New Limerick Revolutionary Map shows local history from 1913-1924

A new online mapping project from Limerick City and County Council is cataloguing the locations throughout the city and county of events that happened between 1913 and 1924. The interactive map, called The Revolutionary Map Of Limerick, allows people to see what happened by looking at a list of dates, or by hovering over points on the map.

For example, a point on the map near Ballylanders shows the viewer that on 16th July, 1920 that ‘RIC raid houses across Ballylanders, and capture a number of members of the East Limerick Flying Column’. Another point near Kilbehenny shows that at the location on 7th July, 1920 that ‘Thomas McDonnell and Danny McGrath killed near Kilbehenny when a crowd of civilians are fired upon by British forces’.

Limerick was a major theatre of activity during the Irish Revolutionary period and both the city and county produced an array of figures who were willing to train, fund and fight for Irish republicanism. In addition, there was also the Limerick Soviet, one of the most extraordinary events of the period, a general strike in which city’s citizens governed their own affairs independent of British rule. This strike tactic was employed across Limerick in the years after this.

Limerick also had a disproportionately large number of both police and army barracks, garrisoned by the Royal Irish Constabulary (including the Black and Tans), the British Army, and the Auxiliaries. In addition, Limerick was the scene of the Dromkeen Ambush (1921), the most successful ambush by the IRA outside of Cork, during the entire War of Independence.

The Revolutionary Map is being constantly improved and updated. To begin with, the project currently focuses exclusively on events within Limerick itself, and Limerick people who fought or were killed outside the city and county boundaries of Limerick have not yet been included. The Civil War Maps focuses on the operations and movements as opposed to the deaths, as there are no exact locations (and, in some cases, the dates) of those who were killed or wounded during the engagements of the Civil War.

The council ask that members of the public contact the Limerick Museum at museum@ limerick.ie if they have any edits that they wish to make to the map, including pictorial and other evidence where appropriate. The Revolutionary Map can be found at limerick.ie