Decentralisation to Castlebar took place 48 years ago
By Tom Gillespie
FORTY-eight years this month (June 28, 1976), then Taoiseach Liam Cosgrove was in Castlebar to perform the official opening of the £1m. Department of Lands headquarters (Davitt House).
He was accompanied by Minister for Lands Tom Fitzpatrick and guests included former Fianna Fáil government minister Michael O’Morain, who mooted the decentralisation nine years earlier in 1967.
Mr. Cosgrove, after turning the key in the new headquarters for divisions of the Land Commission and Forestry and Wildlife Services, which had moved out of Dublin, unveiled a plaque in memory of Michael Davitt.
The complex was named the Michael Davitt Building in honour of the Land League founder who was born in Straide in 1846.
According to a front page report in The Connaught Telegraph of June 30, 1976, with the headline ‘Move west completed’, 120 female civil servants were employed in the building, erected on a 13-acre site purchased from Castlebar Urban Council.
The newspaper said they were to be joined early in spring 1977 by a further 40 who were in training.
Addressing the gathering, in brilliant sunshine, the Taoiseach indicated the government was in favour of decentralisation.
He said: "The government favours the concept of decentralisation of departments and steps are at present being taken for the transfer of certain sections of the Department of Education to Athlone. The new offices now being constructed there will be ready for occupation as early as possible next year.
"In addition, arrangements for the location of sections of the Department of the Gaeltacht in Na Forbacha in Co. Galway are at the planning stage and consideration is being given to the most economic means of providing a suitable building there."
The Minister for Lands, Mr. Fitzpatrick, said it was a happy augury for the future that this pilot experiment was manned by volunteer staff who had freely forsaken Dublin in favour of Castlebar.
He added: "As a dweller in the countryside I do not have to be told the advantages of life in the country away from the strain and turmoil of city living.
"Indeed, there seems to be a growing awareness of the benefits to be gained from the tranquillity and peace of country living.
"I have noticed in recent times that more and more people working in towns are inclined to establish homes out a fair distance in the country, sometimes a considerable distance from their place of work."
He continued: "I feel many city dwellers will soon realise the advantages of provincial living. Perhaps we have the first instalment today."
Frank Durcan, chairman, Castlebar Urban Council, performing his last official function as chairman, welcomed the move to the town.
Of the three speakers it was interesting to note that Mr. Durcan (Fine Gael), in his address, did not refer to Mr. Michael O’Morain’s part in the decentralisation.
Both Mr. Cosgrove and Mr. Fitzpatrick acknowledged the part played by Mr. O’Morain in the campaign.
Mr. Durcan commented that it appeared the town is in the field for a larger employment industry.
He assured the new arrivals: "We will do our best to enable the transferred officials settle down in Castlebar in comfort, peace and happiness so that the fullest measure of success may be attained by this pilot experiment in decentralisation."
Since 1976 hundreds of staff have worked in Davitt House, one of the largest employers in the county town. The building has been extensively enlarged and modernised, with a new entrance added in recent times.
A report in The Connaught Telegraph on the acquisition of the site said the building would consist of two two-storey office blocks totalling 3,000 square feet, to be named Michael Davitt House.
Following the opening a further 120 civil servants attached to the local offices of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries - who were housed in the Military Barracks - and the Revenue Commissioners moved into the offices.
The Intreo service of the Department of Social Protection is the most recent to be added to the many departments operating from Davitt House.
Intreo is a single point of contact for all employment and income supports.
The areas covered by Intreo are Castlebar and surrounding areas including Turlough, Ballyvary, Balla, Belcarra, Ballintubber, Mayo Abbey, Ballyglass, Carnacon, Islandeady, Straide, Glenisland and Glenhest.
Davitt House, off the Breaffy Road and Station Road, also houses the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine.
Also located there is the Garda Information Services Centre (GISC), a contact centre for operational members of An Garda Síochána.
GISC was established on a pilot basis in September 2005 and rolled out nationally by October 2006.
When Davitt House was being constructed great care was taken not to disturb what was believed to be a fairy fort which is located at the back of the building, facing MacHale Park.