In Reply to: Gasworks at Newtown posted by Alais on July 22, 2006 at 13:40:41:

It's difficult to be specific about the opening and closing dates of the gasworks in Newtown, Castlebar. I imagine the gasworks may have been opened in the early 1900s and closed some time in the late 1920s or early 1930s. The Bourke family used the gasworks to provide public lighting in Castlebar for a number of years. I worked with a man named Tom McCarthy from Staball in the Connaught Telegraph whose father came from Cork as an employee of the gasworks. Bridie McCarthy lives in staball and is a daughter of Tom McCarthy. It is said that salmon from the river Moy made their way to Lough Lannagh (sometimes known as Church Lake) as part of their spawning process. However, the Castlebar town river became polluted with the seepage of gas and this prevented salmon from reaching Lough Lannagh. I will try to get more information about the gasworks.