Name
Luimneach originally referred to the general area along the banks of the Shannon Estuary, which was known as Loch Luimnigh. The original pre-Viking and Viking era settlement on Kings Island was known in the annals as Inis Sibhtonn and Inis an Ghaill Duibh.
The name dates from at least 561, but its original meaning is unclear. Early anglicised spellings of the name are Limnigh, Limnagh, Lumnigh and Lumnagh, which are closer to the Irish spelling. There are numerous places of the same name throughout Ireland (anglicised as Luimnagh, Lumnagh, Limnagh etc.). According to P W Joyce in The Origin and History of Irish Names of Places II, the name "signifies a bare or barren spot of land". Similarly, others have suggested that the name derives from loimeanach meaning "a bare marsh" or "a spot made bare by feeding horses". The Dindsenchas (The Metrical Dindsenchas III page 274), attempted to explain the name in a number of ways, connecting it particularly with luimnigthe ("cloaked") and luimnechda ("shielded").
Read more about this topic: History Of Limerick
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