Limerick Ireland Hotels - Bed & Breakfast Accommodation - Limerick Holiday Homes

Limerick County Facts

Alain — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:09:12 +0000

County Capital: Newcastle West

Main Towns: Abbeyfeale, Kilmallock, Limerick, Newastle West, Rathkeale

Main Industries: Agriculture, automotive components manufacturing, baby food manufacturing, bottled soft drinks production, cable television suppliers, canned meat production, cement manufacturing, chicken processing, civin engineering, computer manufacture, computer sales, computer-related products manufacturing, costume jewellery making, data processing, electrical appliance production, infant nutritional products manufacturing, integrated circuits manufacturing, livestock and property auctioneering, magnetic media manufacturing, medical instrument production, metal door and frame production, metal products fabrication, mineral water bottling and distribution, nonferrous metals extraction and exporting, oil distribution, ophanthalmic lens manufacturing, surgical implants manufacturing.

Pubs in Limerick

Alain — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:09:08 +0000

Limerick, a fine big county is the fourth largest city in Ireland. Here you will find a variety of pubs featuring traditional Irish music, some of them serve food and others have night clubs attached where you can dance the night away. Limerick (Hotels, Limerick, Ireland) is unlike many other counties, has a great sense of humour and is steeped in history.

What better time to drop into a famous Limerick (Holiday Cottages, Limerick, Ireland) pub, Fennessy’s is one of the best-known pubs. Established in 1904, Fennessy’s was formerly known as The Wren’s Nest. You can experience a truly traditional atmosphere in this charming and old-styled pub. The Heather Tavern is located on Bridge Street; Newcastle West is highly recommended for craic, good food and a lively homely atmosphere. The Heather Tavern also offers the best in bar food that keeps the crowds coming back time and time again. Another great pub, which dates back to the 17th century, is Finnegans. It encompasses the style of yesteryears and creates a wonderful and tranquil ambience. Winner of many prestigious awards, Finnegans offers a superb a la carte menu, with steaks and seafood being their specialty. The Locke Bar is one of Limericks oldest pubs dating back to 1724. It is intimate, charming and warm; visitors from all over enjoy the old world setting whilst relaxing beside an open fire. You certainly wont be disappointed with Pa McGraths. It is styled of a traditional old thatched Irish cottage and includes a modern new lounge. It offers a full menu all day with light snacks available in the evening. With traditional Irish music sessions you are guaranteed a really enjoyable time here.

Limerick (Bed and Breakfasts, Limerick, Ireland) is filled with an assortment of pubs that have charmed all unto and don’t forget to sample a little of the famous Irish Guinness while you are there!

Antiques in Limerick

Alain — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:09:04 +0000

There are not many dolmens in Limerick (Holiday Cottages, Limerick, Ireland), but the series of megalithic monuments at Loch Gur make the prehistoric remains of this county of interest. Loch Gur is a picturesquely situated lake about 3 miles north of Bruff. It appears to have been the centre of a Bronze-Age cemetery. The lake itself was probably sacred, and it is likely that the large number of antiquities that have been found in or near it were deposited as votive offerings. The remains include nine stone circles, a dolmen, an alignment or avenue of stones, and numerous pillar stones. At the east side of the lake is a hill called Knockadoon ; at the northern end of this is a mediaeval castle called Bourchiers Castle, and at the southern another, known as the Black Castle. The district belonged to the Desmonds, and legends connected with this family are still told by the country people. The largest of the stone circles is some 150 feet in diameter and is flanked by an earthen bank. Several of the stones which form it arc of great size, but it was repaired during the last century, and it is unfortunately impossible to say whether all the stones are now in their original position.

Lake Dwellings, or Crannogs, are not so numerous in Munster as in the other provinces, but several are important and have been found to contain antiquities valuable for the study of archaeology. The Crannog of Lough Gur, Co. Limerick (Holiday Apartments, Limerick, Ireland), has yielded a number of objects of various descriptions at different times; unfortunately it has not been scientifically excavated, it is therefore difficult to form any opinion as to when it was first inhabited. The antiquities, stated to have been recovered on various occasions from this site, include a remarkable bronze spear-head with the socket inlaid with gold ; part of a stone mould for casting socketed, and looped, spear-heads; an iron sword of late date ; numerous stone celts, and various objects of bronze.

