King John’s Castle in Limerick, Ireland. Irish history etched in every stone. Visit this place!
I am in Limerick again, to visit an incredible 13th Century castle on the banks of the mighty Shannon. This part of Limerick, named King’s Island, dates back to previous Viking settlements in 922, so this part of Limerick’s been inhabited for a long time.
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The castle is sometimes called Limerick Castle, but first we’re going to visit a monument called The Wild Geese, which commemorates the families that fled Limerick after the siege, which we’ll talk about in a minute. The fountain was renovated recently and was originally a gift from the Government of Spokane in Washington USA.
The mighty fort was built in 1210 under the orders of King John of England. It was a key piece of infrastructure from that point onwards, protecting the town from the Gaelic Kingdoms in the west as well as from Norman Lords inhabiting the South and East. It was John’s castle that secured stability in Limerick allowing it to grow rich until the advent of 5 separate sieges in the 17th Century.
The castle was redeveloped in 2013 at a cost of €5.7 million Euros. And you can see, not only one of the other towers of the castle, but also the new visitors complex, which has obviously been designed to contrast as much as possible with the medieval castle – and that’s not a bad idea. It’s always good to see a clear distinction between the old and the new.
Before passing into the castle grounds (which as you’ll see are spectacular), you pass through the new exhibition centre, an area full of models and multimedia technology designed to bring history to life in the castle for the young and the old.
There’s no doubt about it that the animations and multimedia realisations are impressive and it’s this facility as well as the new visitor centre itself that was funded by the €5.7 million. I think the visitor centre is probably a good addition to the site but I wonder if maybe it should be possible to gain access purely to the castle at a cheaper rate, for those who just want to see the building?
We visit the ‘Undercroft’. This most ancient part of the castle has the remains of two Ostmen Houses, discovered in 1990 and thought to be the oldest houses in Limerick. The undercroft is proof that the castle was built on a previous Viking settlement. And then we exit and ascend the steps which bring us up into the castle courtyard.
Now again this original area of the castle has been renovated to make the place more family friendly I suspect. Personally I’m not keen on this kind of theme park approach, but I accept that kids will enjoy this more than simply walking around a bare castle. I guess the argument is that it brings history alive. I wish there was a better way to bring history alive. It’s all a bit Disneyland. The idea is obviously that you can see the various trades and workplaces that would have been situated here.
The 17th Century was a particularly turbulent time in Ireland. The most famous siege (The siege of Limerick) was by an Irish Confederate force in 1642. The castle at that time was occupied by protestants fleeing the Irish rebellion of 1641. The foundation of a section of the walls were deliberately undermined by the attaching force in that siege so that they had to eventually be torn down. But the castle was besieged no less than 5 times during the 17th Century.
And of course one of the things you must do if you come here is climb up to the top of the towers for a great view over Limerick. And once inside the castle you’re presented with a range of castle rooms, displaying ancient artefacts. And you can get some sense here of just how thick the walls are. It’s hard to imagine how you could do any damage to this place in a siege without modern weapons. Even then – this place looks like it could hold its own.
As always I these visits to ancient sites, you need to have some level of fitness and mobility to be able to get around them.
But its seeing the actual fabric of these buildings, and how they’re put together that facinates me, rather than the multimedia areas, but each to their own. To me, walking between these stony walls is the only interaction I need. These buildings are just so incredible, and it’s so amazing that they’re still standing today and that we can visit them.
Another draw for the castle is that they have concerts here in the courtyard – big ones too. Van Morrison has played here, and Paul Weller performed here during this summer. So I think it’s fair to say that every effort is made here to pull people in. And I think places like this should function in the modern world.
I should mention as well that the newly built section houses a gift shop and café too, so you can really make a day of this, and spend time in the castle.
Credit to : Naked Ireland