Is Limerick Really THAT bad?

Patricide

Ok thinking of going up to limerick next year for college but im put off by the lack of pretty much anyone i know going up. Everyone i know just calls limerick a ****hole and stab city and the usual stuff associated with limerick.

Im just wondering is it really THAT bad up there? Im a guy with long hair which makes me a target for knackers down here in tralee but ive never really had a problem in the amount of times ive went to cork or dublin, just wondering what its like in limerick.

Also whats the music scene like up there?

nesf

No offense but after growing up in Tralee I'd say even the Darfur region wouldn't faze you.

Bateman

Have only spent short periods of time in Limerick, didn't find it particularly bad tbh

hot chick

Went to the University in Limerick for a year myself. Great College. Great going out city. never had a bit of bother, but did hear a lot of stories. stay on the right side of the city and you'll be grand. Word of warning tho, the weather is pretty awful. Make sure you get somewhere decent to stay coz constant pissing rain and damp houses just don't go well together. Good luck!

limerick_man

Yeah, no... Limericks not dangerous, it wouldnt be as bad as Tralee... BUT there is scum in the city centre during the day, they are all about 14-16 and wont touch or rob you (a mobile been stolen makes the local newspapers in the city).

The city would also be alot more metropolian then Tralee, there are thousands of teenagers (etc) in the city with long hair... people from every walk of life live here, in general they are not any worse off (although black people and 'goths' would get more abuse from the scum i spose).

I have loads of friends with long hair and never really had abuse shouted at them, only thing i can remember was one time late at night in the city some guy said 'get a haircut' to my mate as we walked out of Abrakebabra. I honestly wouldnt worry about it at all... statitically Limerick is Irelands second safest city (after Waterford)

Caliden

Of the 2 people I know that went to college in limerick, both of their accomadations were broken into and one of them was badly beaten in the process.
Not saying it happens everyone and it was probably just bad luck.

Rb

I'm sure if you stay out of the gang wars/family feuds you'll be fine apart from the odd scuffle.

Oh and its "Stab Town" these days

D

Went to University of Limerick for 4 years. Great college, a real student city. The rough areas are confined to the suburbs out towards the airport, which is on the far side of the city. For the 4 years I was there I only heard of 2 things that happened to people i know directly. 2 lads crashed a party, and when asked to leave one pulled a knife, nothing happened the 2 guys legged it. The other time was 3 young lads throwing insults but nothing physical happened.

Overall, any trouble is isolated to certain housing estates.

limerick_man

D wrote:

a real student city. The rough areas are confined to the suburbs out towards the airport, which is on the far side of the city.

Haha, unless your going to LIT. :P

Nah, theres two rough estates Moyross (which is by LIT) although surrounded by Limericks most expensive area where houses have been known to sell for up to €4m.
And Southhill, which is pretty much the same side of the city as UL, also crammed between Raheen (or 'Waheen' as scum cleverly call it) and Castletroy, areas both generally considered middle class or whatever.

I've lives here most my life and never had any problem, a friend of a friend of mine was robbed about 2 years ago, two guys came up on a bike and snatched her bag. But thats about all I've ever seen as far as personal attacks go. Although buses etc do get egged and stones thrown at them quite a bit (once again only in the really rough areas) and if you spend long enough on a saturday watch cruisis/williams or O'Connells Streets you are likely to see some guy running from a shop being chased (usually Game and Footlocker for some reason)

It can be a really great city to live in though especially from late Jan to late May, thats when the city comes alive with all the festivals and it becomes united when Munster begin to get on in the advanced stages of the Heineken Cup. On a warm sunny day, there is no place greater then Limerick City to be, on a rainy day William Street can be especially depressing

InFront

I haven't actually lived there but went to primary school in Limerick for three years when my Dad worked there. I hated Limerick, and still do. It seems as though everyone is so miserable there, it's the unhappiest town I have ever come across.

Of course there are lovely people there, but it's the miserable things about Limerick that stick in my brain: derelict, wet streets, the smell grease and oil, glumness everywhere. Limerick seems to have been left behind by its sister cities, it isn't a cosmopolitan or vibrant place.

Maybe my vision of Limerick is clouded by the fact that I read Angela's Ashes after we moved to Dublin and it just cemented my feelings.

