Posts Tagged ‘history’
The Tontines
The History of The Tontines The Tontines are a block of four three storey Georgian houses built opposite Cloon Island in 1812. The houses were erected by W. Gabbett using money raised by public subscription. Most of the money came from rich property owners in the district, under a financial scheme initiated in France in…
Read MoreCastleconnell Railway Station
In days gone by, if you wanted to travel from Castleconnell to Limerick City, there were two methods of transport. A horse-drawn coach which left regularly from the village centre or the steam train from the railway station direct into Limerick’s Colbert Station. The railway station in Castleconnell opened on 8 August 1858 and…
Read MoreThe Footbridge
The story of our Footbridge In 1941, the 12th Desmond Infantry Battalion of the Irish Army arrived in Castleconnell. It was the height of World War Two and a state of emergency had been declared in Ireland. Many of the big houses in the area, on both sides of the river, were converted into military…
Read MoreSpectacles Grady & Belmont House
Spectacles Grady and Belmont House Belmont House (now Riverbrook Nursing Home) is noted for being the residence of Thomas Grady, a member of the Irish Bar, scholar and satirical poet of much acclaim. He was known as Spectacles Grady, because of his short-sightedness and was renowned for his wit at many a local gathering. Unfortunately,…
Read MorePride of Place
One Day in August At 1.45 in the afternoon of 8th August 2012 the door gently closed and the vintage car containing the two judges pulled out down Castle Street, turned left on to the back road and away from the village. The TG4 van was loaded up, the local garda giving a wave as…
Read MoreMesolithic burials at Hermitage
The earliest recorded inhabitants of Ireland date back to the Mesolithic period, arriving by at least 8000BC and crossing the sea in small boats. In 2001, Ireland’s oldest recorded burial site was discovered at Hermitage, Castleconnell. Following test trenching by Limerick County Council in advance of a pipe-laying scheme, Aegis Archaeology was contracted to excavate…
Read MoreHistoric Graves
In the cold winter months of 2012/13, the memorials in the graveyard at All Saints Church, Stradbally North, Castleconnell, were recorded by a group of over 30 local volunteers, They came armed with gloves, torches and mirrors to help in the reading of the older inscriptions and a determination to decipher and record the huge…
Read MoreThe Fitzgibbon Monument
The Fitzgibbon monument The Fitzgibbon monument, as it has become known, borders the N7 road near Lisnagry School and is an important landmark in the area. This 19th century public water fountain was originally installed at Carrowkeel, near Finnegan’s Cross. The original pump had been placed at the site by John Fitzgibbon, Earl of Clare…
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