History of Limerick

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 Great Irish Famine (1845-1849), war, and emergency, until the boom times of the 1990s. The city now boasts a rich and 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. This island was also called Inis an Ghaill Duibh.