A picture postcard corner of Rathkeale is on the market

An Seabhac … a pretty corner of Rathkeale that may date back 400 years (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2017; click on image for full-screen view)

Patrick Comerford

On a bright May morning, there are corners of Rathkeale that look like picture postcards or scenes from a chocolate box cover.

The Wine Bar, also known as An Seabhac stands on a street corner on Church Street, just below Holy Trinity Church and close to the banks of the River Deel. It has been closed for some years now, but many remember this place as one of the most celebrated restaurants in West Limerick.

‘An Seabhac’ is the Irish for ‘The Hawk,’ and was the name given to this wine bar which became legendary for its food and its music.

An Seabhac is designated as a ‘protected structure’ under section 51 of the Planning and Development Acts 2000-2011, and two years ago the Tidy Towns report said An Seabhac is ‘eye-catching … nicely painted and full of colour – ivy, hanging baskets and window boxes.’

However, a recent development plan suggested its demolition and setting back the roadside wall onto Church Street to achieve ‘adequate sightlines.’

This detached, two-storey public house, built ca 1820, although some accounts say it may be up to 400 years old. The house was once part of a barracks and cannon portholes can still be seen in the garden walls. The house a pitched slate roof and rendered chimneystacks, rendered walls, and square-headed openings with timber sash windows.

Some years ago, the house was feted in an American magazine feature by the writer Carleton Varney, who recalled that in 1903, the home became part living space for the family and part pub for people who enjoyed folk music, literature, poetry and happy times.

He claimed the home of Ann and Gerald Fennell goes back some 400 years, and he told his American readers how it is filled with old, old world charm where the Fennells enjoy their garden, simplicity, and their music and art.

Ann was born in Killaloe, Gerald is from Cork, and the two have travelled the world. She was a flight attendant for Ansett Airways in Australia, and also worked for De Beers diamonds, while Gerald served in the Irish Army Medical Corps.

In 1945, Gerald’s grandmother, Elizabeth Fennell, gave her pub and home the name ‘An Seabhac.’ Gerald’s father, Morris, is said to have fought in the Spanish Civil War.

An Seabhac is home to creative works of the Fennell family, including stained glass windows and tapestry hangings by Ann, collections of blue and white porcelain in the family heirloom pine Irish dresser, sculptures by Gerald, antique glass bottles on the bar, a collection of baskets, and paintings and lithographs by Irish artists from the 1920s to the present.

The Fennells continue to live in this corner house. Gerald’s many sculptures include ‘Casualties,’ a tribute to the men killed in World War I. Ann, who loves textiles, antiques and all things beautiful, runs an antique shop in Glin. Their son, Dr Jack Fennell, has a doctorate in literature from the University of Limerick.

The owners are now looking for a property with a smaller garden, and An Seabhac is for sale at ‘a reduced price’ through Scanlon Auctioneers.

The house has four bedrooms, two kitchens, two sitting rooms, and a bar area. Outside there is a high walled garden with over 80 ft of road frontage. The gardens extend to about one-fifth of an acre.

Perhaps it offers an opportunity to open a restaurant in Rathkeale, but the agents also suggest it ‘would make a perfect family home for someone that has the funds and ideas to develop it to its full potential.’

Inside An Seabhac … as seen by Carleton Varney

A Victorian vision of Venice on a street corner in Limerick

The building on the corner of Patrick Street and Ellen Street was inspired by the vision of Victorian visits to Venice (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2017)

Patrick Comerford

Early one morning last week, in the middle of commercial Limerick and just a few steps from the River Shannon and the Abbey River, I came across a surprising taste of Venice on the corner of Patrick Street and Ellen Street.

No 9-11 Patrick Street stands on the corner of Ellen Street, two streets that are said to have been named after members of the Arthur family, once one of the leading merchant families in 19th century Limerick.

The building has been redeveloped in recent decades, so that the original large shop premises at the street level has been subdivided into multiple units, while the upper stories have been gutted and subdivided into apartments.

But this former 19th century commercial building still exudes its former Victorian grandeur. Although I have not yet identified the architect, this building was inspired by the palazzi of Venice, and – despite recent alterations – its Italianate style is still impressive, and it continues to reflect a style that was inspired by Victorian visitors to the Veneto.

This colourful and engaging building, standing on a prominent corner site, is a terraced, seven-bay, three-storey, former commercial building. It dates back to 1872, when it first opened in 1872.

At ground-floor level, there are limestone ashlar Corinthian pilasters that bring a delightful touch to the limestone ashlar shopfront arcade.

The limestone ashlar shopfront to both elevations forms a seven-bay arcade of elliptical arches with profiled soffit and reveals, glazed with fixed timber-framed display windows on a profiled limestone plinth course.

The arched blind corner wraps around the side elevation. There is a small recessed medallion to each spandrel. The dentil enriched shopfront cornice that also acts as the first-floor sill course.

The round-arched window openings at the first-floor level form arcades of two and three (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2017)

Superimposed rusticated stucco Corinthian pilasters rise from the sill course at the first-floor and second-floor levels, where there are two paired end bays and three bays to the centre.

At the second-floor level, you can see a supporting limestone ashlar dentil and an enriched parapet entablature.

The round-arched window openings at the first-floor level form arcades of two and three, each with polished granite outer pilasters and an inner three-quarter engaged column joined by elaborate running mould stucco archivolts with panelled soffits and vermiculated keystones.

The balcony balustrades enclose recessed glazed elevations, dating from around 1990. There are square-headed window openings at the second-floor level with shared limestone sills, and a stucco architrave with rounded corners.

The recessed glazed elevation inside is illuminated by these unglazed window openings.

A flat roof to the recessed top floor was added during the renovations in the early1990s.

The building was almost entirely rebuilt inside around 1990, and is now in use as apartments on the upper floors, while the ground floor continues to be used as retail shops, and retains much of the original street façades.

Part of the building is now known as Ormston House, a cultural resource centre in the heart of Limerick. Ormston House opened in 2011 to support creative practices and to provide the opportunity to develop challenging and experimental work.

Through a programme of exhibitions, events and residencies, Ormston House offers a physical and intellectual space to encourage active participation in the arts. Ormston House strives to grow audiences for contemporary art and to build an international network for cultural exchange and engagement.

Despite the recent renovations and large-scale alterations, this building and its façade retain the original architectural significance and it continues to occupy a prominent place in the streetscape of Limerick.

A vision of Venice on Patrick Street, Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2017)