Earl of Limerick

Earl of Limerick is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, associated first with the Dongan family, then with the Pery family.

First creation

The earldom was created for the first time in 1686 for Sir William Dongan, 4th Baronet, with remainder, failing male issue of his own, to his brothers Robert, Michael and Thomas and the heirs male of their bodies. He was made Viscount Dungan, of Clane in the County of Kildare, at the same time, also in the Peerage of Ireland and with similar remainder. His only son Walter Dungan, Viscount Dungan, was killed at the Battle of the Boyne and Lord Limerick was succeeded according to the special remainders (and normally in the baronetcy) by his brother Thomas Dongan, the second Earl. He was Governor of New York from 1683 to 1688. All three titles became extinct on his death in 1715. The Dungan Baronetcy, of Castletown in the County of Kildare, was created in the Baronetage of Ireland in 1623 for Walter Dungan.

Second creation

Thomas Dongan, 2nd Earl of Limerick

Thomas Dongan, (pronounced "Dungan")2nd Earl of Limerick (1634–14 December 1715), was a member of the Irish Parliament, Royalist military officer during the English Civil War, and Governor of the Province of New York. He is noted for having called the first representative legislature in New York, and for granting the province's Charter of Liberties.

Biography

Early life

He was born in 1634 into an old Anglo-Irish family in Castletown Kildrought (now Celbridge), County Kildare, in the Kingdom of Ireland, the seventh and youngest son of Sir John Dongan, Baronet, Member of the Irish Parliament, and his wife Mary Talbot, daughter of Sir William Talbot, 1st Baronet. As Stuart supporters, after the overthrow of King Charles I, the family went to France, although they managed to hold on to at least part of their Irish estates.

Career

While in France, he served in an Irish regiment with Turenne. He stayed in France after the Restoration and achieved the rank of colonel in 1674.

Thomas Dongan (judge)

Thomas Dongan (c.1590–1663) was an Irish judge of the seventeenth century. He should not be confused with his great-nephew Thomas Dongan, 2nd Earl of Limerick.

His career was dogged by accusations of recusancy and of disloyalty to the English Crown. He is best remembered as the father of Margaret Dongan, wife of the Dutch scholar Arnold Boate, who commemorated her lovingly in his book The Character of a Truly Virtuous and Pious Woman, and also wrote with affection and respect about her father.

Background

He was the fourth and youngest son of John Dongan of Castletown, County Kildare (died 1592), and his wife Margaret Forster, daughter of Walter Forster. His father died when Thomas was still an infant. His eldest brother Sir Walter Dongan (1579-1626) was created the first of the Dongan Baronets, and was the ancestor of the Earls of Limerick.

Early career

Thomas entered Lincoln's Inn in 1615 but was expelled for recusancy. It seems likely that he remained a convinced Roman Catholic all his life (although his son-in-law records that he raised his children as Protestants, and his first wife was also a Protestant), but by 1627 he had at least outwardly conformed to the Church of England, and was readmitted to Lincoln's Inn and called to the English Bar. He married an English wife, Grace Palmer of Nottinghamshire, and remained in England until 1640 when he returned to Ireland, where he was admitted to the King's Inn and called to the Irish Bar.

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: