The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868

LIMERICK, comprises the parishes of St. Mary, St. Nicholas, St. Michael, St. Munchin, St. John, St. Lawrence, and others; it is a maritime city, municipal and parliamentary borough, seaport, county of itself, and county town of county Limerick, between which and county Clare it is situated, in the province of Munster, Ireland, 51 miles N. of Cork, and 119½ W.S.W. of Dublin by road, or 129 by the Great Southern and Western railway, on which it is a station. It is also the terminus of the Waterford and Limerick railway. This ancient and important city is supposed by some antiquaries to have been the Regia mentioned by Ptolemy, and the Rosse-de-Nailleagh of the Annals of Multifernan, and is subsequently described under the name of Lumneach, whence its English designation is supposed to have been derived.

The first authentic notices of Limerick represent it as a Danish settlement, and one of their principal maritime stations. In the middle of the 9th century the Danes surrounded it with walls and towers, which enclosed the area now occupied by the English town. For nearly a century their power continued to increase, till Brien Boroimhe, King of Munster and Thomond, subjected it to a tribute of 365 tons of wine of 32 gallons each, to be paid annually. In 1106 Murtogh removed to here the seat of royalty, and Limerick continued to be the residence of the kings of Thomond, or North Munster, until its conquest by the English in the reign of Henry II., who placed a garrison here. After Henry's departure Donald O'Brien, King of Thomond, regained possession of it; but in 1175 it was retaken by Raymond le Gros, who obtained a great booty and secured it by a garrison. Upon the death of Earl Strongbow it was again evacuated by the English, and subsequently burned by order of Donald, who declared that it should no longer be a nest for foreigners. In 1179 it was granted, with the kingdom of Limerick, to Herbert Fitz-Herbert; but he failed, as did likewise Philip de Braosa, to secure the conquest. In the reign of John it received its first charter of incorporation, and was committed to the custody of William de Burgo, who formed a settlement which from that period set at defiance all the efforts of the Irish. A strong castle and bridge were erected, and many English families settled within its jurisdiction. In 1234 the city was taken, after a siege of four days, by Richard, Earl Marshal of England, then in rebellion; and by the continued wars in the surrounding country, especially among the O'Briens, De Burghs, De Clares, and Fitzgeralds, its progress in commercial prosperity appears to have been greatly checked. In 1316 Edward Bruce terminated his career of conquest southward at this place, and kept his court here until the following Easter. During the 15th century the fortifications, which previously had enclosed only the English town, were so extended as to include the portion on the S. bank of the Shannon, called the Irish Town, which was completed by the erection of St. John's Gate, in 1495. In 1467 a mint was established here, and in 1495 the brotherhood of the guild of merchants was instituted. Parliaments were held here by Gerald, Earl of Kildare, in 1484, and by Sir Anthony St. Leger in 1543: in which latter divers important Acts were passed. During the whole of the Tudor period the country was in a state of political commotion-sometimes in open revolt against the English sovereignty, and at others distracted by local feuds resulting from the commercial jealousies between Limerick and Galway, which not unfrequently resulted in open hostilities. The steady adherence of Limerick, however, to the royal cause in the reign of Elizabeth greatly facilitated its progress, so that a contemporary writer describes it as a place well and substantially built, with walls extending round a circuit of about 3 miles; and Sir Henry Sydney, the Lord Deputy, when he visited it in 1567, 1569, and 1676, states that he was received here with greater magnificence than he had hitherto experienced in Ireland. In 1642 the citizens threw open the gates upon the approach of the insurgent army, under Lord Ikerrin and General Barry, who besieged the royal garrison of 200 men in the castle. It was subsequently garrisoned by the Marquis of Ormond and Earl Castlehaven for the king, and sustained a siege of six months in 1651, when Ireton invested the town. During the siege a brilliant sally was made by O'Nial, who commanded the garrison, on the besiegers, which nearly proved fatal to the parliamentarian army. The siege being protracted until the approach of winter, famine, misery, and death made formidable ravages among the ranks of both parties; and the city would not even then have been taken, only for some officers of the garrison who took possession of one of the gates and turned the cannon against the city. The garrison were suffered to march out unarmed, and the inhabitants to remove their effects to such place as they might be assigned to live, while the soldiers and English adventurers were installed in the forfeited houses at six years' purchase, and for five years the city was subjected to military government. The siege cost the parliamentarians one of their bravest generals, Ireton, who died here of the plague. In 1656 the municipal government was restored by the election of a mayor and 12 English aldermen. The accession of James II. once more threw the government of the city into the hands of the Roman Catholic party; and after the battle of the Boyne the Earl of Tyrconnel established his vice-regal court here. The fortifications and natural defences of the town were speedily restored, and