Limerick Junction railway station

Limerick Junction (Irish: Gabhal Luimnigh) is the interchange railway station for trains originating in Limerick, Dublin Heuston, Cork, Waterford, Tralee and Ennis stations.

Location

It is located in County Tipperary, Ireland and was originally named "Tipperary Junction".

Tipperary town is about 2 miles (3 km) away to the south-east.

Limerick Junction, with a cluster of pleasantly presented railway cottages and a pub, is a small hamlet.

Layout

Because of its complex layout it has a special place in railway lore: it is the only remaining railway junction in Ireland where two lines cross at a near-90-degree angle. One route is the Dublin-Cork main line, while the other is the line from Limerick to Waterford. Trains from all four locations are served, some connecting to Ennis in County Clare and Tralee in County Kerry.

The layout consists of four platforms, but only two are in use, both north of the station building. The main line platform, number 1, is a through platform. The terminal platform, to the west of Platform 1, is numbered 2 for part of its length and 3 for the rest, to distinguish between the two trains that may be there in the event of a Waterford train and a Limerick train being present at once. Access to Platforms 2 and 3 for trains from anywhere other than Limerick requires reversing. A train coming from Waterford must cross the Dublin-Cork main line towards Limerick, reversing along the curve used by trains arriving from Limerick. It can then stop at the Limerick bay. The cumbersome procedure of trains to Waterford passing the station before reversing into Platform 4 was ended in 2007 and trains to Waterford as well as trains to Limerick now depart from Platforms 2 and 3. Other places in the Ireland that required some or all trains to reverse include:

Limerick

Limerick (/ˈlɪmᵊrɪk/;Irish: Luimneach [ˈl̪imʲɨnʲəx]) is a city in county Limerick, Ireland. It is located in the Mid-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. Limerick City and County Council is the local authority for the city. The city lies on the River Shannon, with the historic core of the city located on King's Island, which is bounded by the Shannon and the Abbey River. Limerick is also located at the head of the Shannon Estuary where the river widens before it flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Limerick is the third most populous city in the state, and the fourth most populous city on the island of Ireland.

Geography and political subdivisions

There are 102,161 people living in the Limerick City Metropolitan District. On 1 June 2014 following the merger of Limerick City and County Council a new Metropolitan District of Limerick was formed within the united council which extended the city area. The Metropolitan District includes the city urban area and extends outwards towards Patrickswell in the west and Castleconnell in the east. The City Metropolitan Area however excludes city suburbs located within County Clare. When included this increases the overall city and metropolitan area by a further 5,000 with a combined total population of 107,161. Limerick is one of the constituent cities of the Cork–Limerick–Galway corridor which has a population of 1 million people. It is located at a strategic position on the River Shannon with four main crossing points near the city centre. To the south of the city is the Golden Vale, an area of rich pastureland. Historically, much of the city's industry was based on this rich agricultural hinterland and it is particularly noted for Limerick Ham.

Limerick (poetry)

A limerick is a form of poetry, especially one in five-line, predominantly anapesticmeter with a strict rhyme scheme (AABBA), which is sometimes obscene with humorous intent. The third and fourth lines are usually shorter than the other three.

The form appeared in England in the early years of the 18th century. It was popularized by Edward Lear in the 19th century, although he did not use the term.

The following limerick is of unknown origin:

The limerick packs laughs anatomical
Into space that is quite economical.
But the good ones I've seen
So seldom are clean
And the clean ones so seldom are comical.

Gershon Legman, who compiled the largest and most scholarly anthology, held that the true limerick as a folk form is always obscene, and cites similar opinions by Arnold Bennett and George Bernard Shaw, describing the clean limerick as a "periodic fad and object of magazine contests, rarely rising above mediocrity". From a folkloric point of view, the form is essentially transgressive; violation of taboo is part of its function.

Limerick (song)

The "Limerick" is a traditional humorous drinking song with many obscene verses. The tune usually used for sung limericks is traditionally "Cielito Lindo," with the words arranged in the form of a limerick.

Recorded versions

Printed versions

The earliest printed date for limericks being sung is 1928 in the book A Collection of Sea Songs and Ditties from the Stores of Tom E. Jones. Since many of the verses used for this song are bawdy the song tended to get issued in rare, underground mimeographed songbooks. Some of these are (in chronological order):

Variant choruses

There are several different choruses for this song. One of the most popular in the USA is sung to the tune of "Cielito Lindo" and usually goes like this: