LIMERICK stepped out to replay the glory days of city history with a weekend of street spectaculars marking the 800th anniversary of the city charter, which elected the first mayor in Ireland in 1197.
Citizens took to the streets, with up to 300 in medieval peasant dress joining hundreds of authentically costumed Celtic kings and chiefs, druids, bishops, warriors, Vikings and Normans from the Society of Irish Re- Enactors.
The streets became history-lined with Friday and Saturday processions re- enacting the procession of the High King into his capital and the entry of King John, who granted the city its charter.
The history of the medieval city was brought to life with the aid of sponsorship from the Chamber of Commerce, Limerick Corporation and Shannon Development.
According to Ms Kay McGuinness, chairwoman of the Limerick Plus initiative, which includes the Charter 800 programme: "The weekend has underlined the untapped potential of King John's Castle as a venue for public events".
Crowds swarmed into the courtyard of the castle, where a tented medieval village was recreated. It included a forge and an open-air kiln as well as stalls trading in medieval costumes, jewellery, emblems and shields.
The castle was also the centrepiece of yesterday's action, with a three- hour mock battle of Normans storming the city walls.
The weekend also saw the launch of the new Umbrella Street Theatre Group, which was trained under a year-long FAS scheme and will become a permanent feature of city events.
The city arts officer, Ms Sheila Deegan, said: "The greatest triumph of the weekend has been the wonderful response from the city community. Hundreds of people of all ages joined in the spectacles. The Umbrella group will be repeating the exercise for Charter Day in October and will also be joining up with local groups and making its skills and resources available to enliven community events and efforts".