Rutland Street () is a street in 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 Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

that forms part of the main central thoroughfare of the city which incorporates Rutland Street,

Patrick Street Patrick Street is an Irish folk group founded by Kevin Burke (formerly of The Bothy Band) on fiddle, Andy Irvine ( Sweeney's Men, Planxty) on mandolin, bouzouki, harmonica and vocals, Jackie Daly (De Dannan) on button accordion, and Arty Mc ...

and

O'Connell Street O'Connell Street () is a street in the centre of Dublin, Ireland, running north from the River Liffey. It connects the O'Connell Bridge to the south with Parnell Street to the north and is roughly split into two sections bisected by Henry ...

. Named after the 4th

Duke of Rutland Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in whos ...

, Charles Manners, who was appointed

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...

in 1784 and visited Limerick in 1785. Rutland Street along with nearby Bank Place features some of Limerick's earliest (and oldest) examples of

Georgian Architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Han ...

. It was the first street developed as part of Edmund Sexton Pery's plans for

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 ...

, and was the first part of the great Georgian expansion of Limerick south from the medieval city. In 1901,

Irish nationalists Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

suggested renaming the street to Hugh O'Neill Street. The

Hunt Museum The Hunt Museum () is a museum located in The Custom House, Limerick, the Custom House in the city of Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It holds a personal collection donated by the John Hunt (antiquarian), Hunt family, it was originall ...

is located on Rutland Street. It is located in the former Customs House, designed by architect

Davis Ducart Davis Ducart (active from c. 1761, died 1780/81), was an architect and engineer in Ireland in the 1760s and 1770s. He designed several large buildings and engineering projects. He had associations with the canal builders of the time and the mining ...

. The building dates from 1769. The headquarters of Limerick Corporation were located in the old Town Hall on the street. Limerick Corporation moved to Limerick's City Hall at Merchant's Quay near the City Courthouse in 1990. The old Town Hall then became the Mid West Business Institute, before it moved to Upper William Street. As of 2024, the Opera Centre development is under construction in the city centre, which incorporates Rutland Street and the adjoining Michael Street, Ellen Street and

References

{{Limerick Streets in Limerick (city)