However, it is a University town, and there are a lot of young people there. I'm sure you'll have lots of fun no matter where you go to college.

wingnut

D wrote:

The rough areas are confined to the suburbs out towards the airport, which is on the far side of the city.

The airport is over 20 miles away in County Clare! Seriously though did a degree and masters in Limerick no hassle. Live in Co. Clare but the area is practically a suburb of Limerick.

I've seen more trouble on nights out in smaller towns like Clonmel, Tramore, Tralee and Ennis than I ever have in Limerick. If you go looking for trouble you will find it no problem. If you keep to the studenty areas and the city center you should be fine (as long as you don't have friends that shout things at random people when they are drunk).

I would say all in all its no more safer or dangerous than the likes of Cork.

limerick_man

well the city is being re-done big time. Henry Street was a horrible collapsing street, now everybuilding within a 3 block stretch on both sides has been built in the past 5 years and is highrise. The streets of the entire city are being re-modeled... the city looks alot better these days from when you went to primary i'm sure... but in 2 more years when the streets are completed should be up to par to the others.

Over the past tear especially but i'll say 2 years the people in the city have changed from 'this place is a ****hole' to a having a sense of pride in the city, not where Cork is at yet... but a VERY noticeable change, especially since this years Riverfest. I think that is very important to the image and feel of the city.

There are almost 25,000 third level students living in the city over 6 (or so) colleges.

Dooom

rb_ie wrote:

I'm sure if you stay out of the gang wars/family feuds you'll be fine apart from the odd scuffle.

Oh and its "Stab Town" these days

Since when did it become town? Thought it was always city.

Rb

Spike wrote:

Since when did it become town? Thought it was always city.

AFAIK Due to the census this year and the absence of a good chunk of its population during the census, its technically a town due to the recorded population. I may be wrong, but its what I heard anyway.

Funkstard

I'm from Dublin and I'm in 1st year in UL. I absolutely love it. I without doubt feel safer on a night out in Limerick City than I would in Dublin. I've never seen anything that you wouldn't see on a night out anywhere.

If you're going to UL, the campus is pretty much a happy bubble in the middle of a middle class area of Limerick (Castletroy). The campus almost feels like you're not in Ireland, loads of international students and the buzz overall is nothing like I've felt anywhere else. There's a constant visible presence of Security guards around the place. There has been a good few break-ins in the carpark, but that's inevitable and would happen no matter where you are. Also, CCTV is being installed in every carpark at the moment.

The city itself, I actually think it's quite a nice city to be in, I've seen a few groups of scumbags roaming around, but I've also seen way more jocks/rockers/skaters or any other distinguishable social group hanging around. There's not even an issue of not feeling safe, it's just a place with shops and people.

So that's basically it. Any college campus will be a target for thieves, but I've never felt anything than safe here or anywhere in Limerick. You can put the idea of it being dangerous (well, more dangerous than any other city) to rest. It's not. O'Connell street in Dublin is 10x more dangerous than anywhere I've been in Limerick. The bad estates are really bad, but they're self-contained for the most part.

So that's that. Now, UL itself (if that's where you're going, don't know much about LIT/Mary Immaculate) is the best college in Ireland. It has more money, better sports facilities, better student accomodation, better facilites in general than any other college in Ireland. It's the best fun ever and I am so glad I got out of the UCD bubble.

Also, I know a good few people from Tralee. There's 3 in my course and I've gotten to know a few more. Don't worry for one second about going to college by yourself, the 'by yourself' bit will disappear as soon as you meet your housemates/classmates. It's all good from then on.

InFront

It hasn't lost its status, that was a rumour to do with the Heineken Cup "exodus" last year. The population is there, the problem is Limerick needs (although I presume it was since granted) an extension to the city boundary.

Patricide

I could either be going to l.i.t. or u.l. Im not too sure yet on what course i wanna put down as number 1 and points and whatnot.

How far away are the colleges to the actual city nightlife. Whats the acomodation like up there does anyone know, And i heard getting a train to limerick is a pain in the arse whats the story with that.

blahhh

Not actually from Limerick but close enough. I'm in and out everyday too (the city)

Colleges are both a bus journey city in terms of nightlife. UL has pubs around, and a nightclub "The Lodge".....been there once myself, not the best tbh, but ok.
LIT not so sure, but it's closer to the city than UL.

