WATCH Limerick Civic Trust celebrates 40 years of safeguarding Limerick’s amazing history

Limerick Civic Trust celebrates 40 years of safeguarding Limerick’s amazing history. Pictured at the Limerick Civic Trust Christmas Business Lunch at No 1 Pery Square were David O’Brien, Limerick Civic Trust, Dr Pat Daly, Limerick City and County Council and Donal Creaton, Limerick Civic Trust. Picture: Adrian Butler

Limerick Civic Trust held its annual Christmas Business Lunch, celebrating 40 years of protecting the city’s history and heritage

The Limerick City and County Council CEO was guest speaker at the Trust’s annual Christmas Business Lunch in No.1 Pery Square, Limerick on Friday, December 1 where local businesses and supporters gathered to raise funds to help with the Limerick Civic Trust mission.

Limerick City and County Council CEO, Pat Daly, expressed his admiration for Limerick Civic Trust and the work they do in preserving the city’s rich history at the 2023 Christmas Business Lunch.

Limerick Civic Trust is a self-funding charity, which initiates and undertakes a programme of projects for the general improvements of Limerick’s environment in conjunction with local authorities, state agencies and all the sectors of Limerick’s commercial, professional, industrial and community life, all of whom share a common vision of the betterment of Limerick.

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Mr Daly said, “The work they do is just fantastic. I mean, they’re really about the preservation of, not alone the cultural history, but the physical history. And if you disregard your past You don’t have a present and you certainly don’t have a future.”

Speaking to Richard Lynch of I Love Limerick about his message for guests at the event, Pat Daly said, “What the Civic Trust do is they remind us that history is value and if you don’t have history and don’t regard history we become valueless so that’s the message today and I’m so delighted to help them.”

Celebrating their 40th anniversary, Limerick Civic Trust CEO, David O’Brien, looked back on the group’s journey and the groundwork laid by those who came before him.

The Civic Trust CEO echoed the feelings of Mr Daly, focusing on the  group’s community-driven ethos and work which is not part of Limerick City and County Council but is supported by the local authority.

He said, “We’ve had an amazing 40 years. My predecessor, Dennis Leonard, and then later James Ring, have done an incredible job. So I’m standing on the shoulders of giants, I’m honoured to have the role.”

Having reflected on the group’s past, Mr O’Briend looked to the future, saying, “With all the changes going on in the city and everything, we’re looking forward to the next 40 years and how we manage ourselves.

“The  Civic Trust is here to serve, so we need people to get involved. We need the citizens to get involved. It really is a citizen-led, community-led project, people don’t really get that. They think we’re part of the local authority, we’re not, we’re supported by them. We are the people’s movement, really.”

With 31 sites across the city and the group having dedicated 75,000 labour hours in 2023, the Limerick Civic Trust CEO said the group’s “dedication extends far and wide”, and he outlined the Trust’s pursuits to secure and restore more historical and culturally important buildings.

As well as 4 or 5 other buildings “earmarked” in the city, Mr O’Brien said, “We’re chasing after the Seaman’s Home on O’Curry Street, which is a fantastic building. Amazing building, and a building we’d love to see back into service. If we don’t get it, we don’t mind. If it’s commercially used, and it’s repurposed, and it’s preserved, it would be wonderful if we do get into it.”

Commemorating four decades of commitment to Limerick’s history and heritage, Limerick Civic Trust is calling on the community to help support their efforts in protecting the city’s beautiful history.

Find out more here.
Read more Limerick Civic Trust stories here.

Pictures: Olena Oleksienko/ilovelimerick