Huge exodus from Mayo county town centre

By Tom Gillespie

A FEW years ago in my County Town column I featured Castlebar travel agent Fergus Kilkelly, who recalled that in the 1950s there were 195 residents living on Main Street. Employed on the street were 160 full-time workers in 49 retail outlets, not counting the owners of the business, who usually resided over their premises.

Today maybe 75 per cent would be part-time employees and just four still live upstairs.

For many years The Connaught Telegraph had the contract from the Stationary Office to print the Draft Register of Electors, for Mayo County Council, for the Mayo West and Mayo South Constituencies.

It was a huge and painstaking but lucrative process and involved an extremely high level of accurate proof reading. A final proof had to be submitted to the Rates Office of the council, which at that time was located in the military barracks and at a time with Paddy Fahey was county secretary.

My colleague in The Connaught Telegraph, Frank Burke, would have set up the type on a linotype machine for the register.

By chance, while clearing out his attic, he came across the draft register for Castlebar which was in force from April 15, 1984, to April 14, 1985, and had a population of 4,668 eligible to vote.

The 100-page document gives an eerie insight into how the population trends in the different streets in the county town have changed in 38 years, particularly on Market Street, Bridge Street, Castle Street and Brownville Flats, which have long since been demolished.

Older Castlebar residents will recall most of the families who resided on Main Street - Bridge Street/Market Street.

In Market Street there were 57 registered to vote: Thomas Baynes, Mrs. Annie M. Baynes, Agustus Bourke, John Bourke, Mary Bourke, Margaret Bourke, Mrs. Nora Bourke, Anne Bourke, Mary Cafferkey, Jarlath Campbell, Mrs. Nora Campbell, Vincent Campbell, Maureen Campbell, Paul Cathy, Mrs. Masie Carthy, Gerry Carthy, Paul Carthy (Jnr.), John Carthy, Nancy Dyar, Patrick Fahey, Mrs. Annie Fahey, Sandra Heverin, Michael Heverin, Rhona Heverin, Robert Kilkelly, Carmel Langan, Anne McEllin, Donal McEllin, Pauline McGing, Eileen Moran, Kathleen Murtagh, Michael Murtagh, Seamus Murtagh, Monica Murtagh, John Murtagh, Sally O’Connell, Kathleen O’Donnell, Mrs. Elizabeth Parsons, Elizabeth Parsons (Jnr.), Mary Parsons, Patrick Quinn, Rita Quinn, Deirdre Quinn, Patrick Quinn (Jnr.), James Rowland, Ann Rowland, Margaret Rowland, Jimmy Staunton, Pat Staunton, Ita Staunton, John Staunton (Jnr.), Thomas Staunton, Ita Staunton (Jnr.), Pauline Staunton, Joan Staunton, Martin Sweeney and Mary Sweeney.

On the other end of the street - Bridge Street - there were 53 registered to vote: Anthony Baynes, Mrs. Margaret Baynes, Frank Baynes, Anthony G. Baynes, Shelia Baynes, Michael Baynes, Carmine Cafolla, Isobel Cafolla, Joseph Connolly, Patrick Connolly, William Connolly, Mrs. Mary Connolly, John Connolly, Maura Connolly, Bernice Mary Connolly, Pat Hoban, Gretta Hoban, James Hoban, Alan Hoban, Loretta Hoban, Martin Hoban, Bernadette Hoban, Teresa Hunter, Martin Hynes, Anne Hynes, Patrick Hynes, Martin Hyland, Mrs. Peggy Hynes, Marie Jennings, Annie Kenny, Claire Kenny, Noel Kenny, Mollie Lavelle, Frank McDonnell, Elizabeth McDonnell, Frank McDonnell, Mrs. Frank McDonnell, Masie McHugh, Michael McHugh, Mary McHugh, Noreen McMahon, Mark Mandel, Derek Mandel, Mrs. Margaret Mandel, Nora Mandel, Rory O’Connor, Kathleen O’Donnell, Shelia O’Donnell, Michael Ruane, Breege Ruane, William Scott and Andra Scott.

