Historical over view of trade in Limerick pre-1800
Limerick has always been a mercantile and trading city. It was founded by the Vikings around 922 AD.
It remained a Viking town until 1195, but was controlled by the Viking kingdom of Dublin from 937 to
967 and the Irish Kings of Munster from 967 to 1195. The Vikings were great traders and craftsmen
and Limerick had contacts with other Viking towns all over Europe. St Mary‟s Cathedral was founded
in the eleventh century.
The Normans captured Limerick in 1195 and in 1197, it was given its first charter, which established a
town council there. The City Council and the city‟s legal system all trace their roots back to this first
charter. The Normans left their stamp on Limerick. King John‟s Castle, the walls of Limerick and the
local government system they founded, survive to this day. One of the principal purposes of the first
charter was to promote economic activity in the city. It is no accident that from 1197 to 1899, the
ruling class of Limerick was composed chiefly of merchants and businessmen.
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Medieval Limerick enjoyed economic prosperity in the 13 century, a disastrous depression in the 14
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century and modest recovery in the 15 century. In 1413 King Henry V granted a charter which made
Limerick an independent city-state. The city even had its own foreign policy, often determined by
economic considerations. In 1524 Limerick and Galway actually went to war which appears to have
ended as a draw and was concluded by a formal peace treaty.
In the 1530s, the Tudors brought major changes to Limerick. King Henry VIII broke from Rome and
the Pope. This paved the way for Protestantism in Ireland. Henry abolished the monasteries of Ireland
and gave their land to loyal supporters. By 1603 the English crown controlled all of Ireland for the first
time. Limerick lost most of its medieval independence. The constant wars of the period destroyed the
economy of Limerick.
The seventeenth century was the most violent century in Ireland and Limerick‟s history. The city
endured four terrible sieges in 1642, 1651, 1690 and 1691 as the city was a central stage in the
European wars. After the fourth siege, the Treaty of Limerick was signed. Patrick Sarsfield and the
other Catholic leaders left Limerick and Ireland. The Flight of the Wild Geese began.
Between 1750 and 1815, Georgian Limerick underwent an economic revolution, which transformed it
into one of the most dynamic cities in Ireland. The population increased from 11,000 in 1706 to
32,000 in 1776. Indeed between 1700 and 1841, the population of Limerick grew faster than that of
any other Irish city except Belfast. An important measure of economic growth is customs receipts,
which in Limerick increased from £16,000 in 1751 to £32,000 in 1764 and £70,000 in 1821.
From the 1760s the walls of Limerick were taken down to allow the city to expand. Local landlord and
MP Edmund Sexton Pery decided to build a new city on his land to the south of medieval Limerick. In
1769 Christopher Colles produced a plan for this new city based on a grid like formation. From 1770
to 1840 Georgian Limerick was built as a partnership between the Perys and local merchants. The
new city was called Newtown Pery after its founder Edmund Sexton Pery. Many of the merchants who
partnered with Pery in the development were instrumental in the founding of the Chamber of
Commerce in Limerick.
Even when the Irish economy stagnated from 1815 to the 1840s, culminating in the Great Famine,
Limerick continued to enjoy economic growth. Customs receipts in the port increased from £70,000 in
1821 to £148,000 in 1840. The population increased to 48,000 in 1841. Throughout the period 1747
to 1845, Limerick exported vast amounts of corn and provisions, which she received from her fertile
hinterland in North Munster.
Founding of Limerick Merchants 1807-1815
Ireland was one of the first countries in the world to have chambers of commerce: Dublin, Belfast,
Waterford, Galway, etc.
At the end of the eighteenth century the merchants in Limerick first began to hold regular meetings.
In 1805 (1 October) the Limerick Merchants constructed the Commercial Buildings at Rutland Street,
and called themselves the Commercial Building Company. Prior to this the Merchants would meet in
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the Coffee Rooms on Quay Lane
In 7 May 1807 the Chamber of Commerce was officially founded when at a meeting of merchants, it
was resolved that „it appears to this meeting that it would be serviceable to the trade of this city to
establish a Committee of Merchants or a Chamber of Commerce'.
