No 1 Pery Square is a luxurious boutique townhouse overlooking the great People’s Park in Limerick’s historic Georgian Quarter, situated just 5 minutes away from the city centre and train station. It has 21 bedrooms, local food and delicious wines at The Long Room, private dining at Sash Restaurant, an innovative and newly restyled organic spa in the basement, and a lovely terrace and Georgian terraced garden, full of personality and style throughout.
No 1 Pery Square is one of the prettiest and most characterful hotels in the country. The vision of the owner, Patricia Roberts, who bought the 1830s building in 2006, is to be found everywhere. It is located away from the busy area of Limerick in a Georgian-style neighbourhood. The People’s Park is opposite, and the Limerick Gallery of Art is just around the corner.
Superb Spa
The spa must be one of the best hotel spas in Ireland and is very well resourced with many optional treatments such as “kneipp kur” as it is known in Germany for hot and cold foot bathing. They also have special luxury spa products on sale under the Voya brand.
www.oneperysquare.com for bookings and more information.
Georgian Limerick leads to impressive quayside walks
Kieran Walsh
During a recent stay in Limerick, we walked down Mallow Street to get to the main retail area near O’Connell Street adjacent to Bishops Quay overlooking the River Shannon.
We enjoyed the river walkways and bridges on the way from the main Shannon Bridge towards Thomond Bridge. Visitors, students and locals gathered here for evening snacks and offered a continental vibe with nice outdoor tables on the banks of the Shannon. There was also a fantastic view of Kings Island across the river.
The next day, we headed before the rain started to the renowned Hunt Museum. On show was a great selection of prominent Irish artists including Jack Yeats, Nathaniel Hone, Paul Henry and the best of all was the work of Sean Keating, a Limerick man and his painting of Ardnacrusha, Shannon’s hydroelectric power station construction in the 1920s, as Ireland slowly modernised.
There is a massive collection of old pottery and archaeology. some form Lough Gur, where John Hunt lived with his German wife, Gertrude from 1939 onwards. On his demise he would grant his art to Limerick City and County. He was a great benefactor to his adopted home, where he had family roots. Local artists are allowed to exhibit their work alongside the permanent collection. There is an excellent Celtic book shop across the road.
There are great views from the riverbank and also from the rooftop floors of the International Rugby Experience, rugby museum. The latter is a new addition to Limerick City and is an interactive experience containing fascinating videos of the history of the Haka, great teams of the past and profiles of international players.
This is going to be a great hit for younger rugby playing fans, who can work on their passing, line out play and get tested technically. A visit to the museum is well worth including in an itinerary for the next Munster game you attend.
Limerick also has a hectic night life at times, with its own version of Temple Bar in places such as Clohessys and Nancy Blakes amongst others on Denmark Street
The city of Limerick has undergone a resurgence recently with a lot of building work and upgrades on older Georgian buildings. It’s more active than Waterford but, then again, it is bigger and has Shannon airport nearby which opens up the west also.
For a hint of nostalgia, try Cahills tea shop and tobacconists, trading now over 150 years on Wickham Street.
Overall Limerick offers shoppers a good offering. A two-hour drive from Waterford, we feel we could do better in retail terms, but Limerick seems to do well with locally owned quality established shops.
Stay overnight to catch the various items, in what is an underrated city. Galway gets the attention, but Limerick has also lots to offer and is well worth a visit.
Georgian Limerick and its squares are very attractive , even better preserved than Dublin. It is worth exploring Limerick City, it’s better than you’d think.
There is plenty of street parking nearby too, close to the scenic People’s Park.
Georgian Limerick with his lovely riverside walks and places of historical interest like the renowned Hunt Museum – where epic pieces by, among others, legendary local artist Sean Keating are on display – is laden with heritage and character.