Castlebar (Caisleán an Bharraigh in Irish) is the county town of County Mayo, Ireland. A campus of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology and the Country Life section of the National Museum of Ireland are two important local amenities. The town is connected by railway to Dublin and the neighbouring Mayo towns of Westport and Ballina.
The town grew up as a settlement around the De Barra castle in the 11th century and was later the site of an English garrison. A military barracks operates in the town to this day. Not so surprising then that armed conflict should be the centrepiece of the town's historical heritage. French forces under the command of General Humbert aided a rout of the English garrison in the town during the failed Irish Rebellion of 1798. This was so comprehensive that it would be known as "The Races of Castlebar". A shortlived Irish Republic was declared following the victory and local landowner, John Moore, was declared its president. His remains are today interred in a corner of the town green, known as the Mall.
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