As with other cities in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, Limerick

Limerick

Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...

 has a history of great architecture. A 1574 document prepared for the Spanish ambassador attests to its wealth and fine architecture:

Limerick is stronger and more beautiful than all the other cities of Ireland, well walled with stout walls of hewn marble... There is no entrance except by stone bridges, one of the two of which has 14 arches, and the other 8 ... for the most part the houses are of square stone of black marble and built in the form of towers and fortresses.

Many examples remain in the city to the present day - though much has been lost also, through wars, decay and modern development. Present-day Limerick has perhaps not as extensive historical architecture as other Irish cities, though some very notable examples remain, such as the 800-year-old St. Mary's Cathedral and King John's Castle.

St. John's Cathedral

St. John's Cathedral (the main body of which was designed by English architect Philip Charles Hardwick

Philip Charles Hardwick

-Life:Philip Charles Hardwick was a notable English architect of the 19th century who was once described as "a careful and industrious student of mediaeval art"...

, and constructed between 1856 and 1861), while more modern than St. Mary's, has one of the tallest steeples (a later addition, designed by M.A. Hennessy and completed in 1883). The exterior of St. John's was completely refurbished in 2004, with new roofing and repointing of all stonework. The cathedral today cuts an imposing presence on an otherwise undeveloped side of the city centre. An important historical Protestant church sits near the cathedral also, and although in need of some repair, is now in use today by the Daghda dance company.

Medieval Limerick

The medieval city of Limerick is largely concentrated on the southern section of Kings Island known as Englishtown and south of the Abbey river in an area known as Irishtown, just to the north of the present day city center. The island contains some of Limerick's main attractions including King John's Castle which was completed in around 1200. The walls, towers and fortifications remain today. The remains of a Viking settlement was also uncovered during the construction of the visitor centre at the site. St. Mary's Cathedral was founded in 1168 and is recorded as the oldest building in Limerick. It was built on an earlier castle belonging to the King of Munster. Nicholas street and Mary Street the medieval center of Limerick contained many examples of medieval buildings including tall gabled houses in the Flemish or Dutch fashion. Unfortunately, very little, if any of this streetscape remains today. Following the development of Newtown Pery this area of the city went into decline. Today both the Englishtown and Irishtown areas remain neglected and dilapidated in appearance.

Castle Lane beside King Johns Castle includes a reconstruction of some medieval buildings including a granary, labourers cottage, and gabled houses. The development is mainly for tourism purposes.

Georgian architecture

Much Georgian architecture

Georgian architecture

Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...

 was evident in the city from about the 1800s onwards. Although some has since been demolished, much of the city centre area is built in the Georgian fashion. St. John's Square, in front of St. John's Cathedral, towards the city centre, is an example of this. Stone-faced Georgian offices and townhouses were built in a planned fashion around this square. Although renovated in the 1970s, the area is now somewhat dilapidated. The development of Georgian Limerick was driven by Edmund Sexton Pery, speaker of the Irish House of Commons, and his name has been retained in the Georgian city centre; New Town Pery. This development extended the city south of the Abbey river and the ancient medieval city. During this time most of the walls of the medieval city were torn down to facilitate the expansion of the city. The new city, Newtown Pery was built completely in Georgian style with long wide and elegant streets in grid plan

Grid plan

The grid plan, grid street plan or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid...

 design with O' Connell street (previously Georges street) as its centre. The new Georgian town became the new economic and cultural centre of Limerick as the medieval city along with its main street, Nicholas street, fell largely into decline. Much of the Georgian architecture is still largely intact with the Crescent area of O' Connell street and Pery Square being among some of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in Ireland however much of the area is now in a neglected or decaying state while much of the more ornate styles around the retail areas of O' Connell street , William street and Sarsfield street has sadly been lost and replaced with more disappointing modern styles of architecture.

