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25 June 2026

Potato Findings

Important results from agricultural experiments conducted across County Limerick were reported on 23 January 1900. The trials examined whether a copper-sulphate solution could protect potato crops against disease and whether freshly introduced seed performed better than potatoes repeatedly grown on the same farms. The findings were encouraging. Even during a season when blight had been comparatively limited, treated plots produced sufficient improvement to repay the expense of spraying. For farmers whose income and household food supply depended heavily upon the potato harvest, the experiments offered practical evidence that preventive treatment could reduce risk rather than merely respond after disease had…

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24 June 2026

Hartstonge Legacy

The Hartstonge and Pery families became closely bound through two marriages that brought together political influence, landed property and urban ambition in eighteenth-century Limerick. Sir Henry Hartstonge, third baronet of Bruff and Court, married Lucy Pery in 1751. She was the sister of Edmond Sexten Pery and the Reverend William Cecil Pery, whose parliamentary, ecclesiastical and property interests increasingly shaped the city. The marriage produced no children, but it placed Hartstonge firmly within the Pery family circle. He became both a political ally and a participant in the development of property connected with Newtown Pery.

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22 June 2026

Farming Department

The newly established Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland has begun assuming responsibility for agricultural development, scientific instruction and several services previously divided among different public bodies. Created by legislation passed in 1899, the Department is intended to bring greater organisation to farming, fisheries, rural industries and technical education. Its emergence is being closely watched in County Limerick, where farmers, labourers, teachers and local representatives hope that practical instruction and improved scientific knowledge will strengthen agricultural production and create opportunities beyond traditional methods inherited within families. The new authority has inherited responsibility for collecting agricultural statistics, supervising measures…

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31 July 2026

Jacobite Crisis

For Limerick, the downfall of James II began the conflict that would define the city as the Treaty City. His removal from the English throne in 1688 drove the Stuart cause towards Ireland, where Catholic loyalty remained strongest. That struggle eventually brought Williamite and Jacobite armies to Limerick, culminating in the sieges of 1690 and 1691. The crisis began, however, with James’s accession in 1685 and his determination to extend civil and religious rights across England, Scotland and Ireland.

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25 June 2026

Shannon Retreat

Limerick became one of the principal centres of Jacobite resistance after William III’s victory at the Boyne on 1 July 1690 forced the Irish army to abandon the eastern approaches to Dublin. James II departed for France, but most of his surviving soldiers remained under arms and withdrew westwards towards the River Shannon. Some gathered around Athlone, which guarded an important crossing into Connacht, while the larger concentration developed around Limerick. The city’s walls, river position and access to the western counties offered the Jacobites a defensible base from which the war might continue despite the loss of Dublin.

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14 July 2026

Grange House

This reconstructed scene evokes the life of a prosperous Georgian country estate around the turn of the nineteenth century. The imposing house, formal gardens and gravel approach reflect the architectural taste and social order of the period. Elegantly dressed visitors, household servants, gardeners and horse-drawn carriages suggest activity surrounding such residences, where family life, hospitality and estate management met. Although idealised, the image offers a vivid historical impression of how the property may once have appeared when newly built, occupied and maintained, before decline altered its character and left only fragments of its former grandeur for future generations to study.

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14 July 2026

Elm Hill

Elm Hill, County Limerick, was built around 1790 for the Studdert family as an elegant Georgian country residence. The six-bay, two-storey house stood over a raised basement and contained spacious reception rooms, nine bedrooms, servants’ quarters, kitchens, cellars and service rooms. Following the Great Famine, it was offered for sale and described as being in excellent repair. The property remained substantial for generations but gradually fell vacant and deteriorated. A 2008 architectural survey praised its limestone doorcase, carved timber entrance, slate-hung elevations, fireplaces and decorative plasterwork. Its recognised importance led to designation as a protected structure under Irish planning legislation.

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9 July 2026

Johns Castle

King John’s Castle stands beside the River Shannon at Curragower Falls, with broken water, river rocks and the castle’s stone frontage visible across the scene. The round towers, curtain walls and riverside defences remain central, while the burned Castle Barracks appears roofless and blackened within the enclosure. Thomond Bridge is visible to the left, with nearby trees, older buildings and a church tower rising beyond the castle walls. The river surface shows ripples, reflections and shallow movement below the fortifications. The image presents the castle after damage, set within the wider early twentieth century Limerick urban riverside landscape after 1922.

