A few interesting facts to note about Limerick City which you can use to impress your peers, they may even come in handy on a Trivia night!

Limerick is known as the Treaty County as a result of the Treaty of Limerick being signed on October 3^rd 1691 after the war between King James II and his son in law William III aka William of Orange.

Former US President, John F. Kennedy’s great-grandfather, Thomas Fitzgerald (the man who gave them the ‘F’ in their name), hails from the town of Bruff in east Co. Limerick!

The University of Limerick holds the title of the longest footbridge in Ireland and one of the longest footbridges in Europe because of the Living Bridge here on the UL Campus!

Limerick City’s motto is urbs antiqua fuit studisque asperrima belli (an ancient city well studied in the arts of war.)

Limerick is the third largest city in Ireland and was founded by the Vikings in 812.

 The oldest Cathedral still in use today is St Mary’s Cathedral – dating back to the 12th Century.

Irish Coffee which consists of a brew infused Irish whiskey, was invented in the Limerick village Foynes in 1943!

Limerick boasts the most western castle in Europe, King John’s. Built in 1200 by —you guessed it — King John, this castle is one of the best-preserved Norman castles in Europe.

A Limerick Lady was the first woman to parachute from a plane and also the first person to fly from Cape Town to London, her name was Lady Heath.

There is an urban population of nearly 100,000 people in Limerick.

Some of Limerick’s Famous People

Frank McCourt is a Pulitzer Prize- winning author of the novel Angela’s Ashes. Although he was born in New York his mother who is originally from Limerick moved them back to the Treaty County during the Great Depression.

Paul O’Connell is a Limerick born rugby player who upon retirement was the third most capped player in Irish rugby history.

Richard Harris was an actor, singer, theatrical producer, writer, poet & film director. His versatility was evident in his varied film roles whether he was playing a Roman Emperor, a wizard, a tenant-farmer or a mutineer or Professor Dumbledore in Harry Potter. There is a film festival held in Limerick every year in his memory. For more visit: https://richardharrisfilmfestival.com/

Ruth Negga was born in Limerick with Ethiopian roots and has been nominated for endless amounts of awards after her performances in shows such as Love/Hate and amazing film, Loving.

Marian Keyes is a Limerick born author with bestselling books revolving around the topics of family, mental health and divorce. Marian also received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Limerick in 2019. If you are on the market for a new book you should give her vast collection a look!

The Rubber Bandits helped bring the lovely Limerick lilt to the far reaches of the world with over 20 million views for their iconic Horse Outside video on You Tube, which brought them to far flung parts of the planet from Moscow to Toronto to Australia. Check out the Blindboy Podcast here

The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick in 1989. They are most known for their songs, ‘Zombie’, ‘Linger’ & ‘Dreams’ but have had International success with all of their albums. Have a listen here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7t0rwkOPGlDPEhaOcVtOt9

Michael Daniel Higgins was born in Limerick in 1941 and is a well known Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster. He is most commonly known as the ninth and current serving President of Ireland since November 2011. 

Bill Whelan was born in 1950 in Limerick and is a renowned composer and musician. He is best known for composing a piece called Riverdance for the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. Although it was only a seven minute show displaying traditional Irish dancing it was hugely popular and led to a full length stage production that garnered worldwide success. Watch a clip of the Eurovision performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0v_pu6miJ8

For all the information that you need visit Limerick.ie

To find out more about the University of Limerick and our UL Global division, give our website a visit: https://www.ul.ie/international/