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LIMERICK. 



LIMERICK. 



(kin. retty MnioM ar* hald in Uia town. KH/lua»e, litiisted 5 mila* 

 8. bjr E. ftrom KilouUlook, popalation HIS, oonUins • churob and a 

 Roman Catliolio chapaL In the vicinity are the dilapidated round 

 tower and mined abbey of Ardpatrick, and the remains of Caatle 

 Oliver, an old teat of the Olirer family, which gave name to the high 

 hilla among which it atanda. Kilfinane hai a petty-aeaaions court, a 

 bridawall, and a feTW hoapital ; the town ia nead-qoarten of the 

 diatriot poUoa. MoiUptUitr, a rillafre of 441 inbabitanta, itanda 

 8 mQaa K. firom Caatle-Connell, on the left bank of the Shannon, 

 oppoaite the village of O'Brirn'a Bridge. Palliu-Kemy, a small 

 nwket-town of 613 inbabitanta, ia aituatad about 7 miles W. from 

 Limerick. Petty seaaiona are held here. At a abort distance on the 

 road to Limerick are Elm Park, the aeat of Lord Clarina, and Tervoe, 

 the fine mansion of W. T. Monsell, Esq., M.P., in the demesne sur- 

 rounding which are the extensive ruins of Carriokagonniel Castle, an 

 old aeat of the O'Briena, kings of Munster. Shanagoiden, 23 miles W. 

 from Limerick, population 770, has a small church, a Roman Catholic 

 oliapel, and a petty-feasions court. About a mile east of Shanagoiden 

 are the fine ruins of Manistir-na-Qillagb Abbey ; and a little south of 

 It are the remains of Shanid Castle, one of the ancient strongholds of 

 the Deamond branch of the Fitzgeralds, whose motto, ' Shanid-a-boo ' 

 (Shanid for ever), originated with this old warlike residence. This 

 oastle dates from the 12th century. 



The county of Limerick lies chiefly in the sees of Limerick and 

 Emly ; but eniall portions of it lielong to the diocenes of Cashel and 

 Killaloe. It returns four members to the Imperial Parliament, two 

 for the county and two for the city of Limerick. Assizes ore held 

 in the city of Limerick, where are the county prison, the county 

 infirmary, and the district lunatic asylum for the counties of Clare, 

 Limerick, and Kerry. Quarter seaiions are held in Limerick, Bruff, 

 NpwcAiitle, and liathkenle, in which towns, and in Croom, Qlin, and 

 Kilfinane, there are bridewella. Petty sessions are held in 22 places. 

 The medical charities of the county include, besides those already 

 mentione<l, fever hospitals in Limerick, Adare, Kilfinane, Newcastle, 

 and ItaUikeale ; and 32 dispensaries. 



There was one savings bank in the county in 1852, at Limerick : 

 the total amount due to depositors on Kovember 20th 1852 was 

 93,0371. &s 6d. The Cnion workhousea are at Limerick, Kilmnllock, 

 Newcastle, Rathkeale, Croom, and Olin. The county is the head- 

 quarters of the Limerick Military Division, which includes also Clare 

 iad Oalway counties, and parts of Kerry, King's County, and Tippe- 

 rary. A barrack station is at Newcastle, and the staff of the county 

 militia is stationed in Limerick city. The county constabulary num- 

 bers 667 men and officers, and is distributed into 10 districts, 

 comprising 95 stations, of which Limerick is the bead-quarters. In 

 September 1852 there were 124 National schools in operation, attended 

 by 9382 male and 11,565 female scholars. 



