LIMERICK, city, capital of the county just described, is situated on the river Shan non, 120 m. w.s.w. from Dublin, with which it is connected by the great Southern and Western railway. Pop. in '51, 53,448; in '61, 44,626; in '71, 39,353, of whom 18.022 were males, and 21,331 females. More than 90 per cent were Roman Catholics. Lim erick is a parliamentary and municipal borough, and returns two members to parliament. It occupies both sides of the Shannon, together with a tract called King's island, which lies on a bifurcation of the river; and is divided into the English town, the oldest part of the city (and connected with the extensive suburb called 'Diamond Gate, en the Clare side of the Shannon), and the Irish town,which,within the present century, has extended on the s. bank of the river into what is now the best part of Limerick, called the new town, or Newtown Pery, one of the handsomest towns in Ireland. Limerick is a place of great antiquity. From its position on the Shannon, it was long an object of desire to tlae Danes, who occupied it in the middle of the 9th c. and held possession till reduced to a tributary condition by Brian Boroimhe, in the end of the 10th century. It was early occupied by the English, and in 1210 king John visited and fortified it. It w-as afterwards assaulted and partially burned in 1314 by Edvvard Bruce. Its later his tory is still more interesting. It was occupied by the Catholic party in 1641, but sur rendered to Ireton in 1651. At the revolution, it was the last stronghold of king James. Having been unsuccessfully besieged by William after the victory of the Boyne, it was regularly invested in 1..(',;1 by gen. Ginkel, and after a vigorous and brilliant defense of several weeks, an armistice was proposed, which led to the well-known "treaty of Limerick," the alleged violation of which has been the subject of frequent and acrimo nious controversy between political parties in Ireland. The so-called " treaty stone"
still marks the spot, near Thomond bridge, at the entrance of the suburb of Thomond Gate, where this treaty was signed. The modern city of Limerick is more tasteful in its general character, and possesses more of the appliances of commercial enterprise and social culture than most towns of Ireland. Its public buildings, especially the new Roman Catholic cathedral and church of the Redemptorist order, are imposing, and in excellent taste. Its charitable and religious establishments are truly munificent for a provincial town. It possesses several national schools, as well as many other educa tional institutions. The Shannon at Limerick is still a noble river, navigable for ships of large burden. The docks and quays are on a very extensive and commodious scale;i and the export trade is conducted with considerable enterprise. The Wellesley bridge, over the harbor, cost 285,000. The inland navigation is by means of a canal to Killaloe, where it enters lough Derg, and thence by the upper Shannon to Athlone, and by the Grand canal, which issues from the Shannon at Shannon harbor, to Dublin. The manufactures of Limerick are not very extensive, but some of them enjoy not merely an Irish, but an imperial reputation—such are the manufactures of lace, of gloves, and of fish-hooks. There are several iron-foundries, flour-mills, breweries, distilleries, and tanneries, and of late years the ship-building trade has been extended. In 1875 576 vessels, of 138,456 tons, entered, and 354, of 88,811 tons cleared the port.