Judge to launch extensive history on former jails of Mayo

An esteemed Mayo historian has completed his second book on 'Castlebar Prison and The Bridewells of County Mayo'.

The launch of Dr. Michael O’Connor's book takes place upstairs at Bridge St., Castlebar, on Tuesday, November 25, at 8 p.m., to which everybody is welcome to attend.

Castlebar Prison opened its doors to prisoners in February 1835.

Designed by Frederick Darley and built by Galway contractor Denis Clarke, the imposing grey limestone Gothic-style structure served as the Mayo County Prison for eighty-four years.

The prison complex dominated the townland of Knockaphunta until 1866, when a new lunatic asylum, designed by George Wilkinson, was erected beside it.

Castlebar Prison was an architecturally pleasing addition to the streetscape but harboured fatal design flaws.

For this and other reasons, the Prison ceased to be a place of detention within the prison system in 1919.

Between 1919 and 1924, it played a prominent role in the War of Independence and the Civil War as a military detention centre and barracks.

After a decade of debate about its future, it was demolished between 1932 and 1935.

The government did not approve a scheme to convert the former Prison to a new central hospital, so Mayo County Council opted to demolish it and build a new hospital on the site.

The history of Castlebar Prison reflects the turbulent and at times terrible history of Ireland during the period 1835 to 1932.

It played a central role in the Famine, the Fenian Rising, the Land War and the 1916 Rebellion.

Between these events, the Prison was one of the economic engines at the heart of the Castlebar economy and an integral part of the county’s justice system.

Using extensive archival material from repositories in Ireland, Britain, and the United States, the book tells the story of Castlebar Prison, the associated Prison Bridewells at Ballina, Ballinrobe, Belmullet, Swinford and Westport, and the people who worked in and were incarcerated in these institutions.

The experiences of the many women, children and those suffering from mental disorders who were committed to the Prison are considered.

The book contains a detailed account of prison accommodation, prison life for officers and prisoners, meals and dining arrangements, sanitary facilities, education, religion, and health services.

Using criminal returns, census and other data, the book presents the first-ever in-depth analysis of the mass criminalisation of starving and desperate people in County Mayo during the Famine and the role the Prison played in the detention of those awaiting trial, and afterwards serving sentences, awaiting transportation or a worse fate.

Those convicted at spring and summer assizes in the period 1845 to 1852 are detailed, together with analysis and accompanying charts, showing admissions, convictions, and the nature of crimes across the period and in later decades.

The book also addresses the issue of mortality in public institutions in Mayo, including the Prison, during the Famine and explores why the Prison was considered a place of refuge notwithstanding overcrowding and rampant disease.

The publication of the book marks the conclusion of a decade of research by Dr. Michael O’Connor on the seven prisons and many bridewells of County Mayo.

It is a major genealogical reference work, supported by sources clearly set out that provide the names and details of thousands of men, women, and children who passed through the Prison’s doors.

The book will be officially launched by Judge John O’Connor.