One of Ireland's most celebrated museums, the Hunt Museum

Hunt Museum

The Hunt Museum is a museum in the city of Limerick, Ireland. Holding a personal collection donated by the Hunt family, it was originally situated in the University of Limerick, before being moved to its present location in 1997. It can now be visited in the old custom house, an historic 18th...

 is based in the historic 18th-century former Custom House. The museum was established to house an internationally important collection of approximately 2,000 works of art and antiquities formed by John and Gertrude Hunt

John Hunt (antiquarian)

John Hunt was a historian, antiquarian, and collector. Together with his wife Gertrude, he amassed the collection that today forms the basis of the Hunt Museum, Limerick, Ireland. He encouraged Lord Gort to restore Bunratty Castle. He is commemorated by a bust in the castle because of this...

 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

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...

.

Victorian and Edwardian Architecture

From the 19th Century much Victorian and Edwardian architecture was evident in Limerick. Unified terraces, detached or semi detached dwellings were built by the middle classes on roads protruding from the city centre as can be seen today in O' Connell Avenue, South and North Circular Roads, Ennis Road, Shelbourne Road and Mulgrave Street. Typical features of this style of architecture in Limerick include arched or bay windows with brick detailing around doorways and elabarate railings enclosing long front gardens. Features of buildings dating from the Edwardian period also include balconies, porched and timbered gables, and horizontal mullioned windows.

20th Century

From the period of Irish Independence right up to the 1960s there was very little development in Limerick. Housing had become a major problem as many of the city's poorer residents lived in overcrowded slums, streets and laneways in the oldest parts of the city. Life in these parts of the city in the early 20th Century are perhaps best described in the worldwide best seller Angelas Ashes written by Frank McCourt

Frank McCourt

Francis "Frank" McCourt was an Irish-American teacher and Pulitzer Prize–winning writer, best known as the author of Angela’s Ashes, an award-winning, tragicomic memoir of the misery and squalor of his childhood....

. During the 1960s Limerick Corporation began to clear the slums and laneways by relocating familys to new large council estates on the edge of the city. The estates were built primarily in Moyross

Moyross

Moyross Estate was developed between 1973–1987 in Limerick city and county in Ireland. Up to 2008 the estate was unusual in that it spanned two electoral areas, with 728 houses part of the Ballynanty DED of Limerick City Council, and 432 houses in the Limerick North Rural DED of Limerick...

, Southill

Southill

Southill may refer to:*Southill, Bedfordshire, England*Southill, Limerick, Ireland*Southill, Weymouth, Dorset, EnglandSouthill may also refer to:*Viscount Torrington, Lord Byng of Southill...

, the Island Field (St. Marys Park) and Ballinacurra Weston. Initially seen to be a success these estates began to experience high levels of disadvantage, unemployment, poverty and crime as was replicated in other parts of Ireland such as Ballymun

Ballymun

Ballymun is an area on Dublin's Northside close to Dublin Airport, Ireland. It is infamous for the Ballymun flats, which became a symbol of poverty, drugs, alienation from the state and social problems in Ireland from the 1970s...

. Today the estates can be described as Sink estate

Sink estate

A sink estate is a British council housing estate characterised by high levels of economic and social deprivation. Such estates are not always high crime areas although there is a strong correlation between crime rates and sink estates in large urban areas...

s and are awaiting a massive regeneration project.

The city also expanded during this time with much development outside the city boundary creating new city suburbs. The most notable development is the University of Limerick

University of Limerick

The University of Limerick is a university in Ireland near the city of Limerick on the island's west coast. It was established in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick and became a university by statute in 1989 in accordance with the University of Limerick Act 1989...

 in the suburb of Castletroy

Castletroy

Castletroy is a rapidly growing and predominantly middle-class suburb of Limerick, Ireland and is the largest suburb in Munster. Its population is estimated at 40,000 as of 2010....

