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Sean Cadden: Seventy Years in the Wild WestHosted by Harry Hughes
Thursday, 9th October 2025
7.30pm
Location: Festival Dome, Bridge Lane, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, F23 PN20
This is a story of almost 80 square miles of Southwest Mayo, from the evictions of 1851 to its repopulation in 1923.
The post-Famine decade 1851–1861 was a cruel period for many small hill farmers who had survived the Great Hunger. The Marquis of Sligo and the Earl of Lucan evicted 44 townlands in southwest Mayo. Captain William Houstoun leased 37 of those townlands to assemble Dhulough Farm, the largest farm in Ireland. John Louden leased the remaining seven townlands to create Killary Farm.
Author Sean Cadden
The captain built Dhulough Lodge in the beautiful but very remote Dhulough valley, where he and his wife Matilda, the novelist, lived for 20 years. William Houstoun made a success of the farm. However, he was succeeded by his unwise son George, who was bankrolled by his shrewd cousin Alfred Houstoun Boswall, until George left the country to escape his debtors.
The captain imported Scotch Blackface sheep and introduced a hill farming system based on this sheep breed. That farming system survived for 120 years and has been difficult to replace.
In the early 1900s, agrarian agitation forced the sale of the farm to the Congested Districts Board. The division of the farm created more than 90 new farms and this book also includes a wealth of genealogical information on these new farmers and their neighbours.
Booking info: All events at this year’s festival are on a first come, first served basis. We recommend wrapping up warmly and arriving early to secure a seat. All events in the festival dome are free of charge.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
bridge st, Bridge Street,Castlebar, Ireland
