Limerick city centre bigger than Cork city centre??

Cityslicker1

This is a little trivial but still interests me. I was in Cork the other day and is it just me or does Limerick city centre seem bigger than Cork city centre?Maybe it's because Limerick has a Georgian area but I also feel Limerick looks more city like because of the Georgian Architecture with the long wide streets. Corks architecture is nice but seems to lack the elegant red brick streets Limerick and Dublin have.

MHalberstram

Cityslicker1 wrote: »

This is a little trivial but still interests me. I was in Cork the other day and is it just me or does Limerick city centre seem bigger than Cork city centre?Maybe it's because Limerick has a Georgian area but I also feel Limerick looks more city like because of the Georgian Architecture with the long wide streets. Corks architecture is nice but seems to lack the elegant red brick streets Limerick and Dublin have.

I always think the complete opposite when in Cork. In terms of shops anyway.

Cityslicker1

MHalberstram wrote: »

I always think the complete opposite when in Cork. In terms of shops anyway.

Yeah Cork seems to have much more shops in the city centre than Limerick..I just felt Limerick city centre has a bigger city centre feel because of the Georgian area which Cork didn't seem to have. I think the Georgian area of Limerick would still be classified as the city centre even though it wouldn't be a shopping area.

Solair

Cork has a different architecture entirely. It's fairly drastically different to other Irish cities. It has a lot of classically Victorian buildings and a lot of the older buildings are more like Dutch or Belgian architecture, they even have cranes built into the attics for hoisting goods from barges.

It's a maritime city, built on a network of what were canals and it's very much concentrated onto a central island.

Architecturally, it puts me more in mind of more seafaring port places like Bristol or even slightly of Antwerp than Limerick or Dublin. It's just a totally different architecture. Cork's very much a port town and an old naval base. Winding streets, port pretty much fully integrated into the city centre in the past with historical warehouses, docks, quays etc scattered all over the city centre.

It also had a big heritage of merchant trade and ship building etc etc..

It has a little bit of grand Georgian (or older) architecture along the South Mall, South Terrace etc but, it's not grid based, it's totally shaped by the old island and canal network that formed its major streets. The bits of Georgian formal stuff actually look quite out of place in Cork.

It feels a lot bigger than Limerick to be honest, even if Limerick has some formal Georgian terraces that make it feel a bit Like Dublin.

There's a pretty huge selection of shops, restaurants, cafes in Cork and the city centre seems to cover a much bigger area than limerick. It spills off the central island on both sides and right out west up to UCC pretty much.

I'm not trying to 'dis' Limerick. It has it's charms too but, it's just a totally different genre of architecture and Cork is quite a bit bigger.

Limerick City Centre has loads of potential though, especially with the castle slap bang in the middle.

grenache

Limerick city centre feels bigger and more stretched out because it's laid out in 'block formation' which means it takes a long and squared shape. Cork's centre is more of a radial shape so its more intimate and closer together. I find i get around Cork a lot quicker than i do Limerick.

There's not much difference in the city centre size of the two cities. Cork just has more suburbs.

Cityslicker1

Solair wrote: »

Cork has a different architecture entirely. It's fairly drastically different to other Irish cities. It has a lot of classically Victorian buildings and a lot of the older buildings are more like Dutch or Belgian architecture, they even have cranes built into the attics for hoisting goods from barges.

It's a maritime city, built on a network of what were canals and it's very much concentrated onto a central island.

Architecturally, it puts me more in mind of more seafaring port places like Bristol or even slightly of Antwerp than Limerick or Dublin. It's just a totally different architecture. Cork's very much a port town and an old naval base. Winding streets, port pretty much fully integrated into the city centre in the past with historical warehouses, docks, quays etc scattered all over the city centre.

It also had a big heritage of merchant trade and ship building etc etc..

It has a little bit of grand Georgian (or older) architecture along the South Mall, South Terrace etc but, it's not grid based, it's totally shaped by the old island and canal network that formed its major streets. The bits of Georgian formal stuff actually look quite out of place in Cork.

It feels a lot bigger than Limerick to be honest, even if Limerick has some formal Georgian terraces that make it feel a bit Like Dublin.

