Limerick

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City of Limerick
Urbs Antiqua Fuit Studiisque Asperrima Belli "an ancient city well versed in the arts of war"
Map
WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 52.6652 Lat., -008.6238 Long.
Area:	20.79 km²
County:	County Limerick
Population:	54,023 (2002)
Province:	Munster

Limerick (Irish: Luimneach) is a city and the county seat of County Limerick in the province of Munster, in the midwest of the Republic of Ireland. The city lies on the River Shannon, with three main crossing points near the city centre. It is chiefly renowned for its rugby heritage, including the famous Garryowen rugby club, after which the high rugby kick is named. Limerick has a proud sporting tradition, as the spiritual home of Irish rugby. The population of Limerick including environs is 86,998 while the population of the city itself is 54,023 (CSO, 2002). Limerick is twinned with Quimper in France and Spokane, Washington in the United States.

King John's Castle is a 13th-century castle in the heart of the city near the River Shannon.

Contents 1 History 2 Governance 3 Architecture 4 Transport 5 Education 6 Media and the Arts 7 Economy 8 Famous Limerick People 9 References 10 External links

History

Main article: History of Limerick

The city dates from at least the Viking settlement in 812, but history suggests the presence of earlier settlements in the area. The Normans redesigned the city in the 12th century and added much of the most notable architecture, such as King John's Castle and St Mary's Cathedral. During the civil wars of the 17th century, the city played a pivotal role, besieged by Oliver Cromwell in 1651 and twice by the Williamites in the 1690s. Limerick grew rich through trade in the late 18th century, but the Act of Union in 1800, and the famine caused a crippling economy decline only broken by the so-called Celtic Tiger in the 1990s.

Governance

Limerick City Council has responsibility for certain local services such as sanitation, planning and development, libraries, collection of motor taxation, local roads and social housing. It is run by the elected ward councillors (formerly termed Aldermen) and the County Manager, a civil servant. The councillors annually elect a Mayor to chair the council and represent the City. As of 2005 the current Mayor is Councillor Diarmuid Scully. Despite the rapid growth, the city borders have not been extended since the 1960's. About one third of the suburbs and population, including all of Castletroy, the University and most of Raheen, live in what is officially County Limerick. This area is under the control of Limerick County Council and services are provided by this body. There are local political demands for a redrawing of the boundary.

For national Dáil elections Limerick city is included in Limerick East constituency which elects five members on a proportional representation system. For European parliament elections Limerick is included in the South Ireland constituency which elects three representatives.

Architecture

Main article: Architecture of Limerick

The city center is divided between the traditional areas of "English Town" on the south end of Kings Island, which includes the castle, "Irish Town" which includes the older streets on the south bank, and the current economic center called "Newtown Perry". Newtown Perry was built in the late 18th century before the Act of Union and, unusually for an Irish city and unique in Limerick itself, this area is laid out on a grid plan. The suburban regions, where the majority of the population now live, have grown out from the center along the main roads to Ennis (North Circular & Ennis Road areas /Caherdavin), Dublin (Castletroy and the University) and Cork (Ballinacurra / Dooradoyle /Raheen). Suburban houses are generally two floor semi-detached homes for single families. These were built from the 1960's onwards in large estates by government projects and commercial developments, although there are many examples of Edwardian and older 1930s suburban homes on the main suburban thoroughfares leading towards the city (North & South Circular, Ballinacurra Road, O'Connell Avenue)

Much Georgian architecture was evident in the city from about the 1800s onwards. Although some has since been demolished, much of the Newtown Perry area is built in the Georgian fashion. Other architectural buildings of note in the city are King John's Castle and St Mary's Cathedral in English Town and St John's Cathedral. St Mary's Cathedral, at over 800 years old, is one of the oldest in Ireland. St John's Cathedral, whilst more modern, has one of the tallest steeples.

One of Ireland's most celebrated museums, the Hunt Museum is based in the historic 18th-century former Custom House. The museum was established to house an internationally important collection of approximately 2000 works of art and antiquities formed by John and Gertrude Hunt during their lifetimes. On display are the 9th century Antrim Cross, a sketch by Picasso and a bronze sculpture of a horse, said to be from a design by Leonardo da Vinci.

