The People's Park is a park located by

Pery Square Pery Square ( ga, Cearnóg an Pheirigh) is a Georgian Terrace located in the Newtown Pery area of Limerick city, Ireland. The terrace was constructed as a speculative development by the Pery Square Tontine Company between 1835 and 1838. The sq ...

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, just west of the railway station and bus terminal. At the northern edge of the park is the Limerick City Gallery of Art.

History

The Park was initially developed as part of the

development in the Newtown Pery area of central Limerick. This development commenced in 1835 and the associated park was a key-holders only park. The intended plan was to surround the park with housing for the more affluent members of society. Pery Square was intended to be a complete Georgian square with the Georgian terraces enclosing a central park, similar in layout to

Merrion Square Merrion Square () is a Georgian garden square on the southside of Dublin city centre. History The square was laid out in 1752 by the estate of Viscount FitzWilliam and was largely complete by the beginning of the 19th century. The demand for ...

Mountjoy Square Mountjoy Square () is a Georgian architecture, Georgian garden square in Dublin, Ireland, on the Northside (Dublin), Northside of the city just under a kilometre from the River Liffey. One of five Georgian squares in Dublin, it was planned and d ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, however more modest in scale. Ireland's Georgian economy began to decline with the onset of the

Great Irish Famine The Great Famine ( ga, an Gorta Mór ), also known within Ireland as the Great Hunger or simply the Famine and outside Ireland as the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a ...

and only one terrace of the square was ever completed funds for the project ran out before this could be completed. The park was officially opened in 1877, it was given to the People of Limerick in honour of Richard Russell, a prominent local businessman. It was the then

Earl of Limerick Earl of Limerick is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, associated first with the Dongan family, then with the Pery family. First creation The earldom was created for the first time in 1686 for Sir William Dongan, 4 ...

in the 1870s who granted a 500-year lease of Pery Square and the surrounding grounds to the corporation under certain conditions. These included an agreement that no political or religious meetings were allowed to be held in the park and bands were not to play there on a Sunday. The plots of land that were earmarked for the development of the Georgian Square were eventually incorporated into the park and extended it further north to what is now Mallow Street, eastwards towards Boherbuoy Road and southwards towards St. Joseph Street.

Amenities

The Park (with Monument) Limerick (5260847312)

The park boasts a number of interesting items including a memorial upon a giant pillar to Thomas Spring Rice, MP for the city of Limerick from 1820–1832, a 19th-century

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...

, an ornate drinking fountain (one of only two on the island of Ireland) and two gazebos. Modern facilities include a playground opened in 2001 and memorial garden to ''The Little Angels of Limerick'' opened in 2002.

History

Amenities

References

Related links