Architecture in Limerick

Alain — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:09:02 +0000

The ecclesiastical remains at Adare, Co. Limerick, arc picturesque and interesting. Situated close to Adare Manor, the seat of the Earl of Dunravcn. they consist of the ruins of three monasteries : one founded for Trinitarian Friars, another for Augustinian Hermits, and the third for Franciscan Friars Observant. The Trinitarian monastery was founded in 1230 a.d. ; the present remains consist of the church, and one wall of the buildings which composed the north side of the cloister, with a large tower at the western end, and a smaller one at the eastern end. The church has a nave, chancel and north transept, and a square central tower, with an embattled roof, at the junction of the nave and chancel. The north transept was lengthened and converted into a convent schoolroom in the last century. The church was repaired, enlarged, and the chancel rebuilt in 1852. Near it is an interesting low dovecot of circular form with a conical stone roof.

The Franciscan Friary was founded in 1464 by Thomas Earl of Kildare, and his wife Joanna. It was one of the most celebrated convents in the province of Munster, and, though of moderate size, is of interest owing to the completeness of its various buildings, being a good example of the Irish monastic architecture of the fifteenth century. The remains consist of a church with a nave, square tower, and chancel, a south transept with two eastern chapels, and a western aisle. The cloister is on the north side, and the conventual buildings can be well studied, several of them being in a good state of preservation. Among the most interesting features of the church are the remains of painted mural decoration which can still be observed.

Limerick (Luimneach, a bare spot of land) : the See of Limerick (Accommodation, Limerick, Ireland) is generally considered to have been founded as early as the fifth century. The interesting cathedral was probably erected during the twelfth and the thirteenth centuries. The earliest ground plan appears to have. been in the form of a Latin Cross, but side aisles were added to the nave in the fourteenth and fifteenth century, which have obscured the original outline of the plan. An embattled square tower with four turrets stands at the west end. Limerick is unique amongst the Irish cathedrals in possessing carved wood- work of the fifteenth century ; its stalls, with carved misereres, ornamented with various grotesque devices, resemble those which have been preserved in many English cathedrals.

The Church of St Peter and St Paul at Kilmallock, Co. Limerick (Hotels, Limerick, Ireland), is interesting. It lies within the walls of the town and its chancel is used as the parish church. As well as an aisled nave, and chancel, there is a south transept, and attached to the north-east corner of the nave is a round tower about 50 ft. in height. The east window of the chancel has five lights. In the north aisle of the nave some interesting tombs are to be seen. The walls of the church were protected with battlements. Castles

The so-called Desmond Castle at Adare, Co. Limerick (Bed and Breakfasts, Limerick, Ireland), was probably erected on the site of a Norman mote. The present ruins include a portion of the keep, the hall, out-rooms, and gate-tower. The buildings show so few architectural features that it is difficult to deter- mine the dates of the various portions, but the keep may have been built in the thirteenth century. The modern mansion of the Earl of Dunravcn is an imposing structure in the Tudor style; it was built in 1850 of limestone obtained from the district.

History of Limerick

Alain — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:08:58 +0000

The Vikings caried out their exploits in Limerick in 922 AD, navigating up the River Shannon and establishing the foundation of modern-day Limerick (Self Catering, Limerick, Ireland) City. After a century of continual warfare, the Vikings were defeated by the indigenous Irish, under the command of High King Brian Boru. Over the next century, Limerick suffered form internal wars among the Irish clans, which lasted until the overpowering forces of the Anglo-Normans conquered the area.

Co. Limerick
The whole northern boundary of Co. Limerick (Holiday Cottages, Limerick, Ireland) is formed by the Shannon, mostly by its broad, lake-like estuary- The spacious Shenan spreading like a sea, as Spenser describes it. The greater part of the area, particularly the north, is low, with extensive limestone pasture-lands. Round the other three sides-west, south, and north-the county is fringed with hills, which attain their greatest elevation in the south-east, where the boundary passes over the summit of Graltymore (3015 ft.). As a result of this grouping of the higher grounds, the drainage of the county is all northward across the plain to the Shannon.

