John Redmond spoke in Limerick on this day, 2 September 1900. Here he condemned what he saw as an increasing…
Harrison Lee foundary produced thousands of pieces of iron work still seen throughout Limerick today.
Samuel Carter Hall in 1882 published Ireland, The South. The following is his description of Limerick
BR Sean Conneely RIP, Richard Moloney, Rob Sheehan, John Ahern, David Dineen, Geoff Moylan, Tom O’Connor, Philip Danaher, Fr. Frank Duhig.Seated Paul Kilbridge, Liam Looney, Pat Lloyd, Paul Culhane, Pat Murray, Paul Craughan, Tom Leahy.FR Willie Quinlan, Declan Hannan.
The official school photograph (with names) from the Class of 1983 of St Munchin’s College
The 6 January, the feast of the Epiphany, is culturally known in Ireland as Nollaig na mBan or Women’s Little Christmas. It was a time for women to gather to take time for themselves after all the Christmas festivities and activities. Meanwhile, the men and children would remain at home to take over household duties…
The following are a collection of events that are connected to the history of Limerick or people from Limerick during the month of January. 1 January – On this day 1 Jan 1877, Richard O’Shaughnessy (1842-1918) M.P. for Limerick received the Freedom of Limerick from Mayor James Spaight 2 January – On this day, 2…