Castleconnell

Castleconnell stands beside the Shannon northeast of Limerick, where the river flows between Lough Derg and the city. Its name recalls the castle of the O'Conaings, an old stronghold above the water. A medieval castle was built here as Anglo-Norman power spread through the region, and the settlement grew near the river and its crossing. In the Williamite war the castle was damaged during the fighting around Limerick; its broken remains overlook a stretch of the Shannon that has long shaped the life of the village.