114-597: Thurles ( / ˈ t ɜːr l ə s / ; Durlas Éile ) is a town in County Tipperary , Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles . The cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly is located in the town. The birthplace of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), Thurles
228-404: A British parliament select committee inquiring into the famine, Spaight said that: I found so great an advantage of getting rid of the pauper population upon my own property that I made every possible exertion to remove them ... I consider the failure of the potato crop to be the greatest possible value in one respect in enabling us to carry out the emigration system. The same quaysides were
342-402: A border with eight counties, more than any other. The population of the county was 167,895 at the 2022 census. The largest towns are Clonmel , Nenagh and Thurles . Tipperary County Council is the local authority for the county. In 1838, County Tipperary was divided into two ridings , North and South . From 1899 until 2014, they had their own county councils . They were unified under
456-680: A capacity of 53,500, second only to Croke Park in Dublin. The stadium is the "spiritual home" of Munster hurling and many famous matches, especially Munster Finals , have been played there. In 1984, it hosted the All-Ireland Hurling Final to celebrate 100 years since the founding of the GAA in Thurles. The Cathedral of the Assumption is the mother church of the ecclesiastical province of Cashel and
570-664: A church on the Rock of Cashel , and in his grant bestowing his Limerick Gothic palace to the church he styled himself King of Limerick . However the Danes were still a powerful force who were able to obtain four sequential Danish bishops concentrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury not subservient to the See of Cashel. The arrival of the Normans to the area in 1173 changed everything. Domnall Mór Ua Briain ,
684-581: A few kilometres from the city, following the failed uprising in their country . A few settled, but the majority moved on within a few years to new lives in the UK and North America due to the bad economic situation in Limerick. Shannon Airport also attracted a varied crowd. At this time nearly all transatlantic flights stopped at the airport, the most westerly in Europe, to refuel. Irish Times journalist Arthur Quinlan who
798-408: 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 first infirmary was founded by the surgeon Sylvester O'Halloran in 1761. The House of Industry was built on northern bank of the river in 1774, in part as a poorhouse and infirmary. The late 17th and early 18th century saw
912-457: A month. In 1892 two families were beaten and a stoning took place on 24 November 1896. Many details about Limerick's Jewish families are recorded in the 1901 census that shows most were peddlers , though a few were described as drapery dealers and grocers. In 1904 a young Catholic priest, Father John Creagh , of the Redemptorist order, delivered a fiery sermon castigating Jews for rejecting
1026-591: A number of association football (soccer) clubs in the area. These include Peake Villa (founded 1967 and playing in Tower Grounds), Thurles Town F.C. (playing in the Greyhound Stadium ), Borroway Rovers (restarted 2002 and playing at Loughtagalla Park), Thurles Celtic (founded 2007 also Loughtagalla Park), and Suirside Wanderers (founded 2009 playing in the Vocational School grounds). Thurles Racecourse
1140-543: 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 Eóganachta king, Carthann the Fair. Saint Munchin , the first bishop of Limerick died in 652, indicating the city was a place of some note. In 812 Danes sailed up the Shannon and pillaged the town, burned the monastery of Mungret but were forced to flee when
1254-442: A rapid expansion of the city as Limerick took on the appearance of a Georgian City. It was during this time that the city centre took on its present-day look with the planned terraced Georgian Townhouses a characteristic of the city today. Georgian Limerick dates from this period as part of Edmund Sexton Pery 's plan for the development of a new city on lands he owned to the south of the existing medieval city. In 1765, he commissioned
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#17328476150961368-634: A speech (in what is now The Strand Hotel on the Ennis Road) cautioning against optimism in the peace process. A few hours later in London, Michael Collins signed the Anglo-Irish Treaty , granting limited independence to the southern portion of Ireland as the Irish Free State , while retaining the six counties of Northern Ireland . The treaty also gifted the ports of Berehaven , Cobh and Lough Swilly to
1482-521: A steep uphill finish. The local rugby club , Thurles Rugby Club, was founded in 1924 and is located close to the water tower. Thurles Cricket Club was founded in 2010. The local athletics club, Thurles Crokes Athletic Club, was founded in 1965. Primary schools serving the area include Gaelscoil Bhríde, Scoil Ailbhe CBS, Scoil Angela (Ursuline Convent) and Scoil Mhuire na Toirbhirte (Presentation Convent). Secondary schools include Thurles CBS , Coláiste Mhuire co-educational school, Presentation Convent and
1596-529: A strong association with the Gaelic Athletic Association , which was founded in Thurles in 1884. Tipperary GAA – a county board of the GAA – organizes local competitions for hurling , Gaelic football , camogie and handball . The board also enters county representative teams into the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship and All-Ireland Senior Football Championship . Tipperary is
1710-594: 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
1824-458: A walled city on King's Island (an island in the River Shannon ) in 812, and to the granting of Limerick 's city charter in 1197. King John ordered the building (1200) of a great castle . The city was besieged three times in the 17th century, culminating in the famous 1691 Treaty of Limerick and the flight of the defeated Catholic leaders abroad . Much of the city was built during
