Limerick

Limerick sits along the River Shannon in Munster, a city with a rough industrial past and a fiercely loyal, close-knit population that's grown more mixed and youthful thanks to the university and a wave of regeneration in the old Georgian streets. It's a city of contrasts—handsome limestone terraces beside pockets of real deprivation—and average household income in the region hovers around €48,000 to €52,000 a year, though that figure masks how unevenly it's spread. Homelessness here is real and counted: the most recent national figures put over 14,000 people in emergency accommodation across Ireland, and Limerick city and county regularly report figures in the low hundreds on any given month, a number that's climbed steadily since 2019. If you're sleeping rough or moving between shelters, Novas is one of the main organisations working directly with homeless adults in Limerick, offering outreach and supported housing. The Salvation Army also runs services in the city that can help with food and a warm bed for the night, and St Vincent de Paul remains a steady source of practical help—vouchers, fuel, food—for people struggling to get by. Limerick can be a hard city, but it's not a cold one; there are people here who will treat you like you matter, and you do.