 In Darren Shan's 2000 novel "Cirque du Freak", the eponymous freak show takes place in an old abandoned theatre based on the writer's recollections of the Theatre Royal.The original Athenaeum Building was used as a school from the 1940s to the 1960s and was known in Limerick as the "One Day" Boys School.In 1973, the City VEC moved its administrative headquarters from O'Connell Street to the Athenaeum Building.