Overview
The Milk Market fills a walled quadrangle off Mungret Street in Limerick’s Irishtown, bounded by Carr Street, Cornmarket Row and Ellen Street. Since a 2010 redevelopment it has traded under a tensile all-weather canopy, which is the practical genius of the place: it keeps the weather off close to fifty stalls and twenty-one shop units without closing the market in. On a Saturday the hall is full of produce, cheese, bread, coffee and hot food; on the other days it winds down to vintage and crafts. Locals do a real shop here, and well-behaved dogs are welcome.
History
The market is old enough that its exact start date is lost; trading on the site goes back to before 1800. What gives it a firm anniversary is the Limerick Market Trustees, established by an Act of Parliament in 1852 to pull the city’s scattered markets together, which is why it’s billed as Ireland’s oldest weekly market. It has had rougher spells than a busy Saturday suggests: it spent 91 years in receivership, from 1897 to 1988, said to be the longest in Irish commercial history. A restoration won a European Heritage Award and reopened the market on 1 September 1995, and the 2010 canopy scheme took the RIAI People’s Choice Award the following year.
What’s on, by day
The three market days aren’t interchangeable, and it’s worth picking the right one:
- Saturday is the flagship: the full Farmers Market, 60-plus food stalls, and the day to come if you come once.
- Friday is quieter, built around vintage and antiques (around eight shops), an outdoor café and live music.
- Sunday is the Family Fun Day, with rotating crafts, antiques and food stalls.
Food
The food is the heart of a Saturday. Regular traders have included Piog Pies, whose pies are baked over in Tralee with fillings like mountain lamb and Irish salmon; Wilde Irish Chocolates; Sunflower Bakery for sourdough and brown bread; and Green Acres for farmhouse cheese and coffee. Traders come and go, so treat any list as a starting point rather than a promise. Buy a few bits and take them down to the river.
Vintage, crafts and experiences
Away from the food, the market runs a set of vintage and antique units, names like Vito Vintage, The Edge Vintage and Antique Loft, busiest on Fridays. It also runs ticketed experiences: guided food tours, and Paint and Sip art classes (around €7 for an hour and a half, materials provided). Since the 2010 revamp the covered space has doubled as a concert venue too, the ‘Live at the Big Top’ series having pulled in Sinéad O’Connor, Imelda May, The Coronas and, before the pandemic, Calvin Harris.
Nearby
The market sits in the middle of Limerick’s old town, so King John’s Castle, St Mary’s Cathedral and the Hunt Museum are all within about a ten-minute walk.
Practical information
Opening hours and admission
Friday 11am to 3pm, Saturday 8am to 3pm, Sunday 11am to 3pm. Entry is free; you only pay for what you buy. The experiences and classes are ticketed, bookable through the market’s website.
Getting there
The market is on Mungret Street in the city centre. The nearest car park is Cornmarket Square, a minute’s walk; Harvey’s Quay (about five minutes) and Steamboat Quay (about eight) are the fallbacks, and there’s some street parking on Cornmarket Row and Ellen Street that goes quickly on Saturdays. Limerick Colbert train station is a nine-minute walk, with bus stops closer than that, and Shannon Airport is about 25km, half an hour by road.
Accessibility
The canopy keeps the whole market dry, and the aisles are wide and wheelchair-friendly, with ground-level stalls, dropped kerbs at the approaches, a lift to the mezzanine and accessible toilets. Staff can help if you need it.
If you can only come once, make it a Saturday morning, and go early: by mid-afternoon the best of the food stalls are already packing up.