One of the best things about being on location for various fundraising lotteries is the ability to tour many of the amazing small towns we have in Saskatchewan. This week I found myself in the small community of Limerick just a short drive west of Assiniboia on Highway 13.
One of the first homesteaders in the area was Edward Lossing who arrived in 1907 from Ireland. When it was decided a post office was needed in the area, the chosen place happened to be Lossing’s own home and they named it Limerick after Lossing’s hometown in the “old country.” In 1913 the Canadian Pacific Railway Company built a rail line through Limerick enroute to Shaunavon from Assiniboia, bringing with it new economic opportunities for this small hamlet of Irish and European settlers. The new village was officially incorporated on July 10th, 1913. Despite growing fast in the early years, it was nearly all destroyed thanks to a frightening prairie wild fire in 1915. Women and children were quickly evacuated and the men stayed behind to fight fire and protect the fledgling village. Thankfully their hard work and ingenuity prevented devastation of the village. Life was difficult on the prairies in those early years, but thanks to the resilience of homesteaders and the guidance of First Nations people, villages like Limerick persevered and remain vibrant into 2024.
Today, the village is home to just over 100 people and and is still home to a historic, cozy hotel situated on the main street of the village. In addition to the hotel/restaurant, there’s a grocery store, a rural municipality office, a volunteer fire department, a church, museum, and a Patterson Grain elevator.
The village has a combination of new homes and charming historic homes in combination with beautiful green spaces including a beautifully landscaped park along main street. In 2023 the village celebrated its 110th anniversary which brought in families from all over the place to share stories and memories.
