Castlebar

Castlebar (Caisle?n 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.

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The town grew up as a settlement around the De Barra 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.

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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.

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Its local Gaelic football team is the Castlebar Mitchels http://www.castlebar.ie/news/cat_index_13.shtml, a club with a proud and illustrious past which is currently struggling to regain its standing amongst the main clubs in Mayo. McHale Park located in Castlebar is one of the major GAA grounds in Connacht with a capacity of 35,000.

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Irish: Irish may refer to:...

County town: A county town is the 'capital' of a county in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county....

County Mayo: County Mayo (Irish: Contae Mhaigh Eo, the plain of the yews) is a county on the west coast of Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht. The county town of Mayo is Castlebar, which is also the largest town. Ballina is the second largest town. Mayo is bordered to the south by Galway, to the east by...