King John's Castle in Limerick. Irish history etched in every stone. Visit this place!

[@lorrainecleere7110]

I was at king johns castle i have to say the histroy around that castle is amazing love tje old and the new and i went there twice and every time i went there there was something going on in the court yard now a medieval show case i think of how they once worked loved the stairs but because of me been afraid heights i didnt go to the tower at the top but instead i sat at the window sill and looked out the window it was fabulous

[@mjw12345]

Thanks. Astonishing - the English didn't mess around, what an immense structure when there maybe were only 20,000 people in Limerick. Even the little island of InisBofin, there was a military there. St Mary's Cathedral is breathtaking and extraordinary as well. I was in Limerick 2022, O'Connell Street a disaster zone construction - must return. Several wonderful pubs!

[@nakedireland]

Yes, they were doing construction work at the top of O’Connell street when I made my film about it - which you can seek out. St Marys Cathedral is coming soon. Thanks for watching.

[@ssad128]

One of my favourite castles! Intact, beautiful, integral part of Limerick! I need to go back 😭😍 lovely video 😊

[@nakedireland]

It’s beautiful. I’ll be profiling Cahir castle in county Tipp at some point in the months ahead. It’s another great place which I’m sure will interest you. Thanks for watching.

[@stephaniewhite3827]

Great castle. Cahir Castle and Donegal Castle are awesome too.

[@nakedireland]

Thanks Stephanie, I already made a short film on Donegal castle, which you can seek out, but Cahir in Tipperary is on the list. Many thanks for tuning in.

[@sandiandgregh]

Incredible castle. We’ve never been to Limerick but I did buy a horse from there who was amazing. :) We tend to prefer visiting ruins. Like you though, we understand they need to make historic sites a real destination to generate the funds for maintenance etc. Sometimes that means sacrificing some of the ambience.

[@nakedireland]

Yes I guess you’re right about sacrificing ambience 🥺

[@WelshRob1964]

An interesting place, I didn't go there when I visited Limerick. I don't have great memories of my visit to be honest, we turned up on a bus in the rain and went to the tourist board to find B&B, we ended up miles out of town. Though a love of Irish white pudding was born while there, so not all bad 😁. A place I always though I should revisit and give it a fair go.

[@nakedireland]

Yes I think Limerick’s a place that’s improved a lot, like many Irish towns and cities.

[@WelshRob1964]

@@nakedireland 22 yrs since I was there and not in a good mood 😆 Great B&B we had though with awesome breakfast, lots of home made brown. Ended up hiring a car from Shannon airport, a model of car I fell in love with and still drive today! 😁So my visit wasn't all bad and it began ten days of seeing Ireland on only R and unclassified roads, happy days.

[@nakedireland]

What was the car?

[@WelshRob1964]

@@nakedireland Nissan Micra K11. Had a ball with it and owned 4 since and the best cars ever had.

[@ericfreeman273]

Love this vlog, mate, thx for sharing. Yeah been 2 the castle a good few times over the years. It's always nice to return to it and take some of my friends to it who hadn't been to it before. I adore the views over the city from the towers nothing imposing like this in Galway where I'm from.

[@nakedireland]

Ah many thanks Eric, please keep watching.

[@ericfreeman273]

@@nakedireland 💯👏 great stuff! what part of the North r you from buddy?

[@nakedireland]

⁠Thanks Eric, glad you enjoyed. I’m from Belfast.

[@ericfreeman273]

@@nakedireland Oh, wow! I feckin' adore Belast, mate. It's gotta be up there with the most stunning cities in all of Ireland if not the most beautiful. I even think its city gridblock system is very similar 2 Limerick's. It's got that real American shape and feel to the layout of its streets, New York of course had copped Limerick's gridblock system and both cites were designed by Limerick man Christopher Collas.

[@nakedireland]

⁠so much better now than when I was growing up! I hope it had a bright future.

[@desmcharris]

What a fantastic place ! History in stone. There's so much to take in. First the mighty Shannon! Now that's a River. Can you imagine rowing a Viking longship up that current! The rapids would have been a challenge, but they were good at that. Remember the Normans were the Vikings dressed up in Frankish court fashion, but none of the foppish carry on. For an excellent look into the life of King John, I strongly recommend Dan Jones's "The Plantagenets". In fact the audiobook is superb listening, and it's got me through some hard days at the work bench. The siege I'm more familiar with is the 1690's Williamite Wars. Sarsfield and Captain Hogan and the Black Cavalry. I'm not sure about the new building, but that's just me. You get a feel of the conditions of the life in side though. The open areas would have held the cattle safe as well as horses. Milling troops , freaked out peasant's and even more freaked out upper classes. The smell would have been shocking. Great views Greg, great wee show.

[@nakedireland]

Many thanks for that - great tips for further study! On the new building -I quite like the design, but not sure about some of the materials. Realistically, if we build a new part of an historic building then it should be able to outlast the original. But let’s face it, that won’t happen here, however sleek and clever it looks. Thanks for watching and contributing as always.

[@desmcharris]

It's always a buzz waiting to see what your going to show next! I only hope I'm not too much. Thanks for the feedback, your humour is always appreciated 🤪

[@nakedireland]

⁠I enjoy your insights and look forward to your feedback every week Des!

[@desmcharris]

Every year for the past 30 years my wife and I and our kids have attended and taken part of what has become the largest Mediaeval Tournament/ Reenactment in the Southern Hemisphere. The Abbey Tournament. So Castle's, Cathedrals and ancient landscapes that you visit and share have a special meaning to us. Cheers!!

[@desmcharris]

Oh one last thing, Van Morrison's Da used to clean our windows in Bingnian Dr!!

[@lorrainecleere7110]

I did not know they had concerts there

[@nakedireland]

Thanks Lorraine, yes there are big concerts, though I imagine it’s only in summer months. Cheers for your comments, the tower isn’t that high though, I’m sure you’d have made it up there?

[@lorrainecleere7110]

@@nakedireland really when I saw the stairs I thought oh I won't be able to go up there as I thought it was pretty high yes I must definitely try again and go up there this time as I would love to get a good photo of it thank you 😊

[@nakedireland]

⁠​​⁠Take your time, and rest assured that it’s xall very safe. Good luck Lorraine.

[@binflynn1]

Hate limerick best part of it is the road out of the city , nice video 👍

[@nakedireland]

Ha ha, you don’t mince your words! Thanks for watching.

[@ericfreeman273]

Lol hate it yet u watched a video of the city, Bro, you're not a hater you're a fan

[@eringobreathtiocfaidharla1446]

We thing the same about sheriff street

[@nakedireland]

I don’t think he’s a Dub!