LIMERICK WITH MY (LITTLE) LADIES
This medieval city is ideal for a girls’ getaway – you may even have to escape to leave...
THERE’S something in the air that’s starting to feel a little like summer — an Irish one, yes, but brighter days ahead nonetheless.
As a parent, this brings emotions that feels a little like our weather, mostly mixed. I love the idea of the children having some freedom and the idea of spending such quality time with them, but the reality of juggling work and childcare over those two school-free months never quite lives up to my daydreaming.
Add in the eye-watering costs of flights to anywhere and it’s looking increasingly likely that summer will be spent staycationing.
On that note, I recently spent a few days doing just that with my two daughters when we made the 2.5-hour drive to Limerick Strand Hotel for a girls’ trip.
At seven, nine and 45, we have some very different ideas of what constitutes a good mini-break, but this hotel keeps everyone happy.
Perched as it is overlooking the River Shannon, it’s in close proximity to the action of the city, and a great base from which to discover the Wild Atlantic Way. But it has a relaxed ambience, with wonderfully spacious rooms, and is also is home to a great leisure centre, with that allimportant swimming pool.
Pool duly sampled — and approved — on the first evening, we got ready for dinner in the River Restaurant and Bar. Lights twinkled in the distance as night settled and we enjoyed some tasty fare, pasta and chicken and chips for the girls, while I settled for some chicken wings and wild Irish hake.
After a dessert of chocolate brownies and a sundae, it was time for bed and a great sleep was had by all, excited for tomorrow.
The next morning we had a hearty and humorous breakfast, courtesy of my daughters’ huge excitement at the restaurant’s self-serve waffle machine. Tánaiste Micheál Martin, who was also getting breakfast, had a giggle when he spotted my youngest Layla literally screaming with delight at her waffle-making.
Suitably fuelled, we were ready to explore. Limerick is packed with historic places of interest, activities, cultural hotspots and foodie highlights — including the famous Milk Market.
The Strand offers exclusive guest discounts for a variety of local attractions and activities, such as the Hunt Museum, the International Rugby Experience, Bunratty Castle and many more.
Our first stop was Lough Gur visitor centre, a place at the heart of a remarkable archaeological landscape. There’s a reported 2,000 archaeological monuments in a 5km radius, including Ireland’s oldest and largest stone circle.
Located between the towns of Herbertstown and Bruff — where John F Kennedy’s descendants are from — the visitor centre itself is in a beautiful, tranquil setting, situated on the lake’s shores. The girls loved the interactive exhibition detailing over 6,000 years of history plus the dressing up corner and the Neolithic reconstruction model, essentially like an ancient jigsaw.
They also loved the playground, the wishing seat and we even completed the short walking trail to visit the Spectacles — one of the very early Christian field systems — and climbed the 110 steep steps to get to the spectacular viewing point.
We also drove to view the other ancient wonders on the trail, taking in the ring forts, the Giant’s Grave and and the aforementioned Grange Stone Circle. It’s truly fascinating stuff.
We also called in to the Old Irish Ways Museum, run by retired farmer Denis O’Connor. This is a treasure trove of artefacts and memorabilia from Irish life over the last 100 years or more, and is well worth a visit — a novelty for the children, nostalgia for the parents.
History beckoned once more at King John’s Castle, in the city’s medieval quarter. The castle’s history spans 800 years and today is home to major concerts — this summer it will welcome acts like Kasabian and Bell X1 — but it still prides itself on its fascinating past.
The cutting-edge technology in such a historic place is something very special indeed. We were dazzled — and a little creeped out — by the computer-generated animations and ghostly projections that taught us about the Vikings, Normans and, of course, ghastly old King John. Although by far the most entertaining was the storytelling and cheeky tunes about how the King met his undignified end, sung to us by the Castle’s characters.
A spot of courtyard games — medieval seesaw, archery, quoits (ring toss), tug’o’war — was welcomed too, although the Irish rain soon dampened that particular ardour.
Thankfully we had an indoor adventure waiting for us — Escape Limerick. I was a complete novice to the concept of an escape room, a real-life puzzle game where you and your team are locked in a room for one hour, and you have to figure out how to get out.
Escape Limerick has a selection of rooms inspired by the history and culture of the area. We found ourselves in King John’s Dungeon, albeit unlocked, as Layla was too spooked to close the door. We still managed to have great fun figuring out all the clues — we may have gotten a lot of help — and hey presto, we solved all the riddles within the hour and we were free to make our way back home from Limerick after a fun-filled couple of days.
Giddy getaway: Clockwise from main, King John’s Castle; Lisa with Layla and Lana-Rose at Escape Limerick; and a room at Limerick Strand Hotel