There's a pretty huge selection of shops, restaurants, cafes in Cork and the city centre seems to cover a much bigger area than limerick. It spills off the central island on both sides and right out west up to UCC pretty much.

I'm not trying to 'dis' Limerick. It has it's charms too but, it's just a totally different genre of architecture and Cork is quite a bit bigger.

Limerick City Centre has loads of potential though, especially with the castle slap bang in the middle.

Interesting read!

Cityslicker1

grenache wrote: »

Limerick city centre feels bigger and more stretched out because it's laid out in 'block formation' which means it takes a long and squared shape. Cork's centre is more of a radial shape so its more intimate and closer together. I find i get around Cork a lot quicker than i do Limerick.

There's not much difference in the city centre size of the two cities. Cork just has more suburbs.

That seems to make sense!

Cityslicker1

Parts of Limerick look similar to parts of Dublin. Cork is different but still has a city feel.However Galway to me looks nothing like a city. As mentioned above the castle in Limerick is a fantastic feature to have..it's just a pity it's not being utilised to it's full potential.

mzn

I need information about which of them better to live (Limerick or Cork) ? Quality of life, families, transport, much vibrant, better for motorists and public traffic user ? ..etc. Im thinking to move Limreck based on job, but im not sure about Cork ? its about making new life and bringing my family .please advice. Note: i still didnt apply for any job either of them (Cork & Limreck ). i need safe city for families and much friendly than Dublin.
I was thinking about Galway as well, but it seems excellent tourist choice but not for living on long term ! or probably im wrong ? im not irish by the way.

Vladimir Poontang

If you could replace the shops, cafes, restaurants in Limerick (with some exceptions) with those that are in Cork you'd have a great city.

Limerick feels more like a proper city. Cork has better shops, pubs, restaurants etc which make it a more enjoyable city to live in compared to Limerick.

fonzy951

I'd choose Cork, bigger city, just more of a buzz. Limerick is fine also and is alot cheaper for rent etc. but feels more like a big town than a city with fewer streets and quays etc. than Cork. Depends on your requirements.

Paddico

Cityslicker1 wrote: »

This is a little trivial but still interests me. I was in Cork the other day and is it just me or does Limerick city centre seem bigger than Cork city centre?Maybe it's because Limerick has a Georgian area but I also feel Limerick looks more city like because of the Georgian Architecture with the long wide streets. Corks architecture is nice but seems to lack the elegant red brick streets Limerick and Dublin have.

I never thought red bricks were elegant myself. Much prefer tradidtional city centre scapes like Galway. 
Not sure if its bigger than Cork but definitly bigger than Galway

zulutango

I have lived in both Cork and Limerick (and Dublin also). Limerick is the best of the three, in my opinion. It's not too big, very easy to get around, there's a much lower cost of living and a good community feel. All these things make it better than the others. Cork is a very pretty city, but the costs are high. It isn't as welcoming to outsiders either and is famously insular. Dublin is no place to rare a family.

seachto7

So many run down Georgian buildings in Limerick. If they were well maintained, the city centre would be quite pretty. Too many boarded up and abandoned buildings. They're nice, but in need of TLC.
Galway is kind of weird. A really busy pedestrian street and that seems to be it. Pretty small, but pretty.

zulutango

That is true. I live in one of them and it's probably one of the exceptions. The way to fix this is fairly easy. Just remove the cars from the streets outside (parking and through-traffic) and the values of the properties will shoot up because they'll now be considered worthy of renovation. Go a step further and landscape them, widen footpaths, put playgrounds on them, public art, etc, and these will all become very viable properties.

Silentcorner

I have always liked Cork, it is easy on the eye, lovely city centre to stroll around, the people are very friendly, I did get a sense after a few years that I wasn't one of them alright but that could have been me...

Limerick is just underappreciated in my opinion.

It is this underappreciation by locals and non locals alike that has seen the destruction of some fairly impressive structures, Cruises Hotel for instance should never have been knocked (although I am willing to admit I don't know if was because it was no longer viable, but what a hotel with an incredible history)....amongst others...

If it wasn't for the Limerick Civic Trust (which was the first Civic Trust in the country) god knows what else would be left to rot...

