ST. THOMAS' ISLAND

ST. THOMAS' ISLAND. J.B. Trotter on a visit to the Island in 1812 had this to say "The Shannon looked extremely beautiful yesterday and we saw it to great advantage by visiting a charming small island which is in it, about 2 miles from Limerick island. On this Tuthill, who has contended for the honour of representing Limerick in the Imperial Parliament occasionally resides, in a most commodious and elegant villa, placed in the midst of a garden, washed by the Shannon's lovely waves. This gentleman had the kindness to favour us with a view of his delightful residence. His unaffected politeness made us enjoy our little excursion very much. The view upwards, on the enchanting Shannon cannot be excelled. His verdant banks, covered with cattle, adorned by charming villas at intervals. (Whilst William's ruined the castle in the distance crowned the bewitching scene) filled us with admiration. Mr. T's gardens and greenhouses are very elegant, genuine taste prevades them and the house. To complete the beauty of the Shannon here, a tree has grown about half a mile from Mr. Tuthill's Island, in its centre, on a rocky or hard spot and has a singular and easing effect.

Every so often I like a visit to St. Thomas' island, a nice time to visit is in May when the hawthorn tree is in full bloom at the entrance of the walled garden and old house, My brother Pat Lysaght welcomes me in, we look around this mysterious place in awe of the beautiful ancient red bricked walls and archs,  we walk through the first arch, into what might have been a cow or horse paddock, it can feel a little bit eerie at times, as we know a little secret of the past about this place, We continue walking through one or two more arches into what we think might have been an apple or pear orchard or a vegetable garden.  

Next it is time to find the entrance to the underground, so we continue, all the while clearing brambles, nettles, thistles etc. We arrive at the little opening in the ground, we bend down and climb in, its dark inside so we turn on our phone lights, we see a few bats hanging upside down from the celling, not a place for anyone who is nervous of them, we see a window with a big boulder in it, and lots of damaged bricks and rocks on the floor, its like an underground, arched shaped, brick cellar, perhaps it was used for storing fruit and vegetables or wine or maybe the poteen we hear the stories about.