BittoTj) ttttd Antiquitia. — Prior to the arrival of the English in 

 Ireland Limerick constituted part of Thomond. Donald O'Brien 

 waa prince of this territory at the time of the English invasion, and, 

 notwithstanding grants of his lands made by Henry II., first to the 

 family of the Earl of Cornwall, and next to Philip de Braoaa, neither 

 of whom could get possession, Donald held his princedom till bis death 

 in 1194. In 1199 King John renewed his father's gntnts to the 

 De Braoaa family, and bestowed the city of Limerick and the cantred 

 adjoining on William de Burgho, to whom he committed the custody 

 of the city. William de Braoaa was afterwards attainted, and bis lands 

 reverted to the crown. A |H>rtion of the forfeited lands, comprising 

 the barony of Owneybeg, was then conferred on Theobald Fitz- Walter, 

 the ancestor of the Ormonde family, and other portions on Hamo de 

 Taloia, William Fitz-Adelm de Buigho, and Thomaa, son of Maurice 

 Fitzgerald, the ancestor of the great family of Desmond, which subse- 

 quently became poaaaaied of the greater part of the counties of 

 Limerick, Kerry, Cork, and Watcrford. The estates of Gerald, the 

 16tb earl, who finally forfeited the family property, in the county of 

 Limerick alone consisted of 96,165 acres, which were granted among 

 twelve individuals, most of whose names are now extinct in the county. 

 The foifeituraa which ensued after the rebellion of 1641, in which this 

 oonnty took a very prominent part, embraced almost the entire 

 coimty, and introduced a numerous new proprietary. The war of the 

 Rerolntion tcrniinatod in further forfeitures comprising 14,188 acres. 

 The families of Fitzgerald, Bice, Trant, and Brown were the principal 

 Buffcrers. A spirit of insubordination among the peasantry, arising, 

 it ia said, from the severe exaction of rack-rcnta, broke out into insur- 

 NOtionary acta in 1762, 1786, and 1793. These at the time were 

 rappreaaed, and many of the ringleaders executed. In 1815, 1817, 

 and finally in 1821-22, the peaaantry, from a similar cause, rose in 

 arms, and after several severe conflicts with the king's troops they 

 were put flown. Croat numbers of the pcaaantnr who were taken were 

 •scouted or traiu<port<>d, and the famine of 1828, added to the rigour 

 of summary justice, completely broke the sphit of the insurgents. 



Limerick is among the richest of the Irish counties in antiquities, 

 several of which have been already mentioned. The cyolopean 

 remains, stone circles, pillar stones, and altars, on the banka of the 

 beautiful Lough Our, are so numerous and gigantic as to form one 

 of the most msgnificcnt collections of primeval remains in existence. 

 Military earthen works are numerous in all parts of the county. The 

 I argeat raths are thoM at Bruree, Kilpeaoon, Pallasgreen, Shanid, and 



Kilfinane. At Carrigveo, near Croom, are the remains of a round 

 tower still 60 feet in heighL The ruins of religious bouses are vary 

 numerous. The river Camaigue alone has tha ruins of seven nligioua 

 houses on its banks. Manistw-Nenagb, the most oousiderable of taese, 

 is the most extensive pile of monastic ruins in Munster. It waa 

 founded by O'Brien, king of Limerick, in 1 1 48. The entire number 

 of such foundations in the county waa about 85, chiefly erected by 

 members of the houao of Desmond. Of the caatles of the early pro- 

 prietors nearly 100 still remain. Of these the most remarkable are — 

 Croom Castle and Shanid Castle, which have been already mentioned. 

 Cappagh Caatle, near the bamlot of Croagb, 4 miles from Adare, on the 

 bi^ road from Limerick to Rathkaale, was another seat of tho Fitz- 

 geralds. Part of the keep, 100 feet high, is still standing. It ia 

 remarkable for the superior style in which it is built, the quoin-stones 

 being polished. At Castlo-Connell are the ruins of a noble castle, a 

 seat of the O'Briens. Carrickagonnicl Castle, another stronghold of 

 the O'Briens, is boldly situated on a basaltic rock rising suddenlr 

 from the plain to a height of several hundred feet above the left bank 

 of the Shannon. It was blown up in the war of the Revolution ; but, 

 although 84 barrels of gunpowder were exploded under it, two of the 

 towers are still tolerably perfect. 