Few good places round town, the usual: Mollys, Charlies, Trinity Rooms is the main nightclub,The icon.......

UL acccomodation is good, been to placey village myself :P twas grand.

I've never had any major problems with Limerick. Few friends had phones robbed :rolleyes: Been shouted at by scummers "Oi! Get a hair cut ya hippie" etc.. Nothing too bad.

iguana

rb_ie wrote:

AFAIK Due to the census this year and the absence of a good chunk of its population during the census, its technically a town due to the recorded population. I may be wrong, but its what I heard anyway.

That was a joke.:rolleyes:

Limerick has some of the lowest crime rates in the country. However imo some reasons why it may seem like a bad place to people visiting is that 1. visitors can be on edge due to the negative publicity, and 2. in Limerick you don't have any traditional good part/bad part divide, such as the Liffey in Dublin, you can have a great pub on the same street as a complete dive, and you can have really terrible estate close by to a really quite nice place. (I know that can happen in Dublin too, but not to the same extent. Especially as property prices don't force gentrification of run-down areas. Property in Limerick has yet to get so expensive that buying in Southill is desirable.)

It means that you will see scumbag types all the time, but as pointed out earlier they are pretty much just idiot teenagers. The real scum element are, thankfully, mostly engaged in taking each other out.

You have to be careful, just like anywhere else, and there are places to avoid and places to watch your back. But I have never been anywhere that this isn't true. It just takes a little observation and commonsense.

InFront, just curious about which primary you went to, I went to a few primarys in Limerick due to house moves and the last one made me miserable too?

faceman

Be careful what you say about limerick, the lord mayor mite sue. (remember that US student who made an online hitman game with photo's of limerick as the backdrop!!)

iguana

faceman wrote:

Be careful what you say about limerick, the lordmayor might sue,

Limerick has a Mayor, not a Lordmayor. None of that left over colonial bull for us.

pepper

Patricide wrote:

Im just wondering is it really THAT bad up there? QUOTE]

Put it this way! My mate lives up in Moyross in limerick.I called him for a chat the other day and asked what he was up to and he said "Oh im sitting on my wall watching a car burning on the other side of the estate"

enough said!!

chamlis

Dude, from what I remember of Limerick, Tralee is a Hell of a lot worse now.

Be smart, don't go where you wouldn't at home and you'll be fine.
UL is like a fortress anyway, so I reckon you'll be alright

faceman

iguana wrote:

Limerick has a Mayor, not a Lordmayor. None of that left over colonial bull for us.

makes no difference, the original concept of the mayor is roman in origin. The romans were a nasty bunch. just like some of those limerick people!

arseagon

I was in Limerick for 6 years, Loved it even though I did get an iron bar in the back of the head one night. Apart from that it was great.
I only wish i'd found Daffy's sooner than the last year. Best Bar EVER!

wingnut

Limerick still hasn't has a boundary extension. Crazy really, Raheen and Dooradoyle, Caherdavin and other parts are still part of county limerick and not the city. The crescent shopping ceter is'nt even the city technically.

MarkR

Limerick is fine, it's just hard for some people to think of something original to say when they speak about limerick that they'll rattle off some crap about stab city.

There are some scum bags, but unless you are a scum bag yourself you'll probably not be hanging around them.

I went to LIT, there's a bus that runs very regularly (every 30-40 min) into town. Not sure about rates for cabs but it's only a couple of miles away from the city centre, or a twenty minute drunken stumble.

Loads of shops / retail parks for your shoppinig.

Always makes me laugh when people get worried about limerick, big hard men saying jaysus, I wouldn't go there. There are women children and old ladies walking around the place every day of the week, and they get on fine. I'm sure you will too!

Actually, just to play the devils advocate a small bit, the other day there was a slight shootout on the dual carriageway on the way from shannon to limerick. Seems one group of scumbags was waiting for anothe group of scumbags to go by on the way back from a visit to the court in ennis. Two cars shooting at each other til one crashed. Not sure actually were both firing, or just the one.

Anyway, shít happens everywhere. Limerick is as safe as any large town / city.