Transport

Local public transport is provided by Bus Éireann, Ireland's national bus operator. Services to the suburban districts of Caherdavin, Castletroy, Raheen run every 20 minutes; services to other suburbs are less frequent. Buses also run to towns and villages in the county and to Shannon Airport. Intercity and international buses leave from the Bus Éireann bus station adjoining the City's train station. Hourly services to Dublin, Cork and Galway and others; daily to London via ferry services from Rosslare Europort.

Iarnród Éireann's Colbert station is the terminus for frequent services to Dublin and Cork (serving many intermediate stations), a frequent all-day commuter service to Ennis, as well as a three-times daily service to Waterford and stations in County Tipperary. Services to and from Nenagh on the Ballybrophy line will be expanded to include commuter service from 2007. There are also plans to reopen the Western Rail Corridor to Galway and Sligo, closed in the 1970's.

Shannon International Airport, 20 km west of the city in County Clare, has scheduled flights to many European and North American destinations. Airlines using the airport include Ryanair, Aer Lingus and American Airlines. There is currently no rail link to this airport. The Coonagh airfield, a few kilometers north of Caherdavin, provides access for small private aircraft.

Education

Limerick is an important centre of higher education in Ireland after Dublin and Cork, having its own university and several colleges.

The University of Limerick (UL), which is situated about 5 km east of the city center in the suburb of Castletroy, is an internationally renowned center for Engineering, Information Technology, Materials Science, Sports Science, Humanities and Social Sciences and Music (the Irish World Music Centre specialises in traditional music and dance, and UL is host to the Irish Chamber Orchestra). It has a student population of over 12,000.

Limerick Institute of Technology, based about 3 km north-west of the city centre, is an important regional center for business, engineering and science education. It also has a broad range of art and design courses, offered at Limerick School of Art and Design – its Clare Street campus (near the city centre). Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, linked to the University of Limerick, is an education and arts college situated just southwest of the city centre.

Primary and secondary education in the city is organised similarly to the rest of Ireland.

Media and the Arts

Lyric FM, a state-run classical music radio station and part of RTÉ, broadcasts nationally from studios in the city centre. Limerick's local radio station is Live 95FM, broadcasting from 'Radio House', near the waterfront at Steamboat Quay. Several local newspapers are published in the city, including The Limerick Post, the Evening Echo and The Limerick Leader. Limerick is sometimes known by the derogatory nickname "Stab City" due to a high number of murders reported in the national media.

The Belltable Arts Center on O'Connell Street is host for local playwriting and drama. Mike Finn's numerous plays have been wildly successful, including Pigtown set around a century of the city's history, and Shock and Awe, an energetic retelling of Homer's Iliad. The new University Concert Hall provides a large venue for national and international acts to visit the city.

The Limerick City Art Gallery on Pery Square is the city’s chief venue for contemporary art exhibitions. It also is home to a permanent collection of Irish art which shows works from the early 18th to 20th century. Limerick's major contemporary art event is EV+A (Exhibition of Visual+ Art) which invades the city annually, often in bizarre and controversial ways. Established in 1977 EV+A has become one of Ireland's premier annual exhibitions of contemporary art. Selected each year by a new curator, it brings International artworks as well as art by Irish artists to Limerick. The centre of the exhibition is the Limerick City Art Gallery. However, EV+A generally uses numerous other venues throughout the city. Limerick Printmakers Studio and Gallery is a relatively new arts organisations in the city, providing studio facilities to local artists and an exhibition space.

Limerick has a vibrant music scene, which has produced bands such as The Cranberries, Woodstar and The Hitchers. More classically, The Limerick Art Gallery and the Art College cater for painting, sculpture and performance art of all styles. The Irish Chamber Orchestra and the Irish World Music Centre are both based in the University of Limerick. The University has a one-thousand seat state-of-the-art concert hall that frequently hosts visiting performers. Limerick is also home to successful comedians D'Unbelievables (Pat Shortt & Jon Kenny) and Karl Spain

The city served as the setting for Frank McCourt's memoir Angela's Ashes and for the film adaptation of the same name. The Limerick is a type of humorous verse of five lines with an AABBA rhyme scheme, however the poem's connection with the city is obscure.

