Limerick, Ireland

We took the train from Dublin to Limerick for the sole purpose of using Limerick as a base camp for seeing the Cliffs of Moher. Limerick also is conveniently located near Shannon airport which made travel back to London on Sunday easy.

We spent most of Saturday at the Cliffs of Moher so were only in Limerick for Saturday evening and half of Sunday.

Before heading to dinner on Saturday, we stopped in a nearby pub to watch the semi-finals of Hurling. Hurling is an Irish sport that is a cross between field hockey and lacrosse. We made friends with the couple sitting next to us, who were in town from Waterford to watch their son play for the Waterford team on Sunday. The couple was extremely friendly (Irish people love Americans) and chatted with us during the entire match. The husband worked for Waterford Crystal and told me that their house was filled with Waterford Crystal products. He told me I was welcome to stop by anytime and pick-up anything I fancied! If only we were in Ireland a bit longer than the weekend.

On Sunday, we properly explored Limerick. It is an extremely small city so were able to see the whole city on foot. We were staying at a hotel in the new part of town so wandered into the old town to see the historical sites. Our first stop was the Milk Market, which unfortunately isn't popular on Sundays but the venue was interesting to see. We then headed to King's Island and stopped at St. Mary's Cathedral before touring King John's Castle.

Only a portion of the walls surrounding King John's Castle still remain. The visitors center has done an impressive job replicating center structures that were once located in the walls and preserving the structure that does remain. A portion of the castle walls that is still intact is the main tower which gave a great view of Limerick.

After the tour, we grabbed one last fish and chips and a pint of Guinness before heading to the airport.

Even though our time in Limerick was short, it was perfect for the small city. And the Hurling tournament provided some unforeseen entertainment!