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
Caisleán Uí Chonaill· Irish · main form · validated name
Caisleán Uí Chonaing· Irish · main form · historical name
Castleconnell· English · main form
Place & story
The fortress above the river
Castleconnell's castle occupies a rocky position overlooking the Shannon. Samuel Lewis's 1837 account describes repeated changes of garrison during the seventeenth-century wars. It records that James II's troops defended the castle in 1691 before surrendering, after which General Ginkel ordered its destruction. The later ruin therefore belongs to a landscape shaped by deliberate military demolition. The gazetteer also distinguishes the town from its much larger parish, a useful caution when using its descriptions and population figures to reconstruct the history of a particular family or address.[2]
Visitors seeking the spa waters
During the eighteenth century Castleconnell developed a reputation as a spa resort. Visitors believed its waters could treat a range of illnesses, claims that belong to the history of medicine and tourism rather than to modern medical evidence. Hotels and lodging houses served that trade. From the mid-nineteenth century fishing and boating became increasingly important, with the Shannon Hotel on Main Street serving anglers. Limerick's heritage account connects these activities with the village's surviving Georgian and Regency houses, shops and other buildings associated with visitors.[3]
People & connections
The Enrights and the fishing economy
Castleconnell's fishing trade supported specialist crafts as well as guides and accommodation. A council heritage study identifies the Enrights as internationally known makers of salmon rods, alongside the local reputation of O'Shaughnessy and Limerick hooks. Gillies and guides found employment on the river, while eel and salmon fisheries also supplied an export trade to London's Billingsgate market. These were related but distinct activities: recreational angling brought visitors, whereas commercial catches entered a wider food market. Both depended on practical knowledge of the Shannon and its fishing grounds.[4]
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
Castleconnell — Census 2016 settlement footprint — census population
Castleconnell, Limerick — Census town, CSO 2006 report
2002–2006: census town
1,330people · 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
Castleconnell, Limerick — Census town, CSO 2006 report — census population
Castleconnell, Limerick — Census town, CSO 1996 report
1991–1996: census town
1,414people · 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
Castleconnell, Limerick — Census town, CSO 1996 report — census population
Castleconnell, Limerick — Census town, CSO 1986 report
1981–1986: census town
1,262people · 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
Castleconnell, Limerick — Census town, CSO 1986 report — census population
These figures use different area definitions. Read the boundary note before comparing them.
Castleconnell, Limerick
Published census settlement populations
2,107people · 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.
All Saints' Church, Castleconnell, County Limerick illustration: based on a Castleconnell - All Saints' Church - 20171202085638.jpg by Jamesanthonyohare. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
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