LIMERICK, Ireland, the capital of the county of Limerick, a city, 

 a municipal and parliamentary borough, a aeo-port, and the aeat of a 

 Poor-Law Union, is situated on the Shannon, in 52° 40' N. lat, 8° 35' 

 W. long., distant 1194 miles W.S.W. from Dublin by road ; 129 miles 

 by the Qreat Southern and Western, and the Limerick and Waterford 

 railways. In 1851 the population of the city was 53,448. Tha 

 borough is governed by 10 aldermen and 30 councillors, one of whom 

 is mayor; and returns two members to the Impenal Parliament. 

 Limerick Poor-Law Union comprises 34 electoral divisions, with an 

 area of 177,951 acres, and a population in 1851 of 110,628. 



The town is built on both sides of the Shannon, and on King's 

 Island, a tract about a mile long and from a quarter to half a mila 

 broad, lying nearly north and south, with the main stream on its west 

 side. Englishtown, the oldest part of the city, occupies the southern 

 end of the island. On the west it is connected by Thomond-bridge 

 with Thomond-gate, a suburb of considerable extent on the county 

 Clare side of the Shannon. Irishtown, which ia next in antiquity to 

 Englishtown, lies to the south of it on the left bank of the smaller 

 branch of the Shannon, which is called the Abbey, or Salmon Weir 

 River. Newtown Pery, which has sprung up withiu tbe last sixty years, 

 extends to the south-west of Irishtown, on a gentle elevation along tha 

 left bank of the reunited river. 



Tho ancient city of Limerick is by some supposed to be the Regia 

 of PtoIemiEus. It was a place of some note in the 5 th century when 

 visited by Patrick. Tbe I):ines made their first attempt on Limerick 

 in 812; and, although repeatedly baffled, succeeded about the middle 

 of the century in getting possession of the place. Towards the close 

 of the lOtb century they were reduced by tbe celebrated Brian 

 Boroimhe, and rendered tributary to tbe kings of Munster. Tbe 

 effectual introduction of EngliKb government did not take place till 

 the time of Henry IL [LiMEmoK, County of.] King John iu 1210 

 visited Limerick, and caused Thomond-bridge to be erected over tha 

 Shannon, the castle of Limerick tu bo built, and established a mint in 

 the city. Qreat numbers of English settlers now arrived, and the city 

 continued to prosper until tho invasion of Ireland by Edward Bruce, 

 who burned the suburbs in 1314, and during the winter of 1316 made 

 Limerick the rendezvoua for his Irish allies. On the termination of 

 this war the fortificatious of the town were increased. In thn wara 

 succeeding the rebellion of 1641 the city was seized by the Roman 

 Catholics, became tbe head-quartera of their supreme council, and was 

 for several years the scene of great commotion and outrage. In 1651 

 it surrendered to the army of the Parliament uudcr General Ireton. 

 At the Revolution Limerick declared for King James. After the 

 battle of the Boyne and the flight of James it was unsuccessfully 

 besieged by King William. In the following year the town was 

 invested by the army of William, under General Ginkol. The besieged 

 having been closely pressed for some weeks proposed an armistice, 

 when negotiations were opened, which terminated, on tbe 3rd of 

 October, in tbe signature of the celebrated treaty of Limerick. 



The city now oegan slowly to recover from the effects of theae 

 repeated diaastera. In 1697 the caatle in the Irishtown was thrown 

 down, and a market-house erected on its site ; and iu 1717 the Abbey 

 River was partly quayed in. About 1760, besides aeveral new roads, 

 a canal was commenced, by which tho Shannon was rendered navigable 

 to Killaloe. In 1761 a commodious bridge was erected between 

 Englishtown and the southern bank of the main river. In 1796 tbe 

 buildings of the Irishtown began to exteud along the southern bank of 

 tho main river, on an open elevated plot of ground called South Prior's 

 lAnd, or Newtown Pery. This division now constitutes the best part 

 of Limerick, and is justly considered one of the most elegant towns in 

 Ireland. Englishtown is closely built, with confused lines of narrow 

 and irregular streets. It has been deserted by the wealthier classes, 

 and although it still contains several important buildings, it presents 

 a general appearance of wretchedness and decay. The older part of 

 Irishtown is similar in character, but on the whole it is better built 

 and inhabited, and contains several straight and well-formed streets, 

 especially in the line of the Dublin road, and at tho south-east side of 



