County Limerick

County Limerick is a land of low-lying farmland and rolling green mountains, with a quaint rural Irish charm and tradition. Nestled in the depths of this rural landscape are idyllic and picturesque villages, particularly Adare, which is dotted with a pretty array of thatched cottages on the banks of the River Maigue. County Limerick is also home to one of Ireland’s most important archaeological sites, Lough Gur, with remains of a pre-historic settlement from around 5,000 years ago.

By contrast to these sleepy country villages, the city of Limerick sprawling the banks of the River Shannon, is a vibrant and bustling city of important cultural significance. Founded by the Vikings, but taken over by the Irish, Limerick was developed and fortified by the Anglo-Normans during the middle ages, and today King John’s Castle overlooking the river stands as a reminder of this medieval era. Limerick is also the setting for Frank McCourt’s book Angela’s Ashes, as well as the birth place of the late broadcaster Terry Wogan and Rose Fitzgerald, mother of J. F. Kennedy.

To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.
Bill Bryson