Welcome investment boost imminent for Mayo railway station

by Auld Stock

I AM pleased to see plans are afoot to develop Castlebar railway station as a depot for the transport of goods to Dublin and on to Rosslare harbour, Wexford, from where their cargoes will travel to the continent.

Castlebar railway station was a very busy place in the years after World War 2 when thousands of tons of turf were conveyed to Dublin.

The turf was collected in lorries from bogs all over Mayo. One of the biggest lorries involved in the operation was owned by Mike Gibbons, building contractor, and was known as ‘The Liner’.

Eddie Cusack was foreman over the transport of the turf and amongst the lorry drivers involved in the operation were Mick ‘Muggie’ Dunne, Brose Walsh, John Togher and a chap named Mattimoe from Sligo.

The stationmaster at Castlebar railway station in those years was John Lang whose grandson John, based in Galway, is one of the leading ear, nose and throat surgeons in Europe.

One of the Lang family in Castlebar, Máirtín, joined the priesthood, a fine footballer who played with Castlebar Mitchels.

His mother was a member of one of Castlebar’s oldest families, the Hobans, two of whom, John and Henry, were national school teachers.

John Lang, stationmaster, and his wife were charitable people who were very kind to local people in difficult times.

*As I am on about Castlebar railway station, my best wishes to Noel Hoban who retired some time ago.

Noel was courteous and efficient, and during his time on the job the station won a number of awards for the cleanliness and overall presentation of the building.