Qibla direction in Limerick

How to face the Qibla in Limerick

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 21.1° towards south: the result is the bearing of 111.1°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 21° off.

Facing the Qibla is a condition of the prayer. Whoever prays inside the Sacred Mosque faces the Kaaba itself; whoever is far away, as in Limerick, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its prayer rows were aligned when it was built. Once you know the direction at home, a discreet mark on the wall saves you from checking again.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

This is a place where maps mislead badly: a straight line on a flat map from Limerick to Mecca points to 129.7° (south-east), a full 18.6° away from the true Qibla of 111.1° (east). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 64 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Limerick first heads east, and that is the direction to face.

How is the figure of 111.1° obtained? From the coordinates of Limerick (52.6647° N, 8.6231° W) and of the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), spherical trigonometry gives the starting bearing of the great circle joining them. Mosque architects and astronomical Qibla tables rely on exactly the same calculation.

Distance from Limerick to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 5,374 km from Limerick as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 5,094 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h 49 min, although most pilgrims from Limerick connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Limerick run 3 hours behind Mecca in winter and 2 hours behind Mecca in summer, because of daylight saving time. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Limerick rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Limerick

On 237 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Limerick while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in March (31 days); for example, on 1 March 2027 it happens at 08:10 local time.

On 99 days the sun stands exactly opposite the Qibla: then the shadow of any vertical object, a pole, a door frame or a plumb line, points straight towards Mecca. This is most frequent in July (31 days), for instance on 15 May 2027 at 20:20.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Limerick: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Limerick compared with other cities

Compared with Dublin, 175 km away, the Qibla in Limerick is turned 3.0° further anticlockwise (111.1° against 114.1°), and Mecca is 118 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Cork (86 km), prays towards 110.7°, a difference of 0.5°.

Across the 3 cities in Ireland on this site, the Qibla ranges from 110.7° in Cork to 114.1° in Dublin, a spread of 3.4°. The difference is small, yet each city should still use its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Ireland.

Qibla in cities near Limerick

• Cork110.7° · 86 km
• Dublin114.1° · 175 km