the Irish army, under Generals Boileau and Sarsfield, prepared to resist the victorious arms of William III., who was unable, with his 20,000 veteran troops, to take the town, though he assaulted it three times. In 1691 it capitulated, after six weeks' siege, to Ginkell, who signed a treaty, as is said, on the "Treaty Stone," near the Clare end of Thomond Bar, promising the Roman Catholic inhabitants free toleration of their religion; but this treaty was violated in Queen Anne's time. During the Scottish rebellion, in 1745, strenuous precautions were employed to prevent any commotion, but no symptom of disaffection was discovered; and in 1760 Limerick was declared to be no longer a fortress, and the dismantling of its walls and other defences was immediately commenced, and completed by slow degrees, as the extension of the various improvements rendered it necessary. The modern town, built on King's Island and on both sides of the Shannon, consists of three portions-the English Town, the Irish Town, and Newtown-Pery. The two first constitute the older part of the town, and are subject to occasional inundation by storms and high tides, which on several occasions have caused the loss of many lives and property. The houses of the English Town are antique, chiefly built in the Flemish fashion, and the streets are dirty and ill paved, most of the wealthy inhabitants having removed to the New Town, which is one of the handsomest modern towns in Ireland, containing New-square, Richmond-place, and many good streets. It stands on elevated ground below the union of the two streams of the Shannon, and has been wholly built within the present century, on property belonging to the Pery family. On the Clare side of the river is the populous suburb of Thomondgate, once the only entrance to the ancient city, and protected by a strong castle, which is still of considerable extent. There are five bridges; one of which, the Wellesley bridge, is a five-arched structure crossing the harbour. It was built in 1827, of stone, at a cost of £85,000, and has a swing-bridge for shipping. Thomond bridge, to Irish Town, was rebuilt in 1839, to replace the old level fourteen-arched bridge constructed in 1210. Baal's bridge, of one arch, rebuilt in 1831. Park bridge, across the canal, which shortens a bend of the Shannon. New. Bridge, over Abbey river, to King's Island; besides Athlunkard bridge, on the Killaloe road, built in 1830. The principal buildings are the cathedral, mentioned below; the county court house, built in 1810, at a cost of £12,000; city court-house, built in 1763, measuring 60 feet by 30 feet, with a gaol attached; county gaol, built in 1821 in the castellated style, with a tower 60 feet high; customhouse, built in 1769; exchange, in 1778; Commercial buildings, erected in 1806, where the Chamber of Commerce meet; townhall, linen hall, flax factory, lace factory, district lunatic asylum, which admits 347 patients; Bushy Park lunatic asylum; workhouse and auxiliaries, capable of containing 4,000 inmates; model school, savings-bank, three commercial banks, literary institution, to which is attached a library and mechanics' institute; theatre, assembly-rooms, Mount St. Vincent Orphanage, County hospital, built in 1759; Barrington's hospital, or city infirmary; fever and lock hospitals; markets for corn, butter, meat, and hay; a chief police station, four military barracks, comprising the Castle, Keith's Strand Ordnance, St. John's, and Boherboy; police barrack, and lately the Mont de Piété, or charitable pawn-house: this last was a handsome building with portico and dome; but its affairs having become involved, it was wound up about ten years ago. There are seven breweries, distilleries, tanneries, foundries, flour mills, a patent slip for vessels of 500 tons, and three shipbuilding slips; also Russell's provision stores, covering three acres, paper mills, and others. Limerick is also celebrated for the manufacture of fishing-hooks and of lace, which latter was introduced by the Walkers in 1829. The manufacture of linen, which had nearly expired, has recently been revived through the enterprise of Messrs. Russell and Sons; and that of gloves continues, chiefly for houses in Cork. For the purposes of local government the city is divided into eight wards, each electing one alderman. It is governed by a mayor, who is admiral of the port, &c., 8 aldermen, and 32 councillors, with other officers, bearing the style of "the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of Limerick." It has a revenue of about £8,100, derived from tolls and customs, supplemented by the rents of houses and lands and the fishery of the salmon weir. It comprises an area of 60¾ square miles, or 38,863 acres. The population in 1861 was 44,476, against 53,448 in 1851, showing a decrease of 8,972 in the decennial period. The borough returns two members to parliament since the passing of the Reform Bill, the bounds being those of the county of the city, which include Newtown-Pery, in St. Michael's parish, the Old or English and Irish Town, in St. Mary's, also Cahirnarry, Cahirvally, Derrygalvin, Donoughmore, Killeely, Kilmurry, St. Patrick, and parts of Abingdon, Carrigparson, Crecora, Kilkeedy, Kilnegarruff, Knocknegaul, Mungret, and Stradbally, besides several extra parochial places. The constituency in 1860 was 2,013, the sheriffs being the returning officers. The net annual value of property under the Tenement Valuation Act is £63,237. The assizes for the county and county of the city are held here, also quarter and petty sessions. The mayor holds a court of conscience for pleas under 40s., and the assistant-barrister holds a civil bill court for the county