Search Results for 'Castlebar Prison'

When the English forces regained control of Castlebar after the departure of General Humbert, the greater part of the County Prison on the Green was taken from the control of Governor Henry Moran and set aside for military purposes. Provost Martial William Clavroge assumed responsibility for the military section and military prisoners. Apart from a few common criminals, the prison population of 190 comprised captured Irish rebels, deserters from the British military and militias, and political prisoners such as John Moore.

Private James Barry was posted as a sentry at the barrack gate in Castlebar on the night of 13 May 1830. When darkness descended, he tied a long handkerchief to the trigger of his musket. He then tied the other end to the gate bolt, put the muzzle to his chest and stepped backwards. The shot passed through his heart and exited through his spine. The inquest found Barry suffered from temporary insanity occasioned by 'fatal love'.

Nineteen-year-old Anthony Gallagher was hanged on the Green in Castlebar on 29 August 1818. In 2018, I spent time at the National Archives searching for Gallagher while researching my history of prisons and capital punishment in County Mayo (Anatomy of a County Gaol).

Sarah Shaughnessy was ten years old when she gave evidence and allowed herself to be subjected to cross-examination in the trial of William and Margaret Roche at Castlebar Petty Sessions on 14 June 1916. The case is remarkable for Sarah's courage and the insights it gives us into the system of boarding out workhouse children.

In the 1980s, the front of Parsons footwear shop in Castlebar was a favourite meeting place for lunchtime liaisons. Being some equidistance between St. Joseph’s Convent of Mercy and St. Gerald’s De La Salle College, you could depart Parsons at 1.50 pm. and be in Peter Filan’s History class bright-eyed and bushy-tailed by 2.00 pm.