Church

The National Monuments Service's description

In 1827 the following details were recorded about St. Michaels's Church; 'St. Michael's Church stood in the cemetery which still bears its name near Bank-place. The parish is an entire rectory, the vicarage being valued at 5s. and united to the entire rectories of Ardagh, Cloncresna, and Kildeemo, with its perpetual curacy, being the corps of the Archdeaconry, which is valued in the King's books at £16. The union possesses a church and glebe-house at Kildeemo; an arch deaconry-house in Limerick, and five glebes, containing altogether about twenty-five acres. The parish of St. Michael comprehends the whole of the New Town, and according to the Census of 1821, contains 15,068 inhabitants. Some efforts have been lately made to have this church rebuilt, but obstacles have hitherto prevented the accomplishment of an object so necessary to the religious improvement of the numerous and respectable population of this extensive parish. In the will of Martin Thomas Arthur, dated in 1376, all the churches which we have enumerated are stated as having been in existence at that period' (Fitzgerald 1827, 561-2).
Westropp gave the following details; 'Inq., 1201. Wills of M. Arthur, 1376, and G. Galwey, 1445. The church and chancel were ruinous in 1615. The parish church of St. Michael the Archangel, entirely destroyed in the times of Cromwell, lay near the walls outside the West Water Gate, 1658. The saint's day was 29th September. (White MSS.) Site - It was long since levelled. The view in the 1590 map shows a building with a side aisle and a battlemented tower. The cemetery remains in James's Street, near Bank Place' (Westropp 1904-5, 359).
The Urban Survey of Limerick recorded the following details; 'Listed in the 1200-1 inquisition of Limerick churches (MacCaffrey 1907, 27, 28) it was situated outside the West Water Gate. Geoffrey Galwey included it among the Limerick churches to which he left a bequest of 6s. 8d. in 1445 (Westropp 1898, 122-3). The Hardiman map of 1590 shows building with a side aisle and battlemented tower. The cemetery remains in James' Street near Bank Pl. (Westropp
1904-5, 359). The church and chancel were described as ruinous in 1615' (Bradley et. al. 1985, 327-8).

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 3 October 2018

References

Westropp, T.J. 1904-5 A survey of the ancient churches of Co. Limerick. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 25C, 327-479.

Bradley, J., Halpin, A., and King, H.A. 1989 Urban archaeological survey - county Limerick (3 vols.). Unpublished report commissioned by the Office of Public Works, Dublin.

Fitzgerald, P. 1826-7 The history, topography, and antiquities of the county and city of Limerick. 2 vols. Dublin.

Westropp, T. J. 1898 St Mary's Cathedral, Limerick: its plan and growth. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 28, 35-48, 112-25.