{"id":81554,"date":"2020-06-04T20:51:15","date_gmt":"2020-06-04T20:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/travel\/?p=81554"},"modified":"2022-05-13T11:51:36","modified_gmt":"2022-05-13T10:51:36","slug":"limerick-the-five-minute-spare-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/travel\/limerick-the-five-minute-spare-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Limerick: The Five Minute Spare Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Limerick The Irish city so awesome they went and named a poem after it! Or was it the other way round?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We bet the people that live there are pig-sick of having to search for Limerick (the town) instead of the poetry form. You can find the said city in the mid-west of Ireland, spanning the river Shannon and sharing the Munster province with a few other counties and representing a county, as well as a city. Nearly 100,000 people call the city of Limerick home.<\/p>\n

We wanted to take the Five Minutes Spare<\/a> glance over Limerick to see what this lyrical city has to offer. Poetry aside, what attractions will you find in Limerick? Let\u2019s find out!<\/p>\n

\"River

Arial View Of The Shannon Running through Limerick.
Image: Diarmuid Greene\/Shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n

The Early Days of Limerick<\/h2>\n

The ancient, dusty heart of the city can actually be found on the island in the centre of the River Shannon. The reason for this? It has its origins in Viking sensibilities. They always chose their forts based on how defensible the area was. Since they also needed to be on waterways, just about every large island in Ireland and the neighbouring countries made a good Viking haven.<\/p>\n

Some sources<\/a> put Limerick as a Viking settlement founded in 922 AD\u2026 which is really specific and doesn\u2019t come with much backup. Since the island (known as King\u2019s Island nowadays) was called Ghaill Duibh before the Vikings arrived, and since the city itself was first recorded in 812 AD, this blows the 922 AD guess out of the water. Further to this, the whole area around the Shannon entrance has been settled since at least 150 AD. When the first map of Ireland was ever made, the area had a town called Regia\u2026 \u2018belonging to the King\u2019. In 434 St. Patrick came to the island to crown a king\u2026<\/p>\n

Other sources mark the presence of Stone Age tombs in Duntryleague from around 3500 BC. The Celts wouldn\u2019t have got here until 400 BC, but there were already stone circles at Lough Gur when they got here. Archaeological dating has put these at 3000 BC. Basically, Limerick is older than sliced bread, older than woven fabrics, and possibly even older than the wheel.<\/p>\n

The Vikings sailed up the River Shannon around 812, setting fire to the monastery that existed there in light of St Patrick\u2019s visit. They would have pillaged and burned everything that wasn\u2019t stone, then they would have occupied the city and used it as a base to raid into the surrounding area. Back then, Limerick was a town in County Clare, a region known to have had several Irish Kings in its history.<\/p>\n

The Normans Arrive<\/h3>\n

In 1195 the Normans crossed the sea. By this point, the population of Limerick would have been mixed between Irish natives and Norse blood. The Normans added some DNA to the pot but mostly just repeated the looting and burning. In the same century St. Mary\u2019s Cathedral was erected and still stands to this day as the oldest known building in the area. The Normans invaded under King John I of England\u2019s name, erected a castle on his behalf and instated a ruling system which saw the English with a lot more influence over it than some would have liked.<\/p>\n

This control was fully relinquished in 1413 by Henry V. He granted them their own charter which allowed more than the usual. Normally, a first charter would allow a ruling committee to establish paving on the streets and to have them cleaned. Ordinarily, this would be followed a hundred years or so down the line with permission to have a market. Limerick were made a largely independent city state in one fell swoop of the quill.<\/p>\n

The 16th<\/sup> century saw this region go to war with Galway, it ended in a peace treaty. King Henry VIII decided he wanted a divorce, closed, and barred all of the monasteries in Ireland, and paved the way for thousands of years of Catholic\/Protestant fighting. In 1603 England took its first full grip on Ireland, owning most of it. It was a busy century, since the European wars of the time saw Limerick made into an International stage. The Catholics were hounded out of a multitude of Irish cities by the end of the century. The Williamite War was ended in 1690 as long as the Catholics agreed to swear fealty to William and Mary, over King Charles. The peace treaty was signed on a stone which you can still visit at Clancy Stand.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a historical breather and look at some fun stuff. What sort of interesting things have happened here? What\u2019s fun about Limerick? Let\u2019s find out!<\/p>\n

Fun Facts about Limerick<\/h2>\n

This little Munster city has loads on display, some of it incredibly interesting. Here are the Five Minutes Spare<\/a> favourite fun facts about Limerick, for those that call it home!<\/p>\n