The People's Park is a park located by Pery Square in Limerick, Ireland, just west of the railway station and bus terminal. At the northern edge of the park is the Limerick City Gallery of Art.
The People's Park is a park located by Pery Square in Limerick, Ireland, just west of the railway station and bus terminal. At the northern edge of the park is the Limerick City Gallery of Art.
The park was initially developed as part of the Pery Square development in the Newtown Pery area of central Limerick. This development commenced in 1835 and the associated park was a keyholders-only park. The plan was to surround the park with housing for the more affluent members of society - [1] Pery Square was intended to be a complete Georgian square with the Georgian terraces enclosing a central park, similar in layout to Merrion Square or Mountjoy Square in Dublin, albeit more modest in scale. Ireland's Georgian economy began to decline with the onset of the Great Irish Famine and only one terrace of the square was ever completed - funds for the project ran out before this could be completed. [1]
The park was officially opened in 1877; it was given to the People of Limerick in honour of Richard Russell, a prominent local businessman. It was the then Earl of Limerick in the 1870s who granted a 500-year lease of Pery Square and the surrounding grounds to the city's corporation under certain conditions. These included an agreement that no political or religious meetings were allowed to be held in the park and bands were not to play there on a Sunday. [1] The plots of land that were earmarked for the development of the Georgian Square were eventually incorporated into the park and extended it further north to what is now Mallow Street, eastwards towards Boherbuoy Road and southwards towards St. Joseph Street.[ citation needed ]
The park boasts a number of interesting items including a memorial upon a giant pillar to Thomas Spring Rice, MP for the city of Limerick from 1820–1832, [2] a 19th-century bandstand, an ornate drinking fountain (one of only two on the island of Ireland) and two gazebos.
In 2001, a children's playground opened in the park. In April 2022, the playground underwent a significant refurbishment, replacing much of the ageing equipment with modern, interactive equipment. [3] Works finished in September 2023. [4]
A memorial garden to The Little Angels of Limerick opened in 2002.
The Limerick City Gallery of Art's (LCGA) modern-day extension opens into the Peoples Park (its main entrance is on Pery Square) alongside a Zest café located in the art gallery.
Bus Éireann Routes 301, 304A and 306 serve the park on its Mallow Street side and Boherbuoy. Route 303 stops on nearby Parnell Street and Hyde Road.
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover, George I, George II, George III, and George IV, who reigned in continuous succession from August 1714 to June 1830.
Limerick is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 102,287 at the 2022 census, Limerick is the third-most populous urban area in the Republic of Ireland, and the fourth-most populous city on the island of Ireland. It was founded by Scandinavian settlers in 812, during the Viking Age.
Thomas Spring Rice, 1st Baron Monteagle of Brandon, was a British Whig politician, who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1835 to 1839.
As with other cities in Ireland, Limerick has a history of great architecture. A 1574 document prepared for the Spanish ambassador attests to its wealth and fine architecture:
The architecture of Ireland is one of the most visible features in the Irish countryside – with remains from all eras since the Stone Age abounding. Ireland is famous for its ruined and intact Norman and Anglo-Irish castles, small whitewashed thatched cottages and Georgian urban buildings. What are unaccountably somewhat less famous are the still complete Palladian and Rococo country houses which can be favourably compared to anything similar in northern Europe, and the country's many Gothic and neo-Gothic cathedrals and buildings.
Mountjoy Square is a garden square in Dublin, Ireland, on the Northside of the city just under a kilometre from the River Liffey. One of five Georgian squares in Dublin, it was planned and developed in the late 18th century by Luke Gardiner, 1st Viscount Mountjoy. It is surrounded on all sides by terraced, red-brick Georgian houses. Construction of the houses began piecemeal in 1792 and the final property was completed in 1818.
O'Connell Street is the main thoroughfare of the city of Limerick. It was previously known as George's Street until it was renamed after Daniel O'Connell. The street runs in parallel to the River Shannon and forms part of an overall thoroughfare, along with Rutland Street and Patrick Street, that bisects Limerick City Centre in a north east to south west direction. The street is about a mile in length, starting at the Arthurs Quay / Denmark Street junction and ending at The Crescent. A monument to Daniel O'Connell stands at the centre of The Crescent overlooking O'Connell Street. The street is noted for its Georgian architectural heritage.
Edmund Sexton Pery, 1st Viscount Pery was an Anglo-Irish politician who served as Speaker of the Irish House of Commons between 1771 and 1785.
The West End is an affluent district of Edinburgh, Scotland, which along with the rest of the New Town and Old Town forms central Edinburgh, and Edinburgh's UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area boasts several of the city's hotels, restaurants, independent shops, offices and arts venues, including the Edinburgh Filmhouse, Edinburgh International Conference Centre and the Caledonian Hotel. The area also hosts art festivals and crafts fairs.
James Pain was an English architect. Born into a family of English architects, his grandfather was William Pain, his father James Pain and his brother George Richard Pain. James Pain served as an apprentice to the architect John Nash of London. James and George Richard were commissioned by the Board of First Fruits to design churches and glebe houses in Ireland. In 1833, James Pain became one of the four principal architects of the Board of Ecclesiastical Commissioners. He settled in Limerick, Ireland. Many of his designs were produced in collaboration with his brother George Richard who practised in Cork.
Limerick Museum, previously known as the Jim Kemmy Municipal Museum, is a city museum in Limerick, Ireland.
Limerick City Gallery of Art is an art museum in the city of Limerick, Ireland. It is run by Limerick City Council and is located in Pery Square, in the Newtown Pery area of the city.
Newtown Pery is an area of central Limerick, Ireland, and forms the main city centre of the city. The district is known for its Georgian architectural heritage and is the core area of Limerick's Georgian Quarter. It is one of the three towns that make up modern-day Limerick City Centre, the other two being the older Englishtown and Irishtown, which date from the medieval period. Newtown Pery houses the largest collection of Georgian townhouses in Ireland outside of Dublin. In 1837, Samuel Lewis in his Topographical Dictionary of Ireland described Newtown Pery as "one of the handsomest towns in Ireland".
William Street is one of the main thoroughfares of central Limerick City, Ireland. The street starts at a junction with O'Connell Street and continues in a south-east direction, where it is called Upper William Street. The street is named after William Pery, 1st Baron Glentworth a relation of Edmund Sexton Pery who is credited with the development of the present day Limerick City Centre area known as Newtown Pery.
Henry Street is a street in Limerick, Ireland. The street is named after Edmund Henry Pery, 1st Earl of Limerick who had a house on the street which is now occupied by the Hibernian Insurance Company. The street runs parallel to the River Shannon and O'Connell Street.
Pery Square is a Georgian Terrace located in the Newtown Pery area of Limerick city, Ireland. The terrace was constructed as a speculative development by the Pery Square Tontine Company between 1835 and 1838. The square was named in honour of the politician Edmund Sexton Pery. The terrace is notable as one of the finest examples of late Georgian architecture in Limerick and Ireland.
Irishtown is an area of central Limerick, Ireland. The area along with Englishtown and Newtown Pery forms Limerick city centre. Broad Street, John Street and Mungret Street are the main streets in the district. St. John's Square, a prized early Georgian development is located here as is St. John's Cathedral and the Milk Market which is located off Mungret Street.
The People's Museum of Limerick is a local history museum in Limerick, Ireland.
The Limerick Civic Trust is an environmental, architectural conservation and educational organisation founded in 1982 that works to identify, record, preserve and publicise Limerick's culture, history, environment and architectural heritage. Although the trust works in conjunction with local authorities, state agencies and various commercial and professional entities, it remains an independent organisation and is entirely self-funded.
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