To become a member of the Chamber of Commerce, a merchant had to be nominated by an existing
member and elected by receiving a vote from a minimum of fifteen other members. Once elected a
merchant had to agree to pay the Chamber an annual import and export rate on all goods imported
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and exported through Limerick.
In order to qualify to vote at general meetings of the Chamber, a member had to have contributed a
minimum of 40 shillings per annum. Hence the Chamber kept records of imports and exports of goods
through Limerick Harbour and ballot books showing the election of members (P1/30-31).
Members of the Chamber met annually to elect a management committee.
Development into the Chamber
On 2nd June 1815, the Chamber was incorporated by a Royal Charter by King George III, under the
title of „the Chamber of Commerce of Limerick'. The 1815 Charter required that this management
committee be made up of nine directors, at least three of which, had not served as directors the
previous year. Five directors constituted a quorum and to qualify as a director, a merchant had to earn
a minimum of £1500 per annum.
The Directors were responsible for management of funds, disposal of property, and ordinary affairs of
the Chamber. Also the directors regularly established sub-committees to investigate specific
concerns.
The sub-committees generally consisted of President, the Vice-President and secretary of the
Chamber, and members with technical knowledge of the business at hand. Additionally general
meetings of all members could be called if twelve members submitted a signed request to the
president of the Chamber, outlining the matter that they wanted to discuss.
The function of the Chamber, from its inception was the „promotion, regulation and protection of
trade and all its branches' in Limerick City. To achieve this aim, the Chamber engaged with wide
range of activities at local and national level.
These activities include the drawing up of regulations relating to industries such as butter, corn, and
leather, and employing of various inspectors to examine the quality of goods before approving same
for purchase by its members.
After 1815 Charter granted to Limerick Chamber of Commerce, committee meetings became known
as Directors meetings, and were held several times a month. General meetings were held annually to
elect directors, and intermittently when summoned by the president which required the signature of 12
members, to discuss a single topic only, such as changes to by-laws of the Chamber.
Minutes list date, names of attendees, and absentees, and resolutions passed at meeting. Matters
discussed relate to the promotion, regulation and protection of trade it all its branches in Limerick City.
Includes annual nomination of members, election of directors and officers of the chamber,
appointment of subcommittee, rules of the organization such as qualifications needed for
membership, accounts of Chamber, employment, linen trade, corn trade, agriculture, trade laws, rates
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Kevin Hannan
Limerick Archives (P1/34-39)
on imports and exports to be paid by members, relationship with other chambers of commerce in
Ireland.
Some background on the type of entrepreneurs that existed in the early years …
In the first half of the nineteenth century, a number of entrepreneurs founded what became Limerick‟s
most famous industries – many were immigrants: Englishmen John Russell and Joseph Matterson
established the City‟s first bacon factory (1820), John Norris Russell established the modern flour
milling industry by introducing steam power (1827); Charles Walker founded Limerick Lace (1828);
and Scotsman Sir Peter Tait opened the Limerick Clothing Factory (1850). Canadian Sir Thomas
Cleeve founded the Condensed Milk Company of Ireland (1883)
Among Limerick‟s most famous traditional industries were the four bacon factories (Matterson‟s,
Shaws, O‟Mara‟s and Dennys); flour mills (such as Russells, Banntynes, Goodbodys and Ranks);
dairy products (Cleeves); lace manufacturers (such as Walkers and the Good Shepherd nuns) and
clothing factories (such as Limerick Clothing and Danus)
Two sectors predominated until the 1970s – food/drink/tobacco and clothing/footwear
In the 1970s the policy of free trade and the promotion of foreign direct investment resulted in the
demise of virtually all these traditional industries and their replacement by foreign multinational
companies.
Sections of the Chamber, Market Trustees, Harbour Commissioners, Linen hall
Chamber of Commerce faced major challenges. After 1815, Limerick suffered the effects of
deindustrialisation, which meant that there was unemployment and poverty. Nineteenth-century
Ireland outside North-East Ulster did not experience industrialization and actually underwent a
process of deindustrialization, largely due to its close proximity to the world‟s first and most dynamic
industrial economy. Like other Irish cities outside Ulster, Limerick did not develop into an industrial
city, a phenomenon clearly illustrated in the census returns.
