Hear what local issues and external forces shaped local government in Castlebar over four hundred years from the establishment of Castlebar Corporation in 1613 to the abolition of Castlebar Town Council in 2014. 

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This episode looks at Castlebar's reputation as a town of music, from the legendary Stephen Garvey through the operettas and pantomimes, grand concerts and martial music, to the outstanding success of the Castlebar Song Contest. "Music Town" was a title richly deserved, and the podcast recounts how and why that accolade was achieved.

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From sailing regattas on Lough Lannagh, to week-long horse racing festivals and televised local boxing competitions, Castlebar has enjoyed much sporting success over the past three centuries. This episode looks at the history of major sports clubs and sporting events in the Mayo capital. 

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From the halcyon days of the Bacon factory to the rise and fall of Western Hats and the success of Baxter, this episode outlines the industrial development of Castlebar. Hear how the Bacon factory became the backbone of local employment, how the Hat factory offered an escape route for those fleeing persecution in Europe, and of how Baxter was saved from closure in 1986. 

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Take a walk through commercial Castlebar in the 19th and early 20th centuries when the streets were filled with the smells and noises from the breweries, blacksmiths, butter dealers and bakeries; hear about the growth of the working class into organisations and the move by local businesses to do likewise. 

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This episode outlines the history of education in Castlebar from the hedge schools of the Penal days to the new A.T.U. and how the Sisters of Mercy and the De La Salle brothers brought primary education to the town. The old Vocational School (now Davitt College), the Western Care schools, the Gaelscoil and Educate Together, form part of that history, as did the Church of Ireland School, which closed in 1968. 

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The old Infirmary on the Mall was founded in 1765, and its last resident surgeon, Dr. McBride, encashed his own life assurance policy to make up the funds for an operating theatre. It was succeeded by the Mayo County Hospital, where Matron Duffy had to impose a ban on stiletto heels in order to protect the floor covering. This episode also looks at the Sacred Heart Hospital and St. Mary's Hospital, itself a community within a community. 

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The early decades of the twentieth century saw Irish nationalist and republican groups grow in strength across the island of Ireland. Those groups quickly gathered much support in Castlebar. This episode looks at the local origins of nationalist and republican activity and traces the rise of revolutionary sentiment to the War of Independence. 

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This episode looks at the evolution of places of worship from the days of the first Patrician church on the hill over Lough Lannagh. It outlines the controversy surrounding the building of the Church of the Holy Rosary; John Wesley's Methodist Church on the Mall; Christ Church, the town's oldest building, and the Presbyterian Church, which became a restaurant.

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This episode looks at the different forces that policed Castlebar since the 1600s and the various crimes they came up against. When confronted by invasion, agrarian violence and rebellion, the often heavily armed military and police did not always enjoy the support of the local population.

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