Showing 85 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.

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.

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.

Cork Ballet Company
Corporate body · 1947-1993

An amateur ballet company founded by Joan Denise Moriarty in 1947.

Cork City Ballet
Corporate body · Established in 1991

Cork City Ballet is one of only two professional ballet companies in Ireland. It was formed in 1991 by Alan Foley to address the void left by the closure of the Cork-based Irish National Ballet in 1989 due to a lack of funding. Cork City Ballet presented its first public performance at the Everyman Palace Theatre on 27 March 1992 and continues to operate under the artistic directorship of Alan Foley, who also acted as the ballet’s principal male dancer until his retirement in that capacity in 2007.

Corporate body · 1835-?

The Cratloe and Meelick Dispensary was formed on 6 January 1835 to provide healthcare for the underprivileged in East Clare within the Limerick poor-law union. The Dispensary’s work was supported partly through private subscriptions and partly through public funding. Surgeon Thomas Kane of Cecil Street, Limerick acted as the medical attendant. Initially, treatment was provided free of charge to patients in receipt of vouchers distributed by subscribers. However, the voucher system was vulnerable to abuse and from 1840 onwards a small fee was charged from all except the most destitute. The Dispensary remained active throughout the famine years, but by 1850 struggled to find funding. Its subsequent fate is unknown.