1938-454: Is actually recorded and so a traditional interpretation has been that Amlaíb mac Gofraid was actually recruiting Amlaíb of Limerick for his upcoming conflict with Athelstan of England , which would turn out be the famous Battle of Brunanburh . The 920s and 930s are regarded as the height of Norse power in Ireland and only Limerick rivalled Dublin during this time. The last Norse King of Limerick
2052-542: Is now the barony of Eliogarty. The O'Fogarty's gave their name to the town. In Irish, Durlas Éile means "Strong Fort of Éile", or more correctly Durlas Éile Uí Fhogartaigh ("Strong Fort of the O'Fogarty's of Éile"). The clan dominated the regions of Templemore and the Devil's Bit stretching as far as the Tipperary/Kilkenny border. Towards the end of the 12th century the power of the O'Donoghue clan began to wane, and by
2166-550: Is part of the South constituency for European elections. Tipperary is referred to as the "Premier County", a description attributed to Thomas Davis , Editor of The Nation newspaper in the 1840s as a tribute to the nationalistic feeling in Tipperary and said that "where Tipperary leads, Ireland follows". Tipperary was the subject of the famous song " It's a Long Way to Tipperary " written by Jack Judge , whose grandparents came from
2280-502: Is responsible for certain local services such as sanitation, planning and development , libraries, the collection of motor taxation, local roads and social housing . Most of the county is in the Dáil constituency of Tipperary , which returns five deputies ( TDs ) to the Dáil. A small part of the county in the former rural district of Nenagh is in the constituency of Limerick City . The county
2394-478: Is the economic hub of the county, due to manufacturing facilities owned by Bulmers (brewers) and Merck & Co. (pharmaceuticals) east of the town. There is much fertile land, especially in the region known as the Golden Vale , one of the richest agricultural areas in Ireland. Tipperary is famous for its horse breeding industry and is the home of Coolmore Stud , the largest thoroughbred breeding operation in
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#17328476150962508-426: Is the main horse racing venue in the town and stages both National Hunt and flat racing . Racing has taken place at Thurles since 1732 when a three-day festival took place at the venue. The course is located 1.5 km west of the town centre. The course is an oval right-handed track of one and a quarter miles with 6 flights of hurdles and 7 steeplechase fences in each circuit. It is one mile, two furlongs long with
2622-653: Is the third largest town in the county, with a population of 8,185 at the 2022 census . Thurles is located in mid-County Tipperary and is surrounded by the Silvermine Mountains (to the northwest) and the Slieveardagh Hills (to the southeast). The town itself is built on a crossing of the River Suir . The M8 motorway connects Thurles to Cork and Dublin via the N75 and N62 roads. The N62 also connects Thurles to
2736-520: Is unclear. Early anglicised spellings of the name are Limnigh, Limnagh, Lumnigh and Lumnagh , which are closer to the Irish spelling. There are numerous places of the same name throughout Ireland (anglicised as Luimnagh, Lumnagh, Limnagh etc.). According to P W Joyce in The Origin and History of Irish Names of Places II , the name "signifies a bare or barren spot of land". Similarly, others have suggested that
2850-726: The Anglo-Irish Free Trade Agreement , when Neville Chamberlain 's appeasement policy allowed a climb down. The UK would end economic sanctions and return the treaty ports in exchange for a once-off payment of £10m. The following year, the outbreak of World War II forced the introduction of the Emergency Powers Act 1939 to control communications, media, prices and imports. Ireland, with no native merchant fleet, and no coal, gas, or oil supplies faced hard times indeed. An army officer named Captain McKenna described it as
2964-663: The Annals of the Four Masters : County Tipperary County Tipperary ( Irish : Contae Thiobraid Árann ) is a county in Ireland . It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region . The county is named after the town of Tipperary , and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after the Norman invasion of Ireland . It is Ireland's largest inland county and shares
3078-525: The Church of Ireland , is built on the site of another pre-reformation church in Thurles. This structure was built by the Normans in the 12th century to provide them with a separate and more exclusive place of worship. The building is currently occupied and has a famine museum as well as a war museum. The Famine Museum is now closed. Thurles Library is located in the arts centre. In 2003, the county council demolished
3192-533: The County Palatine of Tipperary Act 1715 , when the 2nd Duke of Ormond was attainted for supporting the Jacobite rising of 1715 . The county was divided once again in 1838. The county town of Clonmel , where the grand jury held its twice-yearly assizes , is at the southern limit of the county, and roads leading north were poor, making the journey inconvenient for jurors resident there. A petition to move
3306-514: The Dublin–Cork line such as Templemore , Thurles and Limerick Junction . The Dublin-to-Limerick line connect at Ballybrophy for services through north Tipperary. The Limerick–Waterford line connect to the Dublin–Cork line at Limerick Junction . The railway lines connect places in Tipperary with Cork , Dublin Heuston , Waterford , Limerick , Mallow , and Galway . County Tipperary has
3420-537: The Glorious Revolution (with some surviving up to the mid 20th Century) that fronted onto Nicholas Street, Mary Street, Broad Street & Mungret Street that were eventually knocked due to poor condition. 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
3534-499: The Irish writer Frank McCourt published Angela's Ashes for which he won the Pulitzer prize . The book tells of the author's childhood in a rundown and dirty slum of the 1930s and 40s, In 1999, it was made into a feature film . The slums spoken of in the book had long since been removed, and local people were embarrassed by the sudden unflattering discussion of the city. When McCourt wrote
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3648-479: The LIT Tipperary (formerly Tipperary Institute or TRBDI and later renamed Limerick Institute of Technology Tipperary), was established in 1998. The Pallotine College in Thurles is a retreat, vocations and missions centre for the order. Other third-level and further education schools include Colaiste Eile, Colaiste Mhuire Adult Education and Thurles Community Training Centre. Thurles is twinned with: From
3762-556: The Local Government Act 2001 , which redesignated all "administrative counties" as simply "counties". The Local Government Reform Act 2014 has amalgamated the two counties and restored a single county of Tipperary. Following the 2014 local election , Tipperary County Council is the local authority for the county. The authority is the successor council to North Tipperary County Council and South Tipperary County Council which operated up until June 2014. The local authority
3876-558: The Local Government Reform Act 2014 , which came into effect following the 2014 local elections on 3 June 2014. Tipperary is the sixth-largest of the 32 counties by area and the 12th largest by population. It is the third-largest of Munster's six counties by both size and population. It is also the largest landlocked county in Ireland. Tipperary is bounded (clockwise) by counties Offaly, Laois, Kilkenny, Waterford, Cork, Limerick, Clare and Galway. Its eight neighbours are
3990-507: The M8 motorway bisects the county from north of Two-Mile Borris to the County Limerick border. Both routes are among some of the busiest roads on the island. The Limerick to Waterford N24 crosses the southern half of Tipperary, travelling through Tipperary Town , Bansha , north of Cahir and around Clonmel and Carrick-on-Suir . Tipperary also has a number of railway stations situated on
4104-598: The Munster Blackwater . No part of the county touches the coast. The centre is known as 'the Golden Vale ', a rich pastoral stretch of land in the Suir basin which extends into counties Limerick and Cork . At 917 m, Galtymore is the highest point. The Devil's Bit is a part of the Slieve Bloom range. The River Shannon flows along the northwest border with counties Limerick , Galway and Clare . The River Suir rises at
4218-547: The River Shannon , from the lake of Lough Derg to the lake of Lough Ree , pillaging ecclesiastical settlements. Two years later, the Dublin Vikings led by Gofraid ua Ímair attacked Limerick, but were driven off. The war between Dublin and Limerick continued until 937 when the Dubliners, now led by Gofraid's son Amlaíb , captured Limerick's king Amlaíb Cenncairech and for some reason destroyed his fleet. However, no battle
4332-519: The University of Limerick , and the establishment of Limerick Institute of Technology (now the Technological University of the Shannon ) furthered the area's reputation as Ireland's Silicon Valley . Thomond College of Education, Limerick was a successful teacher training college and was integrated into LIT (now TUS ) in 1991. In 1996, the city had a brief moment of world attention when
4446-466: The baronies of Eliogarty and Ikerrin , a great part of Middle Third , the territory of Ileagh and a portion of the barony of Kilnamanagh Upper . By the 8th century, the territory of ancient Éile had broken up into a number of petty kingdoms: the O'Carroll occupied the northern portion, the O'Spillanes held Ileagh, the Eóganacht Chaisil had annexed Middle Third while the O'Fogartys held what
4560-628: The cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly . It is not in its original site of the Rock of Cashel . This is due to the assumption of certain ecclesiastical properties by the established Church of Ireland at the time of the English Reformation . Instead, following the relaxation of the Penal Laws , the Roman Catholic archbishop chose to locate his cathedra and residence in nearby Thurles. The present Cathedral of
4674-421: The 60 passengers and eight crew, yet made eight trans-Atlantic voyages. Census returns record one Jew in Limerick in 1861. This doubled by 1871 and doubled again by 1881. Increases to 35, 90 and 130 are shown for 1888, 1892, and 1896 respectively. A small number of Lithuanian Jewish tradespeople, fleeing persecution in their homeland, began arriving in Limerick in 1878. They initially formed an accepted part of
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4788-422: The Assumption stands on the site of earlier chapels in the centre of the town. Work on the cathedral, with its Romanesque architectural style and its facade modelled on that of Pisa , commenced in 1865. It was consecrated by Archbishop Thomas Croke on 21 June 1879. The architect was J.J. McCarthy while Barry McMullen was the main builder. Mr. J.C Ashlin was responsible for the enclosing walls, railing and much of
4902-584: The Catholic Church and those loyal to the newly established state religion — the Church of Ireland . 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
5016-722: The Devil's Bit and flows into the sea east of Waterford . There are 12 historic baronies in County Tipperary: Clanwilliam , Eliogarty , Iffa and Offa East , Iffa and Offa West , Ikerrin , Kilnamanagh Lower , Kilnamanagh Upper , Middle Third , Ormond Lower , Ormond Upper , Owney and Arra and Slievardagh . Parishes were delineated after the Down Survey as an intermediate subdivision, with multiple townlands per parish and multiple parishes per barony. The civil parishes had some use in local taxation and were included on
