A Catherine Street home for notable Limerick residents who left their mark on local and national society

Now forming part of a long-proposed housing development, known as the Printworks, no 37 Catherine Street was once a beautiful family home, built c.1850. It forms one of a row of three houses of almost identical character. No 37 is distinguished by an ‘Adamesque cast-iron palmette-enriched balconette.’ Over the centuries, the house has been home to a number of notable residents who left their mark on local and national society.
In the 1850s, Captain Philips was resident in no 37. He was an officer in the City Limerick Artillery, a volunteer militia force, and had been stationed in Limerick since about 1855. He departed the city in 1859, and the contents of no 37 Catherine Street were auctioned by John Bernal. The many items included a ‘drawing room centre table and six balloon back chairs, gilt framed chimney glass, breakfast table, sofa and loungers and a double gun, pair of pistols and a variety of carpenters tools.’
The next resident of no 37 appears to have been GA Oliver, veterinary surgeon who took up residence in 1862 and advertised his surgery in the Limerick Chronicle on August 13, 1863. He informed the ‘nobility and gentlemen of Limerick and vicinity’ that he trained under the ‘celebrated Professor William Dick (1793-1866) of Edinburgh.’

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It is not clear how long Oliver spent living and working at no 37 Catherine Street. Sometime in the 1870s, he joined the Army Veterinary Department and in 1880 he was dispatched to southern Afghanistan for duty with the Royal Horse Artillery, the following year he did a tour of service in India.
By 1872, Mr Doyle was living at no 37 Catherine Street. He acted as a clerk for the local fuel fund, a charity that provided fuel to deserving persons in the city. An appeal for funding was published in the local press during the winter months of 1874 to assist ‘urgent cases’ in the city. Supporters of the charity were directed to write to Mr Doyle at 37 Catherine Street. By 1876, Doyle was secretary of the fuel fund. The fund was widely supported across the city by merchants, the clergy of all denominations, landowners and members of the public. It provided an essential service to destitute people, long before the establishment of the welfare state and when the city workhouse was still full to capacity.
John Fogerty was the next person to live at no 37 Catherine Street; he was also in possession of no 36. John Fogerty was an architect, builder, millwright and engineer. He was the brother of Joseph, and the father of William and Joseph with whom he was in partnership in Limerick. The Fogerty’s output across Limerick was comprehensive. In 1889, John Fogerty left no 37 Catherine Street for the more genial surroundings of Westbourne House in Courtbrack.
No 37 was then offered for rental and described as a large house containing ‘two parlours, a drawing room, five bedrooms, two servants’ rooms, kitchen, two pantries, extensive larders and a bathroom.’
John Fogerty died at Westbourne on November 11, 1892.
No 37 was rented by William Edmund Lawless, detective inspector in the RIC who lived there with his wife and daughter until 1892 when he was transferred to Ballbriggan in Dublin. Once again, John Bernal, auctioneer was tasked with selling the contents of the house. The principal rooms of the house were listed – the drawing room, large hallway, ante-room, dining room, and five bedrooms. The house, along with no 36, was subsequently offered for rental by Ebrill Brothers. A classified advert in the Limerick Chronicle of January 1912 sought ‘business gentleman to rent apartments in no 37’.
Robert Frost, solicitor occupied no 37 from about 1914. He conducted his legal practice from the address, although by 1917 his office was situated at 5 Cecil Street. Over the following five years, the house was offered for rental several times including in November 1922 by William B Fitt, auctioneer.

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The house was next acquired by Jack Leddin and family. Spanning the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the Leddin family has been active in political circles. Jack's wife was Catherine Keyes, who was sister to Mick Keyes (1886-1959), twice a minister, once in the inter-party government 1948-51 and then again 1954-56. His son Christopher P Keyes was Mayor of Limerick from 1957 to 1958. In 1937, Jack and Catherine’s son, Tim (1922-1999) was among candidates who achieved the highest results in a written examination held by the Post Office. Tim served as Mayor of Limerick (1987-1989). He was first married to Maura O’Connell (1923-1971) and secondly to Kathleen Donovan (1939-2025). Kathleen served as an independent councillor on Limerick City Council between 1999 and 2014 and was the 817th Mayor of Limerick serving from 2013 to 2014. Their son is Brian Leddin, former TD for Limerick (2020-2024). Tim’s brother Frank (1932-2002) was also a member Limerick City Council, first elected in 1960, he served two terms as Mayor in 1966 and in 1997. Tim and Frank’s nephew, Joe Leddin has served as Labour Party Councillor for Limerick from 1999 to present. Joe served as Mayor of Limerick in 2007. The Leddin family sold no 37 in 2007, ending close to a century of ownership.
From army captains to architects and noted politicians, no 37 Catherine Street has contributed several chapters to the deeply textured story of Limerick. The next time you pass the colourful hoarding wrapped around the site, pause for a moment and think of the many former residents of no 37 who left their mark on the city.
My column this week is dedicated to the recently deceased Kathleen Leddin.
Dr Paul O’Brien, assistant professor in Pedagogy of History, Faculty of Education, Mary Immaculate College