MarkR

pepper wrote:

Put it this way! My mate lives up in Moyross in limerick.I called him for a chat the other day and asked what he was up to and he said "Oh im sitting on my wall watching a car burning on the other side of the estate"

enough said!!

So you think limerick is the only place cars get burnt out? You must lead a sheltered life...

Rb

pepper wrote:

Put it this way! My mate lives up in Moyross in limerick.I called him for a chat the other day and asked what he was up to and he said "Oh im sitting on my wall watching a car burning on the other side of the estate"

enough said!!

Lol.

I've only been in Limerick City a handful of times. Didn't like it whatsoever, found the place to be riddled with scum (but there were loads of studenty types floating around too). Keep in mind though that I'm quite a judgemental person. The scum were more noticable there than anywhere else in Ireland I've been, including Dublin. From what I've read the reason the crime rate is lower than expected is because the city has been grouped with the countryside, whereas other cities are broken down into individual areas. Whether its true or not, I dunno.

I'm sure its fine for students though, the size of the place would put me off (i.e seeing the same people in the same places every day). How anyone can say the place is absolutely fine is beyond me though, we all see the news and theres more gang related violence there than anywhere else, which I can only presume would also mean that theres more gang activity (i.e robbings/break-ins/etc). Its not somewhere I'll ever be living anyway.

iguana

rb_ie wrote:

I'm sure its fine for students though, the size of the place would put me off (i.e seeing the same people in the same places every day). How anyone can say the place is absolutely fine is beyond me though, we all see the news and theres more gang related violence there than anywhere else, which I can only presume would also mean that theres more gang activity (i.e robbings/break-ins/etc). Its not somewhere I'll ever be living anyway.

No there isn't. Headline offences (murder, sexual assault, armed assault) in Dublin are 7 and a half times higher per head of population according to the 2005 gardai figures. Many headline offences in Dublin and elsewhere just don't actually make headlines.

5uspect

Limerick is an ugly city, but that it something thats being worked on so thats great to see. There is definitely a serious amount of scum about in the city centre but they're mostly harmless teenagers with a bad fashion sense. There are the usual problems you get in most cities.

TBH I've had my reservations about Limerick in the past but it does have its good points. Its no Galway or Kilkenny in terms or nice little streets to wonder around etc but thats just the way the city is, hopefully the redevelopments give the city character it deserves.

cornbb

I was in college in limerick for 6 years and liked the place a lot. UL is fantastic, I really miss the place. There is a fairly big scum element in the city centre but you'd have to be unlucky to get into trouble with them. Plenty of students, hippies etc as well. The locals in general are a good bunch, everyone is a bit pissed off about the city's reputation though, which is fair enough as it's undeserved IMO.

Certain parts of the city are still pretty grim looking but same goes for any Irish city - there has been a massive amount of development in recent years and it's expanding from the river up towards O'Connell St. Both banks of the river look pretty fantastic now.

As for the music scene, its there alright, you might need to look hard for it depending on what you're into. What sort of music are you into OP? If its rock/metal, there are plenty of gigs on and both UL and LIT have active music societies. As for accommodation around UL, its plentiful, generally good quality, and cheap as chips compared to other Irish colleges. Pretty much all of Castletroy is safe enough, not sure what the story is with LIT.

I'd recommend college in limerick for anyone - go for it dude.

Patricide

Im into generally Rock indie metal and punk so primarily anything thats played with real instruments and isnt lip synchd.

Glad to hear so many people telling me good things, ill be glad to get out of this scum hole anyway.

cooperguy

What you hear is over the top crap, sure the city isnt perfect but you show me a city that is. Iv been going to UL for 3 years now and I havent had a single bad expierience or know anybody that has. I know people from all over the country going to all three of the colleges in Limerick and none of them have had any problems


And as for the "huge" amount of gang violence that one other post was on about, there was much more of it in Dublin than Limerick. You say you are only going by what you hear in the news but you think back over the last 6 months to a year and you will more than likely remember alot more gang violence in Dublin being reported than in Limerick

MarkR

rb_ie wrote:

theres more gang related violence there than anywhere else, which I can only presume would also mean that theres more gang activity (i.e robbings/break-ins/etc). Its not somewhere I'll ever be living anyway.