5130-560: The Dáil the "Emergency Imposition of Duties order" imposing reciprocal taxes. The Anglo-Irish Trade War had begun. Limerick's farm-based economy was reduced to a state of barter. This was the period during which Ireland's interventionist, control economic style was developed. The Laissez-faireism of the 1920s was abandoned in the face of skyrocketing unemployment, poverty and emigration. The state set up non-agricultural industries such as Turf Development Board (Later Bord na Móna ) and Aer Rianta (airports authority). In 1935 Charles Lindbergh
5244-742: The High Street it is built from one gate to the other in a single form, like the Colleges in Oxford , so magnificent that at my first entrance it did amaze me. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Limerick became a city-state isolated from the principal area of effective English rule, the Pale . Nevertheless, the Crown remained in control throughout the succeeding centuries. During the Reformation tensions arose between those loyal to
5358-472: The Irish attacked and killed many of their number. The earliest record of Vikings at Limerick is in 845, reported by the Annals of Ulster , and there are intermittent reports of Vikings in the region later in the 9th century. Permanent settlement on the site of modern Limerick had begun by 922. In that year a Viking jarl or prince called Tomrair mac Ailchi —Thórir Helgason—led the Limerick fleet on raids along
5472-459: The Irish branch of the Butler dynasty. His father had been the hereditary holder of the office of Chief Butler of England and when Theobald assisted Kings Henry II of England and John of England in their invasions of Ireland, he was named "Chief Butler of Ireland". He was also granted a large section of the northeastern part of the kingdom of Limerick . Later in 1328, his descendant, James Butler ,
5586-419: The Irish had been jealous about their antiquity since the deluge and were ambitious to memorialise important events for posterity. 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 AD the earliest map of Ireland , showing
5700-520: The Italian engineer Davis Ducart to design a town plan on those lands which have since become known as Newtown Pery . The town was built in stages as Pery sold off leases to builders and developers who built four- and five-story townhouses in the Georgian fashion with long wide and elegant streets in grid plan design with O'Connell Street (previously Georges street) being laid out at this time also and forming
5814-567: The Republican garrison holding the Ordnance Barracks. In the chaos, Roches Stores, which still stands on Sarsfield St, was looted. On 17 July, Eoin O'Duffy arrived in the city as part of a nationwide offensive , in command of 1,500 Free State reinforcements equipped with artillery . The Free State forces brought up an 18-pounder gun on the 19th and blasted a breach in walls of the Ordnance Barracks, which they then stormed. The Castle Barracks
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#17328476150965928-511: The Thurles Technology Park. The Source Arts Centre opened on 2 October 2006 and has become the biggest music, theatre and arts venue in north Tipperary. It consists of a 250-seat auditorium with fully flexible seating, and a dedicated gallery space. The year-round programme of events includes film, theatre, dance, ballet, opera, music, family events and visual art exhibitions. Acts like Aslan , Foster and Allen , The Fureys are among
6042-591: The United Kingdom as UK sovereign bases , while annuities would continue to be paid to the British government in lieu of money loaned to Irish tenants under various land acts. De Valera and others virulently opposed the treaty's compromises. The scene was set for the civil war . In Limerick, the first signs of trouble came when the British forces withdrew early in the New Year. Three separate Irish factions rushed in to fill
6156-401: The Ursuline Convent. MIC St. Patrick's Campus , a former seminary runs teacher training degree courses. From 2011 to 2015 on its degrees were awarded by the University of Limerick . It is now part of Mary Immaculate College offering full-time courses in Irish, Religion, Business Studies and Accounting. From September 2019 the college will also offer courses in Maths. A third-level college,
6270-453: The actor Richard Harris , the BBC presenter Terry Wogan , and the school teacher turned memoirist, Frank McCourt . Limerick also had a few famous visitors during this time. In 1963 Irish-American US President John F. Kennedy visited Limerick as part of his tour of Ireland. He was presented with a locally produced christening robe made of Limerick Lace . From 1956, about 500 Hungarian refugees were housed in Knockalisheen, near Meelick
6384-424: The areas North (as far as a tributary of the Shannon) and South of the River to City to be known as the "Northern" and "Southern" Liberties. Around 1395 construction started on walls around Irishtown that were not completed until the end of the 15th century. The city opened a mint in 1467. A 1574 document prepared for the Spanish ambassador attests to its wealth: Limerick is stronger and more beautiful than all
6498-458: The book's sequel, 'Tis , it was answered with the locally written Tisn't , which painted a better face on the city. The appearance of the city has been undergoing a gradual face-lift : two new bridges over the Shannon, and a newly opened tunnel complete the orbital road ; many of the older buildings have been replaced, some controversially such as the ancient Cruises Hotel (see Architecture of Limerick ). Former city architect, Jim Barrett, led
6612-441: The centre of Ireland ( Athlone ) via Templemore and Roscrea . The R498 road links Thurles to Nenagh . Thurles railway station opened on 13 March 1848 and has connections to Cork, Dublin, Limerick and Tralee . The ancient territory of Éile obtained its name from pre-historic inhabitants called the Eli, about whom little is known beyond what may be gathered from legends and traditions. The extent of Éile varied throughout
