You're listening to the mens rea podcast and this is the story of Catherine Cooper. Oh, In the West of Ireland, where the river Shannon cuts through the country and flows out to the Atlantic Ocean,

you'll find Limerick City.

It, like most places in Ireland, has a long history of habitationation and the part of the city known as Kings Island

may have been a population centre as far back as the second century.

The combination of sitting at the mouth of a wide open and winding estuary and near some of the most fertile land in the country made the location ideal.

And it's seen its fair share of history. Oliver Cromwell, as well as the Williamites, laid siege to the city in the late 17th century.

It boasts one of the most castley castles I think you can find in Ireland, King John's

castle which is right on the Shannon and the city has a beautiful cathedral, St Mary's

at its center. Around the cathedral the center of the little city is of a beautiful Georgian design,

but like most places in Ireland, it's had its ups and downs. You may have read about some of those low points in the

particularly dreary but nevertheless interesting memoir by Frank McCourt called Angela's

ashes. Limerick is where Frank and his siblings grew. Port, 20th century, given all the good rail links, the good agricultural businesses flourishing,

and the well-arranged docks.

In the post-World War II era, that part of the city was busy, and with this brought businesses and professionals

and families and the middle class. Semi-detached houses were built, cars were bought, cinemas and dance halls were filled, and the young people had one eye on the latest fashions.

There was a lot of development and commerce going on.

But down at the docks at Limerick you'd be forgiven for thinking

that you were in a completely different era, before the last war and maybe even the one before that.

The place was dominated by horses and carts,

Carmen, as they were called there. They were the only ones allowed to transport goods

from the dock to the railway line. They had defeated attempts for motorised lorries to access the areas or for the train line to be extended out to meet the ships.

Michael Manning was a carman.

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