Limerick (Holiday Homes, Limerick, Ireland), a very ancient city, stands on the Shannon at the point where the river becomes tidal, on the site of an important ford ; the original Luimneach or Limnagh stood on Kings Island, guarding the ford, and itself safe from sudden attack. In the eighteenth century, before the construction of railways diverted the lines of traffic, this was a very busy town and port; but, like many of the western towns, Limerick prodigious, That stands with quays and bridges, And the ships up to the windys Of the Shannon shore, has now somewhat declined in relative importance; but it is still a busy place well supplied with railways, and the distributing centre for a very large district. There is a steamer service down the Shannon to its mouth. The other towns within the county are much smaller: Rathkeale and Newcastle, both lying towards the west, are the most important.

Botany in Limerick

Alain — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:08:54 +0000

The Shannon becomes tidal at Limerick, and, widening into a great estuary, enters the Atlantic 60 miles further on, its mouth being 10 miles wide. The upper reaches are river-like and muddy. Here Scirpus triqneter grows in abundance, a very rare plant, un- known elsewhere in Ireland, and in England found only in three southern estuaries. It is accompanied by Nasiuriium sylvestre, Cochlearia anglica, Typha an- gustifolia (all very local in Ireland), Scirpus Taber- nasmoniani, S. mariiimus and Piragmifes communis. The adjoining marshy meadows yield Allium vmeale, Leucojum csstivum, Carex riparia, Hordeum secalinnm, md other plants in abundance. The middle parts of the estuary are island-studded, with gravelly or muddy shores. Here we find quantities of Glyceria festucae- formis, a Mediterranean grass elsewhere known only Tom Co. Down, and G. Fonecudi, found elsewhere only in S.E. England and France ; also such plants as Apium graveolens, (Enanlhe Lachenalii, Artemisia mari- oima, Sfatice rariflora, Beta maritima. The lower part )f the estuary assumes the form of an open sea-inlet with rocky and sandy shores, yielding Glaucinm flavum, Raphanus maritimzis, Spergnlaria rupestris, Crithmum naritimum, Euphorbia porilandica, and other species of similar habitat.

Geology in Limerick

Alain — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:08:51 +0000

Around Limerick (Self Catering, Limerick, Ireland) and extending south-eastwards for some 20 miles is a large area in which is displayed abundant evidence of volcanic activity during Car- boniferous times. The lavas and ashes have resisted the action of the weather better than the limestone which envelops them, and thus they form a series of low hills which are rendered conspicuous because of the flatness of the surrounding country. The old castle of Carrigogunnel, 5 miles west of the city, stands on one of these igneous masses. Caherconlish is another large exposure, whilst about Pallas Grean and Herbertstown they are developed in an almost continuous zone. The Carboniferous rocks may be divided into four groups. Given in order, the earliest being below, they are :

Coal Measures.
Millstone Grit.
Limestone.
Shale.

The Shale is found commonly at the sides of the valleys in the south of Ireland, and generally as a thin band surrounding the exposures of Old Red Sandstone. In the south of Cork is a large area of Carboniferous Slate which represents a much longer epoch than that in which the Lower Limestone Shale of the rest of the country was formed. With the slates arc. associated the Coom- hola Grits which are found well developed on Shehy mountain north-west of Dunmanway. Limestone occupies the valleys from that of Cloyne northwards. Tongues of this rock extending from the Central Plain envelop the Galtees, one pushing through by Charleville to Mallow, the other reaching round by Caher and Mitchelstown. Six miles east of this latter place are the well-known caves. These were formed by the solution of the limestone, and in them are many

beautiful columns made by the coalescence of stalactites suspended from the roof with stalagmites formed on the floor below.

The loose ice-borne material or drift, from which is derived most of the soils of the cultivated lands, is throughout most of the province similar to the debris of the rocks upon which it rests, and thus there is little difference between the derived soils in the two cases. An exception occurs in the soils at the head of Bantry Bay. These are greatly enriched by the limestone boulder clay. A similar enrichment is found to follow the presence of this type of boulder clay in the vicinity of the Silurian hills of Tipperary, whilst the Vale of Aherlow and the Golden Vale of Limerick owe their wealth of soil to the large proportion of limestone and volcanic rocks in the mixed materials of the drifts in those places.

