About Limerick

Limerick is an ancient and proud city on the banks of the mighty River Shannon with a population of almost 95,000 people and covers an area of 59km². Located 200km from the capital, Dublin, Limerick is Ireland’s third largest city.

Limerick Swans

Ireland’s first National City of Culture, Limerick’s rich cultural life can be seen in its vibrant and historic venues and lively festival scene.

Currently undergoing an economic transformation as it emerges as one of Ireland’s leading destinations for inward investment Limerick has retained singular and proud characteristics: its famed sporting tradition; abundance of cultural offerings and affable and welcoming people. 

It's high quality of life, available housing, high educational standards and excellent primary, secondary and third level facilities, as well as exciting employment opportunities make it ideal for both families and young professionals.

The history of Limerick stretches back to its establishment by the Vikings as a walled city on King's Island in 812AD.  Its subsequent charter in 1197 makes it older than the city of London!

Limerick’s Motto

Its famous castles, ancient walls and museums are a testament to its dramatic and captivating past. Limerick’s motto is a quote from Virgil’s Aeneid and translates as: ‘a city well versed in the arts of war’.

The city was under siege in the 17th century which ended with the signing of the Treaty of Limerick in 1691. Today, the modern manifestation of its motto is a resilient city on the rise as an economic powerhouse that is driving growth across an entire region of Ireland.  

An Economic & Cultural Renaissance

Limerick City and County Council (LCCC) is taking bold decisions to recover from the economic crisis.  Over €1bn in enterprise and investment infrastructure is being invested as part of the Limerick 2030 vision: a 20 year economic and spatial plan by LCCC, which is having a transformative effect on the economic and social fabric of the city.

A Digital City

Limerick is transforming itself into the country's first Digital City, with the integration of a number of public services; the creation of smart homes; smart buildings; energy districts and smart neighbourhoods. It is home to the hugely successful Troy Studios, the largest international film and TV studio in Ireland. Limerick also has three third level institutions with 20,000 students, including a world-class university.

Green Limerick Facts

  • Limerick City and County Council was the first public body in Ireland to install Solar Photo Voltaic (PV) panels in 2008 and today has four buildings with a total of 40 kW solar PV
  • Limerick established the pilot Better Energy Homes insulation programme in 2009. This scheme is now national, and Limerick has the highest percentage of home upgrades in Ireland (25%)
  • Limerick City and County Council has achieved a 20% improvement in energy efficiency to date on the base year of 2009
  • Limerick will invest over €6.5 million to establish Ireland’s first Positive Energy Block (PEB) in the heart of Limerick City. The Limerick PEB will create 2.1 GWh of energy from renewable resources. The Limerick PEB will also establish Ireland’s first Community Electricity Grid and a local energy market
  • Limerick has 19 indoor bike lockers, a shared surface walk and cycle way developed along the canal bank linking Corbally and the city centre to the University of Limerick (approximately 4.5km). It has a Bike Share Scheme, with 23 bike stations and 215 bikes in the city centre
  • It has eight dedicated Car Club spaces in the city which allow people access to cars without committing to ownership. There are nine e-car charging stations located in the city, each of which can accommodate two electric vehicles (EVs) and EV users can charge their cars free of charge. LCCC also provides four hours of free parking where these charging stations are located on the public road to further encourage the uptake of EVs
  • Three public green areas were chosen for the ‘rewilding’ project to encourage biodiversity and create additional habitat within the city for pollinators
  • In January 2017, the Council installed three continuous particulate monitors in the city. One of these is located in the city centre while the others are in suburban areas (Mungret and Castletroy). In May 2018, gas monitors were added to the network to measure NO2, SO2, O3 and CO
  • Limerick currently has a network of four ‘Type 2’ sound level meters in the city which record noise levels continuously and provide real time data
  • LCCC also provides free ‘Bring Bank’ facilities for household recycling. There are 17 such facilities in Limerick City which accept glass, aluminium cans and steel cans. Textile banks are available at nine of these locations
  • Team Limerick Clean-up (TLC) takes place every Easter Good Friday since 2015. The first year, over 10,000 people participated in what was Ireland’s largest ever one-day clean-up! Remarkably, and testament to the success of the programme, it continues to grow exponentially and almost 21,000 volunteers took part from 646 separate groups in 2019 
  • Every school in the city is involved in the National An Taisce Green Schools Programme.