mbuckley

Unusually crowded street scene - even the shots of O'Connell Street in Dublin seldom show this many people.

Also given the absence of any cars, 1910 seems a bit late, I'd say more like 1900.

Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah Limerick finally got a look in even if our proud thoroughfare of O'Connell Street is called Georges Street. The clock tower in the distance was Cannocks Clock where many a romance began as it was the dating landmark for Limerick people. The porch sticking out on the right is next to or the current location of the Augistinian Friary where I served mass as a nipper. The first junction you can see on the left is Bedford Row and the shop on the corner was owned by Mulligans who sold bicycles but they had taken the soup and were no relations. Lairds were still in Limerick when I was growing up and further back you had the Home and Colonial Stores. The shop beside Buckleys is O'Mahony's book shop now and that seems to be the name overhead. Is and always was one of the best bookstores in the country. This area of Limerick was relatively modern, named Newtown Pery and it was laid out in a grid format with intersecting streets at right angles. Off to the right was the Irish town and straight ahead brought one down to the Kings Island where King Johns Castle, St. Mary's Cathedral and many other historic sites are located.

Your location needs adjustment Carol, it should be up two from the Quays and the shot was taken from just past the junction with Shannon Street/Roches Street facing down towards Bedford Row. The location for the other shot is slightly further down Georges Street (as was) nearer Bedford Row.

Great photo. Regarding the date, it might help to note that O'Mahony's was established in 1901. The clothing on the women on the right hand side suggests very early 1900s. The building near the Augustinians with the porch is the County Club. Does anyone know how typical the horse and trap/sidecar (?) in the middle of the picture and in the foreground on the left would have been? Would they have been privately owned or for hire? I believe the trap that most of us would recognise (with the door at the back) only appeared in the late 1890s and wonder if this is what preceded it.

hmm Usually i hear of parades or marches for the army (apparently as a power show) ... but policemen parade? I don't know how much common is that.

I find the "slow unravelling of the photos details and origins" on these pages through the investigative comments and detailed knowledge of several posters as fascinating as the photos themselves - yesterdays was a great example ...... I'll be back to see what follows

Hurraah, Hurrah Limerick features on NLI in Flickr but where's this Georges Street I ask. That beautiful thoroughfare is O'Connell St with The Crescent and O'Connell Avenue in the distance. Limerick is of course a very old city but in the 1700's/1800's a planned city on a grid was developed and this street was part of what is/was Newtown-Pery. The massed ranks are marching in the opposite direction to modern parades as we normally had parades that marched down towards the O'Connell Street/William St. junction behind the photographer. I know they look like policemen but I can't see that many "polis" having a role in Limerick around that time. They are marching in the direction of the "New" barracks, now Sarsfields Barracks, and I suspect that this might explain the direction and the echelons.

there seem to be a band marching in the opposite direction???

TJ No TJ, if you look closely in Original size you will see that they have the bayonet frogs to the left just like the group closest the camera. I was just going to comment on the bayonets, they are each wearing a bayonet in a frog on a white belt. This is more a military item of kit than police and looking at the dress of the NCO's they are wearing sashes etc which is once again more a military affectation than a police one.