Genealogy in Limerick

Alain — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:06:39 +0000

Limerick, a county of Ireland, province of Munster, bounded N by the Shannon which separates it from Clare, S by Cork, NE and E by Tipperary, and W by Kerry. Its principal rivers are the Maig, Feale, Gale, and Blackwater. It sends 2 members to parliament. The majority of the county of Limerick (Self Catering, Limerick, Ireland) is taken over by a limestone plain known as Golden Vale. The renowned Ardagh Chalice was found in West Limerick in a ring fort. The number of Castles in Limerick (Accommodation, Limerick, Ireland) exceeds any other county in Ireland.

Surnames associated with the county include Sheehan, O’Shaughnessy, O’Meara, Madigan. Woulfe, Cooke, Danaher, O’Grady, Hurley, Hogan, Noonan and O’Connor.

The main towns in County Limerick include Limerick City, Rathkeale, Newcastle, Askeaton, Adare, Croom, Bruff, Hospital, Kilmallock and Kilfinane.

Co. Limerick (Holiday Homes, Limerick, Ireland) experienced substantial emigration to Australia from the 1830s onwards. Large-scale emigration to the United States of America and Canada commenced in the 1840s. The Great Famine was less severe in Limerick in that it caused more emigration than death. The population of County Limerick dropped by 21% during the 1840s and continued to decline until 1900 as a result of continued emigration.

Limerick Regional Archives, The Granary, Michael St, Limerick City, Ireland

The Limerick (Bed and Breakfasts, Limerick, Ireland) Regional Archives is the Irish Family History Foundation’s designated centre for the City and County of Limerick.

Church records in the Limerick Regional Archives area have various starting dates:

The earliest Roman Catholic parish records computerised at this centre start in 1745 and the latest start in 1851

The earliest Church of Ireland (Anglican/Episcopalian) records date from 1692 and the latest from 1845

The Centre has Presbyterian records which commenced in 1828

Methodist records commence in 1824

In addition to these church records, the Limerick (Hotels, Limerick, Ireland) Regional Archives also has access to:

Civil records

Comprehensive property records from the middle of the last century

Tithe records from the period before the Great Famine

The census of 1901

Other major genealogical sources used in genealogical research at the Limerick Regional Archives include:

Trade directories

Monteagle Estate records from 1830

City Hospital records from 1816 to 1820

Cemetery records from 1855 to 1920

A total of over one million genealogical records are at the disposal of staff at the Limerick Regional Archives.

Bed and Breakfasts in Limerick

Alain — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:06:36 +0000

Acacia

Address: 6 Greenview Lawn, Glencairin, Dooradoyle, Limerick City

A humid, friendly, comfortable, welcoming house with a nice garden. Highly suggested with great breakfasts.

Price Range: Book Now

Avondoyle Bed and Breakfast

Address: Ballyclough, Limerick

Avondoyle is situated in a calm countryside area, just five minutes drive south of Limerick City. It is close by the amenities of the city, yet enjoys the tranquillity and peace of the countryside.

Price Range: Book Now

Castle View House

Address: Robin Hill, Drombanna, County Limerick, Ballyneety, Limerick

4 rooms.

Located just 3km from the momentous City of Limerick in the calm East Limerick countryside. Castle View House offers an ideal opening point for anyone wishing to tour counties Cork, Kerry, Galway, Clare and Limerick.

Price Range: Book Now

Shanagarry Bed & Breakfast

Address: Shanagarry, Killarney Road, Newcastlewest, Limerick

A Warm greeting home on outer edge of old market town. Tea/Coffee on influx. 13th Century Castle now open after wide-ranging renovation -located in The Square, Newcastle west. This town is now well-known for its Ballygowan Spring Water, which is exported worldwide.

Price Range: Book Now

Castles in Limerick

Alain — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:06:28 +0000

Fanningstown Castle

Rating: 4 Star

Address: Fanningstown, County Limerick

Sleeps up to 10 people

Located within 3 miles of the pretty village of Adare, Fanningstown Castle dates from the 12th century.

Price Range: Summer and winter rates

Glin Castle

Rating: 4 Star

Address: Glin, County Limerick

15 Rooms

Glin Castle stands on the banks of the River Shannon amidst a 500 acre demense

Price Range: Summer and winter rates