Economy

Limerick is at the heart of the region dubbed "the Midwest". Also known as the "Shannon Region", this is primarily an economic and social concept. The region encompasses County Limerick, County Clare, North County Tipperary and Northwest County Kerry, with its focal point centred on Limerick and its environs within a 5 mile radius

The area is possibly the main economic region outside of Dublin and Cork. Its economic success has been driven in part by the University of Limerick, Shannon Airport in Co. Clare and Shannon Development (an economic development agency), whose precusor was SFADCO (Shannon Free Airport Development Company), an economic agency that provided tax incentives to companies locating in the area surrounding Shannon Airport.

Historically Limerick would have been an agricultural commodity driven economy, due its position as the first major port along the River Shannon. The city was one of the main meat processing areas within Ireland, and would also have included confectionery and flour production. In line with changing landscape in Ireland, many multi-national companies are now based in Limerick. Dell have their major European Manufacturing Facility in Limerick, currently producing 30,000-60,000 units per day for export to the EMEA. This contributes 5.8% of Irish GDP (2002). Analog Devices have their European manufacturing base in Raheen industrial estate, 3 km south-west of the city centre. The site employs more than 1,000 people. Johnson & Johnson also have a large facility to the south west of the city centre.

The service industry is an important employer in the city. The city centre is one of the main shopping areas in the city, with the pedestrianised Cruises Street being one of the main shopping streets. Each side of the city has outlying shopping areas. Just before Raheen is the Crescent Shopping Centre, Caherdavin has a new Jetland Shopping Centre in 2005 beside the old Jetland centre (featuring a 24-hr Dunnes Stores), and Castletroy has the relatively new Castletroy Shopping Centre, with the Parkway Shopping Centre situated closer in to town at the end of the Childers Road. Two extensive retail parks are also located near this shopping centre, with the latest, the Childers Road retail park (near the Tipperary Road) opened in 2005 (including Maplin - electronics, Dunnes Stores - department store, Smyth's - toys, Next - clothing, JJB Sports - sports equipment/gym.

Famous Limerick People

• Pat Cox, President of the European Parliament 2002-04.
• Steve Finnan, a current soccer star in Liverpool F.C. and a part of Republic of Ireland squad.
• Richard Harris, actor.
• Jim Kemmy, much loved local politician, former Mayor, and historian.
• Frank McCourt, teacher and writer
• Malachy McCourt, actor and writer
• JP McManus, businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist.
• Dolores O'Riordan, popstar with The Cranberries.
• Darren Shan, internationally published children's author.
• Arthur Quinlan, local journalist formerly based at Shannon Airport for the Irish Times.
• Sir Terry Wogan, presenter on BBC radio.

References

1. The History of Limerick City, by Sean Spellissy (1998)

External links

• Limerick-City.com
• Limerick City Council
• Limerick.com
• Interactive Map
• Limerick map at Google Local
• limerick-ireland.com
• Limerick Post Newspaper
• Architecture of Limerick

	City of Limerick
	Topics: People | History | Architecture | Mayor
	Education: UL | LIT | Mary I | Art & Design
	Regions: Centre | Castletroy | Caherdavin | Plassey | Raheen
	Landmarks: Bunratty | St. Mary's | King John's Castle | St. John's | Hunt Museum

Cities in Ireland

Republic of Ireland: Dublin | Cork | Limerick | Galway | Waterford | Kilkenny

Northern Ireland: Belfast | Derry | Armagh | Newry | Lisburn

	Counties of Ireland
Connacht: Galway (~City) | Leitrim | Mayo | Roscommon | Sligo
Munster: Clare | Cork (~City) | Kerry | Limerick (~City) | Tipperary (North~; South~) | Waterford (~City)
Leinster: Carlow | Dublin (~City; Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown; Fingal; South~) | Kildare | Kilkenny | Laois | Longford | Louth | Meath | Offaly | Westmeath | Wexford | Wicklow
Ulster: Antrim * | Armagh * | Cavan | Donegal | Down * | Fermanagh * | Londonderry * | Monaghan | Tyrone *
* denotes counties in Northern Ireland (others are in the Republic of Ireland); italics denotes non-administrative counties; (parentheses) denotes non-traditional counties

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