Limerick, capital of Limerick county, Ireland, stands at the head of the estuary of the Shannon, 120 miles by rail WSW. of Dublin. It constitutes both a county of a city and a parliamentary borough, returning one member to parliament; previous to 1885 it returned two. The town consists of English Town, the original English settlement made in the reign of King John, on King's Island; Irish Town, which lies immediately to the south, on the left bank of the river; and Newtown-Pery, to the south of Irish Town, the newest and handsomest part of the city, dating from 1769. There are few objects of interest except the Protestant cathedral of St Mary, founded in 1180, and rebuilt in 1490; the Roman Catholic cathedral, a Gothic structure erected in 1860; and the fine bridges across the Shannon. Limerick manufactures a little lace, grinds flour, and cures bacon. Fourth among Irish seaports, it has a graving and a floating dock, and extensive quays; imports grain, petroleum, wine and spirits, and timber to the annual value of £683,000; the exports fluctuate from £18,000 to nil. Pop. (1851) 53,448; (1881) 38,555; (1891) 37,155.
In the 9th century Limerick was an important Danish settlement, and remained so for two centuries longer; but the Danes were then expelled by the Irish. In 1174 the town fell into English hands. Ireton made himself master of it in 1651. At the Revolution Limerick was the last stronghold of James II. in Ireland. William III. himself unsuccessfully assaulted it in 1690; but in the following year his general Ginckel had better fortune: the place was compelled to capitulate on 3d October. By the terms of the treaty of Limerick the bulk of the Irish army was permitted to enter the military service of France, and the Roman Catholics were guaranteed full religious and political liberty. The violation of the civil part of this treaty by the dominant Protestant party during the reigns of William III. and Anne, down to the 19th century, has given to Limerick the title of the 'City of the Violated Treaty.' See IRELAND, p. 205; and Linnahan's history of the town (1866).