6726-447: The centre of the new town. The earliest Georgian houses are located in John's Square in the Irishtown district of medieval Limerick and along Bank Place, Rutland Street & Patrick Street in the Newtown Pery district which were built by the Arthur family — a prominent Limerick family during the 18th century. Some of Ireland's finest examples of Georgian Architecture can be seen at the Crescent area and Pery Square. A basic sewer system
6840-465: The centuries with the rise and fall of the tribes in occupation. Before the 5th century A.D. the details of its history which can be gleaned from surviving records and literature are exceedingly meagre, obscure and confusing. During this century however Éile appears to have reached its greatest extent, stretching from Croghan Bri Eli ( Croghan Hill in Offaly) to just south of Cashel (in Corca Eathrach Eli ). The southern part of this territory embraced
6954-401: The city and county became characterised by extremely high emigration and unemployment. With the exception of Shannon Airport and a few related businesses and a few clothing factories, Limerick had no industry. The economy was based on farming and services, fuelled in no insignificant part by remittances from the extensive diaspora . A few of the many who left became successful abroad, including
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#17328476150967068-411: The city to this day. While in 1695 the repressive penal laws were introduced that banned Catholics from public office, buying freehold land, voting or practising their religion in public, Limerick's position as the main port on the western side of Ireland meant that the city, and the Protestant upper class and the Catholic merchant class, began to prosper. The British version of mercantilism required
7182-406: The city's retail trade, centred on Collooney St. The community established a synagogue and a cemetery in the 1880s. Easter Sunday of 1884 saw the first of what were to be a series of sporadic violent antisemitic attacks and protests. The wife of Lieb Siev and their child were injured by stones and their house damaged by an angry crowd for which the ringleaders were sentenced to hard labour for
7296-486: The city. In response, the Limerick Trades and Labour Council called for a general strike and boycott of the troops. A special strike committee was set up to print their own money and control food prices. The Irish Times referred to this committee as a Limerick Soviet ; however, the high degree of involvement of the Catholic Church shows that it was in fact quite different from the recent Bolshevik uprising. An American army officer arriving in Limerick had to appear before
7410-554: The county town to a more central location was opposed by the MP for Clonmel , so instead the county was split into two " ridings "; the grand jury of the South Riding continued to meet in Clonmel, while that of the North Riding met in Nenagh . When the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 established county councils to replace the grand jury for civil functions, the ridings became separate " administrative counties " with separate county councils. Their names were changed from "Tipperary North/South Riding" to "North/South Tipperary" by
7524-527: The county. It was popular with regiments of the British Army during World War I . The song "Slievenamon", which is traditionally associated with the county, was written by Charles Kickham from Mullinahone , and is commonly sung at sporting fixtures involving the county. There is no Gaeltacht in County Tipperary and consequently few Irish speakers. Nevertheless, there are five Gaelscoileanna (Irish language primary schools) and two Gaelcholáistí (Irish language secondary schools). The area around Clonmel
7638-426: The day " Realisation dawned on Ireland that the country was surrounded by water, and that the sea was of vital importance to her ." Towards the end of the war, shortages of rubber and petrol particularly ended all non-emergency motorised transport, including rail, to and within the city. Lord Adare restarted a four-horse stagecoach route to his hotel in Co. Limerick, a sight not seen since the 19th century. The army
7752-465: The decline of the ancient and medieval quarter of Limerick. These parts of the city were left to the poorer citizens of Limerick and became characterised by poverty and squalor. Unfortunately some tangible links to Limerick's eventful past were lost as historically important buildings were lost due to lack of maintenance such as the Exchange, Ireton's Castle (from the siege of Limerick), and a collection of Flemish and Dutch styled housing that started after
7866-494: The departure point for many emigrant ships sailing over the Atlantic. One week in April 1850 saw four ships, Marie Brennan , Congress , Triumph , an 1849 Youghal built ship, and Hannah , the smallest emigrant ship, glide down the Shannon towards the Americas. The latter three ship had 357 people aboard mostly comprising young men and women, depriving Ireland of their vigour and prosperity which they would bring to other nations instead. The Hannah at 59 feet long could barely hold
7980-447: The divinity of Jesus Christ , usury alliance with the Freemasons then persecuting the Catholic Church in France , taking over Limerick's economy, selling shoddy goods at inflated prices paid in instalments. He urged Catholics "not to deal with the Jews." Later, after 32 Jews left Limerick due to the agitation, Fr. Creagh was disowned by his superiors who said that: religious persecution had no place in Ireland. The Limerick Pogrom
8094-411: The early part of the 13th century, the Norman Butler dynasty came to be the most powerful. It is to the Butlers that Thurles owes much of its early development. Their architectural legacy may be seen today with two of the original family fortresses still standing (the Black Castle near the centre and O'Fogarty Castle by the Suir). Theobald Walter, 1st Baron Butler (Theobald Butler) was the ancestor of
