Castlerea

For other uses, see Castlereagh (disambiguation).

Castlerea An Caisleán Riabhach
—  Town  —
Castlerea Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53.7667°N 8.5°W / 53.7667; -8.5
Country	Ireland
Province	Connacht
County	County Roscommon
Elevation	82 m (269 ft)
Population (2011)
• Urban	3,055
Irish Grid Reference	M670797

Castlerea (Irish: An Caisleán Riabhach, meaning "brindled castle") is located in the west of County Roscommon, Ireland. It is the second largest town in the county with a population of 3,055 (as of 2011). Roughly translated from Irish, Castlerea can mean Brindled Castle (Caisleán Riabhach) or King's Castle (Caisleán Rí). The town is built on the River Suck and the River Francis, both tributaries of the River Shannon.

History

Clonalis House, just west of the town, is the ancestral home of the Clan O'Conor: the last High Kings of Ireland. The dynasty gave eleven high kings to Ireland and twenty four kings to Connacht. The family traces back to Feredach the Just in 75 A.D. and is Europe's oldest recorded family. The 45 room mansion was built in 1878 and contains a priceless collection of archival material, illustrating a tradition going back 60 generations. Castlerea in 1871 had a population of 1,146. It contained, according to Wilson and lawson's Gazetteer of Ireland, 'one long straggling street'. The town at the time (the 1870s) had weekly markets and four annual fairs. Lord Mount Sandford owned the town. He had a considerable amount of land in the sorrounding area; about 19,250 statute acres. (according to Thom's he had 24,410 in 1876; Thoms, Return of owners of land in Ireland (Dublin, 1876), pp.314-19; cited in 'Painful progress', pp.74-5). But Castlerea stood out from the other Roscommon towns mentioned in the Gazetteer in one important way. It did not have the same horrendous problem with housing. Instead, the guide described Castlerea: 'Altogether, Castlerea is a very neat, pleasant and agreeable little town, exhibiting less poverty than other towns in the county'.<Hunt, Roy, 'Painful progress: the slow evolution of County Roscommon society, 1850-1914.' Unpublished thesis 2010, NUIG pp. 62-3></Wilson and Lawson "Gazetteer of Ireland." 'Castlerea' Vol. 1 1871 p. 227> Slater's directory also praised Castlerea. In 1881 it commented: 'The place is deemed remarkably healthy, has the advantage of excellent water springs and the dwellings being for the most part white-washed, the town altogether exibits a clean and lively aspect'.<Slater, Issac, Slater's Directory 1881 p. 32; cited in 'Painful progress', p. 63> But the town did have problems. A 'concerned inhabitant' wrote to the Roscommon Messenger (7 Feb. 1891) complaining about the 'neglected and unsanitary state of the roads and footpaths of the town'. It was especially bad during the winter months. The inhabitants had to wade through 'a regular mass of mud and refuge'.<Roscommon Messenger, 7 Feb., 1891> The suggested solution was to form a ratepayers protection and improvement association, to 'get useful works before presentment sessions'.(Roscommon Messenger 7 Feb., 1891). The inhabitants had to pay poor rate and cess, 6s 2d and 5s 4d in the pound. they also had to pay county cess, 91/2 d in the pound (Roscommon Messenger, 7 Feb., 1891)

On the 11 July 1921 an RIC man (Sgt. James King) was shot in Patrick St., Castlerea, Co. Roscommon and died of his wounds shortly afterwards. Later that day the July 11 truce was called ending the War of Independence. It was the last shot fired in the Irish War of Independence.

People

• The first president of Ireland and founder of the Gaelic League, Dr. Douglas Hyde was born in Castlerea on 17 January 1860.
• Castlerea was also the birthplace in 1815 of Sir William Wilde, a noted surgeon and historian and father of the celebrated dramatist and wit, Oscar Wilde.
• Dr. Matthew Young, (Church of Ireland) Bishop of Clonfert ca. 1798, an eminent natural philosopher and mathematician, was a native of Castlerea.
• The retired Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Killala, Thomas Finnegan, was born in the village of Cloonfellive near Castlerea.
• Other notable people from the town include the poet Michael McGovern and the fur trader Andrew McDermot.
• The town is the birthplace of Sumo Ireland president John Gunning and Luke 'Ming' Flanagan, TD.
• A qualified accountant Aidan Heavey arrived in England from Castlerea in Co Roscommon in 1993 and has since become one of the most influential Irish businessmen in Britain: the chief executive of Tullow Oil has taken the publicly-listed company from meagre beginnings to a billion pound enterprise.
• John Grenham, author of 'Tracing Your Irish Ancestors' and other Irish heritage publications, grew up in Castlerea. He is also a columnist and blogger with The Irish Times.
• The professor of biology at McMaster University, Turlough Finan, grew up on Patrick Street. His brother Irial Finan, who also grew up in Castlerea, is an executive vice-president of the Coca-Cola Company.
• John Waters, columnist with the The Irish Times and author of 'Jiving At The Crossroads', was born and raised on Main St. Castlerea.

