 The
History of Limerick (Irish: Luimneach), the fourth
largest city in the Republic of Ireland and one of
Ireland's major cultural and industrial centres,
stretches back to its establishment by the Vikings
as a walled city on "King's Island" (an island in
the River Shannon) in 812, and its charter in 1197.
A great castle was built on the orders of King John
in 1200. It was besieged three times in the 17th
century, resulting in the famous Treaty of Limerick
and the flight of the defeated Catholic leaders
abroad. Much of the city was built during the
following Georgian prosperity, which ended abruptly
with the Act of Union in 1800. The depression was to
last nearly two centuries, through famine, war, and
emergency, until the boom times of the 1990s. The
city now boasts a rich and growing multicultural
population.
 Viking
Origins
 The
earliest provable settlement dates from 812;
however, history suggests the presence of earlier
settlements in the area surrounding King's Island,
the island at the historical city centre.
Antiquity's map-maker, Ptolemy, produced in 150 the
earliest map of Ireland, showing a place called "Regia"
at the same site as King's Island. History also
records an important battle involving Cormac Mac
Airt in 221 and a visit by St. Patrick in 434 to
baptise an Eoghanacht Chief, Carthann the Fair. The
name Luimneach dates from at least 561, and probably
derives from Loimeanach, meaning a bare marsh.
The Viking sea king, Thormodr Helgason, built the
first permanent Viking stronghold on King's Island (Inis
Sibhtonn) in 922. He used the base to raid the
length of the River Shannon from the lake of Lough
Derg to the lake of Lough Ree, pillaging
ecclesiastical settlements. In 937 the Limerick
Vikings clashed with those of Dublin on the lake of
Lough Ree and were defeated. In 943 they were
defeated again when the chief of the local
Dalcassian clan joined with Ceallachan, king of
Munster, and the Limerick Vikings were forced to pay
tribute to the clans. The power of these Norsemen
never recovered, and they reduced to the level of a
minor clan; however, they often played pivotal parts
in the endless power struggles of the next few
centuries.
The arrival of the Normans to the area in 1173
changed everything. Domhnall Mór Ó Briain burned the
City to the ground in 1174 in a bid to keep it from
the hands of the new invaders. The Normans finally
captured the area in 1195, under King John. In 1197,
local legend claims Limerick was given its first
charter and its first Mayor, Adam Sarvant. A castle,
built on the orders of King John and bearing his
name, was completed around 1200.
Under the general peace imposed by Norman rule,
Limerick prospered as a port and trading centre. By
this time the city was divided into an area which
became known as "English Town" on King's Island,
while another settlement, named "Irish Town", had
grown on the south bank of the river. A 1574
document prepared for the Spanish ambassador attests
to its wealth:
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.
Siege
and Treaty
 Limerick
was besieged several times in the 17th century. The
first was in 1642, when the Irish Confederates took
the King John's Castle from its English garrison.
The city was besieged by Oliver Cromwell's army
under Henry Ireton in 1651. The city had supported
Confederate Ireland since 1642 and was garrisoned by
troops from Ulster. The Confederates supported the
claims of Charles II to the English throne, and the
besiegers fought for a parliamentary republic.
Famine and plague lead to the death of 5,000
residents before heavy bombardment of Irish town led
to breach and surrender in late October of that
year.
In the Williamite war in Ireland, following the
Battle of the Boyne in 1690, French and Irish forces
(numbering 14,000) regrouped in behind Limerick's
walls. Time and war had led to a terrible decay of
the once proud fortifications. The occupying armies
are recorded as claiming that the walls could be
knocked down with rotten apples. The Williamite
besiegers, while numbering 20,000, were hampered by
the loss of their heavier guns to an attack by
Patrick Sarsfield. In fierce fighting, the walls
were breached on three occasions, but the defenders
prevailed. Eventually the Williamites withdrew to
Waterford.
William's forces returned in August 1691. Limerick
was now the last stronghold of the Catholic
Jacobites, under the command of Sarsfield. The
promised French reinforcement failed to arrive from
the sea, and following the massacre of 850 defenders
on Thomond Bridge, the city sued for peace. On 3
October 1691 the famous Treaty of Limerick was
signed using a large stone set in the bridge as a
table. The treaty allowed the Jacobites to leave
under full military honours and sail to France. Two
days later French reinforcements finally arrived.
Sarsfield was urged to continue the fight but
refused, insisting on abiding by the terms of the
treaty. Sarsfield sailed to France with 19,000
troops and formed the Irish Brigade (see also the
Flight of the Wild Geese). After these forces had
left the treaty was repudiated by the Williamites, a
point of bitterness in the city to this day.
The
Famine
 While
the 18th century saw the gradual introduction of
repressive penal laws, banning Catholics from public
office, buying land or voting, Limerick's position
as the main port on the western side of Ireland
meant that the city, and the Protestant upper class,
began to prosper. The British version of
mercantilism required a great deal of trans-Atlantic
trade, and Limerick profited somewhat by this. Many
significant public buildings and infrastructure
projects were paid for with local trade taxes. The
House of Industry was built on northern bank of the
river in 1774, in part as a poorhouse and infirmary.
A basic sewer system was built in the Newtownpery in
the time of George III by simply closing over the
gutters. St. Joseph's Psychiatric Hospital was
completed in the south-side by 1826. Wellesley
Bridge (later, Sarsfield Bridge) and new wet docks
were also built during this time. Chief imports
through the port included timber, coal, iron and
tar. Exports included beef, pork, wheat, oats, flour
and emigrants bound for North America. Exports of
food continued during the Great Famine, often
requiring the deployment of troops to protect the
port.
No statistics exist on how many people in the
Limerick area died during the famine. Nationally,
the population declined by an average of 20%, half
of whom died and half emigrated. While the Great
Famine reduced the population of County Limerick by
70,000, the population of the City actually rose
slightly, as people fled to the workhouses. |
Menu
