attending the 2023 World Archery Youth Championships. We’re hosting the 2025 version of that event in Winnipeg, so we went to gather intelligence on the tasks that lie ahead. Limerick is a city steeped in ancient, and recent, history. Although it was founded in 1197, the site’s history goes back to 922 and Viking rule. The city’s historic core is on King’s Island, which is also home to King John’s Castle, built in 1200 and still standing today. It’s reportedly one of the best existing examples of a Norman castle, and welcomes visitors. Best to book online; a self-guided tour is €13 for adults, €10.50 for children. For a city nearly a millennia old, it has its share of historic architecture, but also a blend of the old and the new, especially as seen from the walk along the River Shannon, which the city straddles. New residential buildings rise above historic pubs and restaurants; from within the walls of King John’s Castle is visible the city’s modern rugby stadium. Limerick is also home to recent musical history, too. Walking along the river, we turned to walk up a side street, chosen entirely at random. At one point, something compelled me to
look up at a plaque high on a building: it commemorated the date — March 18, 1978 — when, according to Adam Clayton, the band formed by Paul Hewson, David Evans, Larry Mullen Jr. and Clayton first performed as… U2, winning a pop music competition at a music venue formerly at this location. Limerick is also the perfect starting point for a tour of the Cliffs of Moher, about an hour away from Limerick. Tours from Dublin are also available, but the journey to the cliffs is three hours each way. The cliffs and associated walking trails run for 14 kilometres along the sea at the southwest of an area called The Burren (more on that shortly), and stand between 120 metres (390 feet) and 214 metres (702 feet) above the Atlantic Ocean. Comprising relatively soft shale and sandstone, the cliffs display rugged beauty that is vulnerable to erosion by the tides. From O’Brien’s Tower, a stone tower built north of the visitor centre, on a clear day you can see the Aran Islands to the west and Maumturks and Twelve Pins mountain ranges to the north. The Burren covers 530 square kilometres and is a karst landscape covered in bedrock. It lies just north of the Cliffs
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