A history lesson - Limerick

A very uneventful day.  No arguments or problems with the caravan.  And it only rained once.  The photos uploaded immediately onto Blogspot.  The sun even shone for a few hours late this afternoon.  

Wait, I forgot.  When Walter went to collect our washing from the dryer it was still wet, due to me not pressing the setting button.  The machine had been working on the 'cool' setting.  Still that was better than yesterday when I put both tokens into the slot for the washing machine, which meant that the wash cost €10 rather than €5.  Luckily the owner of the caravan gave us another token for free.  I always have problems with washing machines in camping grounds!

We visited Limerick today.  A very easy drive in, plenty of parking areas right in the centre of town, and a superb cup of coffee in a delightful little cafe.   According to the Lonely Planet there is quite a contemporary cafe culture in Limerick.

The Lonely Planet also said that the Limerick had an unfortunate nickname of 'stab city' but felt it was no more unsafe than any other urban Irish city.  I must say there were quite a few high fences around and locked gates.  

Limerick was also the setting for Frank McCourt's book 'Angela's Ashes'.  Apparently there were many people in Limerick who felt the book painted a negative picture of Limerick.  But I notice that there is a Frank McCourt Museum, and various places mentioned in the book are highlighted in brochures.  I must now read this book.

We initially walked along O'Connell Street, which appeared to be the main shopping street.   All the big name shops were there.

An interesting fact, if people are not already aware, is that Penneys actually is the same as Primark in other countries.  And Penneys/Primark is an Irish company with headquarters in Dublin. Arthur Ryan first opened Penneys in Dublin in 1969, and then opened four stores in England in 1973 but they could not trade under the name of Penneys because there was already a store trading under that name.  Hence the name of Primark. And Primark, for those people who do not have one in their town/country, sells clothes at the low cost end of the market.  A favourite shop with most people, although there are some who will not admit to shopping in Primark.

We looked inside the Penneys shop, and it was just as busy as our Primark, and just as packed with racks of clothes.  We resisted purchasing anything though.  Why carry clothes back to England, when I can have a Primark shopping spree there.

A lovely building on Patrick Street which is a continuation of O'Connell Street,

I am not sure if this building still holds a school or is an old convent.

But opposite the building in the photo above is the Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin.   An Anglican church of course.  As in the UK, the very old churches in Ireland were changed from Catholic to Church of England/Anglican during Henry VIII's reign.  It was quite a shock to learn that the English monarchy had so much power in Ireland.

The ornate gateway which leads into the church.

The ancient cathedral was founded in 1168.

The cathedral did not escape Cromwell's desecration of churches.  His soldiers vandalised the church, and stabled their horses in it.  The effigy, in the photograph below, was damaged.

Finally we reached our destination,  King John's Castle, an imposing castle built on the edge of the Shannon River.

Limerick straddles the Shannon River, at the point where the river becomes the Shannon Estuary.  Viking invaders established a settlement here in the 9th Century, and fought with the local tribes over control of the land.  In the end the Irish won, and in 968 the O'Brien Kings ruled the area.

But this was shortlived.  By the 13th century the Normans had taken over the country, and had it was during this time that the castle was built.  The Norman's made Limerick into a Royal City.

The view of one of the towers.

A view overlooking the oldest part of Limerick.

The multi media display in the castle museum was excellent, as it told the story from early Gaelic Society, to the Norman occupation, to change and conflict during the reformation, to the sieges of 1642, 1651 and 1690/1691.  Very turbulent times.  Yet the Catholic Irish did not give up, even though the English enforced every increasing fierce anti-Catholic legislation after 1691, which was a betrayal as they had promised religious freedom for Catholics.

A view of the castle and bridge, from the quayside.  A huge number of the people from Limerick left by ship, from this quayside, destined for America or Australia.

Another interesting day, in a great city.  It is also fascinating to learn about the history of the Republic of Ireland, from an Irish perspective.