History of the Crest

by By Fergie Mc Ellin

Until 1980, Castlebar Celtic, like many other amateur clubs, did not have a crest or logo on their jerseys. On purchasing a new set of gear during the 1979/80 season, it was decided that we must get a crest. The decision was taken to go with a replica of the Glasgow Celtic crest with our club name. The process was difficult as there was no clothing machines, email or Google in those days. We found a company in Dublin who made badges and we had to physically go to the shop to agree the design, eventually bringing them back to Castlebar to get them individually sewn onto the jerseys. In the mid-80s, after agreeing a sponsorship deal with Staunton Sports (now Elverys), they had a machine that could print a black version of the Castlebar Municipal crest on the playing gear and the club used this logo for a few seasons. When we joined the Connacht senior league in 87/88, the club wanted a logo of our own. Artist Frank OÍReilly from Newport Road was brought on board to help. After many changes the crest that was used from 1990 to 2018 was decided upon. However, with the club being such a big part of the Castlebar community for nearly 100 years, it was always hoped that a crest could be designed that could show the townÍs place in the heart of our club and the clubÍs place in the heart of the community. To achieve this, we again partnered with Elverys who very generously put a design artist at our disposal. We gave him our thoughts on combining the club crest with the Castlebar Municipal crest and we eventually agreed on the logo which was unveiled in 2019.

When our club was founded in 1924 it was known as Castlebar FC. Members then decided to add ïCelticÍ to the name in honour of the Glasgow Celtic club. At the time, Glasgow Celtic was a relatively new club with a big interest and relevance in Ireland. The club was founded by a Marist Christian brother called Brother Walfrid who came from Ballymote in Co. Sligo. The first patron of the club was Michael Davitt from Straide who of course founded the Land League in DalyÍs Hotel in Castlebar (DalyÍs Hotel would later be known as the Imperial Hotel). In the 1970s and 80s, Castlebar Celtic often used the hotel to change before our clubhouse was opened. On the crest, the Glasgow Celtic connection is represented by the shamrock and the founded-date at the bottom. The castle on the crest is a representation of BarryÍs Castle from which Castlebar gets its name. The castle is said to have stood on the north-western side of the military barracks overlooking the town of Castlebar. The block step look on the top of the crest also gives the look of the castle walls. The crossed pike on the crest is a reminder of the 1798 Races of Castlebar which is one of the most historic events to have happened in the town. The two yew trees on the crest represents the fact that Castlebar is the capital town of County Mayo. The Irish word Maigh Eo translates in English as ïThe plain of the Yew Tree.Í