It is thought that humans
had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the
county as early as 3000 BCE, while megalithic remains found
at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BCE. The arrival
of the Celts around 400 BCE brought about the division
of the county into petty kingdoms or tuath.
Christianity came to Limerick in the 5th Century
and resulted in the establishment of important monasteries
in Limerick, at Ardpatrick, Mungret, and Kileedy.
From this golden age in Ireland of learning and art
(5th - 9th Centuries) comes one of Ireland's greatest
artefacts, The Ardagh Chalice, a masterpiece of metalwork,
which was found in a west Limerick fort in 1868.
The arrival of the Vikings in the 9th century brought
about the establishment of the city on an island
on the River Shannon in 922. The death of Donal Mór
O'Brien, King of Munster in 1194 resulted in the
invading Normans taking control of Limerick, and
in 1210, the County of Limerick was formally established.
Over time, the Normans became "more Irish than
the Irish themselves" as the saying goes. The
Tudors in England wanted to curb the power of these
Gaelicised Norman Rulers and centralise all power
in their hands, so they established colonies of English
in the county. This caused the leading Limerick Normans,
The Geraldines, to revolt against English Rule in
1569. This sparked a savage war in Munster known
as the Desmond Rebellions, during which the province
was laid to waste, and the confiscation of the vast
estates of the Geraldines.
The county was to be further ravaged by war over
the next century. After the Irish Rebellion of 1641,
Limerick city was taken in a siege by Catholic general
Garret Barry in 1642. The county was not fought over
for most of the Irish Confederate Wars of 1641-53,
being safely behind the front lines of the Catholic
Confederate Ireland. However, it became a battleground
during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649-53.
The invasion of the forces of Oliver Cromwell in
the 1650s included a twelve month siege of the city
by Cromwell's New Model Army led by Henry Ireton.
The city finally surrendered in October 1651. During
the Jacobite-Williamite War (1689-1691) the city
was to endure two further sieges, one in 1690 and
another in 1691. It was during the 1690 siege that
the infamous destruction of the Williamite guns at
Ballyneety, near Pallasgreen was carried out by the
heroic defender of Limerick, General Patrick Sarsfield
The Catholic Irish, comprising the vast majority
of the population, had eagerly supported the Jacobite
cause, however, the second siege of Limerick resulted
in a defeat to the Williamites. Sarsfield managed
to force the Williamites to sign the Treaty of Limerick,
the terms of which were satisfactory to the Irish.
However the Treaty was subsequently dishonoured by
the English and the city became known as the City
of the Broken Treaty.
The 18th and 19th centuries saw a long period of
persecution against the Catholic majority, many of
whom lived in poverty. The Great Famine of the 1840s
set in motion mass emigration and a huge decline
in Irish as a spoken language in the county. This
began to change around the beginning of the 20th
century, as changes in law from the British Government
enabled the farmers of the county to purchase lands
they had previously only held as tenants, paying
high rent to absentee landlords.
Limerick saw much fighting during the War of Independence
of 1919 to 1921 particularly in the east of the county.
The subsequent Irish Civil War saw bitter fighting
between the newly established Irish Free State soldiers
and IRA "Irregulars," especially in the
city.
County Limerick is the green heartland of Munster
and its Irish name Luimneach (the flat area) certainly
makes sense when compared with the rest of the province.
Especially in the east, the land consist mostly of
a fertile limestone plain, which is ringed by mountains
on its borders; The Slieve Felims, The Galtees (Na
Gaibhlte) and the Ballyhouras. However it would be
wrong to say that the county is a monotonous plain,
for the county is dotted with hills and ridges. This
eastern part of the county is the heartland of the
Golden Vale, the rich, verdant fields famous for
their dairy produce. Towards the west, the aptly
named Mullaghareirk Mountains ("Mullach na Radhairc" in
Irish, roughly meaning mountains of the view) push
across the county offering dramatic views east over
the county and west into County Kerry.
Volcanic rock is to be found in numerous areas in
the county, at Carrigogunnell, at Knockfierna, and
principally at Pallasgreen/Kilteely in the east,
which has been described as the most compact and
for its size one of the most varied and complete
carboniferous volcanic districts in either Britain
and Ireland.
County Limerick is drained principally by the Rivers
Mulkear, Maigue, Deale and the Feale, which are all
tributaries of the River Shannon. The Shannon Estuary
forms the northern boundary of the county, giving Limerick
a navigable outlet to the sea, the principal ports
being Limerick and Foynes
