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CAR
HIRE in LIMERICK CITY
Car Hire Office in Limerick City:
National / Alamo and Irish Car Rentals Desk at Ennis Road Motors, Ennis Road, Limerick
Tel : +353-61-206025
Opening Hours: M-F 9am - 6pm, Sat 10am - 2pm, Sun & Public Holidays Closed
Limerick City Office Location: across from the Greenhills Hotel on the left hand side travelling on the Ennis Road towards Shannon just before the Coonagh Roundabout, the rental desk is located within the Ennis Road Motors showroom.
Car Hire Return details: Cars should not be
returned to this location outside of our indicated office
hours. If you wish to return your rental car outside of
the times indicated above please ask for directions to
return your rental car when you pick up your car at the
start of your hire.
About
Limerick
Limerick
City, with a population of over 52,000 with another 25,000
living in the suburbs, is the third largest city in the
Republic of Ireland. It is the regional capital of the
Mid-Western Region (population of over 310,000), which
embraces the city of Limerick and the counties of
Limerick, Clare and Tipperary. Visitors to Limerick City
will certainly have no problems in finding things to see
and things to do. The historic nature of Ireland's third
largest city, and indeed the beautiful nature of its
environs, provide many areas of interest.
A
brief taste of what may be found in Limerick City would
include:
King
John's Castle King John's Castle, on the south side of
Thomond Bridge head, built in 1210 "to dominate the
bridge and watch towards Thomond", is one of the
finest specimens of fortified Norman architecture in
Ireland. The castle is roughly square on plan and its 60
meter frontage along the river is flanked by two massive
round towers, each over 15m. in diameter with walls 3m.
thick. The tower nearest the Bridge, the first portion of
the castle to be erected, still bears the scars of the
besieging cannon of 1691. Eastwards of this tower in the
north wall, is the castle gate entrance - a tall, narrow
gateway between two tall, round towers. There is another
massive round tower at the north east corner of the
fortification, but the east wall and the square tower
defending the south-east corner of the castle, and on
which cannons were mounted, is long demolished. On the
three land sides, the castle was protected by a deep,
broad moat, fed with water from the Shannon. Only the
narrow drawbridge to the castle gate gave admittance.
There was a military barracks erected within the walls in
1751, some of which still remains. Houses were also
erected in the castle yard at a very much later date. The
walls and towers still remaining of the castle are in
reasonably good state of preservation, and work is
continuing to improve their conditions. Some of the rooms
in the tower blocks are being brought back into use.
St.
Mary's Cathedral At the junction of Nicholas Street
and Bridge Street stands St. Mary's Cathedral, the
ecclesiastical centre of the fortress for hundreds of
years. The full title of this Cathedral is the
"Cathedral and Parochial Church of the Blessed Virgin
Mary". It was built in 1172 by Donal Mor O'Brien, the
last King of Munster. The original plan of the church was
in the form of a Latin cross. Additions were made to the
Cathedral, two centuries later, during the episcopate of
Stephen Wall, Bishop of Limerick. At the time of the
religious revolt of the sixteenth century, the Cathedral
passed out of Catholic hands. Catholic worship was
restored, however, during the Confederate Wars and the
short ill-fated reign of James II. Tourists will find
excellent documentation of historical remains within the
ancient Cathedral itself. Most noteworthy relics of the
past are the ancient altar stone used when Mass was
celebrated in the Cathedral, and the splendidly carved
misericords in the choir. These miserichords are unique in
Ireland as the only surviving pre-Elizabethan carvings,
and probably date from 1480 when Bishop Folan restored St.
Mary's. Of the 21 carvings, 16 are different, representing
such mediaeval emblems as a two-legged one-horned goat, a
griffin, a sphinx, a wild boar, an angel, a head
resembling Henry IV, a dragon biting its tail, antelopes
with intertwined necks, a swan, an eagle, the Lion of
Judah with a dragon, and a cockatrice holding its tail.
The
Treaty Stone Limerick City's most famous monument, the
Treaty Stone gets its name from the tradition that The
Treaty of Limerick, 03 October 1691, was signed on the
stone itself. This tradition dates back at least to 1797,
when John Harden of Cork mentions it in his diary, and Dr.
Young, Bishop of Limerick, born in the city in 1746, so
described it to Dr. Milner, Vicar Apostolic of London, in
1808. The stone, a block of limestone, stood outside the
Black Bull public house in Thomondgate, where it was used
as a step for mounting horses. In this position it was
attacked by souvenir hunters, and to prevent this, a
subscription was begun in 1863, which resulted in its
erection onto a pedestal opposite its former position , in
1865. The Treaty Stone bears little resemblance to its
former shape, in fact it is little more than half its
original size; the missing parts are dispersed all over
the United States and Canada in tiny chips. The stone was
moved once again in 198?, the proximity to the corner of
Thomond Bridge and the busy traffic from High Road,
raising fears that the stone and pedestal may have caused
the road to collapse and cave in. The stone and pedestal
were moved only ?? metres and are still located in
Clancy's Strand, within walking distance of Thomond
Bridge.
For
further information on what to do and see when in
Limerick, contact the Tourist Information Centre, located
in Arthurs Quay in the City Centre. The centre is open all
year round and is the ideal starting point for visitors to
our city. Telephone : +353 - 61 - 317 522
Mileages
from Limerick City to:
Athlone 75, Cork 65, Donegal 184, Dundalk 150, Kilkenny
70, Portlaoise 71, Rosslare 131, Tralee 65, Wexford 118,
Belfast 209, Derry 217, Dublin 123, Galway 65, Killarney
69, Roscommon 94, Sligo 144, Waterford 80, Wicklow 14.
Shannon
Airport Shannon Airport is 12 miles west of the city
and provides international access from many worldwide
countries. Telephone : +353 - 61 - 471 444
Iarnrod
Eireann Limerick Colbert Station Telephone : Monday -
Friday 09:00 - 18:00 +353 - 61 - 315 555 (Rail Passenger
Enquiries Only) Saturday 09:30 - 17:30 +353 - 61 - 315 555
(Rail Passenger Enquiries Only) Sunday 09:00 - 19:00 +353
- 61 - 418 369 (Rail Passenger Enquiries Only)
Bus
Eireann Limerick Colbert Station Telephone : Monday -
Saturday Sundays June - September Sundays October - May
09:00 - 1800 08:45 - 1800 15:00 - 1900 +353 - 61 - 313 333
(Passenger Enquiries Only) |
