Citadel — Limerick City,irishtown

The citadel standing on the medieval town defences (LI005-017010-) of Limerick was described in the Urban Survey (Bradley et. al. 1989, 280-8) as following; 'The gatehouse of the citadel still survives and is in use as part of St. John’s Hospital. This citadel itself is mentioned in the Civil Survey and from Leask’s (1941, 104) analysis of the structure it appears to have been constructed during the Confederate period. The gatehouse consists of three floors. The west half of the building at ground and first floor levels is occupied by a vaulted passage 3.2m wide running through it from north to south. It is entered through a pointed arch with dressed limestone jambs, c.4m high, in the north wall. The main section of the passage has a modern brick vault c.5m high and has large segmentally arched recesses in the east and west walls; that in the west wall has a rectangular cupboard in its west wall while that in its north wall and in with chamfered limestone in the east wall has a wall cupboard its east wall a round headed door jambs, now blocked, which led to the main ground floor chamber to the east. South of this section the passage narrows slightly and is spanned by two broad pointed arches, that to the north is 3.94m high, that to the south is 3.2m high separated by a portcullis groove and with bar-holes immediately inside (N of) the first arch. Outside (S) of these the opening in the south wall is a tall (6m high) round arch with dressed limestone jambs (?modern). Main chamber The rest of the building to the east is entered through a round headed door with chamfered limestone arch and unchamfered jambs at the east end of the north wall. On entering this door a straight stairs rises to first floor on the west while on the south is a rectangular door leading to the main chamber (c.6.15m by 4.75m) now greatly altered modern subdivisions and equipment. The only recognisable features are corbels in the north and south walls, and what seems to be a large chimney in the east wall, just at the junction with the town wall [LI005-017010-]. There is no trace of a fireplace and a modern door occupies a broken hole in the inner wall which seems to have been the site of the fireplace. The outer wall is also broken through to provide storage space. It has a modern flat ceiling. Also in the north wall is a round headed window which may be an enlarged loop with splayed flat lintelled embrasure. First floor Approached via straight stairs rising from east to west through the thickness of the north wall which is lit at first floor level by a splayed rectangular loop, flat lintelled. The main first floor chamber is entered through a rectangular door, unsplayed, on the south side of the stairs; the chamber is 6.1 by 4.6m though now sub-divided. It was roofed by a round barrel vault with wattle centering but most of this is now removed and replaced by a modern flat ceiling. Modern boards conceal the walls masking any features; however in the south wall there is a large embrasure with almost flat arch and wattle centering which has a large modern inserted window. In the extreme south-west corner is a tall rectangular loop with chamfered limestone jambs and splayed flat lintelled embrasure. Opening off the main chamber to the east at the south end is a small chamber with a segmental barrel vault now entered through modern doors occupying a rectangular opening in the original east wall of the main chamber. This chamber is lit from the south by a tall rectangular loop with chamfered limestone jambs set in a large embrasure. In the east wall is a rectangular doorway with chamfered limestone jambs; the south jamb is chamfered, however, only above the rounded moulding at the top of the batter indicating that this was originally a loop and later enlarged into a door. Second floor The stairs in the north wall continue to 2nd floor level, lit by another splayed rectangular loop. They are now blocked off, however, before reaching this level. The 2nd floor seems to have been greatly altered. Much of the external masonry is rougher and poorer and some walls apparently reduced in thickness internally, but the presence of a number of original features proves it is not totally rebuilt. There is a rectangular loop with chamfered limestone jambs in the south wall and two large round headed windows, now blocked, at the south end of the east and west walls; that in the east wall retains its chamfered limestone jambs. The 2nd floor chamber occupies the entire area of the building although now sub-divided. The north wall has two large modern sash windows; the west wall is featureless apart from a blocked round headed window; the south wall has a modern door approached from external stairs and three modern sash windows as well as a blocked loop. The east wall has a blocked round headed window and a modern sash window in a recess which was probably the site of the chimney flue. North of this the north-east angle of the building has been entirely removed and replaced by the modern walls of the hospital. There is a short section of wall, c.6m high, running south-west from the south-west corner of the gate. The city defences witnessed considerable work during the seventeenth century. In particular its key role in the Confederate and Williamite Wars necessitated considerable strengthening. The outline of the defences on fig. 62 is taken from Phillips" map (NLI). The citadel of St John’s, described above, is a mid seventeenth century structure refortified in 1690. Story’s map of the Siege of Limerick in 1690 shows two star-shaped forts to the east of the city (Lenihan 1866, op.237). A section of seventeenth century wall survives close to St. John’s hospital, some 20m north of the gatehouse. This is an L-shaped piece of walling, part of the inner works of the citadel. The main wall is 10.45m long, up to 3.3m high and 2.2m thick; there is a slight external batter and an opening 2.75m wide with a modern round arch running through the wall. From the west end of this wall a stretch of wall 7.5m long, up to 2.5m high and 1.7m thick extends north-west, and forms part of the Western bastion. The masonry of both walls is of mixed roughly coursed limestone undressed, although the archway has dressed limestone jambs and quoins. On the external face of both walls is another wall, up to 1m high and 70cms thick which is probably modern'. Hodkinson (2006) stated that 'the Citadel is thus of Cromwellian origin, built in the immediate aftermath of the 1651 siege to help secure the town rather than defend it from outside. This explains its form of a rectangle with two diamond shaped bastions, one at each of the corners facing into the town'. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 21 November 2019