The Sandfords

Theophilus Sandford in the 17th century was the first Sandford to obtain extensive lands in Castlerea. This was for his services during the civil wars in England. These lands had been taken from the O'Conors. He built Castlerea House c.1640 on the old O'Conor Castle site. Castlerea developed under the Sandfords, and they established a distillery (at its height producing more than 20,000 of gallons of whiskey annually), a brewery and a tannery. His descendants continued to hold their power through the troublesome 19th century, but in the early years of the 20th century they lost ground. The estate was acquired by the Land Commission and the Congested Districts Board. The Demesne in which it was set survives and the people of Castlerea now enjoy it as a public park.

Sport

In Association Football, Castlerea Celtic were the 2006 Ruby Oil Roscommon and district Premier league and cup champions, having achieved the double for the first time since 1979. In 2009 they became Connaught junior cup champions for the first time, defeating West United from Galway in the final. There has been a large increase in the popularity of soccer in the town in recent years. A fine new clubhouse and Astroturf facility has recently been built by Castlerea Celtic. The town also has a gaelic football club- St. Kevins.

Climate

Climate Table

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average daily maximum temperature (°C)	10	11	12	14	18	20	23	23	19	16	12	11	15.75
Average daily minimum temperature (°C)	-3	-2	0	1	4	7	9	8	6	3	0	0	2.75
Mean total rainfall (mm)	80	50	60	50	60	60	60	80	70	80	70	80	800
Source: Yahoo! Weather

Education and industry

Castlerea's major employers include Supervalu , Harmac Medical Products, Colour Communications Europe, Finola Foods. A Film Production House, Round Edge Films is based in Ballingare in Castlerea.

The schools in the town are all located in one central 'block'. The area includes two primary schools, St. Anne's National School and St. Paul's National School and one secondary school, Castlerea Community School. St. Michael’s Special National School is also located within the central educational 'block'.

Post Leaving Certificate courses are held in Castlerea Community School for school leavers or adults wishing to return to education.

Transport

Castlerea railway station opened on 15 November 1860.

Amenities

Amenities in the town include a nine hole golf course, an outdoor swimming pool (open to public every June, July and August), a soccer pitch, a GAA pitch and a large public park. The GAA owns a squash court, and a handball court in the town. St. Kevin's is the local Gaelic Football club.

The town also maintains a stock of between fifteen and twenty public houses.

St. Patrick's Church (estd.1896) is the Catholic Church of the town, and is administered by Canon Joe Fitzgerald.

A livestock market is held in Castlerea every Thursday.

Castlerea is twinned with Newark, New Jersey and Soulac Sur Mer, France.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• Market Houses in Ireland
• Castlerea Prison

External links

• Castlerea railway station
• Bed and Breakfast Accommodation Castlerea
• Roscommon Herald Castlerea Articles
• Clonalis House Homepage
• Postcards of Castlerea
• More postcards of Castlerea
• Castlerea Golf Course
• Castlerea St. Kevins GAA Club
• The Rose of Castlerea by John Duggan
• Hell's Kitchen (Official Website)
• Hell's Kitchen (Older Website)
• Historic Information on the Castlerea Area
• Account of the Castlerea Poor Law Union from the University of Oxford
• Historic account of Castlerea from 1837
• Castlerea Prison Link 1
• Castlerea Prison Link 2
• Ronane's B&B, Castlerea
• Information on Co. Roscommon
• Castlerea Musical Society
• Photographs of Castlerea from flickr.com
• Castlerea Agricultural Show
• County Council Community and Enterprise
• Castlerea Community School
• 1931 Trade Directory
• Trinity Church Arts scheme
• Current weather, God help us.