A single pane of glass can hold two centuries of Irish rain. At No. 1 Pery Square, the glass in the gargantuan sash windows is original—rippled, slightly distorted, and heavy with the weight of the 1830s. When the light hits the red-brick terrace of the Newtown Pery district, the shadows of the People’s Park dance across walls painted in hues of ‘Eating Room Red’ and ‘Borrowed Light’. This isn’t a museum frozen in amber; it is a living, breathing house that remembers its life as a residence for Lord Limerick’s estate manager. Under the stewardship of Patricia Roberts, this Greek Revival townhouse has been pulled back from the brink of dereliction to become the most soulful boutique hotel in the Republic.
The Resurrection of the Terrace
The Pery Square terrace was built between 1835 and 1838, a final flourish of Georgian ambition before the Great Famine altered the Irish landscape forever. By the late 20th century, many of these grand piles had been subdivided into dusty offices or left to rot. Roberts’ restoration was an act of architectural archaeology. She didn't just strip the wallpaper; she listened to the floorboards.
The restoration avoided the common trap of ‘hotelification’—that sterile process where character is traded for standardized luxury. Instead, the project utilized traditional lime mortars and salvaged timber. The staircase, a sweeping mahogany curve, was painstakingly polished back to its original lustre. Roberts worked closely with the Irish Georgian Society to ensure that the integrity of the building remained intact, treating the property not as a commercial asset, but as a cultural custodian. The result is a house that feels as though the original inhabitants simply stepped out for a stroll and might return at any moment to claim their velvet armchair.
A Palette of Heritage and Linen
Interior design at No. 1 Pery Square is a masterclass in the Farrow & Ball archive, but it’s the tactile details that ground the experience. Roberts possesses a self-confessed obsession with Irish linen. The curtains are heavy, tactile drapes that puddle on the floor, providing a thermal barrier against the Atlantic damp. In the bedrooms, named after Irish authors and historical figures, the beds are dressed in crisp, high-thread-count sheets that smell of lavender and fresh air.
Each room avoids the clutter of modern gadgets. Instead, guests find curated libraries and antique furnishings that serve a purpose. In the ‘Lord Limerick’ suite, a freestanding copper bath sits on a plinth, positioned to catch the morning sun through the shutters. The colour palette throughout the house stays true to the Regency era: deep terracottas, sage greens, and Slate blues that reflect the moody Limerick sky. There is no chrome here; only brass, timber, and the soft sheen of well-loved silver.
Rituals in the Drawing Room
The heart of the house is the first-floor Drawing Room. It is a space defined by its proportions—high ceilings with intricate plaster cornices that have been cleaned of decades of soot. Here, the ritual of afternoon tea is transformed into a quiet ceremony. There is no frantic clatter; only the sound of a crackling peat fire and the occasional chime of a teaspoon against Bone China.
Late in the afternoon, the room takes on a golden hue. Locals and guests sit in high-backed Bergère chairs, nursing glasses of whiskey or pots of Earl Grey. The soundtrack is deliberately sparse—perhaps a soft piano recording or the distant tolling of bells from St. John’s Cathedral nearby. It is in this room that the ethos of the hotel becomes clear: true luxury is not found in high-tech amenities, but in the luxury of silence and the beauty of a perfectly proportioned room.
Gastronomy and the Vaults
Beneath the grand reception rooms lies the Heritage Wine Cellar and Sash Restaurant. The name is a nod to the windows upstairs, but the menu is a tribute to the Munster larder. The culinary approach is unsentimental and focused on the soil. Expect dishes like pan-seared scallops from the Doonbeg coast, served with black pudding from the local butcher, or a rack of Limerick clover-fed lamb.
The wine list is a curated map of old-world estates, with a particular focus on French clarets—a historical nod to the ‘Wild Geese’ Irish families who fled to Bordeaux and sent wine back to the ports of the Shannon. Down in the basement, the former kitchens have been converted into a thermal spa. It is an intimate, subterranean sanctuary where the original vaulted ceilings provide a sense of enclosure. The ‘Voya’ seaweed baths, using hand-harvested flora from the Atlantic coast, offer a sensory connection to the rugged landscape just beyond the city limits.
The Quiet Power of Newtown Pery
While the hotel is a destination in itself, its location in Newtown Pery—Limerick’s Georgian core—is essential to its character. This isn't the Ireland of leprechaun kitsch. It is a city of grey stone, river mist, and intellectual rigour. Walking out the front door, guests are immediately in the People's Park, a Victorian green space that serves as the city's lungs.
A short walk leads to the Limerick City Gallery of Art on Pery Square, which houses a staggering collection of 18th-century Irish works. The streetscape remains remarkably consistent with the 1830s, allowing for a rare sense of temporal displacement. To stay at No. 1 is to participate in the ongoing story of Limerick’s survival and its quiet, confident renaissance.
If you go
Travel: Limerick is a 25-minute drive from Shannon Airport. Irish Rail runs regular services from Dublin Heuston, taking approximately two hours.
Dining: Book a table at Sash for dinner, but don't miss Sunday lunch—the roast beef is legendary. For a post-dinner drink, head to the Drawing Room for a Midleton Very Rare whiskey.
Activities: Visit the Hunt Museum to see a world-class collection of antiquities housed in the former Custom House, then walk the three-bridge circuit along the River Shannon at sunset.
Booking: Request one of the ‘Period’ rooms for the full Georgian architectural experience, specifically those overlooking the People’s Park.