To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the opening of Castlebar Railway Station a ceremony will be held on Sunday December 16th with the unveiling of a memorial by An Taoiseach Mr.Enda Kenny T.D.

The Mayor of Castlebar, Brendan Heneghan will be in attendance as will Anne Elliott, Stationmaster, Iarnród Éireann and MC for the occasion will be Halt Keeper Noel Hoban.

RAILWAY STATION TO CELEBRATE 150 YEARS

CASTLEBAR STATION circa 1880 Wynne Collection

by Brían Hoban.

The first railway in Ireland the Dublin-Kingstown route was opened in 1834, with the first train to the west opened in 1851 to Galway. Within a year in 1852 a meeting was called in Castlebar, with a view of opening a route to Mayo, The main promoters were Lord Lucan , Lord Oranmore and the Marquis of Sligo. Over the years several routes were proposed to extend the Athlone to Sligo, Westport and Ballina, but it was not until 1859 that an agreed route was chosen to Castlebar. The extension to Castlebar was eventually opened on December 17th 1862.

The line over the years was known as "The Mayo Branch", but in the earlier years was known as "Lord Lucan's Railway". George Charles Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan was a British soldier, remembered for his part in the Crimean War. George Charles resigned from the army in 1831 to develop his Mayo Estate. During the famine years there were mass evictions from his estate to make way farming of dairy cattle.

In 1854 England declared war on Russia and Lucan resumed his military career, playing a leading role in the battle of Balaclava. He returned Castlebar in 1855 and concentrated on the development of the railway to Mayo, with a view of accessing the British markets with his produce. The line was more successful in exporting people as emigrants than exporting cattle. A plaque was unveiled in April 2012 to remember emigrants from Castlebar including those who perished aboard the Titanic.

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the opening a ceremony will be held on Sunday December 16th with the unveiling of a memorial by An Taoiseach Mr.Enda Kenny T.D. The Mayor of Castlebar, Brendan Heneghan will be in attendance as will Anne Elliott, Stationmaster, Iarnród Éireann and MC for the occasion will be Halt Keeper Noel Hoban.

The last goods train from this station was in.1976; however since that time the station has been upgraded and has won several awards as Ireland's tidiest station. The Dublin line has been upgraded and an extra service to Dublin will be introduced in the New Year.