Council to decide on sale of historic Mayo site
An Irish Air Corps helicopter takes off from Castlebar Military Barracks in 2011. Picture: Keith Heneghan/Phocus
Members of Mayo County Council will be asked to consider the sale of part of the old military barracks in Castlebar to the Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim Education Training Board (MSLETB).
It is proposed to sell 1.911 hectares (4.7 acres) of the site for a fee of €460,000 plus VAT. The total site measures 2.41 hectares (six acres) and was purchased by the council in 2022. MSLETB plans to build a new 6,000 square metre state-of-the-art educational facility at the location.
In accordance with Section 183 of the Local Government Act, the proposal will come up for discussion at the next meeting of the local authority on Monday, November 10. An evaluation carried out by Táilte Éireann returned a recommended price of €460,000 plus VAT.
The military barracks was constructed in 1834 after the 1798 Rebellion on land leased from Lord Lucan. It housed the Connaught Rangers in the late 19th century and was used for training by the Reserve Defence Forces of the Irish Army until its closure in 2012. The council had held a caretaker agreement for the military barracks since the closure up to the completion of the purchase in 2022.
The proposed Mayo College of Further Education and Training will have capacity for over 1,000 students annually with extended evening and weekend classes in agriculture, the sciences, healthcare, humanities and more.
All redevelopment plans will be obliged to incorporate archaeological monitoring and preservation methods as the barracks site is considered to have historical importance with evidence of structures that predate the current buildings, such as the remains of an Anglo-Norman castle.
The project will be part funded by the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) with €2.44 million secured for Phase 1 of the project. Further URDF funding is on hold pending a decision on the planned sale.
Excluded from the proposal are blocks A, B, C and D of the barracks, which the council may adapt for reuse, a bridge house leased to the Irish Defence Forces and entrance gates and the gate house on Lower Charles Street.
The council has noted in the Section 183 report that a proposal to reallocate URDF funds earmarked for the development of an innovation hub at the former Imperial Hotel on the Mall would be “generally acceptable” should the hotel be sold. The funds could be used to transform Blocks A and B of the barracks into an innovation hub.
