The Carnegie Library on Pery Square is one of Limerick’s most distinctive civic buildings. Funded by a £7,000 donation from Scottish-American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, its foundation stone was laid by Carnegie himself in October 1903. Designed by Dublin architect George Patrick Sheridan, the limestone building opened in 1908 as a combined free library and museum. It later housed Limerick Museum and the growing Limerick City Collection of Art. After the library and museum relocated in 1985, the building became home to Limerick City Gallery of Art. Modern extensions have expanded its exhibition spaces while preserving its historic Neo-Hiberno-Romanesque character today.