and city. Limerick Poor-law Union contains 19 electoral divisions in counties Limerick and Clare, with 34 guardians. The city is the headquarters of the South-Western military district, and contains artillery, cavalry, and infantry barracks; there is also a city police barrack. The Hanging Gardens, constructed in 1808 by William Roche, Esq., at an expense of £15,000, form a singular ornament to the town, being raised on arches from 25 to 40 feet high, with ranges of hothouses and greenhouses at the angles. The facade of these gardens extends about 200 feet, and the top of the highest terrace, which is 70 feet above the street, commands a most extensive view of the city and the Shannon, the noblest river in Ireland. The harbour at the head of the estuary extends above 1,600 yards in length and 150 in breadth, with from 2 to 9 feet at low water, and 19 at spring tides, which latter enables vessels of 600 tons to moor at the quays, on which there are cranes. The quayage and wharfage, which extend for 1,600 yards, cost above £18,000 in the erection. The commerce of the port has recently considerably increased, and the management is invested, under the amended Act of 10 and 11 Vict., cap. 198, in 43 commissioners, who have the direction of tolls, &c. Its subports are Clare, Dingle, Kilrush, and Tarbert. The chief exports are beef, pork, butter, bacon, wheat, oats, oatmeal, flour, beans, barley, &c., and all sorts of agricultural produce. Trout, eels, perch, pike, and salmon are caught in the Shannon-the last being the property of the corporation. An Irish Western Yacht Club was established here twenty years ago. Four newspapers are published in the town-the Limerick Chronicle, the Limerick Reporter and Tipperary Vindicator, the Munster News, and the Southern Chronicle. Ever since the 7th century it has been the seat of a bishopric, formerly in the province of Cashel, but now in that of Dublin. In 1195 the bishopric was increased by the accession of Innisattery, and in 1650 by the amalgamation of the sees of Ardfert and Aghadoe, together comprising 116 benefices, in the counties of Limerick and Clare, of which 11 are unions, 23 in the patronage of the bishop, and 5 in that of the crown. The chapter comprises a dean, archdeacon, precentor, chancellor, treasurer, and 11 prebendaries. Limerick Palace is the residence of the bishop, whose income amounts to about £5,000 per annum. The livings within the liberties of the city are: St. Mary's, a rectory with St. Nicholas, Cappagh, Cahirnarry, Braves, and Mungret annexed, constituting the corps of the deanery, joint value £400, in the patronage of the crown; St. Michael's, a rectory with Ardagh and Kildimo annexed, value £450, in the patronage of the bishop, the living being generally held by the archdeacon; St. Munchin, a rectory with Drehidtarsna and Killonehan annexed, value £350, in the patronage of the bishop. The other livings-viz: St. Lawrence, St. John, St. Patrick, and St. Michael, or St. George-are of small value. The cathedral, which serves as the parish church of St. Mary, is a venerable Gothic building situated in the English Town. It was originally founded by Donald O'Brien, King of Limerick, in 1200, but re-edified by the citizens in 1490, and carefully restored after the wars of the 17th century, and improved at various subsequent periods. It is a large heavy building surrounded with graduated battlements, and has at the W. end a square tower 120 feet high, surmounted by turrets at the angles, and containing a peal of eight bells. The choir is 90 feet by 30, with a fine window at the E. end, and in front of the communion-table is a modern Gothic screen. It contains a curiously carved episcopal throne, and the splendid tomb of Donogh, the great Earl of Thomond, composed of three compartments of marble of different colours, and surrounded by pillars of the Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite orders, and decorated with his arms and various trophies. Also several side chapels, formerly endowed, and a fine monument of the Galway family. Besides the cathedral there are five Protestant churches within the city. The total number of parishes within the diocese is 92, of which 17 are unions; and the number of churches 42, besides several chapels-of-ease and other places licensed for Divine service. In the Roman Catholic divisions the see is a separate diocese within the province of Cashel, comprising 40 parochial benefices, or unions, and about twice that number of chapels. The bishop's parishes are those of SS. John and Patrick, both in the county of the city. The church of St. John, which is a cruciform structure erected in 1753, is considered the cathedral. There are besides four parochial and four conventual Roman Catholic chapels within the city. The residence of the Roman Catholic bishop is Park House. There are within the city five Protestant Dissenting places of worship, and several conventual establishments, including the Austin friary, which was formerly the theatre. Of the early conventual establishments the only one of which traces still exist is the Dominican friary of Donagh O'Brien, founded in 1327. Of the town walls, which had 17 gates at one time, some remnants exist, as also the two round towers and handsome gateway of King John's Castle, at Thomond Bridge; also parts of the citadel and the Black Battery, raised by William III. From this place the family of Pery, of Limerick House, take the titles of earl and viscount. Wednesdays and Saturdays are market days. Fairs are held on Easter Tuesday, 4th July, 4th August, and 4th December; also the Great Munster fair, in spring and autumn."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2018