King John's Castle taken over by Limerick Council

King John's Castle, Limerick City: One of Limerick's major tourist attractions.

One of Limerick’s most popular tourist attractions has changed ownership, as Limerick City and County Council take the reigns at King John's Castle.

The move will see Discover Limerick, a Designated Activity Company and a subsidiary of Limerick City and County Council, take over the running of the castle which was previously owned by Shannon Group. 

Speaking at a Strategic Policy Committees meeting on Monday, Gordon Daly, director of community, tourism and culture thanked the Shannon Group for its assistance in the transfer and commended them for the work they had done over the past 30 years.

Mr Daly added that the plan now was to get the site back up to pre-Covid levels, when the castle was receiving over 100,000 visitors a year, making it Limerick’s most visited tourist attraction.

Councillor Conor Sheehan welcomed the announcement of the transfer, adding that it had been a long road but that going forward “we will see the castle being used to its full potential”.

Mr Sheehan also said that the workers, who were employed by Shannon Group at the site, feel much more secure in the understanding that their roles are safe under the new owners.

The meeting heard that Tim O’Connor, a civil servant who previously sat as chair of the Implementation Advisory Group for Limerick’s directly elected mayor, will be interim chair of the board of Discover Limerick DAC.

Mr Daly said that the initial directors of the board of the DAC will include himself, as well as senior council staff members Eileen Coleman, and Suzanne Goggin.

He said that it was very much an interim board and elected members of Limerick City and County Council, as well as external members, would be added to the board at a later date.

“We will now start that process in the coming weeks”, Mr Daly said, and that they expect there to be a request for nominations at the May council meeting.

Mr Daly said the DAC would operate in a similar manner to Limerick Twenty Thirty DAC, which is a Strategic Development DAC, tasked with planning and developing key strategic sites in Limerick City and County.

Green Party leader, Minister Eamon Ryan, welcomed the news regarding the "well-known and loved historical landmark".

"This transfer will safeguard the valuable contribution the castle makes to the local economy and region and will provide continuity of employment for the 14 staff who will transfer with the business," he said.