Mayo bookshop selected for major campaign
David & Kathryn Brennan, owners of Castle Bookshop.
Bookselling Ireland (the Booksellers Association (BA) in Ireland) is delighted to announce that The Castle Bookshop in Castlebar has been selected as one of 20 Bookshop Champions for Independent Bookshop Week 2026, taking place from Saturday 13th to Saturday 20th June across Ireland and the UK.
The Bookshop Champions will represent the independent bookselling sector’s renowned innovation, community impact and commitment to reading for pleasure throughout the Independent Bookshop Week 2026 campaign.
The 20 Bookshop Champions were selected through an open submission process across the Booksellers Association membership. The final group reflects the breadth and depth of independent bookshops today, and the shared values and strengths that underpin the sector: encouraging reading for pleasure, bringing people together around books, connecting online audiences with in-shop experiences and building strong local partnerships that benefit their communities.
Located in the heart of Castlebar, Co. Mayo, The Castle Bookshop is an independent, family-run bookshop serving readers across the west of Ireland and internationally through its online shop, mayobooks.ie. Operating from two town-centre premises, the Castle Street store specialises in school books and art supplies, while the beautifully restored Main Street shop offers Irish writing, literary and commercial fiction, children’s and YA, local history, poetry, craft supplies, yarns, and the Castle Café - a community hub for local clubs and societies.
The shop actively promotes reading for pleasure through initiatives such as its Dyslexia Friendly section in partnership with Barrington Stoke, providing accessible titles for struggling readers, and curated staff-led displays that blend literary fiction with BookTok favourites and prize-winning reads. Its monthly book club explores ambitious novels like Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun and Louise O’Neill’s Almost Love, fostering discussion and community among readers.
The Castle Bookshop hosts author events, collaborates with the Wild Atlantic Words Festival, and engages audiences via TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, seamlessly connecting online discovery with in-store browsing. Partnerships with local schools, libraries, and Irish-language groups further strengthen its role as a cultural anchor. Recognised with the Gradam Gnó for Irish Language Service and the Books At One Community Prize Fund award, the shop embodies how an independent bookshop can inspire, include, and unite its community.
