Monday 4 February 2013

Medieval walk around Limerick; if you are interested in either architecture and/or history, you'll love it!

Our guide was fantastic and he knew a great deal about Argentina.  

This is one of the entrances to King John's Castle.



Ok you might no see it very well but this house's front wall still shows the hole made by the bullets shot by the British during the Irish Republic's revolution (1916-1922)  

At the beginning of the Civil War in June 1922, the Irish Free State government, composed of the Irish republican leadership who had accepted the Anglo-Irish Treaty, held only the capital city of Dublin.. The new National Army was composed of those units of the Irish Republican Army loyal to them, plus recent recruits.
Much of the rest of the country was outside of its control and in the hands of the anti-Treaty elements of the Irish Republican Army, who did not accept the legitimacy of the new state and who asserted that the Irish Republic, created in 1919, was the continuing legitimate all-island state. 
Outnumbered and out-gunned, the pro-Treaty commander of the city, Michael Brennan, negotiated a truce with the Chief-of-Staff of the much stronger anti-Treaty force, Liam Lynch. 



This is King John's castle (Remember King Richard Lion-Heart's brother; the bad guy in Robin Hood legend?)  It's a pity but it's close until May for renovations so perhaps next group will get to see it inside.

St Mary's Cathedral is actually a protestant church mixing romanesque and gothic architectures.


The city is divided in 3 parts: the Irish, the English and the New area.

The river used to go up to the walls of the castle some time ago.


The bridge separates the British side (King John's island) and the Irish side.

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