Limerick City began to prosper in the 1950s and 1960s with the industrial development arising from Shannon Airport, the geographical location of which made it the first suitable landing site for long-distance air travel from and to America. Limerick is also a hive of cultural and artistic activity, thanks to the Belltable Arts Centre . This is the fourth year of UnFringed 2001 featuring theatre, music, comedy and kid's events. UnFringed presents three theatrical premiers. Rap Eire by Bickerstaffe Theatre Company is a hip-hop romp through Irish political culture.
Music fans are well catered for with a new area of the festival, late night gigs.
The Tap , the late-night festival club will feature Limerick bands Headgear, Daragh Dukes and Catcher in the Rye. Musical soundscapes from Cormac O'Connor are being created for two of the new plays in the festival, Gift and Jocasta. Go on a fantastic journey which takes the audience to the dessert, the sea, and finally to Antarctica. It is suitable for children aged five and upward. So if you can't make it to Limerick between 25 January and 3 February, don't despair, there's always plenty to do, culturally and otherwise.