Castlebar

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Castlebar
Caisleán an Bharraigh

Location

WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates:
53.8608° N 9.29880° W

Irish Grid Reference
M146905

Statistics

49 m

Population (2006)
- Town:
- Rural:

6,184
8,857

Castlebar (Caisleán an Bharraigh in Irish) is the county town of, and at the centre of, County Mayo, Ireland. A campus of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology and the Country Life section of the National Museum of Ireland are two important local amenities. The town is connected by railway to Dublin and the neighbouring Mayo towns of Westport and Ballina. The main route by road is the N5. Its economy is primarily service based. The population at the 2006 census was 15,041 (including rural area).

1 History
2 Culture
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

The modern town grew up as a settlement around the de Barry castle in the 11th century and was later the site of an English garrison. A military barracks operates in the town to this day. Not so surprising then that armed conflict should be the centrepiece of the town's historical heritage. French forces under the command of General Humbert aided a rout of the English garrison in the town during the failed Irish Rebellion of 1798. This was so comprehensive that it would be known as "The Races of Castlebar". A shortlived provisional Republic of Connaught was declared following the victory and John Moore, head of the Mayo United Irishmen and the brother of a local landowner, was declared its president. His remains are today interred in a corner of the town green, known as the Mall. The town received its charter from King James I in 1613 and is today governed by an urban district council, a subdivision of Mayo County Council.

[edit] Culture

It is the location for important festivals and traditions, among which is the International Four Days Walk, when thousands of ramblers take four day excursions exclusively on foot. A well-established blues music festival in venues across the town takes place on the weekend before the first Monday in June each year and the excellent The Linenhall Arts Centre exhibits throughout the year.

Its local Gaelic football team is the Castlebar Mitchels. They are a club with a proud and illustrious past including 27 Mayo championship victories. After a couple of years in the doldrums the club regained its place amongst Mayo's elite senior clubs in 2005. McHale Park located in Castlebar is one of the major Gaelic Athletic Association grounds in Connacht with a capacity of 36,000. The Mayo County board has recently submitted a planning application to increase the capacity to 41,000, which includes a whole new stand to replace the existing one (with dressing rooms and offices underneath) and adding fifteen extra rows of seat to the 'Albany' end. Further development will also lead to the knocking of the press area on the McHale road side and replacing it with a modern press area and TV stand.