The brand-new, state-of-the-art Royal, Castlebar Theatre and Event Centre will open its doors for business within a matter of days. The country’s newest elite large venue has been eagerly anticipated for quite a while and promises to live up to expectations.

The first major event will be a Shayne Ward concert on Saturday August 30^th and a ten performance run of Riverdance starts shortly thereafter.

For almost fifty years, this family-run business has been steadily evolving. The progressive and ambitious approach that has guided the business over the years is now bringing this fantastic new development to the people of the West of Ireland.

Appropriately, one of the three bars in the new venue is going to showcase the rich history of what will become not just the premier venue in Connaught, but one that is able to proudly match any on the island.

Donnacha Roche, Venue and Operations Manager of the Royal, explains “Here in Castlebar, patrons will receive excellent value for money in a uniquely hospitable and Irish atmosphere. At the same time, we will be one of a handful of venues on the island which can and will be able to cater for the biggest acts in the world.

When considering this new project, one of the options was to build a monster venue. However, our research concluded that there is an optimal size of auditorium in terms of customer satisfaction and we favoured that approach. Therefore our capacity for events will have a maximum of nearer 5,000, which is still much bigger than any venue within 125 miles.

In short, we’re going for quality ahead of quantity. Rather than pack in as many bodies as possible, our aim is to ensure that people enjoy themselves in a comfortable and intimate setting. We believe that the person who sits in the back row of one of our events will still have a first-class experience whereas there is no doubt that in bigger venues, members of the audience furthest away from the stage do not enjoy their outing nearly as much as they should. We are determined to create for our customers a product that will encourage them to come back time and time again.”

There is also a huge effect from an economic point of view “On a regular basis, we will have something like 150 persons employed here, not to mention the business being brought to our two hotels; i.e. the TF Royal Hotel and Days Hotel, Castlebar. On top of that, I know that local business such as B&B providers are very pleased that the new venue is ready as they will also hugely benefit.”

Graphic Design and Marketing Executive Gillian Conway added “The Shayne Ward concert is going to be huge. We have deliberately organised a teenage back to school party the night before as a trial run for the new arena, just to give us a look at the venue in action.

We’re really looking forward to the new venue becoming the place to go for top-class entertainment in the West. Figures from the UK have shown that more people attend the theatre than go to Premier League football matches over the course of a year, so the appetite for what we provide remains extremely strong. People love attending live events and to have a facility like ours within such a short distance is a huge boost to the entire Western region.”

Tickets for events at the brand-new Royal can be booked through www.royaltheatre.ie, www.ticketmaster.ie, any ticketmaster outlet nationwide or, for the price of a local call, the box office of the Royal Theatre, Castlebar at 0818 300 000; this number is operational 24/7.

Picture of Graphic Design and Marketing Executive Gillian Conway in the new venue.

For more information, contact

Brian Burke, Marketing Team, Royal Theatre, Castlebar; 094 90 23111 ext. 212; brianburke@royaltheatre.ie or

Donnacha Roche, Venue & Operations Manager, Royal Theatre, Castlebar; 094 90 23111 ext. 207; droche@royaltheatre.ie.