Editing Castlebar (section)

==History==
===Anquity===
The 5th century saw the construction of [[Turlough Abbey]] near Castlebar.

===Medieval period===
In the early medieval period, the Castlebar area was dominated by Gaelic clans, notably the Quinns (Ó Coinn), who lent their name to the parish of Aglishcowane, meaning "Church of Ó Coinn". The area featured crannogs and ringforts, indicative of early settlement patterns.<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=The Normans |url=https://castlebarstreetnames.weebly.com/the-normans.html |website= |location= |publisher= |access-date=21 May 2025}}</ref>

[[Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland|The Norman invasion of Ireland]] in the late 12th century brought significant changes. By 1235, the invading de Barra (Barry) family had established a castle on the banks of the Castlebar River, around which the town developed. This castle, known as Caisleán an Bharraigh, gave the town its name. The de Barra's stronghold later came under the control of the de Burgo (Burke) family, who faced challenges from other clans and English forces.<ref name="Hoban">{{cite web |last=Hoban |first=Brian |date= |title=Castlebar Town A Brief History  |url=https://castlebarchamber.wordpress.com/history/?utm_source=chatgpt.com |website= |location= |publisher= |access-date=21 May 2025}}</ref> The castle was located at the end of Castle Street, where the town river is thought to have originally flowed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://castlebarstreetnames.weebly.com/castle-street.html|title=Castle Street|publisher=The Street Names of Castlebar|access-date=26 November 2023}}</ref>

In 1586, Sir John Bingham was granted the castle by his brother Sir [[Richard Bingham (soldier)|Richard Bingham]], the Governor of Connacht, marking the beginning of English administrative influence and the start of the [[Bingham baronets]] of Castlebar, who would rule Castlebar for generations.<ref name="Hoban"/><ref name="irishhistory.com">{{cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=History of Castlebar, Co. Mayo |url=https://www.irishhistory.com/connacht/co-mayo/castlebar/history-of-castlebar-co-mayo/?utm_source=chatgpt.com |website= |location= |publisher= |access-date=21 May 2025}}</ref>

The town was granted a charter of incorporation in 1613 by [[James VI and I|James I of England]]. Under the charter the town had a [[portreeve]] (mayor) and a fifteen-member corporation and was entitled to elect two members to the [[Parliament of Ireland]].<ref>{{cite web
| url          = https://www.mayo-ireland.ie/en/towns-villages/castlebar/history/castlebar-historical-fact.html
| title        = A Summary of the History of Castlebar in Co. Mayo
| last         = Hoban
| first        = Brian
| date         = 
| website      = Mayo Ireland
| publisher    = Mayo Ireland
| access-date  = 9 April 2023
| quote        = }}</ref>

===18th Century===
The [[Linenhall Arts Centre|Linen Hall]], established as a clearing house for local linen materials, was completed in 1790.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/31209038/the-linen-hall-linenhall-street-knockthomas-castlebar-mayo  |title=The Linen Hall, Linenhall Street, Knockthomas, Castlebar, County Mayo|publisher=National Inventory of Architectural Heritage|access-date=26 November 2023}}</ref>

====Races of Castlebar====
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| image1 = Castlebar Races WynneC.jpg
| image2 = Green harp flag of Ireland.svg
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| caption1 = Print depicting the "[[Castlebar Races]]" of 1798
| caption2 = Following the Races of Castlebar, Castlebar became apart of the short-lived "[[Republic of Connacht]]"
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Armed conflict has been the centrepiece of the town's historical heritage. French forces under the command of General [[Jean Joseph Amable Humbert|Jean Humbert]] aided in a rout of the British garrison in the town during the failed [[Irish Rebellion of 1798]], which was so comprehensive it would later be known as "The [[battle of Castlebar|Races of Castlebar]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irishidentity.com/stories/castlebarraces.htm|title=The Rising in the West|website=www.irishidentity.com|access-date=24 January 2013|archive-date=19 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019210822/http://www.irishidentity.com/stories/castlebarraces.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> A short-lived provisional [[Irish Republic (1798)|Irish Republic]] had been declared upon General Humbert's arrival at Killala. Following the victory at Castlebar [[John Moore (Irish politician)|John Moore]], head of the Mayo [[United Irishmen]] and the brother of a local landowner, was declared president of the Province of Connacht. His remains are today interred in a corner of the town green, known as the Mall<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.patrickcomerford.com/2010/06/remembering-1798-in-castlebar.html|title=Remembering 1798 in Castlebar|first=Patrick|last=Comerford|access-date=10 November 2019|archive-date=10 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191110125000/http://www.patrickcomerford.com/2010/06/remembering-1798-in-castlebar.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===19th century===
[[File:Main Street, Castlebar, Co. Mayo (5785938352).jpg|thumb|Castlebar, circa 1880]]
[[Castlebar Military Barracks]] was established in 1834:<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.mayo-ireland.ie/en/towns-villages/castlebar/history/historical-tour.html|title=Historical tour of Castlebar|publisher=Mayo, Ireland|access-date=8 December 2015}}</ref> it was finally closed in March 2012 and the buildings and grounds have been purchased by the local town and county councils.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/barracks-closures-will-see-500-redeployed-1.12500|title=Barracks closures will see 500 redeployed|publisher=Irish Times|date=  17 November 2011| access-date=8 December 2015}}</ref>

During the mid-19th Century (including the period of the [[Great Irish famine]]), [[George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan]] became known as "The Exterminator" for his ruthless actions against his tenants in the Castlebar area. The third Lord Lucan earned his nickname by carrying out mass evictions of tenants who were unable to pay rent. This period saw widespread starvation in the area, leading to the deaths of thousands and the emigration of many more. In contrast, the fourth Earl was a more favourable figure locally. He lowered rents, donated land for schools and the Catholic church, and his successor, [[George Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan]], gifted the town centre park, known as the Mall, to the people of Castlebar in 1922.

