Closure of Castlebar Bacon Factory is still bemoaned
MUCH has been written by myself and others about the closure of Castlebar bacon factory, writes Johnny Mee.
Many local people maintain the industrial life of Castlebar has never fully recovered since its closure.
The factory’s first secretary was Thomas H. Gillespie, editor and proprietor of The Connaught Telegraph.
One of the first managers of the factory was George Boyden, grandfather of George O’Malley, veterinary surgeon, Mountain View, Castlebar. The Boyden Cup, played at Castlebar Golf Club, is a very popular competition.
I hope in the near future to publish short snippets of some of the men and women who worked in the factory and hopefully they will serve as a reminder of the factory’s great days.
Two great characters in the bacon factory were Brianie McAlpine and his son Mick from Moneen. Four of the drivers in the factory were Jack Denning (I can still hear his crisp Cavan accent), Tommy Conway (with his Ronald Coleman looks), Dermot Coady (a stalwart supporter of Galway’s football team) and ‘Boston’ Bennett, a smashing footballer in his younger days, as strong as a horse.
Other drivers in the factory were John Scully, Jimmy Foy, Joe Dunne, John Dunne, Tony Ludden, John Togher, Michael Gavin, Tommy Byrne, one of Mayo’s finest goalkeepers, whose grandson Rory now plays in goal for Castlebar Mitchels.
I remember with sadness the closure of the bacon factory and Jimmy Foy, a man with a keen sense of humour, remarking to me that things were so downbeat at the factory that even the seagulls were bringing their own lunch boxes. Those of us who were familiar with the bacon factory remember the huge flocks of seagulls descending at the plant on the days of the ‘kill’.
Many staff members of the bacon factory worked all their lives in the industry. They included Larry Burke, Springfield, who spent 50 years in the factory, and Evelyn Darker, St. Patrick’s Avenue (formerly McDonnell, Newport Road), worked for 55 years in the factory without ever missing a day.