Cache of old newspapers found in church

A cache of old local newspapers from the 1930s, including now yellowing copies of The Connaught Telegraph, have been discovered in the former Catholic church in the grounds of the old St. Mary's Hospital in Castlebar, writes Tom Shiel.

The discovery was made by workmen from construction firm Mountain View Securities (MVS) during an operation to remove the altar from the 145-year-old building, which is now defunct as a place of worship.

The stash isn't believed to have any major historical significance nor – as originally believed – was it an attempt by individuals to provide a 'time capsule' of information for future generations about happenings in Mayo in the early 1930s.

James McTigue, a co-director of MVS, who examined the papers, said there had been quite an amount of them and they had been forwarded to Ivor Hamrock of Mayo County Library for examination.

Mr. Hamrock said it was clear the 'hoard' had been deposited randomly and was not significant in terms of historical value. Copies of the newspapers discovered are already held on microfilm at the library.

The church at St. Mary's was built in 1870 on the grounds of the old sanatorium for the purposes of providing Mass for staff and patients. The oratory is now redundant as a place of worship.

Works are in progress to turn the structure into a lecture hall and library, part of the GMIT complex.