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31 July 2026

ODwyer Bridge

This rare 1932 photograph shows the newly completed Bishop O’Dwyer Bridge linking Limerick city with Corbally. Constructed between 1929 and 1931 at a cost of £21,308, the concrete structure replaced the older Park Bridge, which had served the district since 1798. It was named in honour of Dr Edward Thomas O’Dwyer, Bishop of Limerick from 1886 to 1917. The bridge represented a new era of engineering, transport and urban development, while maintaining a crossing essential to local life for generations. Nearly a century later, it remains a familiar landmark, practical route and enduring part of Limerick’s architectural and social history.

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15 July 2026

Edwardian Limerick

At the beginning of the twentieth century, George Street stood at the centre of commercial life in Limerick. Today known as O’Connell Street, it was bordered by impressive Georgian buildings housing hotels, shops, offices and established local businesses. Horse-drawn carts, private carriages and crowds of pedestrians moved constantly along the busy thoroughfare, while traders brought additional noise and colour to the scene. Landmarks included the Royal Hotel, MacMahon’s Temperance Hotel and firms such as O’Mahony & Company. The street’s elegant architecture and lively commerce made it one of Edwardian Limerick’s most important and recognisable urban spaces for residents and visitors.

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13 July 2026

Limerick Stone

This February 1937 photograph shows a weathered stone cottage in Limerick, with children gathered at its doorway and along the narrow street outside. The rough masonry, patched walls, boarded upper windows and low, sloping roof reveal the building’s age and modest condition. Electrical wires cross above the house, suggesting the gradual arrival of modern services within an older urban landscape. The children’s presence brings warmth and life to the scene, contrasting with the severe exterior and surrounding ruins. The image provides a valuable record of working-class housing, childhood and community life in pre-war Limerick during a period of social change.

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10 July 2026

Wellesly Bridge

A sweeping view of Wellesley Bridge, now Sarsfield Bridge, crossing the River Shannon in Limerick City. The elegant 1835 structure rises with restrained neoclassical grace, its stone arches carrying traffic between the historic city centre and Thomondgate on the northern shore. Calm river water reflects the bridge’s pale masonry, while quays, rooftops, and distant activity suggest a city expanding beyond its old boundaries. Maritime details, mooring points, and riverside movement evoke Limerick’s trading past. The scene should feel dignified, atmospheric, and historically grounded, presenting the bridge as both active crossing and enduring architectural landmark.

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12 July 2026

Police Cabin

Around 1880, the interior of a police cabin at Gurranmore, near Pallas in County Limerick, reveals the modest conditions in which rural constables lived and worked. The small room is sparsely furnished, with simple wooden fittings, basic household utensils and few comforts. Uniformed officers occupy the cramped space, suggesting that the cabin served as both workplace and living quarters. Published in The Graphic in 1880, the image offers a rare glimpse of everyday policing in nineteenth-century Ireland. It preserves not only the appearance of the station, but also the disciplined, isolated life experienced by men posted in rural communities nearby.

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25 June 2026

Shannon Resistance

At the opening of the twentieth century, Limerick’s fishery interests faced a proposal they believed could transform the River Shannon at enormous local cost. The Limerick Fishery Conservators, presided over by Lord Massy, met to consider the Shannon Water and Electric Power Company’s plan to secure parliamentary authority for works near Lough Derg and Clonlara. The promoters argued that Shannon water could be diverted through engineered channels to generate electricity for Limerick and surrounding districts. The Conservators unanimously resolved to oppose the measure, regarding it as a direct threat to the river upon which fisheries, navigation and established livelihoods depended.

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24 June 2026

Takeover Opposed

Limerick Corporation unanimously authorised formal opposition to the proposed sale of the Waterford, Limerick and Western Railway to the Great Southern and Western Railway. At a special meeting reported on 5 January 1900, William L. Stokes, JP, moved that the Corporation’s solicitor be empowered to resist the scheme and take every necessary step on the city’s behalf. Councillor O’Brien seconded the motion. Several interested citizens attended beyond the council barrier, reflecting the strength of public concern surrounding the renewed amalgamation bill. The resolution was carried unanimously and received applause from those observing the proceedings.

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25 June 2026

Ladysmith Assault

Boer commandos launched a major assault upon the British defensive line south of besieged Ladysmith before dawn on 6 January 1900. Their principal targets were Wagon Hill and Caesar’s Camp, two positions on the ridge known locally as the Platrand. Advancing through darkness and broken ground, the attackers surprised several forward posts and gained parts of the crest before the defenders could organise effective resistance. Confused close-range fighting followed, with British and colonial troops struggling to distinguish friend from enemy among rocks, scrub and unfinished defensive works.

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24 June 2026

Painter Born

Maurice Joseph MacGonigal was born in Ranelagh, Dublin, on 22 January 1900, the only son and third child of Francis MacGonigal and Caroline Lane. His father was a painter and decorator from County Sligo, while his mother belonged to a family already connected with Irish craftsmanship and art. Growing up within that environment exposed him to colour, design and skilled manual work long before he entered formal training. The child born in suburban Dublin would eventually become an influential painter, teacher and administrator whose landscapes, portraits and scenes of Irish life secured him a prominent place in twentieth-century Irish art.

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24 June 2026

Dillon Concedes

John Dillon confirmed during the closing days of January that he was prepared to relinquish any personal claim to the leadership of a reunited nationalist parliamentary movement. As chairman of the Irish National Federation and the most influential figure among the majority anti-Parnellites, Dillon might reasonably have expected to compete for control of the restored party. His decision indicated that the negotiations had moved beyond symbolic reconciliation towards a practical settlement. After nearly a decade of factional conflict, unity required senior politicians to sacrifice position, prestige and the expectations of supporters who regarded leadership as confirmation that their side had…

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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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