8208-399: The finished work. The cathedral's main features include a rose window, a free-standing baptistery and a magnificent altar. Particularly noteworthy is the tabernacle, the work of Giacomo della Porta , who was a pupil of Michelangelo . The cathedral was extensively renovated and the sanctuary sympathetically remodelled on the occasion of its centenary in 1979. St. Mary's church, belonging to
8322-577: The following Georgian prosperity, which ended abruptly with the Act of Union in 1800. Today the city has a growing multicultural population. Luimneach originally referred to the general area along the banks of the Shannon Estuary , which was known as Loch Luimnigh . The original pre-Viking and Viking era settlement on Kings Island was known in the annals as Inis Sibhtonn and Inis an Ghaill Duibh . The name dates from at least 561, but its original meaning
8436-588: The following May in victory for the Free State. De Valera and the Republicans would refuse to take their seats in the new Dáil Éireann until 1927. The Free State government set about rebuilding the county in the spirit of the times, with grand plans and schemes. The Shannon Scheme , the plan to build a Hydroelectric power station utilising the energy of Ireland's largest river, was begun in 1925. The German electric company Siemens-Schuckertwerke (today Siemens AG )
8550-535: The general population, involving bayonets on the one side and stones and bottles on the other. The troops fired indiscriminately, killing a publican and an usherette from the Coliseum Cinema. The British Government organised a new force to quell the population. The Black and Tans , known as "the sweepings of English jails", were formed of ex-servicemen. On the night of 6 March 1921, Limerick's Mayor, George Clancy , and his wife were shot in their home by three Tans. On
8664-530: The government published the Buchanan Report on the regional dimension to economic planning which had largely been ignored. The report recommended on the social and economic sustainability of industry in the regions, which gradually lead to investment and improvement in the Limerick area. The seemingly sudden economic growth of the 1990s, termed the Celtic Tiger , making Ireland one of the richest countries in
8778-656: The homes of suspected Sinn Féin sympathisers. Prisoners were interned without trial in Frongoch camp in North Wales . Following the arrest and death of Robert Byrne, a local republican and trade unionist, most of Limerick city and a part of the county were declared a "Special Military Area under the Defence of the Realm Act ". Special permits, to be issued by the RIC, would now be required to enter
8892-440: The last styled King of Limerick, burned the city to the ground in 1174 in a bid to keep it from the hands of the new invaders. After he died in 1194, the Normans finally captured the area in 1195, under the leadership of Prince John . In 1197, King Richard I of England granted the city its first charter , and its first Mayor, Adam Sarvant, ten years before London. A castle, built on the orders of King John and bearing his name,
9006-441: The level of a minor clan; however, they often played pivotal parts in the endless power struggles of the next few centuries. Brian Boru's son, Donnchad (Donough), was routed by Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó , King of Leinster, in the year 1058 when Limerick was burned, a punishment he repeated five years later. A year later Diarmait defeated Donnchad again forcing him to flee overseas and installing Turlough instead. Obviously Limerick
9120-527: The list to have played there. The Féile Festival , which ran from 1990 to 1997, was held in Semple Stadium . At the height of its success, an estimated 100,000 people attended the festival, which was also known as "The Trip to Tipp". Acts that played included The Prodigy , The Cranberries , Blur , Bryan Adams , Van Morrison , Rage Against the Machine , The Beautiful South and Deacon Blue . The festival
9234-619: The most of any county on the island. The region is part of the central plain of Ireland, but the diverse terrain contains several mountain ranges: the Knockmealdown , the Galtee , the Arra Hills and the Silvermine Mountains . Most of the county is drained by the River Suir ; the north-western part by tributaries of the River Shannon ; the eastern part by the River Nore ; the south-western corner by
9348-538: The name derives from loimeanach meaning "a bare marsh" or "a spot made bare by feeding horses". The Dindsenchas (The Metrical Dindsenchas III page 274) , attempted to explain the name in a number of ways, connecting it particularly with luimnigthe ("cloaked") and luimnechda ("shielded"). Limerick's early history is virtually undocumented, other than by the oral tradition, because the Vikings were diligent in destroying Irish public records. William Camden wrote that
9462-524: The nineteenth century maps of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland . For poor law purposes, district electoral divisions replaced the civil parishes in the mid-nineteenth century. There are 199 civil parishes in the county. Townlands are the smallest officially defined geographical divisions in Ireland; there are 3,159 townlands in the county. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland , the Kingdom of Munster
9576-511: The old swimming pool with plans to build a new pool which were later scrapped. In 2007, a new swimming pool and gym was opened. Thurles Sarsfields and Thurles Gaels are local Gaelic Athletic Association clubs. The latter is an amalgamation of three longstanding clubs, Thurles Kickhams, Rahealty and Thurles Fennellys and have their pitch in Kickham Park on the Mill Road in Thurles. There are
9690-697: The only county across any Gaelic game to have won an all-Ireland title in every decade since the 1880s. Hurling has traditionally been the county's dominant sport, however, with its hurling team having won 28 All-Ireland titles in comparison to the football team 's four. Tipperary has the third-highest All-Ireland tally of any county hurling team, behind only Kilkenny and Cork . Horse racing takes place at Tipperary Racecourse , Thurles Racecourse and Clonmel Racecourse . 52°40′N 7°50′W / 52.667°N 7.833°W / 52.667; -7.833 History of Limerick The history of Limerick stretches back to its establishment by Vikings as
