Attractions

Visitors to Limerick City will certainly have no problems in finding things to see and things to do. The historic nature of Ireland's third largest city, and indeed the beautiful nature of its environs, provide many areas of interest. Click Here for an interactive map of Places of Interest

A brief taste of what may be found in Limerick City would include:

King John's Castle

King John's Castle, on the south side of Thomond Bridge head, built in  1210 "to dominate the bridge and watch towards Thomond", is one of the finest specimens of fortified Norman architecture in Ireland.

The castle is roughly square on plan and its 60 meter frontage along the river is flanked by two massive round towers, each over 15m. in diameter with walls 3m. thick. The tower nearest the Bridge, the first portion of the castle to be erected, still bears the scars of the besieging cannon of 1691. Eastwards of this tower in the north wall, is the castle gate entrance - a tall, narrow gateway between two tall, round towers. There is another massive round tower at the north east corner of the fortification, but the east wall and the square tower defending the south-east corner of the castle, and on which cannons were mounted, is long demolished. On the three land sides, the castle was protected by a deep, broad moat, fed with water from the Shannon. Only the narrow drawbridge to the castle gate gave admittance.

There was a military barracks erected within the walls in 1751, some of which still remains. Houses were also erected in the castle yard at a very much later date.

The walls and towers still remaining of the castle are in reasonably good state of preservation, and work is continuing to improve their conditions. Some of the rooms in the tower blocks are being brough back into use.

St. Mary's Cathedral

At the junction of Nicholas Street and Bridge Street stands St. Mary's Cathedral, the ecclesiastical centre of the fortress for hundreds of years. The full title of this Cathedral is the "Cathedral and Parochial Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary". It was built in 1172 by Donal Mor O'Brien, the last King of Munster. The original plan of the church was in the form of a Latin cross. Additions were made to the Cathedral, two centuries later, during the episcopate of Stephen Wall, Bishop of Limerick. At the time of the religious revolt of the sixteenth century, the Cathedral passed out of Catholic hands. Catholic worship was restored, however, during the Confederate Wars and the short ill-fated reign of James II.

Tourists will find excellent documentation of historical remains within the ancient Cathedral itself. Most noteworthy relics of the past are the ancient altar stone used when Mass was celebrated in the Cathedral, and the splendidly carved misericords in the choir. These miserichords are unique in Ireland as the only surviving pre-Elizabethan carvings, and probably date from 1480 when Bishop Folan restored St. Mary's. Of the 21 carvings, 16 are different,  representing such mediaeval emblems as a two-legged one-horned goat, a griffin, a sphinx, a wild boar, an angel, a head resembling Henry IV, a dragon biting its tail, antelopes with intertwined necks, a swan, an eagle, the Lion of Judah with a dragon, and a cockatrice holding its tail.

The Treaty Stone

Limerick City's most famous monument, the Treaty Stone gets its name from the tradition that The Treaty of Limerick, 03 October 1691, was signed on the stone itself. This tradition dates back at least to 1797, when John Harden of Cork mentions it in his diary, and Dr. Young, Bishop of Limerick, born in the city in 1746, so described it to Dr. Milner, Vicar Apostolic of London, in 1808.

The stone, a block of limestone, stood outside the Black Bull public house in Thomondgate, where it was used as a step for mounting horses. In this position it was attacked by souvenir hunters, and to prevent this, a subscription was begun in 1863, which resulted in its erection onto a pedestal opposite its former position , in 1865. The Treaty Stone bears little resemblance to its former shape, in fact it is little more than half its original size; the missing parts are dispersed all over the United States and Canada in tiny chips.

The stone was moved once again in 198?, the proximity to the corner of Thomond Bridge and the busy traffic from High Road, raising fears that the stone and pedestal may have caused the road to collapse and cave in. The stone and pedestal were moved only ?? metres and are still located in Clancy's Strand,  within walking distance of Thomond Bridge.
 
