Prayer
Pray for us, 0 Patroness,
Be our consolation!
Lead us home to see your Son,
Jesus, our salvation!
Gracious are you, full of grace, Loving as none other,
Joy of heaven and joy of earth,
Mary, God's own Mother!
Our Lady of Limerick
Limerick is an ancient city in the southwest of Ireland. It was founded by the Danes in the 8th century. It is built on the river Shannon, just where the Shannon becomes tidal. The estuary of the river is wide and deep, making Limerick a port city of some importance until recently.
The Dominicans of Limerick administer the city center parish of St. Savior’s. Here is kept a 16th century statue of Mary as our Lady of the Rosary. Known locally as Our Lady of Limerick, is the most widely revered statue in Limerick.
Carved out of oak in Flanders at the beginning of the 17th century, it is some 4 feet 6 inches high. To save it from desecration during the persecutions of Oliver Cromwell, (circa 1640) it was placed in a box and buried. Possibly it was painted at this time to preserve it during its sojourn in the damp earth.
Along with a silver chalice, the statue was donated to the Dominicans by a Patrick Sarsfield (not the famous soldier) and his wife, Eleanor White, in reparation for the martyrdom of Sir John Bourke by an ancestor of theirs. This happened in the early 19th century.
This statue has been replicated in a richly colored mosaic over the main door of the Dominican Church of St. Louis Bertrand in Limerick, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A.; a reminder to the American congregation of the trials their ancestors suffered for the faith and their devotion to Our Lady and her rosary.
While the importance of this devotion to the Irish imigrants is testified to by this mosaic; its importance to the citizens of Limerick, Ireland is witnessed too by the superimposition of the Arms of Limerick, Ireland on the Dominican Crest. The crest is attached to the front of the altar in St. Savior's Church.