9804-428: 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 eight ... for the most part the houses are of square stone of black marble and built in the form of towers and fortresses. Luke Gernon , an English-born judge and resident of Limerick, wrote a similar description in 1620: Lofty building of marble; in
9918-538: The permits committee to get a lift to visit relatives outside Limerick, following which he said, I guess it is some puzzle to know who rules these parts. You have to get a military permit to get in and be brought before a committee to get a permit to leave. After 14 days the strike ended with a compromise on the permits issue. Open conflict erupted on Roches Street in April 1920 between the Royal Welch Fusiliers and
10032-619: The plant, where it is refined to alumina. This is then exported to Canada, where it is further refined to aluminium. In 1985, a huge power plant began operating at Moneypoint, fed by regular visits by 150,000-tonne tankers. European Economic Community funding was poured into infrastructure. Industrial estates at Raheen and Plassey ( Castletroy ), and energetic government intervention, brought in numerous foreign firms, notably Analog Devices , Wang Laboratories and Dell Computers . A science and engineering focused third-level college called NIHE , Limerick , elevated in 1989 to university status as
10146-612: The population of County Limerick by 70,000, the population of the City actually rose slightly, as people fled to the workhouses . Ships berthed on the Limerick quaysides ready to transport produce from one of the most fertile parts of Ireland, the Golden Vale , to the English ports. Francis Spaight, a Limerick merchant, farmer, British magistrate and ship owner, recorded 386,909 barrels of oats, and 46,288 barrels of wheat being shipped out of Limerick between June 1846 and May 1847. Giving evidence to
10260-524: 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. The new, broad wide and elegant streets of Newtown Pery quickly attracted the city's wealthiest families who left the old overcrowded narrow lanes and streets of medieval Limerick (Englishtown & Irishtown) and marked
10374-526: The refugees, many of whom remained. Gerald Goldberg , a son of this migration, became Lord Mayor of Cork in 1977, and the Marcus brothers, David and Louis , grandchildren of the pogrom, would become hugely influential in Irish literature and Irish film, respectively. The IRA and the independence movement of Sinn Féin gained popular support in Limerick following the repressions and executions of 1916 . Royal Irish Constabulary carried out violent raids on
10488-573: The same night the previous Mayor, Michael O'Callaghan , and Volunteer Joe O'Donoghue were murdered in their own homes after curfew. These assassinations became known as the Curfew Murders . IRA reprisals included the unsuccessful attack on six RIC men leaving a pub on Mungret Street and the shooting dead of a Black and Tan on Church Street. A truce between the IRA and the British forces came into effect on 9 July 1921. On 5 December 1921 Éamon de Valera gave
10602-547: The vacuum: The pro-Treaty Claremen of the First-Western Division under General Michael Brennan, who was asked by the new Free-State government to occupy the city because of doubts about the loyalty of Liam Forde's Mid-Limerick Brigade. In the event the Brigade split into pro- and anti-Treaty factions, the latter led by Forde. William St. became a battle zone by 7 p.m. on 11 July 1922, when the Free State troops opened fire on
10716-532: The way in turning Limerick around to face the river. Ireland's third tallest building, the 58-meter-high (190 ft) Riverpoint , was completed in 2008 near the Bishop's Quay, overlooking the Shannon. The new wealth not only halted the high levels of emigration chronic through the 1980s, but led to the first large-scale immigration for centuries. The city now boasts a Russian delicatessen, a Chinese supermarket and several South Asian, African and Caribbean food shops. Near
10830-413: The world , had deep foundations stretching back through the 1980s and 1970s. Shipping in Shannon estuary was developed extensively during the period with more than two billion pounds investment. A tanker terminal at Foynes and an oil jetty at Shannon Airport were built. In 1982 a massive alumina extraction plant was built at Aughinish. Now, 60,000-ton cargo vessels carry raw bauxite from West African mines to
10944-469: The world. Tourism plays a significant role in County Tipperary – Lough Derg , Thurles , Rock of Cashel , Ormonde Castle , Ahenny High Crosses , Cahir Castle , Bru Boru Heritage Centre and Tipperary Crystal are some of the primary tourist destinations in the county. Road transport dominates in County Tipperary. The M7 motorway crosses the north of the county through Roscrea and Nenagh and
11058-548: Was Ivar of Limerick , who features prominently as an enemy of Mathgamain mac Cennétig and later his famous brother Brian Boru in the Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib . He and his allies were defeated by the Dál gCais , and after slaying Ivar, Brian would annex Norse Limerick and begin to make it the new capital of his kingdom. The power of the Norsemen never recovered, and they were reduced to
11172-540: Was awarded the 5.2 million pound contract, providing employment for 750 people. The Electricity Supply Board set up to manage the project gradually oversaw the electrification of rural Ireland. Almost from the moment that de Valera and his new Fianna Fáil party were elected in 1932, Ireland was plunged into a series of "emergencies". De Valera fulfilled an election promise to suspend the payment of land annuities to Britain, and Britain retaliated by raising import duties on agricultural products to 40%. De Valera swept through
