Cappamore's history includes a remarkable family collection of circus memorabilia, a show founded in 1954 and the nineteenth-century church on Main Street.
Illustration, former Convent of Mercy, Cappamore
⊕Recorded locationCappamore52.61276° N · 8.33828° WInteractive map supplied by OpenStreetMap.
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
An Cheapach Mhór· Irish · main form · validated name
Cappamore· English · main form
Place & story
People & connections
John McCarthy's circus collection
John McCarthy, who lived from 1885 to 1966, owned Cappamore's Circus Bar and began an archive of circus material dating from 1895 onwards. His family's connections with travelling circuses continued for more than a century, producing a substantial collection of memorabilia. A later Limerick Museum exhibition, curated by Tony McCarthy, used the archive to explore John Duffy and Sons Circus, established in 1891 and run by three successive men of that name. The collection gives Cappamore a connection with the travelling entertainment that moved between Irish towns for generations.[2]
The show founded in 1954
Cappamore Agricultural Show began in 1954 and developed into a volunteer-led event bringing livestock, produce and crafts together. Its competitions have included cattle and horse showing, jumping, cookery, horticulture and handwork. The show has also provided a setting for demonstrations of traditional skills: the 2022 programme included blacksmith Eric O'Neill making tools and decorative ironwork. Its long history links competitive farming displays with the practical and domestic skills of the surrounding community, while changes in the programme show how the event has widened its appeal.[3][4]
Saint Michael's on Main Street
Saint Michael's Catholic Church is recorded as built in 1836. Its cross-shaped plan includes a nave, transepts and a chancel, with later additions changing the front and service spaces. Pointed windows retain timber tracery and coloured glass, while a bellcote rises above the southern gable. The slate roofs and rendered walls give the exterior a different character from churches built entirely in dressed stone. Its mixture of early fabric and later alteration records the continuing use of a substantial nineteenth-century parish building.[5]
Both counts use the 2016 settlement boundary, allowing like-for-like comparison. CSO supplies the 2022 count on this older boundary for comparison only. The official 2022 Built Up Area has different boundaries.
View population figures
Cappamore — Census 2016 settlement footprint — census population
Cappamore, Limerick — Census town, CSO 2006 report
2002–2006: census town
669people · 2006
These are the historical areas published in the 2006 census report. Boundaries may differ between censuses and from modern settlements. Legal towns, environs and suburbs are shown separately; none has been combined into a modern settlement total.
View population figures
Cappamore, Limerick — Census town, CSO 2006 report — census population
Cappamore, Limerick — Census town, CSO 1996 report
1991–1996: census town
665people · 1996
These are the historical areas published in the 1996 census report. Boundaries may differ between censuses and from modern settlements. Legal towns, environs and suburbs are shown separately; none has been combined into a modern settlement total.
View population figures
Cappamore, Limerick — Census town, CSO 1996 report — census population
Cappamore, Limerick — Census town, CSO 1986 report
1981–1986: census town
765people · 1986
Figures cover the historical town area printed in the 1986 report. Boundaries may have changed between censuses. Legal town, environs and suburb totals remain separate and differ from modern settlement boundaries.
View population figures
Cappamore, Limerick — Census town, CSO 1986 report — census population
These figures use different area definitions. Read the boundary note before comparing them.
Cappamore, Limerick
Published census settlement populations
620people · 2016
Settlement boundaries changed during this period. Differences may reflect boundary changes as well as population change. Where a 2011 legal-town-and-environs count is shown, it has not been recalculated onto the 2016 settlement boundary.
Former Convent of Mercy, Cappamore, viewed through its entrance gate illustration: based on a Convent of Mercy, Cappamore, County Limerick by Neil Theasby. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
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