For further information on what to do and see when in Limerick, contact the Tourist Information Centre, located in Arthurs Quay in the City Centre. The centre is open all year round and is the ideal starting point for visitors to our city. 
Telephone : +353 - 61 - 317 522

Concerts/Theatre

University Concert Hall, Limerick
University Concert Hall, Limerick, is Ireland's first purpose built concert hall. UCH is a 1,000 seat venue playing host to a variety of live entertainment, concerts, recitals, drama, comedy, dance and grand opera.

Belltable Arts Centre, Limerick
A contact point for the arts in the Mid West, Belltable provides access to all forms of performance and visual arts through the widest variety of formats including: Theatre, Dance, Music and Literature, as well as developing outreach and education programmes. Belltable continues to offer an exciting programme of theatre, dance, visual arts, film, music, comedy and in the Spring, the annual festival of fringe theatre UNFRINGED brings a whole range of weird and wonderful happenings to the Belltable

The 75 Gallery, Limerick

Shopping

Limerick, has many pedestrianised and shopping areas where you can find small family shops and modern department stores catering for all your needs.

The best areas for shopping in Limerick are Cruises Street, Arthurs Quay Shopping centre, Patrick Street and William St. O'Connell Street.

The Milk Market, a daily market at the corner of Ellen Street and Wickham Street, is a great place to spend a morning wandering through the stalls.

Churches

St. Mary's Cathedral, Limerick
The oldest building in Limerick is this Protestant church, known for its beautiful architecture.

St. John's Cathedral, Limerick

Saint Munchin's Catholic Church, Limerick
Built in 1827, this church has an unusual square tower and is no longer a working place of worship.

Sports

Limerick Greyhound Stadium, Limerick

Limerick Race Course, Limerick
Horse racing is a popular pastime in Ireland: why not check out one of the best?

Museums

Adare Heritage Centre, Limerick
A museum exploring the history and culture of the region.

Limerick City Gallery of Art, Limerick

Hunt Museum, Limerick
Small but impressive museum containing a large collection of medieval European artifacts.

Limerick Museum, Limerick

Lough Gur Visitor Centre, Limerick

Water Colour Collection of Ireland, Limerick
UCH is housed in the Foundation Building and located on the 2nd floor is part of the Irish Water Colour Collection. The National Self Portrait collection can be seen on the 3rd floor. Both exhibitions may be viewed free of charge when visiting UCH

Tourist/visitor centers

Tourist Information, Limerick

Visit the City

Angela's Ashes Walking Tour, Limerick
Walk through the most important sites depicted in Frank McCourt's best-selling autobiography "Angela's Ashes."

The Custom House, Limerick
The Custom House was designed by Italian architect Daviso de Arcort better known as Davis Ducart. Davis Ducart was well known in Ireland for his work in smaller country houses. It was the administrative centre for the Revenue and it was also the home of the Collector. In the 1840’s with the introduction of a new postal system a Penny Post Office was opened in The Custom House.

Cratloe Woods House, Limerick
was reputedly started in 1730 and it was extended considerably by the mid-nineteenth century. Set in its own grounds, it is an impressive example of the Irish long house which existed since medieval times. Resided in by members of the O'Brien family in 1783, it was then called Cratloe Hall. In more recent years the Stafford O'Briens moved to Cratloe Woods. Up until 1990 Robert Guy O'Brien lived there. Robert's cousins, the Brickendens, moved to Cratloe Woods from Co. Wicklow. The house is open to the public during the Summer months.

Cratloe Woods, Limerick
A trail runs through the woodland which will take you all around the length of the wood. The trail is 3 km. long and has an obstacle course for the more adventurous. Picnic sites are dotted all around the area. The Shannon Estuary, Bunratty and the unique Clare landscape can be seen from the viewing points.

Arthur's Quay Park, Limerick
A bucolic refuge situated amidst the bustle of downtown Limerick.

Sarsfield Bridge, Limerick

Market Quarter, Limerick

Trailing

Please visit Shannon Region Trails website