11286-425: Was based at Shannon boasts at having interviewed every US president from Harry Truman to George H. W. Bush and many Soviet leaders, including Andrey Vyshinsky and Andrei Gromyko . He also famously taught Fidel Castro how to make an Irish coffee and interviewed Che Guevara . On 13 March 1965, Guevara suddenly arrived at the airport when his flight from Prague to Cuba developed mechanical problems, and Quinlan
11400-455: Was built in Newtownpery in the reign of George III by simply closing over the gutters. By the time of George's reign, Limerick had 17 gates in the city walls, most of whose names continue in modern city placenames. St. Joseph's Hospital was completed in the south-side by 1827. Wellesley Bridge (later, Sarsfield Bridge) and new wet docks were also built during this time. Chief imports through
11514-514: Was captured the following day. The Republicans then abandoned the city, burning the barracks still in their hands. Limerick Prison, designed to hold 120, contained 800 prisoners by November. The fighting in the city in July 1922, left six Free State soldiers and 12 civilians dead, with a further 87 wounded. The press reports stated that about thirty Anti-Treaty IRA men had been killed but a recent study puts their fatalities at just five. The Civil War ended
11628-574: Was claimed as a lordship. By 1210, the sheriffdom of Munster shired into the shires of Tipperary and Limerick . In 1328, Tipperary was granted to the Earls of Ormond as a county palatine or liberty . The grant excluded church lands such as the archiepiscopal see of Cashel , which formed the separate county of Cross Tipperary . Though the Earls gained jurisdiction over the church lands in 1662, "Tipperary and Cross Tipperary" were not definitively united until
11742-405: 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 surrounded by high walls, while another settlement, named "Irish Town", where the Irish and Danes lived, had grown on the south bank of the river. In 1216 King John further granted
11856-485: Was consulted on the building of an airport on the Shannon Estuary at Rineanna (later renamed Shannon Airport ), and in 1937 Foynes was developed as a stopping point on the flying boat route across the Atlantic. During this time, the de Valera government introduced several emergency laws to suppress the IRA and General Eoin O'Duffy 's Blueshirt Anti-Fianna Fáil supporters. This first Emergency ended in 1938 with
11970-401: Was created Earl of Ormond by King Edward III of England . Thurles was originally an agricultural market town. It is now a retail town, with chain stores like Dunnes Stores , Supervalu , Lidl , Aldi , Boots , and Holland and Barrett established in the town. The headquarters of the meat processing factory Dew Valley Foods is also located in the Thurles environs. Thurles Shopping centre
12084-421: Was expanded massively to over 300,000 in preparation for the expected invasion by either Germany, attempting a stepping-stone approach to the invasion of Britain, or Britain herself, seeking use of the ports. Knockalisheen barracks (later Knockalisheen Refugee Camp) was built near Limerick at Meelick to house the new defence forces. The economy of the Limerick area was largely neglected in the post war period and
12198-657: 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 led to the death of 5,000 residents before heavy bombardment of Irishtown 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
12312-623: 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
12426-418: Was of great importance as evidenced by being a contentious issue between neighbouring chieftains and foreigners who burned and pillaged the city. Brian Boru's sons were usually called Kings of north Munster though their reigns were rather disturbed until 1164 when Donnchad mac Briain became King of Munster. His reign was successful, founding monasteries and nunneries, constructing several monuments, including
12540-586: Was on hand to interview him. Guevara talked of his Irish connections through the name Lynch and of his grandmother's Irish roots in Galway . Later, Che, and some of his Cuban comrades, went to Limerick city and adjourned to the Hanratty's Hotel on Glentworth Street. According to Quinlan, they returned that evening all wearing sprigs of shamrock, for Shannon and Limerick were preparing for the St. Patrick's Day celebrations. In 1968,
12654-516: Was recently extended and plans to open a new a Tesco store to replace the current store in Liberty Square have also been announced. Stakelum's Hardware, which recently moved to the Nenagh road, is one of the biggest family owned business in the town. McKevitt's "Costcutter" is another large family business that operates with one supermarket in the town. High technology industries have been established in
12768-532: Was revived in 2019 with Sinéad O'Connor among others playing. Thurles Arts Festival started in 2009. Organised by local councillor Jim Ryan. It will return for a third time in 2011 with various events around the town in Pubs, Clubs and The Source arts centre. Thurles is the birthplace of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), founded in 1884 in Hayes' Hotel . Semple Stadium is the second largest GAA stadium in Ireland with
12882-626: Was the economic boycott waged against the small Jewish community for over two years. Keogh suggests the name derives from their previous Lithuanian experience even though no Jews in Limerick were killed or even seriously injured. Limerick's Protestants , many of whom were also traders, supported the Jews throughout the pogrom, but ultimately five Jewish families left the city and 26 families remained. Some went to Cork , intending to embark on ships from Cobh to travel to America . The people of Cork welcomed them into their homes. Church halls were opened for
12996-678: 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 ). From 1693 the Papacy supported James II again, and so the treaty was repudiated by the Williamites, for which the city became known as The City of the Violated Treaty and is a point of bitterness in
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