St Mary's Cathedral, Limerick

Saint Mary's was founded in 1168 by Donal Mor O'Brien, king of Munster, reputedly on the site of his own palace, and it has been in continuous use ever since - the oldest building in Limerick still doing what it was built for. The Romanesque west doorway is thought to be from the palace itself. Its most unusual survival is a set of twenty-three misericords in the choir, carved in black oak around 1480: the small ledges under hinged seats that let clergy rest while appearing to stand, carved on the underside with animals, a griffin, a wyvern, a boar, a swan and human heads. They are the only complete set of medieval misericords in Ireland - everywhere else they were destroyed at the Reformation or later. There are also fifteenth-century tombs, a leper's squint, and cannonball damage in the walls from the seventeenth-century sieges. The tower can be climbed in season.

What you actually see

• The misericords - twenty-three carved seats of around 1480, unique in Ireland.
• The Romanesque west door - reputedly from O'Brien's palace.
• The siege damage - cannonball marks in the walls from the 1690s.
• The tower climb - seasonal, with a view over Limerick and the Shannon.

When to go

Any season; indoors. It is an active cathedral, so services limit access. The tower climb is seasonal and weather-dependent. An hour covers it.

Honest expectations

A working cathedral - services and events close it at times. Donation requested rather than a fixed ticket, with a charge for the tower. The misericords are in the choir and access to them can be restricted.

Nearby

King John's Castle is a short walk on the same island; the city centre is south.