The [[Irish National Land League]] was founded by [[Michael Davitt]], of [[Straide]] in County Mayo, at the Imperial Hotel in Castlebar on 21 October 1879.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mayonews.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9788:council-should-purchase-land-league-hotel&Itemid=51|publisher=The Mayo News| title = Council should purchase Land League hotel |website=www.mayonews.ie|access-date=10 November 2019|archive-date=29 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029081201/https://www.mayonews.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9788:council-should-purchase-land-league-hotel&Itemid=51|url-status=live}}</ref> The Land League sought to directly challenge Anglo-Irish landlords such as the Binghams and fought for tenants rights.

===20th century===
====Western Hat Factory and Little Jerusalem====
In 1939, Castlebar became a refuge for [[Emigration of Jews from Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe|Jews escaping Central Europe]].<ref name="CT 1 May 2023">{{cite news |last=Gillespie |first=Tom |date=1 May 2023 |title=Castlebar’s hat factory 80 years on |url=https://www.con-telegraph.ie/2021/05/01/castlebars-hat-factory-80-years-on/ |work=[[Connaught Telegraph]] |location= |publisher= |access-date=21 May 2025}}</ref><ref name="Forward 2017">{{cite news |last=Cawley Weintraub |first=Elaine |date=23 February 2017 |title=The Secret Jewish History of Penicillin |url=https://forward.com/community/364076/the-secret-jewish-history-of-penicillin/ |work=[[Forward.com]] |location= |publisher= |access-date=21 May 2025}}</ref><ref name="Kenny 2023">{{cite news |last=Kenny |first=Tom |date=20 July 2023 |title=The Hat Factory |url=https://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/136626/the-hat-factory |work=[[Galway Advertiser]] |location= |publisher= |access-date=21 May 2025}}</ref><ref name="Katz 2019">{{cite news |last=Katz |first=Deborah |date=25 July 2019 |title=Little-Known Holocaust History: Marcus Witztum: ‘The Irish Schindler’ |url=https://www.jewishpress.com/sections/features/little-known-holocaust-history-marcus-witztum-the-irish-schindler/2019/07/25/ |work=[[Jewish Press]] |location= |publisher= |access-date=21 May 2025}}</ref> Members of that community established the Western Hat Factory, officially opened on 1 May 1940<ref name="CT 17 May 2020"/> under the direction of Franz Schmolka, a Slovakian Jewish industrialist. The factory became one of the most significant employers in the town, at its height providing work for up to 270 people. It operated entirely on turf-generated steam and was considered a pioneering model of sustainable, locally-powered industry for its time.<ref name="CT 1 May 2023"/> The [[Bishop of Galway]] [[Michael Browne (bishop of Galway)|Michael Browne]] blessed the factory and encouraged local Catholic women to purchase hats from the factory to wear to mass instead of headscarves.<ref name="Forward 2017"/>

The factory was part of a broader effort by the Irish government, led by then-Minister for Industry and Commerce [[Seán Lemass]], to attract Jewish refugees with industrial expertise to revitalise Ireland's underdeveloped western counties. Schmolka and Irish Jewish businessman Marcus Witztum, along with other Jewish entrepreneurs from Austria, France, and Czechoslovakia, were granted permission to relocate both personnel and equipment to Ireland.<ref name="CT 17 May 2020">{{cite news |last= |first= |date=17 May 2020 |title=John Eddie McEllin was driving force behind Western Hats factory  |url=https://www.con-telegraph.ie/2020/05/17/john-eddie-mcellin-was-driving-force-behind-western-hats-factory/ |work=[[Connaught Telegraph]] |location= |publisher= |access-date=21 May 2025}}</ref> Witztum used the oppertunity to helps Jews escape Nazi persecultion.<ref name="Katz 2019"/> Around thirty Jewish families came to Castlebar during this period, many of whom settled in the Blackfort area on the Newport Road. This neighbourhood became informally known as “Little Jerusalem”.<ref name="CT 1 May 2023"/><ref name="Forward 2017"/><ref name="CT 17 May 2020"/>

Following the end of [[World War II]], the Jewish population in Castlebar began to decline. Some families returned to continental Europe, while others moved to Dublin or emigrated elsewhere.<ref name="Forward 2017"/>

The hat factory continued to operate until the 1980s, remaining a central part of Castlebar’s industrial landscape for over four decades. The Factory provided stable employment for local families and was a major contributor to the town’s post-war economy. The factory produced a range of high-quality felt hats, many of which were exported abroad. During its peak years in the 1940s and 1950s, the factory employed up to 270 workers. The technical expertise of the founders, combined with local labour and raw materials such as turf and wool, made the factory a rare success story in a region otherwise beset by emigration and limited industrial development.<ref name="CT 1 May 2023"/><ref name="Forward 2017"/>

By the 1970s, however, changing fashion trends, global competition, and the decline of the felt hat industry led to a gradual downturn in business.<ref name="Kenny 2023"/> In 1981 the Western Hat Factory closed its doors.<ref>{{cite news |last=McGovern |first=Oisin |date=30 October 2023 |title=Calls to take Castlebar hat factory into state ownership |url=https://www.mayonews.ie/news/home/1335830/calls-to-take-castlebar-hat-factory-into-state-ownership.html |work=[[Mayo News]] |location= |publisher= |access-date=21 May 2025 |quote=The now-derelict factory operated for 42 years on the Newport Road before closing in 1981.}}</ref>