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16 July 2026

Monument Gathering

This reconstructed image depicts the Treaty Stone in Limerick as it may have appeared around 1880, standing on its substantial stepped pedestal as a powerful emblem of the city’s past. Groups of townspeople, including men, women and children in period clothing, gather around the monument in a lively public setting. In the background, traditional buildings, stone walls and the nearby tower reinforce the historic atmosphere of the riverside area. Long associated with the Treaty of Limerick of 1691, the stone remained an important civic landmark, meeting place and symbol of memory, identity and local heritage in nineteenth-century Limerick.

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10 July 2026

Boat Club

Athlunkard Boat Club was founded in 1898, taking its name from its home beside O’Dwyer Bridge at the end of Athlunkard Street. By the 1930s, the club was already firmly woven into Limerick’s rowing tradition, with a proud record on the water. Its greatest distinction came through the Senior Eight Championship, which Athlunkard won twice, in 1913 and 1923. That achievement made it the only Limerick club to secure the title on two occasions. Its riverside presence and competitive success gave Athlunkard Boat Club a lasting place in the sporting history of the city and the wider Shannon rowing community.

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Gerard J. Hannan

Books By Gerard J. Hannan

Explore Gerard J. Hannan’s published and forthcoming books, spanning historical fiction, Limerick humour, family sagas and detailed studies of local and modern Irish history. Each title offers a distinctive story, subject or perspective, reflecting his interest in people, memory, identity, conflict and social change. From comic observations rooted in Limerick life to ambitious novels shaped by major historical events, the collection presents a varied and expanding body of work. Every book is accompanied by its cover, full description and publication details, with a direct Amazon link included wherever an edition is currently available for readers to purchase or discover more.

Book 1 of 23

Ashes

The Ashes Trilogy, Book One

Ashes begins the story of a group of children growing up in the streets and lanes of Limerick, where poverty and hardship are balanced by humour, imagination and fierce friendship. Their city is more than a setting: it watches, remembers and gives voice to lives often absent from official history. As the children explore their neighbourhood, they encounter family pressures, faith, hunger, danger and the first signs of a changing world. Through their adventures and loyalties, the novel captures the resilience of ordinary people and introduces the characters whose lives will unfold across the three volumes of The Ashes Trilogy.

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Book 2 of 23

Gurriers

The Ashes Trilogy, Book Two

Gurriers continues the lives of the Limerick children introduced in Ashes as childhood freedom begins to give way to work, responsibility and harsher choices. Their friendships remain strong, but poverty, family expectations, faith and the pressures of growing older test loyalties once taken for granted. The streets and lanes still offer humour, adventure and belonging, yet the wider world increasingly intrudes upon their lives. Through vivid dialogue, memorable characters and the watchful voice of Limerick itself, the novel explores resilience, identity and change while showing how even the closest companions can be drawn towards futures by circumstances beyond their control.

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Book 3 of 23

Scattered

The Ashes Trilogy, Book Three

Scattered concludes The Ashes Trilogy as the friends who once shared Limerick’s streets and lanes face adulthood, work, hunger, faith, family duty and emigration. Time has altered their ambitions, tested their loyalties and carried some beyond the city that formed them. Yet memory continues to bind Louie, Seamus, Joe, Sean, Peter, Tony, Bardy, Maura, Eileen, Nora, Lingo and the mysterious Gleamer. Narrated through the enduring presence of Limerick itself, the novel explores separation, sacrifice and survival while recognising the humour and affection that remain. Together, their scattered lives complete a moving portrait of friendship, community and change across changing generations.

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Book 4 of 23

Tisinmeass

The Daboyo Trilogy, Book One

Tisinmeass opens The Daboyo Trilogy and follows Gerard’s life in Limerick from 1959 to 1981. Childhood, family life, schooldays, neighbourhood adventures and the bewildering business of growing up are recalled with humour, affection and the unreliable confidence of hindsight. In a city where everyone seemed to know your business before you did, ordinary moments became stories, disasters became entertainment and embarrassment rarely remained private. The book captures the language, characters and misunderstandings of a changing Limerick while introducing the outlook that guides the trilogy: life becomes unbearable only when treated too seriously, but viewed from another angle, it becomes hilarious.

