The History of The Tontines The Tontines are a block of four three storey Georgian houses built opposite Cloon Island in 1812.  The houses were erected by W. Gabbett using money raised by public subscription. Most of the money came from rich property owners in the district, under a financial scheme initiated in France in…

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In days gone by, if you wanted to travel from Castleconnell to Limerick City, there were two methods of transport. A horse-drawn coach which left regularly from the village centre or the steam train from the railway station direct into Limerick’s Colbert Station.    The railway station in Castleconnell opened on 8 August 1858 and…

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The story of our Footbridge In 1941, the 12th Desmond Infantry Battalion of the Irish Army arrived in Castleconnell. It was the height of World War Two and a state of emergency had been declared in Ireland.  Many of the big houses in the area, on both sides of the river, were converted into military…

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One Day in August At 1.45 in the afternoon of 8th August 2012 the door gently closed and the vintage car containing the two judges pulled out down Castle Street, turned left on to the back road and away from the village. The TG4 van was loaded up, the local garda giving a wave as…

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In the cold winter months of 2012/13, the memorials in the graveyard at All Saints Church, Stradbally North, Castleconnell, were recorded by a group of over 30 local volunteers, They came armed with gloves, torches and mirrors to help in the reading of the older inscriptions and a determination to decipher and record the huge…

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Hermitage In 1789, George Evans Bruce, a Limerick banker, bought the estate at Hermitage and built an imposing mansion there. We are told he made his fortune gambling in the casinos of Paris and London and he spared no expense on his house. It was in a spectacular location with views over the Falls of…

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The Fitzgibbon monument The Fitzgibbon monument, as it has become known, borders the N7 road near Lisnagry School and is an important landmark in the area. This 19th century public water fountain was originally installed at Carrowkeel, near Finnegan’s Cross. The original pump had been placed at the site by John Fitzgibbon, Earl of Clare…

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Historic Castleconnell Banner First printed in An Caisleàn – The Castleconnell, Ahane, Montpelier Annual 2002 I first heard of the Castleconnell Banner in the summer of 2000 when my good friend, Pearse Magee, a native of Castleconnell, and now living in Kilmacanogue in Counaty Wicklow, told me the fascinating story of the old emblem that…

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Black Jack Fitzgibbon, first Earl of Clare, lived at Mountshannon House Excerpt from Village by Shannon, The Story of Castleconnell and its Hinterland Joe Carroll & Pat Tuohy, 1991 John Fitzgibbon, or ‘Black Jack’ as he became known, “entered politics in 1780 and soon made his mark rising quickly to the position of Attorney General.…

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