Limerick in the context of "Irish acre"

Ireland is an island in Northern Europe, in the north Atlantic Ocean. The island measures about 480 km (300 mi) north-south, and 275 km (171 mi) east-west, with a total area of 84,421 km (32,595 sq mi). It lies about 53°N 8°W / 53°N 8°W / 53; -8, near the western edge of the European continental shelf, part of the Eurasian Plate. Ireland is separated from the island of Great Britain by the Irish Sea to the east, and from mainland Europe by the Celtic Sea to the south. It is bounded to the north by the North Channel and to the south by St George's Channel. Ireland is the second-largest landmass in the British Isles, after Great Britain and before Lewis and Harris.

Its main geographical features include low central plains surrounded by coastal mountains. The highest peak is Carrauntoohil (Irish: Corrán Tuathail), which is 1,039 metres (3,409 ft) above sea level. The western coastline is rugged, with many islands, peninsulas, headlands and bays, while the southern and northern coasts have a smaller number of substantial sea inlets, such as Lough Foyle and Cork Harbour; no part of the land is more than around 110 km (68 mi) from the sea. The island is almost bisected by the River Shannon, which at 360.5 km (224 mi) with a 102.1 km (63 mi) estuary is the longest river in Ireland and flows south from County Cavan in the province of Ulster to form the boundary between Connacht and Leinster, and later Munster, and meet the Atlantic just south and west of Limerick. Lough Neagh is the largest of several sizeable lakes along Ireland's rivers.

Munster (Irish: an Mhumhain [ə ˈwuːnʲ] or Cúige Mumhan [ˌkuːɟə ˈmˠuːnˠ]) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (Irish: rí ruirech). Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into counties for administrative and judicial purposes. In later centuries, local government legislation has seen further sub-division of the historic counties.

Munster has no official function for local government purposes. For the purposes of the ISO, the province is listed as one of the provincial sub-divisions of the State (ISO 3166-2:IE) and coded as "IE-M". Munster covers an area of 24,675 km (9,527 sq mi). Its population was 1,373,346 in 2022, with Cork being the largest city. Other significant urban centres in the province include Limerick and Waterford.

The River Shannon (Irish: an tSionainn, Abhainn na Sionainne or archaic an tSionna) is the major river on the island of Ireland, and at 360 km (224 miles) in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of 16,900 km (6,525 sq mi), – approximately one fifth of the area of Ireland.

Known as an important waterway since antiquity, the Shannon first appeared in maps by the Graeco-Egyptian geographer Ptolemy (c. 100 – c. 170 AD). The river flows generally southwards from the Shannon Pot in County Cavan before turning west and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean through the 102.1 km (63.4 mi) long Shannon Estuary. Limerick city stands at the point where the river water meets the sea water of the estuary. The Shannon is tidal east of Limerick as far as the base of the Ardnacrusha dam. The Shannon divides the west of Ireland (principally the province of Connacht) from the east and south (Leinster and most of Munster; County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception.) The river represents a major physical barrier between east and west, with fewer than thirty-five crossing points between the village of Dowra in the north and Limerick city in the south.

The Shannon Estuary in Ireland (Irish: Inbhear na Sionainne) is a large estuary where the River Shannon flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The estuary has Limerick City at its head and its seaward limits are marked by Loop Head to the north and Kerry Head to the south. The estuary defines the main boundary between County Kerry/County Limerick to the south and County Clare to the north.

The length of the Shannon Estuary is 102.1 km (63.4 mi). The Lower River Shannon Special Area of Conservation (SAC) incorporates the estuary and is 120 km (75 mi) in length, running from Killaloe to Loop Head. The Shannon has a high tidal range, up to around 5.44 m (17.8 ft) at Limerick docks, such that the estuary has been considered for tidal power schemes, despite occasionally experiencing a tidal bore.

The Hunt Museum (Irish: Iarsmalann Hunt) is a museum located in the Custom House in the city of Limerick, Ireland. It holds a personal collection donated by the Hunt family, it was originally situated in the University of Limerick, before being moved to its present location in Limerick's Georgian custom house in 1997.

Among the museum's collection are works by notable artists and designers such as Pablo Picasso, Jack B. Yeats, and Sybil Connolly as well as distinctive historical items such as the O'Dea Mitre and Crozier.

The history of Ireland 795–1169 covers the period in the history of Ireland from the first Viking raid to the Norman invasion. The first two centuries of this period are characterised by Viking raids and the subsequent Norse settlements along the coast. Viking ports were established at Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Cork and Limerick, which became the first large towns in Ireland.

Ireland consisted of many semi-independent territories (túatha), and attempts were made by various factions to gain political control over the whole of the island. For the first two centuries of this period, this was mainly a rivalry between putative High Kings of Ireland from the northern and southern branches of the Uí Néill. The one who came closest to being de facto king over the whole of Ireland, however, was Brian Boru, the first high king in this period not belonging to the Uí Néill.

The Uí Ímair (Irish: [iː ˈiːwəɾʲ] ; meaning ‘scions of Ivar’), also known as the Ivar dynasty or Ivarids, was a Norse-Gael dynasty which ruled much of the Irish Sea region, the Kingdom of Dublin, the western coast of Scotland, including the Hebrides and some part of Northern England, from the mid 9th century.

The dynasty lost control of York in the mid 10th century, but reigned over the other domains at variously disputed times, depending on which rulers may be counted among their descendants. This has proved a difficult question for scholars to determine, because reliable pedigrees do not survive. Additionally, for between three and four decades, the Uí Ímair were overkings of the Kingdom of Scotland itself, distinct from the Kingdom of Strathclyde, of which they may also have been overkings, and later briefly the Irish province of Munster, dominated from Waterford, and later still, briefly the English kingdom of Mercia. In the west of Ireland, the Uí Ímair also supplied at least two kings of Limerick, from which they may have attempted to conquer Munster again.