Forthcoming September 1st 2026

Book 5 of 23

Geshoushofish

The Daboyo Trilogy, Book Two

Geshoushofish continues The Daboyo Trilogy, covering Gerard’s life in Limerick from 1981 to 2003 as adulthood arrives without instructions. Work, relationships, ambitions, mistakes, unexpected opportunities and spectacular misjudgements compete for attention while everyone involved pretends to understand what they are doing. The responsibilities of grown life prove no less confusing than childhood, merely more expensive and harder to escape. Told with hindsight, affection and selective memory, the book follows changing times in Limerick while celebrating the characters, conversations and comic disasters encountered along the way. It confirms a growing suspicion: nobody else has mastered adulthood either, despite all outward appearances.

Forthcoming October 1st 2026

Book 6 of 23

Sauceonyerburger

The Daboyo Trilogy, Book Three

Sauceonyerburger completes The Daboyo Trilogy, following Gerard’s life from 2003 to 2025 as middle age, reinvention and changing times produce fresh opportunities for confusion. Experience is supposed to bring wisdom, but it mostly supplies better stories, stronger opinions and a longer list of mistakes that can finally be laughed at. Work, family, ambition, technology, ageing and unexpected turns are examined with affection, honesty and selective memory. Set against a rapidly changing Limerick, the book celebrates resilience, absurdity and the refusal to become sensible. It concludes one eventful life story with a simple lesson: growing older does not guarantee growing wiser.

Forthcoming November 1st 2026

Book 7 of 23

Knuckleheads

Knuckleheads, Book One

Knuckleheads opens the series with a collection of Limerick’s funniest myths, legends and stories, repeated for generations until nobody can remember where fact ended and imagination took over. These tales feature citizens who seem either too smart to be stupid or too stupid to be smart, yet somehow survive every argument, misunderstanding and impossible adventure. Each retelling adds another detail, another witness and usually another contradiction, allowing familiar stories to grow fresh arms and legs. Celebrating local language, humour and storytelling, the book preserves the questionable wisdom of Limerick people whose greatest talent may be making nonsense sound completely believable.

Forthcoming December 1st 2026

Book 8 of 23

Knuckleheads 2

Knuckleheads, Book Two

Knuckleheads 2 continues the collection of Limerick myths, legends, rumours and impossible local stories that become funnier and less reliable whenever they are repeated. New characters join familiar types: neighbours with brilliant plans, experts without evidence, heroes created by accident and citizens whose foolish decisions somehow produce clever results. Gathered from conversations, street corners, kitchens, workplaces and pub counters, each tale celebrates the city’s language, imagination and refusal to let facts spoil entertainment. Whether completely true, partly remembered or magnificently invented, these stories preserve the wit of Limerick people who can turn any ordinary incident into an enduring local legend.

Forthcoming January 1st 2027

Book 9 of 23

Knuckleheads 3

Knuckleheads, Book Three

Knuckleheads 3 continues the open ended collection of Limerick myths, legends, rumours and impossible stories that improve whenever somebody forgets the original facts. This volume introduces more neighbours, schemers, accidental heroes and self appointed experts whose confidence is rarely disturbed by evidence. Their plans may begin sensibly, collapse spectacularly and somehow finish with everyone claiming success. Drawn from street corners, kitchens, workplaces, clubs and pub counters, the stories celebrate local language, comic invention and communal memory. Whether true, partly true or polished beyond recognition, each tale proves that Limerick people can turn ordinary confusion into permanent entertainment for generations afterwards.

Forthcoming February 1st 2027

Book 10 of 23

Threshold

The Troubles Trilogy, Book One

Threshold opens in Belfast in 1968, where the Catholic Devlins and Protestant Morrows confront a city divided by religion, memory and fear. Civil rights marches, police violence, riots and internment transform ordinary streets into dangerous frontiers while political conflict enters homes, workplaces and schools. At the centre are Aileen Devlin and Thomas Morrow, whose relationship challenges the boundaries their families regard as essential to survival. As loyalty hardens into suspicion, both must decide whether inherited allegiance excuses injustice. Through family arguments, upheaval and private courage, the novel explores love, conscience, division and survival during the opening years of the Troubles.

