City Centre: what do you miss?

Mc Love

Following on from the "any toy shops in the city centre?" thread where SoapMcTavish reminisced about the lost toy shops - what do you miss from the city centre?

What have we lost from our city that held some cherished/good memories for us??

SoapMcTavish wrote: »

Ah the good old days - toys everywhere in town -

Tots To Teens
Upstairs in Easons
Out the back of Boyds
Upstairs in Todds
Woolworths
Ryans on Patrick street ( downstairs for toys )
Roches stores
Upstairs in Bolgers

Action Man / Train sets / Airfix everywhere ...

All gone ..

You could definitely include the Smyths store on Henry st in that list! I can only remember Roches and Woolworths and the toys in Easons from that list.

I remember going into town and my parents parking in that garage on Henry st (what must have been one of the first covered ones in the city). Speights shopping center. The christmas window in Todd's - its certainly not the same anymore.

Kess73

Damn, Boyds is a blast from the past. Was like a toy wonderland. Full of airfix, zoids and other delights.

seachto7

zoids, ahhhhh, the memories...........

RikkFlair

Burgerland.....hmmm showing my age now

Aglomerado

Pizza place called "Ciao" on William Street where Centra is now I think, it would have been there in the mid 1980s, the first pizza I remember eating was from there.
Parking on the roof of Spaight's.
Java's (Catherine Street) for late night post-pub hot chocolate and bagels (late '90s.)-getting to sit in the cool suspended wicker chair!

roast

Game! I already miss that place.

h3000

Not a retail store but I really miss The High Stool

bazkennedy

Javas!

Berty

The Cafe where Flannerys on Upper Denmark Street is now.

sioda

Rubens BB God miss their club sandwiches

Mc Love

Forbidden planet on patrick st.

europa11

Roches Stores at this time of year had a great 'feel' of Christmas about it, much more atmospheric than anywhere else for some reason.........nostalgia on my part anyway as my Mam used make a beeline for the place when I was a kid. Used love playing with other kids probably annoying the f**k out of shoppers running up and down:) the escaltors

Tots to teens was another great stop for kids.

William Street......miss what it had and moreso what it's become.

....and in later life ......a lot of cozy little (and some not -so-little ) city-centre pubs that seem to have quietly disappeared.

Comhrá

Roches Stores for me too. Giving away my age but it was one of my favourite shops in Limerick. Always had a great ambience about it, great staff and their New Year's Sale was a real, genuine sale, not just bought-in rubbish as is often the case in sales nowadays.

Kess73

Tony's Music scene. Was pretty much a one stop metal and punk store that was based in the O'Connell Mall. Very similar to the Sound Cellar in Dublin save for the fact that TMC was a proper record store in terms of layout.



Black spot on Wickham street. Most second hand cassettes and records with a side line in other items.

There was another second hand music shop in a basement on Cecil street but for the life of me I cannot recall the name of it right now.


Golden Discs downstairs in Brown Thomas or Todds as it was back then.


Nestors sports shop on O'Connell street. What a brilliant (and big) sports shop that was. Everything from shotguns to handballs. There was a similar sports store in the Crescent shopping centre around the same time.

Woolworths on O'Connell street and then the O'Connell Mall on O'Connell street.


Termights (proper one not one of the many incarnations that followed in later years)

Boogie Wonderland in the Theatre Royal.

Cinemas in the city centre. The Carlton, The Central, The Savoy, and The Theatre Royal.

The Savoy Bowling alley and arcade. Another amenity that the city centre had.

Live bands every Saturday at 3 in the Savoy. Free gigs by the then up and coming Irish bands. Saw the likes of Kerbdog, The Cranberries and Therapy? play there.

Theatre Royal (yep it had a lot of uses over the years) for live gigs. Therapy?(yep them again) came back and played there during the Troublegum tour.

The novelty of things being shut on a Sunday. Used to spend my summers as a kid in Limerick and places like the Crescent shopping centre would close on a Saturday evening and not open until the Monday morning. Can remember kicking a ball around the big car park or cycling bikes in there on Sundays.


Spaights, Quins, Javas, Roches Stores, the knocking of the Ranks towers on the dock road, hell the knocking of a huge amount of things on the Dock road in order to build pretty much everything from Shannon bridge out.


The building of Shannon Bridge and the fishermen throwing eggs at Charlie Haughey during the official opening(was a protest about fishing licences). Some local FF lackey jumped in frontto take the brunt of the incoming eggs.


Liddy Street being a fairly busy street with all the units having shops in them.

Arthurs Quay Shopping centre being full of people pretty much every Saturday.

Aglomerado

Kess73 wrote: »

the knocking of the Ranks towers on the dock road,

Oh god, they were cool when the two of them were there, with the little bridge between them high above the road! I always wanted to go up there.

source

Javas, lobster pot, o'connell grill, the high stool, Quinns, termites in the savoy, forbidden planet Patrick St and roches St, Rubens comfy couches, paccinos, smyths toys, korova milk bar on Ellen St. loads more I can't think of now.

