In Reply to: re: dedication of the church of the holy rosary in 1901 posted by MM on April 22, 2007 at 02:48:34:

Well done Sean for sharing an unique piece of Castlebar’s history. Some details of the Banquet itself;
The banquet in the Town Hall began at 4 o’clock and went on for a leisurely 3 hours.250 guests sat down for dinner and the Town Hall was beautifully decorated with coloured streamers and scrolls with inscriptions hanging on the walls, all of whch were prepared by the Banquet Committee.
The French tricolour, signifying the Town’s historical association with France, was used to effect in broad folds, looped with green across the entire length of the room. On the wall directly behind the chair ( Rev. Fr. Lyons, PP C/bar ) was the Papal flag, which was made especially by Miss Alice Quinn of C/bar. On either side of it were the national flag and the Stars & Stripes,( Special guest Dr. Ludden, Bishop of Syracuse, USA, was a native of the Town & donated a large amount of money including the gift of the High Altar ) and facing theses, as one entered the room was a very old Irish flag with the arms of the four provinces.
The catering was done by a Mr. Murphy of Dublin.
Besides the guests invited on the menu card, others present included the Earl of Lucan & at least 50 priests which took part in the Dedication ceremony. Lord Lucan during the banquet was also toasted as it was pointed out that every stone in the Church was given free from his best quarries.
Following the Banquet a number of lunches took place in the Town: The Convent entertained the Countess of Lucan & others, Bishop of Syracuse dined at Maryland in the home of the Crown Solicitor, Malachy Kelly & the Earl of Lucan dined at the Presbytery with the Town’s PP.