Mayo's county town all set for bumper weekend

Castlebar will be abuzz with activity this May Bank Holiday weekend.

It promises to be a bumper May bank holiday for the county town with the Mayo.ie Western People West of Ireland Women’s Mini-Marathon at the heart of the activities.

Castlebar Chamber of Commerce is the voice of the business community in Castlebar and aims to harness the resources and goodwill of all stakeholders in Castlebar so that the town is an attractive place to live and do business.

Maria Staunton, Vice-President of Castlebar Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Mini Marathon Committee, said the event’s return to Castlebar is an exciting occasion for the town.

“It’s going to be an amazing weekend with so much happening with the Mini-Marathon, the Mayo Pink Ribbon, Mayo Day and the Connacht Final,” said Maria.

She said the Mini-Marathon creates a feel-good factor and provides a significant boost to local businesses.

“It’s a great event for the entire town and the hospitality trade in particular. It’s a boost for the shops, the restaurants, the bars, and even hotels,” said Maria.

Castlebar is on something of a roll having recently welcomed the Connacht rugby team to town for a sold-out game at MacHale Park against Munster and playing host to the hugely successful Castlebar Nines GAA tournament. The Mini-Marathon builds on an exciting few weeks for the town.

“It has been a really good period for the town and I’m sure a lot of business did well," said Maria. "People have visited Castlebar who may never have been before and the Mini-Marathon also brings in people from all over the county and beyond."

Maria said Castlebar will be putting its best put forward to support and encourage all the runners taking part on Sunday, May 4. She believes sports tourism is one of the key areas that Castlebar can capitalise on and encourage.

“We are going to see so many people coming to town between the 2,000 at least that will come for the Mini-Marathon and then the thousands that will be here for the match. That can only be good news for the business community,” said Maria.

The Chamber played a key role in a report which helped to secure vital Sports Capital Funding for the county town.

“We believe that it is important that we get involved in these kind of initiatives that explore the potential for the town. We are always here to offer our support for initiatives that are being driven in Castlebar. A big thing for us is that people can see the value in having a strong Chamber of Commerce. We have an excellent President in Ann Conlon who has been a real driving force. We are here to help the businesses in the town,” said Maria.