Gerry Hannan

Limerick Generations Gerry Hannan

We Are Who We Were When it comes to local history there is much to explore. There are family, friends, and neighbors hidden in our past. There are mysteries to be solved and stories lost in the passages of time are waiting to be retold. If we are to understand our ancestors, we must, first of all, understand where and how they lived because without this information we are getting an incomplete picture. Like politics, all history is local because it ultimately comes back to an individual. The impact of political choices made at a national or international level is felt in communities, neighborhoods and the lives of individual families. Learning about history in school we are told about the big dramatic events that affect our nation or the world on a large scale. Occurrences such as industrialization, world wars, and economic depressions are examples of such things. This information is important but is only an overview. This is where local history finds its greatest purpose. It teaches us how our ancestors were affected by such events and choices and how these effects influence our lives. Limerick too has its stereotypical citizens. Historians are now realizing that the places in which we live plays a significant role in who we are and how we perceive the world and, in fact, stereotypes actually reflect something much deeper and shapes us in dramatic ways. In these pages, we zoom in closer to the day-to-day events that affected the people of Limerick in the 20th century. We have uncovered through the local, national and international newspaper archives many of the most controversial but now long forgotten stories and events that shape the people of our city. This is our hidden history and it best not forgotten and to give us a richer insight we must also take a closer look at Limerick through the images of the period. What unfolds as you read through these pages is the story of Limerick in the 20th Century, the story of us as Limerick people and how we got where we are today. After all, we are who we were.