L.T.P.

Quinns Pub, Tropics, Burgerland, Bewleys, Docs, The Glory Hole, The 80's nite every Friday, Nestors Sports Shop (Even though they refused to sell me lings to make a slingshot), parking upstairs in Spaights, begging Joe "I'll get you there" for a taxi home in Shannon St

IHeartShoes

Shannon Arms:(

Mc Love

IHeartShoes wrote: »

Shannon Arms:(

What a place!! Hag great fun there as a kid out the back!

Sgt Hartman

tippman1 wrote: »

Roches Stores for me too. Giving away my age but it was one of my favourite shops in Limerick. Always had a great ambience about it, great staff and their New Year's Sale was a real, genuine sale, not just bought-in rubbish as is often the case in sales nowadays.

I really miss that place. I used to always buy my NES games and WWF action figures in there.

bazz26

IHeartShoes wrote: »

Shannon Shagging Arms

FYP


Anyone remember King Canut's on William Street where Guiney's is now? It burnt down back in the late 80s.

Friar Tuck's for a savage kebab and curry chips. Tropics in the George Hotel or Cheers overhead the Desmond Arms on Catherine Street for throwing shapes on the dance floor. Actually the choice in nightclubs back then was pretty good compared to what we have in the city these days.

Mc Love

Anyone remember the footy shop down by the Old Dunnes? Spent a good bit of pocket money in there.

Berty

IHeartShoes wrote: »

Shannon Arms:(

My OH's friend used to go there so often they used to say "It's like you live there" and they turned it into apartments and she DID LIVE THERE!!

I miss the pig slaughter house on Thomas Street where the multistorey is now.

I remember Roches Feeds where it was where the Clarion is now, not exactly but there were warehouses running along where Steamboat quay is and it was all cobbled with the old ship mooring metal things. Even as warehouses it looked much nicer and the coal yard where Dominos is now. Memories I suppose as I don't really miss the coal yard. :rolleyes:

I do miss the 80's night in the George though. Starting off in The Sibin and working our way upstairs to the mad house.

bazz26

Feathery Burke's Bar in the Shannon Arms in the early 1990s, a bottle of Mule for £1.

Buddy's bar near Foxe's Bow, bit of a biker's bar back then.

Kess73

Mc Love wrote: »

Anyone remember the footy shop down by the Old Dunnes? Spent a good bit of pocket money in there.

The one on Liddy street that was near the paint shop and the electrical shop or the one that was at the back of the Dunnes building near the newsagent?

Kess73

bazz26 wrote: »

Feathery Burke's Bar in the Shannon Arms in the early 1990s, a bottle of Mule for £1.

Buddy's bar near Foxe's Bow, bit of a biker's bar back then.

Ahh Buddys. That place had one of the best bar jukeboxes I ever had the pleasure of pumping coins into. Loved it when they used sawdust on the floor.

bazz26

The BMX track out in Corbally where Grove Island is now. Had a few bruises from that back when I was a kid in the 1980s.

Mc Love

Kess73 wrote: »

The one on Liddy street that was near the paint shop and the electrical shop or the one that was at the back of the Dunnes building near the newsagent?

Think it was on Liddy st - great shop!

Hermione*

RikkFlair wrote: »

Burgerland.....hmmm showing my age now

Was that on William St?! I was thinking of it the other day for some reason and couldn't quite place it.

Irwin's is one I really miss. All my jewellery presents as a child came from there.

I miss the old Todd's. The new BT doesn't do it for me.

Loads of great memories here!

IHeartShoes

Mc Love wrote: »

What a place!! Hag great fun there as a kid out the back!

Had great fun playing in there, not as a kid and not in the back;)

ZombieBride

The grocery section in the back of Roches Stores. The lightshop in Spaights, Route66 on Rutland Street, Newsoms, The Savoy even when the bowling alley was louder than the movie. Quinns.

phog

There were petrol pumps on Shannon St opposite the Stella and on Upr William St, near Future Sound and Vision and a petrol station on the corner near Sarsfield House, on the Dunnes Site.

Video clubs around the city - there was a time you had to pay to be a member :eek:

Genelles shops on William St and O'Connell St.

The Galleon restaurant on O'Connell St

The Lyric cinema and Thomond Cinema and there was a cinema complex up where Tesco are now in Roxboro.

rainbowdash

Tony wards sports store

Neil cusacks sports store.

All the people fishing from the bridges late at night, not sure if anybody fishes there now.

bazz26

Hermione* wrote: »

Was that on William St?! I was thinking of it the other day for some reason and couldn't quite place it.

Irwin's is one I really miss. All my jewellery presents as a child came from there.

I miss the old Todd's. The new BT doesn't do it for me.

Loads of great memories here!

It's where Boots are now.

Berty

ZombieBride wrote: »

The grocery section in the back of Roches Stores.