The Georgian area is another example of this underappreciation...would this happen in Britain?

I also feel that Limerick is Irelands finest example of what happens when a nation can only over develop one city to the cost of all the others!!!

We would have possibly the finest looking city centre in the country if we could just re populate it and appreciate/take care of our heritage...it is so rare that a city centre as old as Limerick exists, with the history the city has, that is still visible to this day...it is our duty to appreciate and protect that legacy....I have mentioned before that on a damp drizzly afternoon/evening it can be a depressing looking place...but if you catch it on a good day it is beautiful...but nobody can deny the history and culture of the place only those ignorant to it!

panda100

Silentcorner wrote: »

I have mentioned before that on a damp drizzly afternoon/evening it can be a depressing looking place...but if you catch it on a good day it is beautiful...but nobody can deny the history and culture of the place only those ignorant to it!

Limerick is beautiful in the sunshine but I also think it is when its damp and drizzly too! Of course it will be depressing looking if you are out near the Crescent Shopping Centre or William Street, but the river and around the castle can look almost mystical on those days. I was on the the river earlier this month on a wet, misty Sunday afternoon just below Thomond Bridge and beside the castle. The bells started to peal in St Munchins Church, the waves were choppy but the whole scene was magical. I was struck with how under appreciated Limerick really is. It's such a shame the city is facing away from the river as it really can make Limerick look good in any weather

keane2097

It's mind-boggling to me that you don't see more pleasure craft out on the river. The area around the bridges particularly Thomond and Sarsfield is stunning.

zulutango

keane2097 wrote: »

It's mind-boggling to me that you don't see more pleasure craft out on the river. The area around the bridges particularly Thomond and Sarsfield is stunning.

It's got a very high tidal range and is fairly treacherous. There's only a short window near high tide when it's suitable to have boats on it. And if there is any kind of strong wind you can rule out going on it then too. There's a mistaken impression that the river isn't well used, but it actually is, given how difficult it is to put boats on it.

Straight Talker

zulutango wrote: »

I have lived in both Cork and Limerick (and Dublin also). Limerick is the best of the three, in my opinion. It's not too big, very easy to get around, there's a much lower cost of living and a good community feel. All these things make it better than the others. Cork is a very pretty city, but the costs are high. It isn't as welcoming to outsiders either and is famously insular. Dublin is no place to rare a family.

I like Limerick a lot as a city.I have heard about how Cork people are perceived as stand offish and clanish.But i know of a guy from Kildare for example, who has lived there happily for the past 30 years.I suppose different people have different impressions, of people and places.I think Cork is one of those places, that has bit of a quirk to it.But you have your sound people in Cork, and you have a few others who are total cnuts.Is that really any different to anywhere else?

There's not too much of a difference between the city centre sizes of both cities.I still think that there is more, of a sense of scope to Cork city centre though.With the various quaysides and bridges etc.There is more to Cork than Patrick Street Grand Parade and South Mall.Limerick feels like a proper city as well though.Although it's main shopping streets need to offer more from a retail perspective.

phog

keane2097 wrote: »

It's mind-boggling to me that you don't see more pleasure craft out on the river. The area around the bridges particularly Thomond and Sarsfield is stunning.

Imagine the furore if the river was taken over by jet skies.

Mc Love

phog wrote: »

Imagine the furore if the river was taken over by jet skies.

There's a sign saying no jet ski's

phog

Mc Love wrote: »

There's a sign saying no jet ski's

I know that but they do use it from time ti time just like people ignore other bylaw signs

I was responding to a post saying there should be more use of the river and one way to do that would be to allow the likes of jet skis use it.

panda100

I wonder why jet-skis are not allowed on the river? I have seen them on it a good few times in the last year

phog

panda100 wrote: »

I wonder why jet-skis are not allowed on the river? I have seen them on it a good few times in the last year

The emergency services use them but I've seen members of the public use them there too

zulutango

Jetskis are considered a nuisance and/or dangerous pretty much anywhere, not just in Limerick. Anywhere they're used you'll find almost everybody uniting against them and bans being brought in.

