Local history: Castlebar boasted strong middle class in 1900
By Tom Gillespie
CASTLEBAR was described as a ‘relatively comfortable town’ in 1900, with a population of 3,553 and a substantial middle class.
It had been a market town for nearly three centuries and was centred around two symbols of power - the military barracks, built in the late 1830s on the site of the old Castle Barry, and Lawn House, residence of the Earl of Lucan.
As Tom Higgins wrote in his book Through Fagan’s Gates, the capital of Co. Mayo, Castlebar, was a garrison town. The Binghams has ensured it would be a strong military post. The 1798 Rebellion had been crushed by superior military might.
Throughout the 19th century Britain had grown into a great empire and she would quickly deal with any further rebellions.
The military barracks was occupied by a battalion of Connaught Rangers. At the end of the 19th century there were 26,000 Irishmen in the British Army - 12.9% of the total.
In a period when there was very little employment, one of the few options open to young men was to join the army. The British government had between 25,000 and 30,000 troops stationed in Ireland.
As Mayo’s administrative centre, Castlebar housed the county courthouse, jail, lunatic asylum, an infirmary and workhouse. The town was also headquarters of the Congested District Board, a statutory body charged with dividing landlord’s estates among the tenants and improving living conditions in the west of Ireland.
There were also two police barracks, one in Ellison Street and the other in Chapel Street. The county constabulary had been in existence since 1822.
The ‘Peelers’, as they were known, were armed and mounted, so they could be moved to any place where there was trouble. They became very unpopular during the days of the Land League for the part they played in enforcing evictions. A ‘Peeler’ was paid one-shilling-and-six pence a day - three times the wage of a labourer.
In 1898, an Act was passed in the British Parliament establishing County Councils and Urban District Councils. Castlebar became the seat of Castlebar Urban District Council and Mayo County Council.
Previously, local affairs had been the responsibility of the Grand Juries. These were mainly committees of local landlords, and the people had no say in their composition, as the county sheriff chose the members.
They met four times a year to decide what local works, such as road building, needed to be done. They then set a county rate, which all landholders were obliged to pay.
The new local councils which replaced the Grand Juries were to be elected every three years by all eligible male voters of the area - women did not have a vote.
Castlebar Urban District Council took over responsibility for the workhouse until 1918, among other responsibilities, and the government gave an exchequer grant to replace the subvention which the landlords previously paid to this institution.
The first Castlebar Urban District Council election was held in January 1898 and the following members were elected: A.C. Larminie, James Daly, J. Faulkner, M.C. Daly, Michael Quinn, J. Kelly, P. Timlin, E. Joyce, J. Gavin, A. Hynes and G.J. Feeney who became chairman.
The council collected rates to pay for its services. The town estimate for 1901 was £817 5s. 7d., and this was reduced to £663 5s. 7d.
During the first couple of years the chief topics of discussion at meetings were the construction of a water supply, the provision of fire-fighting equipment and providing sewers.
The town river seemed to have been a cause for worry. When a new inspector, Henry Faul, was appointed in May 1901 his first job was to remove a dead pig from the river. Later that year, a request was made to the Area Drainage Board to have the river cleaned.
The town had a weekly market and four fairs a year. Most of the business of the shops was done on market days. A branch of the National Bank had been established in 1836. Lough Lannagh was popular as a fishing amenity for tourists, and was an excellent lake for trout.
There were two newspapers in Castlebar, The Connaught Telegraph and The Mayo Constitution, the former liberal and nationalistic, the latter conservative in outlook.
As a result of the above-named institutions there was a strong middle class in Castlebar, made up of shopkeepers, civil servants and members of the professions who mixed with the landed gentry and military officers to make the town’s social life lively, with concerts, balls and garden parties.
Tennis was a favourite game of the middle class. Any house with the required space could boast a tennis court. House parties went hand-in-hand with tennis afternoons. Family picnics were a regular feature, combined with fishing at Pontoon.
Plays and musical events were held in the newly refurbished town hall. Children’s garden parties were organised, especially during the long winter months, in any of the ‘respectable’ houses where there were young children. Catholic and Protestant children mixed on these occasions where social status overrode religious affiliation.