Big mahoosive brown bags. Massive brown bags and they would keep them in the shed thing out the back in the "car park" that held about 10 cars and you could collect them later and a guy in a long brown coat would be there to help you. Old School :cool:

I think they used to cordon off a few spaces for Christmas tree sales at Christmas as well.

Memories of the Car Park where Arthurs Quay Park is now but it was smaller because they actually backfilled soil/aggregate/concrete into the river to make the area bigger. I suppose also reminds me of the car park where the Revenue is now on the Quays.

ZombieBride

It is quite easy to figure out everyone's age range from this thread.

Hermione*

bazz26 wrote: »

It's where Boots are now.

Thank! I seem to remember that they had some sort of meal deal for £3 or £4, as that's what we always got!

Beer Baron wrote: »

Big mahoosive brown bags. Massive brown bags and they would keep them in the shed thing out the back in the "car park" that held about 10 cars and you could collect them later and a guy in a long brown coat would be there to help you. Old School :cool:

OMG, yes, this! So many of my childhood Saturdays involved this! The back of Debenhams ground floor kinda freaks me out a little tbh. It always feels like it should be a grocery store.
I've just remembered buying my veil for my Holy Communion in Roches Stores

I remember all the fuss when Cruises Street opened. It seemed like the most exciting thing ever!

krudler

the Savoy on a Saturday, playing Street fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat in the arcade then paying to see one movie and trying to sneak into another one :pac: felt like a proper old cinema (cos it was) instead of the souless multiplexes we have now.

If I ever won the euromillions I'd build an art-deco style old cinema.

Birdie086

Pamdemonium on shannon street for taxis after nightclubs on a saturday night, and can anyone remember Francis stading outside the 313131 base keeping a lisphy order on the queue

Birdie086

And one I actually miss is the Todds/Brown thomas window at christmas, used to be a winter wonderland of fun/music but sadly now is fashion based, and the market as it was years ago, trailing from high street right around the milk market to Denmark st with all the members of a certain ethnic minority trading, worked down there for my teenage years in a chip shop and the community feeling was amazing.

These days it is more confined, refined and boring

Mc Love

Birdie086 wrote: »

Pamdemonium on shannon street for taxis after nightclubs on a saturday night, and can anyone remember Francis stading outside the 313131 base keeping a lisphy order on the queue

Definitely one of the best things after being in a club - the hilarity of the whole situation was brilliant. The crowds would nearly be out covering the whole road only for Francis to drive us all back in and out umpteen times while waiting!

TAXI for Knocknagoshel!

Berty

Francis eh'

Walk around the corner and see the ONE MILLION people and walk straight up to him and say "I'm here at least 20 minutes waiting on XX to be called". "Right, you're going next". SUCKER!

Berty

Missus tells me about a chipper in Spaights Called "Stick Fingers". She remembers grabbing sausage and chips and getting on the bus home only to drop them before getting on and the woman ran out with the scoop full of chips and topped her back up. Wouldn't happen now. :rolleyes:

Not just because the place doesn't exist of course. :rolleyes:

mossym

some already mentioned, therapy in the TR, the proper termights. the car park at spaights. burgerking

kranks when they used to do the special cups at xmas

when did o'connell st change to one way, i seem to remember it being two way..

Mc Love

mossym wrote: »

when did o'connell st change to one way, i seem to remember it being two way..

Really showing your age -wasnt it called George's street back in your day?

redrums

The high stool , great spot ,
Really miss sibin and 80s nite some craic
Lapellos )

the lobster pot lovely prawn cheese chips

Hmm great nites out

mossym

Mc Love wrote: »

Really showing your age -wasnt it called George's street back in your day?

it's not that far back i'm pretty sure:) that's why i asked, see if it's a real memory. i'm pretty sure it is.

i'm only mid thirties...not that old...

mossym

tropics in the george. having to be in there drinking before 8pm cause that's when the bouncers started, and if you were in the door before they got there you were okay to get up to the nightlcub

docs bar with the girls dancing on the tables pouring tequila down your throat

upstairs in bewleys on a friday evening after school, when every table was filled with groups in school uniforms. one person down at a time for a cup of tea and easily stretch out 2 hours in bewleys trying to chat up laurel hill girls

Berty

Hah bewleys at 4am eating breakfast. It didnt last long open at night mind you. For those of you who don't know it was where new look is now.

ZombieBride

mossym wrote: »

one person down at a time for a cup of team and easily stretch out 2 hours in bewleys trying to chat up laurel hill girls

My gang did that in Route 66, it's no wonder why it closed. They had the black lights going down to the loo.

phog

mossym wrote: »

some already mentioned, therapy in the TR, the proper termights. the car park at spaights. burgerking

kranks when they used to do the special cups at xmas

when did o'connell st change to one way, i seem to remember it being two way..

I remember when you turn left from Sarsfield St towards Patrick St at Roches Stores.

Also, they tried 3 lane traffic on Sarsfield bridge, two inbound in the morning and two outbound in the evening.

Nightmare traffic.