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Book 11 of 23

Hunger

The Troubles Trilogy, Book Two

Hunger is Book Two of The Troubles Trilogy, set in Belfast during the 1980s. Aileen Devlin and Thomas Morrow have built a fragile life across the city’s sectarian divide, but the conflict threatens the home they created for their daughter, Claire. As hunger strikes, the Anglo Irish Agreement and violence reshape Northern Ireland, republican Declan and loyalist Billy exploit fear, grief and vulnerable young men. Against them stand Aileen, Kathleen and Elsie, whose quiet strength keeps their families human. This is a story of love, survival and the courage to place people before causes in a divided society under pressure.

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Book 12 of 23

Crossing

The Troubles Trilogy, Book Three

Crossing concludes The Troubles Trilogy during the decade from 1990 to 2000, as Belfast moves from violence towards negotiation, ceasefires and uncertain peace. The Devlin and Morrow families face political change alongside grief, ageing, divided loyalties and the consequences of choices made across three decades. Relationships once threatened by religious boundaries are tested by memory, mistrust and the fear that compromise may betray the dead. As the peace process gathers momentum, ordinary people must decide whether reconciliation is possible. The trilogy closes with a story of endurance, forgiveness, loss and hope beyond inherited division, proving that peace begins with courage.

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Book 13 of 23

Severance

Historical Novel

Severance is a historical novel set in Ballingarry, County Limerick, during Ireland’s struggle for independence. A torn and bloodied dispatch passes through fields, kitchens, lofts and hidden routes, placing everyone who handles it in danger. Michael Enright carries the burden of trust, while Mary, Molly and their neighbours struggle to preserve the message and protect one another. Against them, Captain Edward Harcourt studies every delay, wound and fragment for clues. As loyalty, fear and betrayal tighten around the hidden network, ordinary people must decide what they are willing to risk when history enters their homes and silence itself becomes dangerous.

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Book 14 of 23

Limerick Generations: 1900 to 1909

Limerick Decalogy, Book One

Limerick Generations: 1900 to 1909 opens the decade by documenting a city and county entering the twentieth century amid political debate, commercial activity, poverty, faith and technological change. Month by month, the book connects major Irish developments with local events, institutions, streets and communities. Public meetings, labour, transport, education, sport, business and everyday life reveal how national questions were experienced in Limerick. Historical reports and carefully reconstructed narratives bring forgotten moments and ordinary people into focus. As Book One of Limerick Decalogy, it establishes the foundation for a ten volume journey through one hundred years of local history and memory.

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Book 15 of 23

Limerick Generations: 1910 to 1919

Limerick Decalogy, Book Two

Limerick Generations: 1910 to 1919 traces a decade of political transformation, labour conflict, war, revolution and social change across Limerick city and county. Home Rule, unionist resistance, trade union organisation and the First World War entered streets, farms, schools, workplaces and family life. The Easter Rising, conscription crisis, influenza pandemic and general election altered public loyalties and expectations. The decade culminated in the Limerick Soviet of 1919, when workers challenged military restrictions through organised collective action. As Book Two of Limerick Decalogy, the volume preserves local experiences of hardship, courage, grief, endurance and change during years of intense historic upheaval.

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Book 16 of 23

Limerick Generations: 1920 to 1929

Limerick Decalogy, Book Three

Limerick Generations: 1920 to 1929 documents a decisive decade shaped by revolution, independence, civil war and the creation of a new Irish state. Across Limerick city and county, political violence, military activity, changing institutions and economic uncertainty affected families, workplaces and communities. The volume follows local responses to national events while also recording business, education, religion, transport, sport and everyday social life. Newspapers, public records and historical narratives reveal how ordinary people experienced both upheaval and recovery. As Book Three of Limerick Decalogy, it continues the century long record of Limerick through years of conflict, reconstruction and emerging political stability.

Forthcoming March 1st 2027

Book 17 of 23

Limerick Generations: 1930 to 1939

Limerick Decalogy, Book Four

Limerick Generations: 1930 to 1939 documents a decade marked by economic hardship, political consolidation, social tradition and gradual modernisation across Limerick city and county. The effects of global depression touched employment, trade, farming and household security, while local government, education, religion, transport, sport and cultural life continued to shape everyday experience. Newspapers, public records and community stories reveal how families adapted to uncertainty and how familiar institutions responded to change. As Book Four of Limerick Decalogy, the volume preserves the people, places and events of the 1930s while extending the series through another important chapter of Limerick’s twentieth century history.

