Despite the fact that it is close to Galway (where I lived for 2 years and a half), I never had a real opportunity to stay in County Limerick more than 4/5h. Thinking about it now, I believe that one of the reasons is that you willingly cross the county to go South but no one really plans to visit it. County Limerick could be described schematically like this: an airport nearby, a big city, the Galtee Mountains in the East (shared with County Tipperary) and a flat landscape all around.

You will find below and on the right-hand side, some examples of activities to do and sites to visit in County Limerick, in images and in text.

1. Pass by Limerick...
[] With its 91000 inhabitants, the City of Limerick is the 3rd biggest city in the Republic of Ireland, after Dublin and Cork. Thanks to the airport of Shannon (Co. Clare) located only 20 km from Galway, the town attracts more and more visitors. However, in terms of tourist sites and architecture, the modern town hardly competes with other Irish towns (even smaller ones). Of course, it all depends on what you are looking for... If you go to the City of Limerick in order to take pictures of urban landscapes, you may be a bit disappointed. However, if you're more into shopping, you'll definitely enjoy Limerick's boutiques and shopping centres.

2. Sail away on River Shannon...
[] If you go through this website, you'll notice that it often refers to the River Shannon. This river crosses at least 9 Irish counties: Limerick, Leitrim, Longford, Roscommon, Galway, Offally, Westmeath, Clare and Tipperary. Because of its location on River Shannon estuary, it is easy to understand the industrial importance of the City of Limerick, throughout history. The City hosted for quite some time, one of the most important meat processing, confection and flour industries in Ireland. This explains the industrial looking of Limerick, even if the town tries nowadays to modernise its appearance in order to attract more visitors.

3. Visit King John's Castle...
[] Just as the town of Carlingford (County Louth) did, the City of Limerick built its castle to honour King John (who was the brother of Richard Lionheart) in the 13th century. See photo.

4. Take a break in Adare...
[] There's a little surprise in County Limerick: it is named Adare. The town is deservedly designated as a heritage town by the Irish government. Part of the charm of the town comes from its little thatched houses, which seem to come directly from the Folk Park of Bunratty, located in the neighbouring county of Clare.