Castlebar got a new Town Hall on 6 June 1894. The Linen Hall, built in 1790, was given a new purpose. In 1986, the Education Centre in John Wesley's Methodist Church on the Green relocated to the Town Hall. When the Arts Council came on board in 1990, the Linen Hall Arts Centre was born, and the 'Linen Hall' had a new purpose.
By the mid-nineteenth century, the Mayo linen industry had run its course, and the rough-cut limestone building called the Linen Hall no longer had a principal purpose. The building was owned by Charles George Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan. Lucan, an Irish peer, British soldier, and extensive landowner, had to decide what to do with the defunct property. The legacy of the Binghams in Mayo was one of oppression and sectarian domination. The 4th Earl's father was known as the 'exterminator' due to the wholescale evictions and land clearances on his estates around Castlebar and Ballinrobe during the Famine.
Against this background, a series of decisions made by the 4th Earl were distinctly out of character for a Castlebar Bingham. One such decision was to grant a 999-year lease of the Linen Hall at a nominal rent to the Reverends Canon Lyons and Canon Taylor to hold the building for the benefit of the people of Castlebar.
The opening of the Town Hall was marked by a lecture delivered by J. P. Taylor QC in the Reading Room to a select gathering of Castlebar folk that included the 4th Earl, Canon Lyons, and many others. The Mayo News published a cutting review of the gathering, labelling the event a 'Motley Gathering of Sycophants'. The correspondent highlighted the cosiness of the Catholic clergy, landlords, land agents, British soldiers, court officials and members of the aristocracy as they all fawned over Lucan.
On the same page, the Mayo News published details of eviction notices issued on behalf of the 4th Earl the previous week. The Mayo News was voicing another perspective, that of those who, for generations, suffered at the hands of the Binghams. Unlike the Catholic Church and other bootlickers identified by the Mayo News, they would not be bought by the gift of a building its owner could not put to commercial use.
The other perspective revealed itself again in 1905. The Town Hall came with a life-size photograph of the 4th Earl in an oak frame. The Earl presented it to the people of Castlebar, and it hung in the Billiard Room upstairs in the Town Hall. In May 1905, someone broke into the room at night and removed the picture. The image of Lucan was found torn to shreds and without its frame in a field.
The press reported the affair under the heading 'Outrage in Castlebar.' The Western People noted that the 'man who would insult and destroy the picture of such a public benefactor would be capable of assassinating the nobleman himself'. Resolutions were passed by the Urban Council condemning the 'outrage'.
A clause in the lease granted by Lucan imposed an obligation on the lessees to spend £500 improving the building. By 1905, a debt of £2,218 had been incurred on restoration works. Several notable Castlebar personalities guaranteed repayment of the debt. The guarantors became concerned about their exposure. The lease was dusted off at a meeting chaired by Dr Ellison. Canon Lyons's name was on the lease, but he was not a guarantor of the debt. He avoided the meeting but submitted a letter calling for the adoption of a rule book for the Town Hall. The guarantors were not interested. They wanted to know if the lease could be assigned to them as security for their obligation to the lender. An assignment would, however, require Lucan's consent.
Moreover, Lucan had restricted the permissible uses of the building. The guarantors wanted to know if the lease permitted certain money-generating activities, particularly a club with an alcohol licence. It was decided to obtain an opinion from senior counsel. A collection was made for his fee. The guarantors did not want to go to law with Lucan but would if they had to. (Image: Linen Hall Arts Centre, Wikipedia ).
