City Hall, Limerick
Halla na Cathrach, Luimneach
City Hall, Limerick
City Hall is located in Ireland
City Hall
City Hall
Location within Ireland
General information
Architectural styleModern style
Town or cityMerchant's Quay, Limerick
CountryIreland
Coordinates52°40′07″N 8°37′29″W / 52.6685°N 8.6247°W / 52.6685; -8.6247
Completed1990
Design and construction
Architect(s)Burke-Kennedy Doyle

City Hall (Irish: Halla na Cathrach, Luimneach) is a municipal facility at Merchant's Quay, Limerick, Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Limerick City and County Council.

History

City Hall was commissioned to replace the Commercial Buildings in Patrick Street which dated from 1805 and had served as the town hall from 1847.[1][2][3] In the mid-1980s, the council leaders at Limerick Corporation decided that the council needed larger premises; the site they selected at Merchant's Quay had been occupied by an old gaol which dated from 1789.[4] The complex had ceased to be used for custodial purposes in the 19th century and had served as Geary's Biscuit Factory since the 1920s.[5] Most of the old buildings were demolished in 1988,[6] although the surviving façade of the old gaol, designed by John Nash, was retained as part of the new development.[7]

The new building was designed by the Dublin-based firm, Burke-Kennedy Doyle, in the Modern style, built in stone blocks and was completed in 1990. The design involved an asymmetric main frontage facing onto the banks of the River Shannon. The complex featured a series of connected pavilions of up to three storeys high.[8][9]

A fountain entitled the "Fountain of Heritage", incorporating a sculpture of wild geese by the American sculptor, William H. Turner, was paid for by the people of Spokane, Washington and installed on the Riverside Walk outside City Hall in 1991. The scuplture was intended to commemorate local families that were forced to flee the city to France in the "Flight of the Wild Geese" following the Siege of Limerick and the defeat of the Irish Jacobite army under the command of Patrick Sarsfield in 1691.[10][11][12]

In January 2018, a book of condolence was opened at City Hall, following the death of locally-born singer Dolores O'Riordan.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Commercial Buildings, Patrick Street, Limerick Municipal Borough". Buildings of Ireland. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  2. ↑ Murphy, C. M. "The 19th Century Town Hall, Limerick City Architectural Guide" (PDF). Limerick City Council. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  3. ↑ "Glimpses of Old Limerick" (PDF). Limerick Leader. 13 March 1982. p. 11. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  4. ↑ "William Blackburn". Dictionary of Irish Architects. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  5. ↑ "Image Change For Limerick". RTE. 1990. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  6. ↑ "Former County Court House and Gaol, Merchant's Quay, Limerick". Archiseek. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  7. ↑ "Gaol façade in Limerick is a rare link to the Regency architect James Nash". Patrick Comerford. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  8. ↑ "Limerick Civic Offices, Limerick". Archiseek. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  9. ↑ "City Hall, Limerick". BKD Architects. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023.
  10. ↑ "Fountain to be restored to former glory". Limerick Post. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  11. ↑ "Flight of the Wild Geese commemorated in Limerick". RTE. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  12. ↑ Lee, David (2009). "Street art and artefacts Limerick City" (PDF). Limerick Civic Trust. p. 51.
  13. ↑ "Dolores O'Riordan: Fans lament loss of a talent that 'touched the world'". Limerick Leader. 28 January 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
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