Little Ellen Street is Limerick's small lane with a big past

FIRST named in 1805, Little Ellen Street connects Ellen Street to Denmark Street in Limerick city centre. Ellen Street was named for Ellen Arthur, a member of the prominent Limerick merchant family.
A stone plaque bearing the street name was originally fixed to a building on the street.
These days, Little Ellen Street is pedestrianised and home to two popular public houses, a hotel, other retail offerings, and an entrance to a multi-storey car park which occupies the former site of the Meat Market. The 1890 OS map records about fifteen structures on the street.
In 1880, Thomas McGrath was living at no 3 Little Ellen Street; he was a noted teacher of the classics and privately prepared the sons of leading merchants for entrance exams to Trinity College and the Royal College of Surgeons (RCSI). One of his pupils, John Bernal jnr. obtained a first class certificate in the entrance examinations to the RCSI in April 1880. Bernal was the son of John snr. TC of Albert Lodge, Laurel Hill Avenue.

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In late April 1906 a terrible boating accident took place on the Shannon, and it resulted in the loss of five young men, four of whom were from Little Ellen Street, a sixth man, Patrick Punch managed to swim ashore.
The tragedy occurred on April 26 when the men were aboard a gondola which had a small sail up to take advantage of a favourable wind.
The victims were named as Thomas Connery (26); Thomas Browne (24); Edward Browne (25) (brothers), Thomas Creamer (24), and Joseph Lynch (20). Connery lived in Thomondgate and the other four were from Little Ellen Street. The strong wind upset the boat and the men went overboard. Despite the desperate efforts of Punch and another man on the riverbank, all five were lost to the strong current and cold water. Scenes of great heartbreak were reported in the local press when Edward Browne was ‘returned to Little Ellen Street to be waked.’
In the 1920s, one of the residents of Little Ellen Street was Joseph McInerney, Alderman who acted as deputy mayor for MJ Keyes in 1930.
Other families on the street included the McMahons whose son, John F secured the diploma of ALCM in violin at the prestigious London College of Music in July 1930. The previous year he won the medal in advanced senior. A gifted musician, John won gold medals in Ireland throughout the late 1920s. The report in the Limerick Leader stated that McMahon was the youngest recipient of a diploma or a medal ever from the London College of Music – at just 16 years of age. He was a pupil of Henry C Begas of 6 Crescent Villas, O’Connell Avenue.
During the so-called “slum clearances” of the 1930s and 1940s in Limerick it was proposed that the private dwellings on Little Ellen Street be demolished. However, local councillors questioned the necessity of their removal stating that ‘the houses are quite habitable and should be removed from the list.’
The reprieve was short lived and some of the houses on Little Ellen Street were scheduled for demolition in 1941. Among the families who lived on the street in the 1940s and 1950s were the Bolands, Bourkes, Enrights, Farrells, Flemings, Hickeys.
The well-known firm of engineers, James J O’Donnell also had a presence on the Little Ellen Street from at least the 1960s. They applied for permission to extend their engineering works situated at the corner of Little Ellen Street and Denmark Street in July 1969.

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More changes came to the street in November 1969 when councillors voted ‘in principle to pedestrianise it along with Todd’s Bow.’
By the 1990s, plans were afoot to redevelop the entire area including Little Ellen Street. The radical plans called for the demolition of Cruise’s Hotel, and the removal of nineteen residential units including some Georgian townhouses. The proposed site measured about 2.75 acres.
The development went ahead, and the entire area was changed forever.
One of the new businesses to emerge on the street was the popular pub, the Old Quarter which still enjoys a bustling trade today.
Many businesses have come and gone on the street over the years, such is the nature of retail. The popular Cobblestone Joe’s traded from 2014 but closed in recent years. The premises is now home to Forde’s Courtyard, a bespoke public house and restaurant that opened in late April 2025.
The proprietor, JJ Mulcahy also operates the nearby Old Quarter pub. Forde’s Courtyard occupies a prominent corner and fronts onto Little Ellen Street. It is housed in an historic limestone building, hinting at its heritage.
Little Ellen Street may be small, but it has a big history that reflects the ever-changing face of retail offerings and residential living in an area that has thrived in business since its creation in the early nineteenth century.
Once the nearby Opera Project is completed and occupied, the story of the street and its surrounding neighbourhood will fill another chapter in the history of Limerick.

Dr Paul O’Brien lectures at Mary Immaculate College.