seachto7

Drove down through the old part of town by the castle last weekend, behind the cathedral and council offices. First time ever down that way. I never had reason to over the years. There’s not much there other than houses.
How come, historically, the focus on the city was across the river, and an “old town” never grew out of this place over the centuries?
It would be more of a European style then, with an “old town centre” and then the more modern city across the river. It seems that it was always ignored as a commercial area?
Again, with some TLC, it could be really nice, but you can’t force people to change their houses etc.

zulutango

seachto7 wrote: »

Drove down through the old part of town by the castle last weekend, behind the cathedral and council offices. First time ever down that way. I never had reason to over the years. There’s not much there other than houses.
How come, historically, the focus on the city was across the river, and an “old town” never grew out of this place over the centuries?
It would be more of a European style then, with an “old town centre” and then the more modern city across the river. It seems that it was always ignored as a commercial area?
Again, with some TLC, it could be really nice, but you can’t force people to change their houses etc.

There's strong historical reasons. In the years following the Treaty of Limerick in 1691 the old medieval walls were torn down. This opened up some land across the Abbey River for development. The owner of the land, Edmund Sextan Pery, brought an Italian architect over and between them they drew up a masterplan for a 'New Town'. They divided the land up into about 30 blocks separated by roads, and they divided each block into a number of sites and then sold these to developers. At the time the industrial revolution was kicking off in England, and Limerick began to thrive as a port city. The 'New Town', which was near the port, was where pretty much all the investment went, and the old medieval city fell into decay. It's never been important since then, save for being the home of the British army garrison up to independence.

Cityslicker1

fonzy951 wrote: »

I'd choose Cork, bigger city, just more of a buzz. Limerick is fine also and is alot cheaper for rent etc. but feels more like a big town than a city with fewer streets and quays etc. than Cork. Depends on your requirements.

By Irish standards places like Galway, waterford and Kilkenny feel like big towns not Limerick.
Limerick has extensive Georgian architecture that is mainly found in cities rather than towns with many areas of the city centre very similar to parts of Dublin.
Limerick is also grander than Cork or Galway as they lack architecture that can be seen in areas such as Pery square, John's square, the Cresent at the Daniel O'Connell statue etc & also lack parks like the peoples park.

The main thoroughfare through the city centre from the hunt museum to the top of O'Connell Street is probably one of the longest streets in the country being almost a mile in length made up of a number of blocks all 4/5 stories in height making the city centre feel more dense than Galway or Cork . The streetscape of the likes of Henry street has also a more city feel with three lanes of traffic and grid layout.

The riverfront is without doubt the most impressive in the country with a medieval castle on one side and modern towers on the other.
The city also stretches about 8km to Annacotty to the East and a similar distance to the Raheen/Mungret areas at the opposite side
The suburb of Castletroy is the largest in munster with a population of circa 40k similar to a city like Waterford.

riverrocked

Cityslicker1 wrote: »

Limerick is also grander than Cork or Galway as they lack architecture that can be seen in areas such as Pery square, John's square, the Cresent at the Daniel O'Connell statue etc & also lack parks like the peoples park.

That is nonsense, there is more to architecture than the Georgian period. There should be more to Limerick than the Georgian buildings too, it is saying that nothing of architectural worth happened in Limerick in the last 200 years and if the naysayers have their way then nothing of architectural note will happen in the next 200 years as "what about our Georgian buildings!"

As for parks, Cork far exceeds us on that, we have one tiny little park, while they have the Lough and Fitzgerald's Park. While Galway has the beach. Our park is pretty rubbish in comparison.

Silentcorner

riverrocked wrote: »

That is nonsense, there is more to architecture than the Georgian period. There should be more to Limerick than the Georgian buildings too, it is saying that nothing of architectural worth happened in Limerick in the last 200 years and if the naysayers have their way then nothing of architectural note will happen in the next 200 years as "what about our Georgian buildings!"

As for parks, Cork far exceeds us on that, we have one tiny little park, while they have the Lough and Fitzgerald's Park. While Galway has the beach. Our park is pretty rubbish in comparison.

The Peoples Park is absolutely beautiful, there are at least another half a dozen parks in the city, from Shelbourne Road, to Clare St, Mungret, Condell Road, Annacotty not to mention a heap of Riverside walks....I honestly don't think anywhere in Ireland "far exceeds us"....