A comparison between Limerick and the archetypical industrial city of Belfast reveals that in 1871, the
proportion of their workforces in industrial employment were similar (35 percent in Limerick and 42
percent in Belfast). By contrast, Belfast‟s workforce was 74 percent industrial in 1911, while Limerick‟s
had fallen to 24 percent industrial by 1926.
However, the Limerick elite, acutely conscious of the city‟s waning industrial base, were committed to
economic regeneration and welcomed enterprising immigrants. Several entrepreneurs moved to
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Limerick from elsewhere in the 19 century, including the Englishmen John Russell and Joseph
Matterson who established the city's first bacon factory (1820), the Scotsman Sir Peter Tait who
opened the Limerick Clothing Factory (1850) and the Canadian Sir Thomas Cleeve, who founded the
Condensed Milk Company of Ireland (1883).In consequence, industry did not disappear from Limerick
and in some areas, such as bacon and clothing it acquired world-wide renown. Among Limerick's
most famous traditional industries were the four bacon factories (Mattersons, Shaws, O'Maras and
Dennys); flour mills (such as Russells, Bannatynes, Goodbodys and Ranks); dairy products
(Cleeves); and clothing factories (such as Limerick Clothing and Danus).
Also, Limerick had a tradition of both factory-based and textile manufacturing. Although Limerick did
not become a typical industrial city such as Belfast, Glasgow and Birmingham, its workforce became
familiar with some of the most important elements of industrialisation, particularly the factory system.
The factory system was first pioneered in the textiles industry. In contrast to the pre-industrial
workforce, factory employees were familiar with working for fixed working hours in large groups and
the consequent necessity for punctuality, discipline and obedience. Limerick had bacon factories,
clothing factories, even at one stage the largest brush factory in Europe. At one stage, the
manufacture of cotton and checks had employed up to a thousand people at its peak and the lace
industry employed 1800 at its height in the early 1859s.
During the first half of the nineteenth century, the Chamber played a key role in the development of
Limerick Harbour and also assumed control over pilotage in the River Shannon and made payments
to individuals who salvaged vessels and marked hazards in the Estuary.
From 1808 to 1822, the Chamber also leased the right to tolls on potatoes and corn from Limerick
Corporation for a rent of £1,500 a year.
The Chamber of Commerce also sought to influence national affairs relating to commerce. It
submitted petitions to Parliament and engaged in correspondence with politicians on subjects such as
railways, postal rates, and improvement of local infrastructure, foreign tariffs, and development of
export trade.
The Limerick Chamber of Commerce was formally established under Royal Charter granted in 1815,
and assumed control over pilotage in the River Shannon. The Chamber actively pursued the case for
improved land and sea access, and regarded the City as a strategic location and major trading centre.
A petition was made to King George IV for a floating dock and a new bridge for the City, and these
were enacted in legislation in 1823, which established the Limerick Bridge Commissioners with
powers to make by-laws for the regulation of the harbour, to license pilots within the port and harbour,
to construct a “wet” dock, and to construct and regulate the operation of the new bridge. The
“Wellesley Bridge” (now Sarsfield Bridge) was completed in 1835. The construction of the quays on
the north and south sides of the river was completed in 1840. From the Limerick Bridge
Commissioners‟ renaming to the Limerick Harbour Commissioners in 1847 until the end of the 19th
century, one of their main preoccupations was the construction of the Floating Dock. The foundation
stone for the new dock was laid in 1849 and the dock was completed in 1853, some 30 years after the
project was first mooted. A new dock gate and entrance, to facilitate the increasing size of vessels,
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was completed in 1955.
The Limerick Harbour Commissioners was a new title applied to the former Limerick Bridge
Commissioners under an act passed in parliament on 9 July, 1847, which allowed them to borrow up
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to £50,000 for the construction of new harbour works, including a wet dock.
Under an act passed in 1834 the president of the chamber of commerce, the mayor, and a
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commissioner of St. Michael‟s Parish were appointed as the Limerick Bridge Commissioners.
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http://www.sfpc.ie/about-us/history/
The History of Limerick, Sean Spellissy, p.236
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The History of Limerick, Sean Spellissy, p. 198
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