Castletroy

Castletroy
County	County Limerick
Population (2006)
– Total	40,100
Car plates	LK

Castletroy (Irish: Caladh an Treoidh) is a rapidly growing and predominantly middle-class suburb of Limerick, Ireland and is the largest suburb in Munster. Its population is estimated at 40,000 as of 2010.

Castletroy's Jewish graveyard

Grave of an unknown Jew of Limerick

Historically, the district was entirely separate to Limerick, and consisted of little development aside from the villages of Annacotty and Monaleen. With the creation of the University of Limerick, as well as the growth of Limerick itself, this began to change. Castletroy is one of the fastest-growing residential areas in Ireland and has now completely engulfed the old villages of Annacotty and Monaleen (Móin a lín - field of flax). Monaleen parish has one of the most beautiful buildings as its main landmark: Monaleen Church.

Castletroy includes three primary schools Milford NS, Monaleen NS and a Gaelscoil, the secondary school, Castletroy College, and a number of hotels including the Kilmurry Lodge Hotel and Castletroy Park Hotel. It is also host to both Milford and Monaleen Gaelic Athletic Association Clubs.

The population in of Castletroy is now approximately 32,506 people, of which 16,573 are students. Castletroy Golf Course is well known and divides Monaleen and Castletroy itself. Kilbane, Castletroy Heights, Monaleen Heights and Monaleen Park were the original housing developments and were once surrounded by farmland. These houses are the oldest and most sought after properties in the area.

Recent developments include numerous sprawling housing estates. Newtown local shopping centre, the main Castletroy shopping centre, extends to some 90,000 square feet (8,400 m²) is located off Dublin road at Kilmurray roundabout and includes Superquinn supermarket and 24 mall shops, McDonald's restaurant and an eight-screen cinema, "Storm", which opened its first screen on 19 May 2005.

Several attempts have been made by Limerick City Council to expand its area of control to include Castletroy, which remains under the control of Limerick County Council. The National Technology Park is home to some major business in Castletroy such as 'Vistakon', a contact lens division of Johnson & Johnson and O2, a major mobile phone operator.

Also in Castletroy is a small and little-known Jewish graveyard. It dates from the late 19th century when Limerick had a sizable Jewish community. However, the Jews were mostly driven from the city in what was called the "Limerick Pogrom" (see History of Limerick, History of the Jews in Ireland). In 1990 the site was renovated and reopened by Chief Rabbi Mervis.