CORBALLY author Denis O’Shaughnessy will launch his latest book, ‘Reflections on Limerick’, at the St Mary’s rugby clubhouse in Grove Island on Friday October 25 at 8pm.
The book contains up to 50 diverse stories and a gathering of images of Limerick city and county and it is the author’s eighth book on Limerick since 1998.
It is Mr O’Shaughnessy’s largest publication yet and tells of stories such as writer Frank O’Connor’s extraordinary discovery in Bridge Street; the tragic tale of Fedamore’s Annie Walshe, the last woman to be hanged in Ireland, and the full story of an 18th century parish priest of St. Munchin’s, whose “shenanigans” put later clerical scandals into the shade.
The sporting ethos of the city is also captured throughout the book, with some extraordinary stories about the late Con Houlihan and one particularly memorable visit to Charlie St George’s pub.
“For the first time, the story of the seven O’Connor brothers, the city’s greatest sporting dynasty and Garryowen’s pride and glory, will be told,” said Mr O’Shaughnessy.
A native of the Sandmall in St Mary’s, Denis O’Shaughnessy worked in local media for almost 50 years prior to his retirement in 1997 and he has written seven books to date, all in relation to his native city.
His books are “a celebration of Limerick people, their laconic wit, their idiosyncrasies, love of sport, and pathos, a mix that has proved highly successful” and won admiration from the late Richard Harris, who described the Corbally man’s works as showing the real Limerick and an antidote to other publications that showed the city in such poor light.
