Mayo memories: A stroll down historic Ellison Street

By Tom Gillespie

ELLISON Street in Castlebar has changed dramatically over the years.

It was once one of the busiest streets in the county town when Josie Bourke’s garage was in operation. It was located where John O’Donnell’s Chemist and Mongey Opticians now carry on business and the garage stretched down Cavendish Lane as far as the old brewery field.

A full complement of mechanics, clerical staff and salesmen worked in the garage, which had the franchise for Ford vehicles, Humber bicycles and B.S.A. motorbikes.

The front man of the operation was Paddy ‘Butty’ Kitterick from Spencer Street, who was in charge of the petrol pumps (pictured above). A man of slight height, he was one of the town’s most respected and loved characters.

Before joining Bourke’s he was the proprietor of a pub on Spencer Street and later ran a very successful hackney service and was also a lollipop man with the Urban District Council.

Paddy O’Malley from Tucker Street was in charge of bicycle sales.

As The Connaught Telegraph offices were next door we had daily encounters with ‘Butty’ and his colleagues.

Vehicles taken in for repair entered through a side entrance on Cavendish Lane, opposite to the gate into Seamus Chambers' yard with Chambers House to the front, which was once an RIC barracks.

The narrow lane was always a bottleneck as it could only accommodate one vehicle at a time so there were tensions at times between the garage, Mr. Chambers and The Connaught Telegraph.

The Connaught Telegraph was originally located at the top of Cavendish Lane, where the Permanent TSB is now sited, where my grandfather Thomas H. Gillespie ran the newspaper and printing business.

The Bourkes also had a large red storage shed below the Connaught Telegraph and between that and the town river was a scrap yard for abandoned vehicles.

There was a narrow pathway leading to the river and along McCormack’s field to the wooden bridge over the river at Brett’s Lane.

Opposite the garage was a small sweet shop, with a step down into it, run by Ciss Condon, where Paddy Durcan later had his solicitor’s offices. If I remember correctly, Ciss closed the shop after it was robbed.

Next to her, Dermot Fahey ran a radio and electrical shop. Dr. Richard Tobin was located on the street, as were Irwin gents outfitters and tailors and Garvey, Smith & Flanagan Solicitors and Jack Cahill Solicitor. These buildings are now being demolished.

On the corner with the Mall was McCormack’s Brothers Builders - Jimmy, Joe and Ger. They also had a yard off Market Square where Dunnes Stores are located.

At the junction of Castle and Ellison Streets was Peter Dever’s grocery shop, which was later demolished to widen the entrance to Castle Street.

The town’s jail was once located in that building.

Next to it was Beckett’s shop, which was run by Bruce Plunkett who later worked as a barman in Paddy Hoban’s with Tom Corr on Main Street. Beckett’s building is now occupied by Eddie Egan Jewellers.

Opposite Peter Dever’s was John Heneghan’s pharmacy. He was an independent member of Castlebar Urban Council for 17 years and served as chairman on two occasions. His late son Brendan was also a member and chairman of the authority.

Next door was The Irish House where Robert Kilkelly ran a thriving travel agency and hardware store which was established in 1904. Next to that was a drapery shop run by Padraig Flynn’s father, later the Wimpy Bar, Heverin Photography and now the Irish House public house.

Opposite was Langan’s, one of the largest drapery businesses in the town, which was spread over two floors, later Heaton’s and now Sports Direct, and next door to which was Vincent Irwin’s butcher shop, again with a step down to enter the building with its sawdust-strewn floor.

Tansey’s public house (now Dealz) was a very busy location as the two sisters, Jessie Kelly and Sammy Duignan, who ran it, also operated the bus stop in the town. Back then a large variety of goods were transported by bus, including boxes of live baby day-old chickens and on a Thursday morning that week’s Connaught Telegraph was dispatched by bus to various locations around the county.

There was a snug inside the front door which was ‘reserved’ for regulars only.

Bourke’s of Maryland had petrol pumps and a bicycle shop close to Tansey’s. The now closed Ulster Bank is on the site that used to be a cinema but that was before my time.

The National Bank, later the Bank of Ireland, had moved from beside the Imperial Hotel on the Mall to Ellison Street.

Ellison Street was named after Reverend Dr. Thomas Ellison. Dr. Ellison, after studying at Trinity College, became rector of the Protestant Church, Magistrate of Castlebar and also land agent for Lord Lucan, making him both loved and loathed by the various citizens of the town.

The family moved to Mayo from England in the middle of the 17th century. Thomas Ellison was in Killala at the time of the French landings during the rebellion of 1798 and the family moved away by the end of the 19th century.

The Castlebar House Survey published in 1842 shows that this street was home to the more wealthy inhabitants, with mostly private residences and offices (Valuation Office House Books, 1842). Dr. Ellison resided on this street.

Beside the old post office was Brady’s shop, with hackney driver and musician Billy Newell and Burleigh House where dentist O’Brien resided.