Forthcoming April 1st 2027

Book 18 of 23

Limerick Generations: 1940 to 1949

Limerick Decalogy, Book Five

Limerick Generations: 1940 to 1949 documents a decade shaped by wartime neutrality, rationing, shortages, emigration and gradual postwar recovery across Limerick city and county. Although Ireland remained outside the Second World War, global conflict affected trade, employment, transport, food supplies and daily routines. Local communities adapted through thrift, voluntary service, farming, industry, education, religion, sport and family resilience. Newspapers, public records and personal accounts reveal how ordinary people experienced uncertainty while maintaining familiar institutions and traditions. As Book Five of Limerick Decalogy, the volume preserves Limerick’s wartime generation and the social changes that prepared the city for the 1950s ahead.

Forthcoming May 1st 2027

Book 19 of 23

Limerick Generations: 1950 to 1959

Limerick Decalogy, Book Six

Limerick Generations: 1950 to 1959 documents a decade of rebuilding, emigration, social conservatism and gradual modernisation across Limerick city and county. New housing, expanding education, changing industries and improved transport reshaped everyday life, while unemployment and limited opportunity encouraged many young people to leave Ireland. Religion, sport, entertainment, local business and family networks remained central to community identity. Newspapers, public records and personal memories reveal a society balancing tradition with growing expectations of change. As Book Six of Limerick Decalogy, the volume preserves the people, places and experiences that defined Limerick during the uncertain but transformative 1950s for future generations.

Forthcoming June 1st 2027

Book 20 of 23

Limerick Generations: 1960 to 1969

Limerick Decalogy, Book Seven

Limerick Generations: 1960 to 1969 documents a decade of expanding education, industrial development, housing growth, emigration and cultural change across Limerick city and county. New factories, improved roads, television, popular music and changing expectations reshaped everyday life, while unemployment and outward migration continued to affect families and communities. Religion, sport, local business and neighbourhood identity remained influential as younger generations encountered a wider modern world. Newspapers, public records and personal memories reveal a society balancing tradition with new opportunity. As Book Seven of Limerick Decalogy, the volume preserves the people, places and transformations that defined Limerick throughout the eventful 1960s.

Forthcoming July 1st 2027

Book 21 of 23

Limerick Generations: 1970 to 1979

Limerick Decalogy, Book Eight

Limerick Generations: 1970 to 1979 documents a decade of industrial change, housing expansion, economic uncertainty and evolving social attitudes across Limerick city and county. New estates, schools, factories, roads and communications reshaped daily life, while unemployment, inflation and emigration continued to influence families and communities. Music, television, sport, youth culture and changing expectations widened horizons, even as religion and established institutions remained powerful. Newspapers, public records and personal memories reveal how Limerick balanced tradition with modern pressures. As Book Eight of Limerick Decalogy, the volume preserves the people, places and experiences that defined the city throughout the transformative 1970s decade.

Forthcoming August 1st 2027

Book 22 of 23

Limerick Generations: 1980 to 1989

Limerick Decalogy, Book Nine

Limerick Generations: 1980 to 1989 documents a decade of recession, unemployment, emigration, urban change and evolving social attitudes across Limerick city and county. Factory closures, economic pressure and limited opportunity affected families and neighbourhoods, while new technologies, television, music and youth culture widened everyday experience. Sport, education, religion, local business and community organisations remained important sources of identity and support. Newspapers, public records and personal memories reveal how people adapted to uncertainty while anticipating a more connected future. As Book Nine of Limerick Decalogy, the volume preserves the people, places and experiences that defined Limerick throughout the challenging 1980s decade.

Forthcoming September 1st 2027

Book 23 of 23

Limerick Generations: 1990 to 1999

Limerick Decalogy, Book Ten

Limerick Generations: 1990 to 1999 documents a decade of economic recovery, cultural confidence, technological change and expanding opportunity across Limerick city and county. New investment, improved communications, education and changing workplaces reshaped daily life, while unemployment, emigration and social inequality remained important concerns. Music, sport, broadcasting, community organisations and a growing international outlook influenced identity as Ireland entered a more prosperous era. Newspapers, public records and personal memories reveal how tradition met rapid modernisation. As Book Ten of Limerick Decalogy, the volume completes a century long record of the people, places and experiences that shaped twentieth century Limerick for generations.

Forthcoming October 1st 2027

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