Source? You seem to be the type of person that is the cause for the "stab city" label. By your own admission you've only been there a handful of times, but you were somehow able to gauge in your brief stay the level of gang violence, and then able to accurately take these statistics and compare these against other cities in ireland?

Sweeping generalisations. Is that all you have, or do you have any facts?

Rb

MarkR wrote:

Source? You seem to be the type of person that is the cause for the "stab city" label. By your own admission you've only been there a handful of times, but you were somehow able to gauge in your brief stay the level of gang violence, and then able to accurately take these statistics and compare these against other cities in ireland?

Sweeping generalisations. Is that all you have, or do you have any facts?

No, I'm just going by what I've heard on the news over the years. I've heard more about gun related violence in Limerick than any other county.
Again, just going by my watching of the news on the subject.

Is it not common knowledge that there is a significant amount of gang-related feuds/family feuds down there? Or is this something the people of Limerick want to cover up in an effort to rid the place of its reputation?

Oh and it hardly got its "stab city" name from thin air you know.

cornbb

rb_ie wrote:

No, I'm just going by what I've heard on the news over the years. I've heard more about gun related violence in Limerick than any other county.

Even Dublin? I'd find that very hard to believe, given the statistics.

Oh hang on, there are no murders in Dublin. Only in Limerick and "gangland" :rolleyes:

Rb

cornbb wrote:

Even Dublin? I'd find that very hard to believe, given the statistics.

Oh hang on, there are no murders in Dublin. Only in Limerick and "gangland" :rolleyes:

No, I just haven't noticed it to the same extent.

randylonghorn

OP, I've don't think Limerick is half as bad as it's made out to be. That said, if the same course is available in Galway you might want to think about it. Uni is central, city is laid back and easy-going, craic is good. A bit further from home for you, though.

And forget about travelling by train from Tralee to either Limerick or Galway, it's just a pain in the ass.

TerrorFirmer

nesf wrote:

No offense but after growing up in Tralee I'd say even the Darfur region wouldn't faze you.

No point reading the rest of the thread, I've been given ample reason to contribute my 'lol' by the very first reply.

Red Hand

HavoK wrote:

No point reading the rest of the thread, I've been given ample reason to contribute my 'lol' by the very first reply.

I'd have to agree.:) If you've ever been down the Bulllring, then Limerick is Munchchenland in comparison.

Fast_Mover

In college in Limerick atm. Love it there! Great night life..students everywhere..can't wait for semester 2 to start..whooo!
Havn't come across much trouble there at all. Have even walked home from nights out from the city home with friends and all's grand.
People just think of Southhill and Moyross and all the stuff they hear on the news 'ohhh, limerick must be a terrible place'!
I taught in the primary school out in Southhill last year, guess what..im still alive:rolleyes:
Got friends teaching out in Moyross atm..I doubt our college who would let them out there if it wasn't safe.
Besides other cities are just as dangerous..Cork, Dublin..

Paulj

I spent 4 years in college in UL...best 4 years ever...i'd highly recommend going to college there. Its like its own little student suberb. Nearly everyone living in the area is a student or postgrad. There's often house parties going on etc. I'm now living and working near UCD in dublin and i have to say that i'm really glad i went to college in limerick.

Also there's no shortage of quality, cheap (compared to dublin) accomodation so you wont spend most of your money on rent, leaving much more for drink, going out and other stuff.

There certainly is a scum element in the city but if you live in castletroy you wont bump into them very often. Like a previous poster said, as long as you dont go shouting abuse at randomers in the city centre you should be fine. I'm originally from Tipperary and I have to say that that is certainly worse than dublin and limerick.

As for music in the city there are a good few live band gigs on around, you wont find many big names but you will see some good bands. Check out Dolans Warehouse, also Smyths pub can have some good bands. I hear the Boathouse can have good bands also.

Rb

Theres another good point to avoid Limerick, Fast_Mover goes to college there.

Peteee

rb_ie wrote:

Theres another good point to avoid Limerick, Fast_Mover goes to college there.

Oh dear, I sniggered!

Anyways, been going to college in UL for the last 3 years. Love the place. Around UL is nice, almost all students.

