Limerick City

Limerick city is full of historical complications. From the time that the vikings came in to pillage and sell Irish redhead women to Istanbul in 950, to the reclamation by the Irish folk and establishment of King John's castle and St. Mary's Cathedral in the 1100's, it has seen plenty of war and strifing. 

Cannonballs are still cemented into the church, and bulletholes still riddle the red cement walls of the buildings nearby due to the revolution. After all, the stone on which treaty of limerick 1691, the engraved Latin motto translates to "old stone city schooled in war."

The city is also home to old stone walls from city settlement, a girl's nunnery school, an old castle, and the largest rugby stadium in the Isles. I visited on the 850th anniversary of the city.

St. Mary’s Cathedral was quite a treat. Lots of history lies in this candlelit cathedral that fueled the English crusades. It is also here that I learned that the origin of the Irish flag is for Dutch prince William the orange (north republic) and green for southern Ireland, and the white as peace between the two.

Irish coffee was also invented here by the chef on duty at the docks in WWII. He wanted a way for sailors to calm their nerves while remaining awake and alert. My Irish-inspired recipe can be found in a later post.

King John's castle is where the Magna Carta was signed. It was under siege a lot, and ironically enough, most of their resources were used to dig tunnels to fight at the castle foundation. Since O2 was depraved in these tunnels, air was transmitted by tar-soaked pigs set in fire that ran to and down the corridors. these pig's screams would also startle running elephants.

Limerick is also home to lots of global warming issues. The erosion has taken place tenfold. Their car company Skoda has paired with several environmental agencies to help reduce global warming.

There is so much to see in such a little amount of time, including their Milk Market, if you can afford the time. This is one of many fantastic cities I've gone to, and many more will follow suit. Keep updated on my adventures by subscribing to my emailing list.

Some views from the city.