placenames.ie
County

Limerick

Luimneach

Limerick’s county history extends from an estuary boundary into inland districts with their own market towns and territorial names.

Recorded locationLimerick52.46994° N · 8.66139° WInteractive map supplied by OpenStreetMap.
Recorded place location · Logainm.ieOpen in OpenStreetMap ↗

The name

A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.

Recorded forms

  • Luimneach · Irish · main form · validated name
  • Limerick · English · main form

Place & story

An estuary boundary

Lewis’s 1837 county opening places Limerick south of the Shannon estuary, between Tipperary, Cork and Kerry. The county’s river edge connects it with communities and routes beyond its boundary. It should not be equated with Limerick city alone: the historical city had its own jurisdiction, and a county reference could describe land far from the urban centre. A port association and a rural birthplace are different kinds of connection. [2]

Names within the county

The directory’s territorial account records Pubblebrien, Owneybeg, Kenry and Connello among names associated with older districts and later baronies. Its separate administrative description notes subdivisions of the large Connello baronies and relates some names to conspicuous castles. These labels are useful in land records, but their exact dated form matters. A direction or qualifier in a barony name may represent an administrative division rather than an informal description of where a family lived. [2] [3]

Inland towns and their records

Lewis lists centres including Kilmallock, Askeaton, Rathkeale, Newcastle and Bruff with different borough, market and postal roles. Their histories belong alongside the city’s Shannon story. A household using a town as an address might reside in its rural hinterland, so retain townland, civil parish and denomination. The directory’s account of Thomond and prominent medieval families provides regional context; it does not establish an individual pedigree or justify an unsupported full-name derivation for the county. [2] [3]

Geographic information

Place type
County
County
Limerick
Coordinates
52.46994, -8.66139
Mapped area
2,755.36 km²
Logainm ID
100022 ↗

People & family history

Census figures refer to the matched historical census area for each year. Boundaries and spellings can change over time.

Explore this county

Up to 50 places per page, ordered by name.

Sources & further reading

  1. Logainm.ie — Limerick. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
  2. County Limerick — A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) · Samuel Lewis · 1837
  3. Limerick towns and baronies — A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) · Samuel Lewis · 1837
  4. Boundary geometry retains its source attribution and licence in the downloadable geographic record. Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.