old illustrations of limerick

RE: Old Bear Inn ~ 1640
Reminiscences of old Limerick by Ernest H. Bennis, 1951Book
Broad Street, once a leading and prosperous thoroughfare, contains a well chiselled archway, formerly the entrance to the “Old Bear Inn”, having on the keystone the inscription “Pierse Creagh 1640, rebuilt by John Creagh 1767”.

Here’s a nice photograph of the Old Bear Inn, no. 29&30 Broad Street now unfortunately demolished along with most of the western side of Broad St. Nice squat-two story dutch-billy, the original pitch of the gable end is clearly evident in the brickwork. The site was fully excavated in the late 1980’s prior to re-development however the inscribed plaque went missing at this time, probably on someones mantelpiece.

Old Bear Inn 11-12 Broad Street (Eastern Side of Street) ?

The following sources would indicate it to have been located on the eastern side of the street.

In Broad Street, the Keystone of the arch of what was formerly the “Old Bear Inn,” has the inscription – Built in 1640 by Piers Creagh; rebuilt 1767, by John Creagh.

Lecture on Old Limerick – Rev. J. Dowd, M.A. PDF Page 5 (City Library)

The site of “Old Bear Inn” was marked by the letter Y in an adapted H.G. Leask’s 1941 Map. (City Library)

Photograph, print. Limerick City. Curry Lane, behind Broad St, showing rear of four houses including the Bear Inn. Foreground, boys, horse and cart, cottage behind. (Limerick Museum)

Photograph, b/w print. Ernest Bennis with a dog on a lead, looking at bow-way in Broad Street; the ends of shop fronts on either side have numbers 11 and 12; cobbled street in foreground. Reverse inscribed “Ernest H. Bennis/ Limerick” in blue ball-point and “Old Bear Inn” in black ink. (Limerick Museum)

best image of the old todds that I could find, from ‘stroll down memory lane’ vol 1 by sean curtin. I’ve a few other images taken from further up o’connell st but none that show the facade as clearly

You could probably add the old city courthouse to that list too. Demolished in 1988 to facilitate the construction of the new City Council headquarters. There was no reason why it could not have been incorporated in to that development. It would have served perfectly well as the main entrance.

Of course there are amble examples in Limerick given the legacy of shameful failure to protect the citys architectural heritage.

It’s pretty inexplicable really that a decision to permit the demolition of such an historical institution as Cruise’s hotel could be handed down as late as 1991! It was a city landmark for 200 years and the fact that its replacement was obsolete less than 20 years after construction is only a further indictment of that decision!

It should still be a focal point of the city centre today.It could have been refurbished and extended to ensure its continued viability. Looking at old aerial imagery and the vast swathe of buildings to the rear of the hotel that were cleared to redevelop the site. It seems Todd’s Row in particular was lined with bonded warehouse like structures. Again why couldn’t these have been preserved and refurbished? Doubtless it would have made for a far more interesting little space than the current arrangement. A far more targeted and balanced redevelopment of derelict sites on Denmark Street should also have been progressed instead of the small scale rubbish that was constructed!

I would love to see some interior shots of Cruise’s hotel. Does anyone here remember what it was like? Was it particularly grand or elaborate? It was before my time.

The Hunt Museum is holding an excellent exhibition on the physical development of Limerick through maps and paintings and photos. It’s very interesting and I would have loved to have been talked through it by an expert. Especially about all of the star forts that used to exist around the city. Do they still exist under the streets?