11/06/2026
The Georgian quarter in Limerick is often overlooked, as visitors gravitate towards the old medieval quarters of Englishstown and Irishtown to see King John’s Castle, St. Mary’s Cathedral and the walls of Limerick. However, our Georgian quarter has its own stories to tell. For example: the Crescent.
Nowadays the Crescent is the site of the O’Connell Monument but it was often a site of controversy. In 1855, the city’s unionist community wanted a memorial in the Crescent to commemorate John Charles Henry, Viscount FitzGibbon of Mount Shannon, Castleconnell. FitzGibbon had been killed on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War while partaking in the Charge of the Light Brigade. This met with objections from many nationalists in the city including Maurice Lenihan and a counter-campaign was launched to raise funds for a memorial to Daniel O’Connell. In October 1855 the Town Council then passed a resolution allowing construction of the O’Connell monument to go ahead. Fitzgibbon’s memorial was eventually placed on Wellesley (now Sarsfield) bridge.
Designed in 1856 by the sculptor John Hogan, the O’Connell Monument is made of bronze and was unveiled in 1857. The total cost was £1,300. O’Connell holds the Act of Catholic Emancipation in his hand and wears nineteenth-century clothing but also sports a toga in reference to the Classical world of Ancient Rome and Greece.
For many years, the Crescent remained a zone for political controversy. It has been a meeting place for political rallies and election meetings. In 1897 nationalists draped ‘The Monument’ in black flags as a statement against Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. During the First World War it was the site of recruitment drives by the British Army. Crowds gathered there in the 1920s to support striking workers from the Ardnacrusha power station. In the 1930s it was the scene of riots between republicans and Blueshirts.
Who would have thought that an ordinary street corner could be such a political hotspot?
