Showing 93 results

Authority record
Academy for Children
Corporate body · Founded in 2020

The Academy for Children was created by University of Limerick's Access Office to enhance community engagement, to inspire future graduates and to widen the participation of underrepresented groups at third level.

Bacon Company of Ireland
Corporate body · 1839-1987

The Bacon Company of Ireland, originally named O’Mara’s Bacon Company, was founded in 1839 by James O’Mara (1817-1899) in his house on Mungret Street, Limerick. As the business grew, dedicated premises were acquired for the purpose near the top of Roche’s Street. When James O’Mara retired from business his son John (Jack) O’Mara (1856-1919) became manager of the O’Mara Bacon Factory. In the late 1880s, he was invited to Russia by Tsar Alexander III to provide instruction on bacon curing. He stayed in St Petersburg to supervise the construction of a bacon factory. In 1891, his father bought the rights of the Russian Bacon Company and the family imported bacon from Russia into London until 1903.

When John O’Mara died in 1919, his younger brother Stephen O’Mara (1844-1926) became managing director and remained in that capacity until 1923. Having entered into the family business at the age of fifteen, his great business acumen established O’Mara’s Bacon Factory as one of the most prominent commercial enterprises in Limerick city. He also purchased a bacon factory in Palmerston, Ontario, Canada, which was managed by his son Joseph O’Mara (1878-1950) until the business was wound up in the 1940s.

In 1923, Stephen O'Mara's second-youngest son, also called Stephen O'Mara (1884-1959), became managing director. He created numerous employment opportunities by establishing bacon factories in Claremorris, County Mayo, and Letterkenny, County Donegal, in the 1930s. The three bacon companies were amalgamated in 1938 and formed into the Bacon Company of Ireland. Stephen O’Mara Junior remained the company’s chairman until his death in 1959. In 1987, the Bacon Company of Ireland merged with Hanley of Rooskey and Benesford UK (Castlebar) with assistance from the Industrial Development Agency Ireland (IDA) to form Irish Country Bacon. Shortly afterwards the old O’Mara factory in Limerick was closed down. It was subsequently demolished to make way for a multi-storey car park.

Ballet Ireland
Corporate body · Established in 1998

Ballet Ireland was established by Gunther Falusi and Anne Maher in 1998 to create ballet and contemporary dance performances.

Corporate body · c. 1809-c. 1974

Matthew Barrington was born on 21 May 1788 in Limerick as the eldest of five sons and two daughters of Joseph Barrington and Mary née Baggott. He was educated in Limerick and King's Inns and established a highly successful solicitor's practice at 10 Ely Place in Dublin. In 1814, he was appointed a crown solicitor for Munster. From the 1840s he acted as solicitor and adviser to the Great Southern and Western Railway and was instrumental for the establishment of the railway station known as Limerick Junction. He was the founder of Barrington's Hospital and City of Limerick Infirmary (1831), the first general hospital in Limerick to provide for the poor. He owned extensive estates in Limerick and was the builder of the massive Norman revival castle, Glenstal. Matthew Barrington died on 1 April 1861 and is buried in St Mary's cathedral in Limerick. His son, Croker Barrington (1817-1890) took over the management of the legal firm and ran a similar establishment in Limerick city. The firm existed at least until 1974, operating under the name Barrington & Sons.

Bolshoi Ballet
Corporate body · Founded 1776

The Bolshoi Ballet is one of the world's oldest and most renowned classical ballet companies. It is based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia, which gave the company its name.

Cannock and Company Limited
Corporate body · 1850-1984

The department store of Cannock and Company Limited was established in 1850 by George Cannock and John Arnott and went into liquidation in 1984. For a full history of the company, please refer to Finbar Crowe, 'The History of Cannocks', Old Limerick Journal 18 (1985), pp. 5-9 and Old Limerick Journal 19 (1986), pp. 13-17.

Chrysalis Dance
Corporate body

Chrysalis Dance is Ireland’s only neoclassical dance company, combining in its choreographies sophisticated classical ballet with sleekly modern elements of contemporary dance. The company emerged from a workshop held in June 2003 under the direction of Judith Sibley at Shawbrook School of Dance, County Longford to commence the research and development of an original neoclassical work. The company premiered its first work, Strings, in the Black Box, Galway in April 2004. Since then, Chrysalis Dance has toured Ireland with several well-received choreographies and has enjoyed sell-out runs at national dance festivals. The company has been resting since losing its Arts Council funding in 2013.

Corporate body · 1883-1974

The Condensed Milk Company of Ireland, commonly known as Cleeve's, was a major Irish food processor founded in Limerick in 1883 by the Canadian entrepreneur Sir Thomas Cleeve (1844-1908). Its products included condensed milk, creamery butter and the famous Cleeve's Toffee and it was an important supplier to the British Forces during the First World War. The collapse in the price of milk after the war led to the company's liquidation in 1923. In 1927, it became part of the new semi-state body, the Dairy Disposal Company, and continued to operate under state control until 1974, when the Dairy Disposal Company was broken up. The bulk of what remained of the Condensed Milk Company was sold to Golden Vale, now a subsidiary of the Kerry Group.