At the Rainbow’s end on Castle Street

By Tom Gillespie

THIS photograph above of the lounge in the Rainbow Bar on Castle Street, Castlebar, brings back many happy and fond memories for me.

In the 1970s it was one of the most popular pubs in the county town and was run by Nat and Dolores Ruane.

Nat had returned from the UK, where he was a taxi driver in Coventry, and told the story of once bringing comedian/magician Tommy Cooper to a theatre. At the end of the journey Tommy slipped something into Nat’s hand and squeezed his fist closed, telling him to have a drink on him. On opening his fist Nat found a teabag.

The Rainbow, later Stalky’s, was a haven for anglers and many travelled annually from the UK to fish the trout-rich lakes of Mayo.

Along with my father, Dick Gillespie, we organised several fishing competitions on Lough Conn for the overseas visitors.

The prize-giving ceremonies took place in the Rainbow, with special prizes for the visiting and local anglers.

Nat and Dolores’s daughter, Donna, now a leading light in musical societies across Mayo, cut her singing teeth in the Rainbow, where she usually sang 'The Cliffs of Duneen' - much to the appreciation of the customers. And their son, Kevin, now resident in Boston, was also a popular young lad in the pub.

Stephen Minogue, complete with black bow tie, was master of ceremonies in the Rainbow and introduced acts and visitors from the small stage. His party piece was to sing ‘Cool, Clear Water’.

Nat, a native of Breaffy, was also a member of the organising committee of the now famed Castlebar International Song Contest which ran from 1966 to 1988.

In the lead up and during the October song contest week, many of the participants visited and enjoyed the hospitality at the Rainbow.

It was a meeting place for song contest director John Mac Hale, who was editor of The Connaught Telegraph and secretary of Castlebar Chamber of Commerce - the organisers of the song contest, compere Mike Murphy, producer Tom McGrath, and myself as song contest secretary.

Likewise, the pub was a watering hole for the bevy of national journalists and columnists sent to cover the song contest event, which was the second richest in prize money in the world.

Darts played a major part of the activities in the Rainbow and many highly successful competitions were staged which attracted a huge following and the prize-giving ceremonies always resulted in a ‘full house’.

Likewise, pool competitions during the winter period always attracted a large entry.

When Nat retired he started a door-to-door vegetable service with the produce coming from his Breaffy farm, and many of his former Rainbow customers availed of the weekly deliveries.