LENIHAN, Maurice. Limerick; Its History and Antiquities, Ecclesiastical, Civil, and Military, from the Earliest Ages. With Copious Historical, Archaeological, Topographical, Genealogical Notes and Illustrations; Maps, Plates, Appendices, and an Alphabetical Index, etc.

Cork: The Mercier Press, 1967. First Mercier edition, a facsimile reprint of the original 1866 edition, limited to 1,000 copies. 8vo. pp. 780, [errata]. Publisher’s green cloth, title and author lettered in gilt on spine, with the original striking red and black pictorial dust jacket. Jacket lightly rubbed and chipped at extremities, otherwise a very good copy.

A substantial and enduring history of Limerick city and county, compiled from ancient annals, printed records, manuscripts and contemporary research. Lenihan traces Limerick from its earliest foundations and the Danish occupation through the Norman period, the sieges of the seventeenth century, the Penal era and Catholic Emancipation, incorporating extensive material on local families, ecclesiastical history, antiquities and military affairs.

First published in 1866, the work had long been a collector’s item by the time Mercier issued this handsome centenary facsimile. The publisher notes that this edition was reprinted without alteration from the original after 100 years and restricted to 1,000 copies. An important standard work on the history of Limerick, particularly desirable retaining its original dust jacket.

[L2 5D]