The city itself isn't the nicest place aesthetically(I always get depressed walking through there) but its hardly full of knifes and gangs cruising around for a drive by.

scojones

I've spent 5 years in Tralee, and the rest of my life about 15 mins from Limerick City. Tralee is far worse, trust me. What course are you going to do in Limerick? I did the Software Development course in ITT; great course!

Fast_Mover

Peteee wrote:

Oh dear, I sniggered!

:eek: Peteee..im dissappointed in you!!:D

Peteee wrote:

Around UL is nice, almost all students.

Ya, ye got yer own little bubble out there (pubs, nightclub('the lodge'..some great nyt to be had there!!) gorgeous arena, food places, lovely cinema etc..) no need to come into the city at all!

iguana

rb_ie wrote:

No, I'm just going by what I've heard on the news over the years. I've heard more about gun related violence in Limerick than any other county.
Again, just going by my watching of the news on the subject.

2005 figures
http://www.garda.ie/angarda/statistics/report2005.html

I thought I'd stick in a few of the main points for those who wouldn't be bothered to download or read through it.

Headline Offences 2005 (these are the biggies, like murder, rape, armed robbery, assault and burglary) per 1000 of population.

Dublin Total; 44,991. Cork Total; 9162. Limerick; 5,717.

Dublin has more than seven and a half times the crime of Limerick per capita. The worst area is Dublin South Central with 9,643. 44% of these crimes happen in Dublin, the southern region which includes Limerick and Cork, as well as Kerry accounts for 16%.

Lets break it down.

Murder

Dublin Total; 27. Cork Total; 3. Limerick; 1.

Per 100,000 people;

Dublin Total; 2.35. Cork Total; 0.66. Limerick; 0.56.

Of these figures 3 murder victims were women, all were killed in Dublin. Dublin had more than 4 times the murder rate of Limerick in 2005. The highest murder rate in the country is in Dublin South Central, with 6.81 per 100k. This accounted for 7 murders, including 2 women, the most murders (10) actually took place in Dublin Western.

Rape and Sexual Assault, per 1k population.

Dublin Total; R; 0.12 / SA; 0.30. Cork Total; R; 0.09 / SA; 0.19. Limerick; R; 0.10 / SA; 0.21.

The worst area in the country for rape was Donegal, per capita and in amount, with .28 and 38 rapes. It was the same for sexual assault with 0.72 per capita and 99 actual. It needs to be said that these are the reported figures. It is estimated that less than one third of rapes are reported to the gardaí.

Robbery & Aggravated Burglary, with Firearms

Dublin Total; 228. Cork Total; 10. Limerick; 19.

per 1k population

Dublin Total; 0.2. Cork Total; 0.02. Limerick; 0.11.

The worst area for these crimes is Dublin North Central with .49 per 1000 people. The highest amount however is Dublin Western with 52 actual. Dublin accounts for 65%, the Southern Region for 8%

Red Hand

Good find, Iguana.:) I guess we really do need to hear actual statistics before spouting "what we hear in the news".


Giving purely my opinion, Dublin City centre would be a bit "rougher" than Limerick to me at night-time. As for living here, there are some very good areas and others that are not so good. Dublin I mean.

(And instead of posting in that other thread, I am a culchie from Kerry, and Jackeens will always be second-place in football. Not my opinion but FACT.:) )

Rb

Peteee wrote:

Oh dear, I sniggered!

Anyways, been going to college in UL for the last 3 years. Love the place. Around UL is nice, almost all students.

The city itself isn't the nicest place aesthetically(I always get depressed walking through there) but its hardly full of knifes and gangs cruising around for a drive by.

Fast_Mover wrote:

Peteee..im dissappointed in you!!

Don't let her disappointment with you phase you, shes just hyper-sensitive.

InFront

Post by Iguana was quite interesting. Per 1000 people, Limerick certainly looks like a far safer place than Dublin by all accounts.

I went through the report and the only area I could see that Limerick came out worse than anyone was in the section for "overweight vehicles", where one out of every seven offenses in the state were detected (102/ approx 700 offenses) in Limerick. Even that appears to me the work of a rather over-zealous Garda than a significant worry for the people of Limerick.

Very interesting statistics, Dublin is, statistically, by far the most dangerous place in the country.