Irishtown () is an area of central

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

, Ireland. The area along with Englishtown and

Newtown Pery Newtown Pery (; ) is an area of central Limerick, Ireland, and forms the main city centre (or CBD) of the city. The district is known for its Georgian architectural heritage and is the core area of Limerick's Georgian Quarter. It is one of the ...

forms Limerick city centre. Broad Street, John Street and Mungret Street are the main streets in the district. St. John's Square, a prized early Georgian development is located here as is St. John's Cathedral and the Milk Market which is located off Mungret Street. Irishtown is one of the oldest districts in Limerick dating from the Middle Ages. The district evolved on the southern banks of the

Abbey River The Abbey River is a right-bank backwater of the River Thames in England, in Chertsey, Surrey — in the town's northern green and blue buffers. The L-shaped conduit adjoins mixed-use flood plain: water-meadows landscaped for a golf cou ...

as the City of Limerick, located on the southern part of King's Island as an island city from the time of its foundation, grew beyond its boundaries. The Irishtown area was populated mainly by native Irish in contrast to the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

settlement on King's Island. The two areas of Limerick had their distinct characteristics and customs and were connected by one bridge; Baal's Bridge over the Abbey River. The citadel is located in Irishtown and today is located in the grounds of St. John's Hospital. It was here during the

Siege of Limerick (1690) Limerick, a city in western Ireland, was besieged twice in the Williamite War in Ireland in 1689–1691. On the first occasion, in August to September 1690, its Jacobite defenders retreated to the city after their defeat at the Battle of th ...

that 4.000 of William of Orange's troops were blown to bits during the massed assault on the Black Battery on the Walls of Limerick at Irishtown. Today, very little of the historical urban fabric remains in Irishtown despite being one of the oldest areas of Limerick and located close to the present day city centre. Following the construction of Newtown Pery the houses were converted into tenements and rented to the city's poorest residents. The houses were very poorly maintained and for a time the peoples lived in

slum A slum is a highly populated Urban area, urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are p ...

conditions particularly in the laneways off the main streets. The slums were cleared in the mid 20th century and the Irishtown area literally crumbled with (in some cases) only the outline of the streets remaining such was the dereliction of the area at the time. The area was rebuilt in the early 1990s and 2000s. St. John's Square, the centrepiece of the area, was refurbished in the late 2000s. Other areas, such as Broad Street, Mungret Street and the areas surrounding the Milk Market, including the Watergate flats have been significantly redeveloped and cleaned up. The area is home to St John's Hospital, a general voluntary acute hospital in Limerick City.

References

{{Limerick Limerick (city)

See also

References