 towards the eastern end of the city. UL is the location of the University Concert Hall, a 1000 seat venue on the university campus which is suitable for holding a wide variety of events. The UL arena, which opened in 2002 is Ireland's largest indoor complex. It consists of the National 50m Swimming Pool which is the only water facility in Ireland which has the approval of FINA, the international swimming body, and is the first in the country to be built to Olympic standards. The Arena's Indoor Sports Hall comprises 3,600 square metres laid out with four wood-sprung courts, catering for a variety of sports, a sprint track, an international 400m athletics track, and a 200m three-lane suspended jogging track. The facility also has a state-of-the-art cardiovascular and strength training centre, a weight-training room, team rooms, an aerobics studio and classroom areas. The Arena is often used by the Munster rugby team. On the southside of the city the Crescent Shopping Centre

Crescent Shopping Centre

The Crescent Shopping Centre is a major shopping centre in Limerick, Ireland. Located on what was at one time the outskirts of the city, in Dooradoyle, the centre now lies between the suburb of Raheen and the city proper...

 the largest shopping centre in Ireland outside Dublin was built in the suburb of Dooradoyle

Dooradoyle

Dooradoyle is a suburb of Limerick city which is in County Limerick, Ireland built after the 1960s which remain in the Limerick County Council administrative area. Dooradoyle is in the Parish of St Paul, in the Diocese of Limerick...

. It has a retail space of 100,000m squared with over 90 shops.

By the end of the 20th century and early 21st century Limerick's trend towards suburbanisation continued which has led to many concerns of the development of the city during this time particularly in relation to the amount of out-of-town retail developments which has reduced footfall on city centre streets.

Bridges

As a city situated on a river (the Shannon

River Shannon

The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...

), and at a crossing point, Limerick's bridges are of vital importance to the region. They connect the northern bank of the river, and County Clare

County Clare

-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...

, to the southern bank and County Limerick

County Limerick

It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...

. Apart from forming part of the Limerick to Galway

Galway

Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...

 route, the crossings are important today in connecting Shannon Airport

Shannon Airport

Shannon Airport, is one of the Republic of Ireland's three primary airports along with Dublin and Cork. In 2010 around 1,750,000 passengers passed through the airport, making it the third busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland after Dublin and Cork, and the fifth busiest airport on the island...

 to the city and beyond.

Thomond Bridge

The earliest bridge, Thomond Bridge, was built near a fording point. It was the scene of a failed defending of the city during the Siege of Limerick. At one ends sits the Treaty Stone, upon which the Treaty of Limerick

Treaty of Limerick

The Treaty of Limerick ended the Williamite war in Ireland between the Jacobites and the supporters of William of Orange. It concluded the Siege of Limerick. The treaty really consisted of two treaties which were signed on 3 October 1691. Reputedly they were signed on the Treaty Stone, an...

 is said to have been signed. The current bridge was built in 1836, replacing the earlier bridge which was also alongside King John's Castle. The bridge now forms part of the R445

R445 road

The R445 road is a regional road in Ireland. The route is a non-motorway alternative route to the N7/M7 motorway between Dublin and Limerick. Indeed, much of the route comprises roads that were formerly part of the N7 between the cities, prior to motorway and other bypasses...

 (formerly N7), carrying traffic on the Northern Relief Road.

Sarsfield Bridge

The second of Limerick's River Shannon crossings is now called Sarsfield Bridge, to commemorate Patrick Sarsfield, the Earl of Lucan, who is renowned in Limerick for his role in the Williamite War and the 1691 siege and Treaty of Limerick

Treaty of Limerick

The Treaty of Limerick ended the Williamite war in Ireland between the Jacobites and the supporters of William of Orange. It concluded the Siege of Limerick. The treaty really consisted of two treaties which were signed on 3 October 1691. Reputedly they were signed on the Treaty Stone, an...

 in particular. The bridge was opened as Wellesley Bridge on 5 August 1835, following 11 years of construction. It was designed by the Scottish engineer Alexander Nimmo and based on the Pont de Neuilly

