On 3 July 1852, a public notice appeared in the Limerick Chronicle announcing the opening of the School of Ornamental Art at the Leamy Institute on Hartstonge Street.

The first prospectus stated the school's objective of "providing instruction in all those branches of art which are applicable to manufactures and decoration".

Following public pressure, the school reopened in December 1855 under the auspices of the Limerick Athenaeum, a centre of learning that would be open to all, irrespective of class, creed or cultural background.

The trustees of the Athenaeum handed the building over to the Corporation in 1896 in order to administer the property for the advancement of technical education in Limerick.

Troops of the Warwickshire Regiment occupied the Institute during the Irish War of Independence in 1921 and considerable damage was caused to the building and its contents.

[6] The School of Art had relocated to the former County Infirmary and Nurses' Home in Mulgrave Street in 1962, now Limerick College of Further Education.

The School of Art continued to grow at its Mulgrave Street location and by the mid 1970s, the lack of space was becoming a concern.

James O'Sullivan, a tobacco merchant, constructed the street on swampy land known as Múin na Muice, the moor or common of the pigs, and dedicated it to Fitzgibbon.

[7] The Clare Street Campus is located on the site of an old Lancastrian School, developed by Joseph Lancaster for the education of the poor in the early 19th century.

Spelling and reading were taught from charts hung on the walls, thereby dispensing with the need for books for the poor and slates were used to write on, to save paper.

The second phase was completed in August 2008 and consisted of construction of additional space, further refurbishment and considerable ground works, including a new entrance onto Clare Street.