I know we did a posting on the Dwyer family, Castlebar some time ago but I was looking through some obituaries and came across one for Mrs.Mary Dwyer, Spencer Park who died in January 1912 aged 83 years. She was the mother of Joseph H Dwyer, UDC but what caught my eye was the following account; she had a vivid recollection of the Famine days and the terrible destruction wrought by the cholera outbreak at the time. A native of Aughagower, she was witness to the eviction of her father from his homestead; his wife and family were thrown out on the roadside and his house levelled to the ground because he voted for the popular Parliamentary candidate in preference to the nominee of Lord Sligo. It mentioned that her father also reached a ripe old age and witnessed several executions outside the old gaol in Castlebar, where the Bank of Ireland stood. Definitely, one of real the “auld stock” of Castlebar who witnessed huge changes in the town.
I know JDP will be interested in this posting.