Pont de Neuilly

Le pont de Neuilly is a road and rail bridge carrying Route nationale 13 and Paris Métro Line 1 which crosses the River Seine between the right bank of Neuilly-sur-Seine and Courbevoie and Puteaux on the left bank in the French department of Hauts-de-Seine...

 in Paris. It was a particularly important development for the city as it allowed expansion to the northern shore of the river. The bridge itself consists of five large and elegant elliptical arches with an open balustrade, running from a man-made island, originally called Wellesley Pier but now known as Shannon Island, to the northern shore, and a simple flat, swivel deck with iron lattice railings crossing a canal and road from the island to what was known as Brunswick Street, now Sarsfield Street. The swivel end is no longer functional, although some of its heavy machinery is still intact underneath the roadway. A lock system has replaced the swivel section to allow for the passage of smaller boats. Apart from this, the bridge has remained largely unchanged since it opened and still has its original lamp standards.

Rowing clubhouses sit on Shannon Island at either side of the bridge. The Shannon Rowing Club was founded by Sir Peter Tait in 1868 and has a very elegant clubhouse on the northern side. Limerick Rowing Club was founded in 1870 and has a simpler structure on the southern side.

The Sarsfield Bridge Monument commemorates the 1916 Rising and is located on the bridge just above the Limerick Rowing Club building. An earlier monument on this site was a statue of Viscount Fitzgibbon, who was killed in The Charge of the Light Brigade

The charge of the light brigade

The Charge of the Light Brigade may refer to the following:* Charge of the Light Brigade, a military action in the Crimean War* The Charge of the Light Brigade, a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson* The Charge of the Light Brigade, a 1936 film...

 at Balaclava

Battle of Balaclava

The Battle of Balaclava, fought on 25 October 1854 during the Crimean War, was part of the Anglo-French-Turkish campaign to capture the port and fortress of Sevastopol, Russia's principal naval base on the Black Sea...

 in 1854, flanked by two Russian cannon captured in the Crimean War

Crimean War

The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

. This statue was blown up by the Irish Republican Army

Irish Republican Army

The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...

 in 1930. The War of Independence

Irish War of Independence

The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...

 memorial is located at the northern end of the bridge, commemorating two former mayors of Limerick (George Clancy and Michael O'Callaghan), among others, who were killed by the British in 1921. The quays on the northern shore are called Clancy Strand and O'Callaghan Strand in their honour.

Shannon Bridge

The Shannon Bridge is by far the newest River Shannon crossing in Limerick city centre. It was built in the late 1980s, and connects to a relief road that passes through a bird sanctuary and runs around the north of the city. The bridge is still at times referred to as "The New Bridge", although the Abbey Bridge across the Abbey River is newer. For some time after its construction, the bridge was also termed "The Whistling Bridge" — the fencing on the bridge resonated with the winds coming up the Shannon Estuary, producing a shrill whistling sound. In extreme winds, the sound was quite deafening. Simple grills were added, and the effect was ceased.

Another bridge at the northern end of King's Island, connects to Corbally on the north of the city. This is a simpler bridge, further up the Shannon. The only other road bridge across the Shannon near the city is the "University Bridge", at the University of Limerick

University of Limerick

The University of Limerick is a university in Ireland near the city of Limerick on the island's west coast. It was established in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick and became a university by statute in 1989 in accordance with the University of Limerick Act 1989...

. Opened in 2004 by then Taoiseach

Taoiseach

The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...

 Bertie Ahern

Bertie Ahern

Patrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 26 June 1997 to 7 May 2008....

, this fashionable modern bridge connects the recently commenced north bank campus (includes student villages/accommodation and Health Science building) to the main southern campus, but it does not serve as a public crossing point as there is no north bank entrance from the Clare side.

