The following is a letter received by Limerick’s Life from Pam and John Walton, Sydney, Australia after their trip to Limerick in 2006.
I have been privileged to have visited Limerick City on two occasions during recent times, endeavouring to trace the location from where my wife’s ancestors came. We were somewhat surprised the way the older areas of the City had been retained, and looked after, for in our mind we thought Limerick City would be more “rustic”. This was a pleasant surprise to us.
During both of our visits we toured around a great deal, mainly along the narrow country roads of Limerick County enjoying the beautiful scenery and speaking to friendly delightful people. The Irish people are always accommodating, friendly and without fuss. They have a somewhat “layback” attitude to life which is very similar to the Australian way – after all about 60% of people in Australia have some degree of Irish blood running through their veins, so I guess the quite attitude to life has been inherited by we Aussies.
We enjoyed being able to buy brown soda bread , to us this was a delight, and the coffees in a William Street cafe were huge, taking a while to consume, that is if one could drink that much in one go.
The driving – well that is another matter, for we had no problems in the city or towns, but the country roads are very different. Travelling along these roads where it is sometimes difficult for two vehicles to pass each other is another matter so it is was a plus that we also drive on the left hand side of the road as they do in Ireland . Should it had not then I may have needed to book myself into a stress relief programme on my return home.
Irish records prior to 1864 are very difficult to find, even if they at all exist, however due to the local knowledge of Sharon it appears my wife’s ancestors came from Prior’s Land, an area within the boundaries of Limerick City, thus narrowing it down to an area on the border of the two Parishes of St. Michael’s and St. John’s. The time was around the late 1820’s, when they were associated with the corn trade.
We met with Sharon, the owner of this wonderful site on each of our visits where she guided us through the genealogy haze of Limerick enabling us to narrow our search to Prior’s Land. Should it have not been for the knowledge Sharon possesses, obtained over years of research and personal interest, then there was no way we would have advanced to the stage we are. Sharon has a passion for the gathering of the history of Limerick, in particular the City, and had it not been for her dedication to her project then so much history of this great city would be lost to us all.
Thank you Sharon.Pam and John Walton……Sydney, Australia.
