If Walls Could Talk: Limerick city street still home to educational excellence

SITUATED off O’Connell Avenue and in between two educational facilities, Roden Street has a rich and storied history that, these days, might be difficult to appreciate.

The street is connected to Barrack Hill and leads to the former main entrance to Sarsfield Barracks.

The origin of the street name is uncertain. Some believe that it came from the now demolished Roden House, which was located at the rear of the Technical Institute, while others have suggested that it was named in honour of Robert Jocelyn (1756-1820), 2nd Earl of Roden.

He was a professional soldier and gained notoriety in the 1798 Rebellion. His soldiers played a crucial part in the defeat of the invading French army at the Battle of Ballinamuck. Roden accepted the surrender of General Humbert.

The only known link between Roden and Limerick is a stretch at best; in 1797 Major General Sir James Duff was appointed commander of the Limerick district, which included Roden’s troop of dragoons.

Although the documentary evidence relating to its name is unclear, the history of Roden Street has been recorded across multiple sources, chiefly in newspapers, trade directories and maps.

The street appears to have been home to some well-heeled people in the nineteenth century.

For example, in March 1806, Henry D’Esterre offered a ‘new dwelling house with stabling in the rear, situated in Roden Street, near the horse barracks’ for rental. The horse barracks referred to was the ‘New Barracks’ built in 1795 and now known as Sarsfield Barracks.

The D’Esterres were a French Huguenot family, who came to Ireland from the Netherlands in the seventeenth century. They lived at Rossmanagher near Sixmilebridge throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In 1941, when some houses on Roden Street were being sold, the name Letitia D’Esterre appeared on some of the leases.

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Another affluent resident was John English, who was described as a ‘gentleman of Roden Street’ in 1835.
An indication of the type of house that once occupied the street is found in an auctioneer’s notice of May 1842.

John Seymour was disposing of the property of the late William Ryan and offered two buildings on Roden Street for sale. The first was described as a ‘dwelling house and shop with a large new front and yard also attached to same’, in addition, Seymour advised that a ‘thatched house’ was also for sale.

Situated beside the barrack entrance was the large Roden House. It featured ‘high grey walls that bounded the house on two sides, covered with creepers, a fountain and an apple tree, and a long glass veranda ran the whole length of the house and above were seven windows in a long row.’

Over the centuries, the most common business on Roden Street was that of public houses, the number stands at approximately ten.

For instance, in 1869, Michael Hogan was listed as a car owner and a publican of Roden Street. The following year, Mr Tuohy established a public house on the street. He was prosecuted for after hours in 1878 when Constable Kavanagh discovered three men in the taproom who, along with the publican, were fined for breaking the law. The pub was taken over by Maryanne Tuohy a few years later.

The following year, Elizabeth Emily Campbell applied for a licence to sell ‘beer, cider, and spirits by retail’ at her premises, no. 3 Roden Street.’ Next door, no. 2 was also a tavern, the publican being Margaret Nagle who was granted a licence in December 1880.

By 1881, Elizabeth Campbell’s premises at no. 3 was in the name of Franz Kramer. James Smith established his public house on Roden Street in the late-1880s.

No. 13 was on the market in 1880, it was described as ‘the large and commodious house with spirit licence attached… immediate possession with modest rent.’

In more recent times, Mrs Agnes Fitzpatrick sold her licenced premises at no. 7 Roden Street in 1940. The lease was held since July 1, 1940. Apart from several pubs on Roden Street, it was also home to some well-known writers for brief periods, namely Christoper Isherwood (1904-1986) and Frank McCourt (1930-2009).

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Another resident, in the 1880s, was a member of a prominent Nationalist family from the city. An article appeared in the Birmingham Mail on 3 January 1885 entitled ‘The Convicted Dynamiters’ and it chronicled the journey of Mrs Egan, wife of John F. Egan, who along with John Daly was convicted of treason at Warwick.

When departing England, Mrs Egan was accompanied by several detectives to Dublin, some of whom even followed her to Limerick in the train carriage in which she was seated. On her arrival in Limerick, she was met by Miss Daly and Edmond Daly (brother and sister of John Daly).

Among those at the train station to greet her were members of Daly and Egan Fund. She was accorded a very hearty reception. Mrs Egan was then driven by carriage to the home of Miss Daly on Roden Street. During the evening, Mrs Egan was visited by a large number of her husband’s friends.

While confirmation of the precise origin of the one name forever associated with the street – Roden - remains elusive, the street continues to form part of the lesser known, but richly storied area of Limerick City.

Dr Paul O’Brien lectures at Mary Immaculate College.