The university is also home to one of the longest footbridges in Europe — the "Living Bridge".
The Limerick Tunnel

Limerick Tunnel

The Limerick Tunnel is a 675m long, twin-bore road tunnel underneath the River Shannon on the outskirts of Limerick City. The tunnel forms part of the N18 Limerick Southern Ring Road. The tunnel is tolled....

 opened in July 2010 as part of the Limerick Southern Road. The tunnel forms a fourth river crossing of the Shannon. It is a 675m long, twin-bore road tunnel underneath the River Shannon

River Shannon

The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...

 on the outskirts of the city.

Architecture lost and found

Much of Limerick's architectural heritage has been compromised. The main streets in the city centre were originally fronted by mostly uniform Georgian townhouse

Townhouse

A townhouse is the term historically used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and in many other countries to describe a residence of a peer or member of the aristocracy in the capital or major city. Most such figures owned one or more country houses in which they lived for much of the year...

s. Nowadays significant gaps and oddities may be found, in addition to the dilapidated state of some buildings. The most recent example of a controversial demolition was the Cruises Hotel. This was the oldest hotel in Limerick; Daniel O'Connell

Daniel O'Connell

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...

 himself stayed in it. It was demolished in or around 1990 to allow Cruises Street pedestrian area. Sadly, the site of what was this illustrious building is now home to a McDonald's

McDonald's

McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...

 and HMV

HMV

His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...

 music store on either corner of the street entrance. Other examples of lost architecture include the impressive facade of the old Cannock's Department Store (now Penney's) and its landmark clock tower which was demolished in the 1960s and replaced with a more modern styled building and the facade of Todd's Department Store (now Brown Thomas

Brown Thomas

Brown Thomas & Company Limited is a chain of four Irish department stores, located in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick. Owned by Wittington Investments, Brown Thomas is an upmarket chain, akin to Canada's Holt Renfrew chain and Britain's Selfridges stores, which are also controlled by the Weston...

) which was destroyed by a fire in the late 1950s has also been replaced with a more modern design. Other areas of the city have similar tragic tales.

Since the late 1990s, Ireland has had somewhat tougher development requirements. This has resulted in an increasing number of Georgian and other historical buildings being refurbished rather than demolished. Shining examples include the conversion of a historic bank to a pub, also the conversion of old stone-built warehouses and Georgian townhouses to up-market apartments. These recent refurbishments of Georgian townhouses include cleaned brickwork, replica railings outside sash windows with brass catches, and new replica street railings. Until recently, the tougher development requirements have ironically resulted in tracts of wasteland on King's Island remaining undeveloped due complicated development work around historical remains of demolished structures. As of 2006 new apartment blocks continue to be built on the Island near the Abbey Bridge.

Modern architecture

Although a lot of developments in Limerick have been concentrated in suburban areas there has been notable modern architectural developments and improvements in the appearance of city centre in recent years. Most developments have been along the banks of the river Shannon

River Shannon

The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...

 and are facing onto the river. The most prominent are the 60m high Riverpoint

Riverpoint

Riverpoint is a mixed-use building located in Limerick. It is currently the fourth-tallest storeyed building in the Republic of Ireland, the ninth tallest in Ireland and the third-tallest in Munster after the Cork County Hall and The Elysian both in Cork...

 building and the 200 ft four star Clarion Hotel on Steamboat quay. Other developments include apartments and office blocks along the quays. Other developments in the city centre include the successful redevelopment of Bedford Row, Henry street, Thomas street and Catherine street. In 2007 Thomond Park

Thomond Park

Thomond Park is a stadium located in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and count Munster Rugby, Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. The capacity of the stadium is 26,500 following its large scale redevelopment in...

underwent redevelopment which included the construction of two large stands to accommodate a capacity attendance of 26,500 with 15,100 seated. The stadium has become an icon for Limerick City and in 2009 the design of the stadium won the peoples choice award from the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland awards 2009.