Take a Walk Through a Best Seller:
Follow the Trail of Angela's Ashes
Photos and article by Eleanor S. Morris

LIMERICK, IRELAND - The folks of the city of Limerick may be a little put out by the way Frank McCourt portrayed the city, his family, and their neighbors in his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel ANGELA'S ASHES, but it certainly has put the town on the map. A popular tourist attraction is a walking tour of locations from the book, all through little Frank McCourt's neighborhood when he was growing up during World War II.

It wasn't the most posh part of town back then, although it looks fine now, picturesque and tidy. But when Frank, applying for a job, writes his address as a street, he's chastised by the manager, who tells him that he lives in a lane, not a street, and to not be getting above himself.

The tour begins at the Tourism Office on Arthur's Quay, and the first stop is Windmill Street. The family had a room there until the death of young Oliver, and Frank's mother can't bear to be there any longer. After a short walk, the guide points out the Redemptorist Church, which figures so largely in the novel. Other churches along the route are St. Joseph's Church, where McCourt's First Communion took place, and the Dominican Church, where a priest takes pity on young Frank and absolves him on the spot of all the "sins" he's suffering from.

It's a slightly steep march down Barrack Hill to the picturesque houses of Vize's Field and on to Leamy's School, an imposing tan brick building fenced in by white-painted wrought iron. The guide explains that it's no longer used as a school today.

The tour passes the picturesque W. S. South Pub on Henry Street, where Uncle Pa buys 16-year-old Frank his first pint of ale, a sort of initiation rite.

Other stops along the way are Sutton's Coal, where Frank and his little brothers scrambled for coal for their fire; Roden Street and Lane, where the family lived for awhile; St. Vincent de Paul, where Mrs. McCourt went for assistance; the Carnegie Library that Frank haunted for books; the Dispensary for illness, and others.

The tour begins and ends at Arthur's Quay overlooking the wide River Shannon. According to the author, back then everyone knew that the houses facing the quay were old, might fall down any minute. His mother also says it's a bad neighborhood where the people are wild, and she would punish them if they ever went down there.

From the quay there's a long view down the Shannon to the Thormond Bridge and St. John's Castle, supposedly founded in 1200, a romantic ending to a tour of a prize-winning book.

IF YOU GO:

Walking tours are offered daily at 2:30 pm from the Tourist Office at Arthur's Quay, Limerick. Duration of tour, approximately 2 hours.
Rates: L4 per person
Tel/Fax: 061 318106
Email: smidp@iol.ie
Website: http://ireland.iol.ie/~smidp