IF WALLS COULD TALK
"The Limerick Athenaeum The story of an Irish Theatre since 1852"
Research & Text: James A McMahon Produced by Seamus Flynn
As a consequence
of the calamity of the Great Famine
The Limerick Athenaeumwas proposed by Wm. Lane Joynt in 1852 and established in
1853 by the citizens of Limerick City & County.
Support for the initiative came from all over Ireland.
The aims of the institution were to create
a "TEMPLE OF LEARNING"
or what we call today, an Open University, where everyone; irrespective of class, religion or politics, could attend lectures and participate in free debate.
THE ATHENAEUM became a dynamic for CHANGE
Between 1853-1914, all major figures in Irish politics lectured there. The venue was the home of every musical and cultural society in the city and the location of the city's first Public Library and of The limerick SCHOOL of ART & ORNAMENTAL DESIGN which led to the development of TECHNICAL EDUCATION in Limerick.
THE FOUNDER OF THE LIMERICK ATHENAEUM.
The FOUNDER of the Limerick Athenaeum was WILLIAM LANE JOYNT who achieved the unique distinction of being elected Mayor of Limerick in 1862 and Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1867.