Browneville Flats is now a car park at the rear of Staunton’s Pharmacy, but once it was a three-storey block of flats. It was burned down in the 1960s and rebuilt and in April 1985 there were 22 residents who were eligible to vote in any upcoming election.

Resident there were: Michael Barrett, George Carney, Breege Chambers, Mary Chambers. Mary Chambers, Margaret Collins, Ann Collins, Kathleen Cunningham, Nora Davitt, Mrs. Mary P. Gaughan, Richard Heraty, Mrs. Richard Heraty, Mrs. Mary King, Christopher Mohan, Mrs. McDonagh, Mary McDonagh, Breege McManamon, Nora McMananon, Frank Reilly, Kathleen Sammon and Nora Sammon.

At the time of writing there were just four residents remaining on Main Street - three on Parsons’ side and one on the other.

Castle Street, probably the oldest street in the county town, has seen a dramatic change in residential occupancy since 1984 when there were almost 100 Over 18s living in the narrow lane which in the past led up to the De Burgo castle.

The first castle was built in around 1235 by the De Barrie family who gave their name to the town and their castle to the street. They came with the De Burgos after the Norman invasion and settled here for a short while.

The first mention of the castle in the Annals of Connacht is 1412 when it was burnt by a rival clan. There were many battles over the castle between the O’Connors, Fitzgeralds, the Burkes and others.

In 1585 ‘The Composition of Connaught’, signed by Elizabeth I, gave the territory of Burriscarra - Carra and the castle at Castlebar to Edmund Burke Bingham and the castle was sold to his brother John for 100 cows and £5. Some historians believe that Castle Street is in fact the oldest street in the town as it was a walkway from the castle.

Today, excluding flat dwellers, there is, I believe, just one local family - Vaheys - still resident on the street. The historic Erris Hotel is now flat land.

According to the 1984 register those eligible to vote in Castle Street were: Patrick Beirne, Mrs. Annie Beirne, Mary Biggins, Nora Cleary, Geraldine Clifford, Thomas Collins, Teresa Collins, Mary Collins, Tom Collins, Ann Conway, Michael Conway, Mrs. Nancy Conway, Ann Conway, Brian Conway, Mary Conway, Kevin Conway, Bernadette Concannon, Bridget B. Corley, Ann Matre Corley, Mary Cosgrave, Julia Donoghue, Ann Durkan, Cait Fallon, Kathleen Fallon, Paddy Farrell, Mrs. Ellen Farrell, Ailish Farrell, Pamela Farrell, Evelyn Farragher, Mary Flynn, Margaret Gallagher, Marian Gallagher, Mary Gillard, Phyllis Ginty, Michael Grennan, Kathleen Grennan, Eileen Heneghan, James Hennigan, Rose Heverin, Maureen Heverin, Kathleen Kelly, Teresa Kenny, Mary Kenny, Sean Kilcoyne, Mrs. Teresa Kilcoyne, Mary Kilcoyne, Majella Kilcoyne, Paul Kilcoyne, Mary Lavelle, Pat Lavelle, Rita Lavelle, Mary Leneghan, Edward Ludden, Breda McAndrew, Evan McAndrew, Joseph McDonnell, Mrs. Mary McDonnell, Geraldine McDonnell, Kathleen McDonagh, Thomas McGowan, Mary McGowan, Bridget McGreal, Rita McGreal, Bridie McNicholas, Della McNicholas, Richard Meaney, Josie Monaghan, Edward Morrison, Evelyn Mulloy, Tony Mulhall, Maria Mulheen, Shelia Murphy, Vincent Murphy, Elizabeth Murphy, Julie Murray, Mary Naughton, Iilish Nally, Carmel O’Brien, Mary O’Connor, Michael O’Connor, Josephine O’Reilly, Mrs. Joyce Prendergast, Gerrardine Rowland, Mary Ruane, Rosaleen Tonra, Jimmy Vahey, Michael Vahey, Mrs. Teresa Vahey, Mary Walsh, Brian Walsh, Ann Varley, Vincent Ward, Annette Warde and Helen Waldron.