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Europe Finland Northern Europe

Ireland

Stories and Photos from my travels to Limerick, Ireland.

Destination 》Europe 》Western Europe 》Ireland

Year Visited: 2005 – July

While flying back from one of the business trips to Ghent, Belgium during July 2005, I made a stop to spend a weekend in Limerick, before flying to Dallas. Back in those days, I was really counting stamps on my passport.

Ireland (Irish: Éire) is the second-largest island of the British Isles, separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel. Geopolitically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially named Ireland), which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.

A short political history: Until the 17th century, political power was widely shared among a rather loosely constructed network of small earldoms. After an unsuccessful uprising in the early 17th century, Ireland effectively became an English colony. It was formally incorporated into the United Kingdom in 1801. After World War I, and the subsequent Irish War of Independence, In 1920 the island was partitioned with the creation of Northern Ireland, a six-county area with devolved powers within the United Kingdom. Under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, the other 26 counties became the Irish Free State, a self-governing dominion within the British Commonwealth and Empire. In 1949 it formally left the Commonwealth as the Republic of Ireland.

The population of Ireland currently sits at around 4.8 million people, however, it has been reported that almost 80 million people around the world have Irish passports. Up to half the entire population of Australia claim Irish ancestry, while around 40 million Americans trace their ancestry back to Ireland.

Around the world Ireland is well-known for Saint Patrick’s Day, Irish pubs serving Guinness—a good old pint of the black stuff, Irish Music and Step Dancing—Riverdance.

During a weekend in Ireland, I was in Limerick, a riverside city, founded by the Vikings in 922 AD, in the heart of Ireland’s beautiful Shannon Region. Limerick city had a bad reputation of being the most dangerous city in Ireland because of gang-related crimes, though I did not experience that during my stay.

Pictures below are from my weekend in Limerick.

Welcome to Limerick, a beautiful Manhole cover with the city’s Coat of Arms.
King John’s Castle, a 13th-century castle located on King’s Island, next to the River Shannon. The castle itself has a turbulent history dating back to Viking times and has undergone several sieges, battles and triumphs over its long history.
Thomond Bridge and King John’s Castle. Thomond Bridge, spanning the River Shannon, is named after the Kingdom of Thomond. The current bridge, the oldest bridge in the town, was built in 1836, replacing an earlier bridge from the 14th century.
Mathew Bridge, built between 1844-46, across the Abbey River, to replace New Bridge, which had been constructed in 1762.
Saint Mary’s Cathedral, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, was founded in 1168 and is the oldest building in Limerick which is in use. The tower of Saint Mary’s Cathedral was added in the 14th century.
A view from my Hotel room.
The Locke Bar, one of Limerick’s oldest pubs dating back to 1724, became my home pub during the weekend.
A Perfectly poured Pint of Guinness, at the local pub.
A weekend in Ireland was all about trying out their world famous Beers. Loved both Murphy’s Irish Red and Irish Stout.
I took home a bottle of Baileys, the most delicious Irish drink.

After a weekend in Limerick, it was time to go back home in Dallas. Ireland has lot more to offer than just one city, I would like to go back and explore rest of the country.

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By Window on The World

In May 2017, 23 days before I was going to complete 50 years, grabbed an opportunity and took an early retirement.. Picked up a backpack and traveling ever since.. Love to travel around the world, experience different culture, local cuisine & drinks .. and take pictures.. so far been to 108 countries and still counting...

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