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| CASTLEBAR, COUNTY MAYO.-Castlebar-Gaelic, Caislen-an-Bharraigh-(Barry's Castle), called after one of the Norman war chiefs who built a stronghold there centuries ago, is the capital of the County Mayo, and one of the most famous of Irish towns, although its celebrity is of rather recent date. Within a mile or so of this burgh, on August 27th, 1798, the invading French under General Hambert, who had landed at Killala on the 22d of that month, augmented by a corps of Irish peasants dressed in the uniform of the Republic, attacked a really superior British force, commanded by Generals Lake and Hutchinson, and totally routed it, capturing the artillery and a large number of prisoners. The British fled so precipitately that one cavalry regiment-the Carbineers-reached Athlone, over sixty miles from the field of battle, next day. Hence the action has been called by the Irish ever since "The Races of Castlebar." The Fraser Highlanders alone maintained British military honor that day, and a monument erected in the town bears witness of their valor. Another monument, erected by Irish Nationalists, stands on French Hill, near Castlebar, to mark the spot where some French hussars, who pursued the flying British too far, were turned upon and slain by the fugitives. |
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