Castlebar

53°50'58"N 009°16'37"W

runway: 06/24 - 610x..m - asphalt

Castlebar airfield (ICAO: EICB) was an airfield 200 kilometers west-northwest of Dublin.
The airfield opened in August 1966, with the financial backing of two Mayo brothers, Peter and Hugh Ryan. The private airport had a landing strip of over half a mile long. A four-seater plane, chartered by Bobby Smith and Frank Gill of the Royal Blues Showband from Claremorris, was the first to land on the new airstrip.
In 1972, the first transatlantic flight from Castlebar took off. A transatlantic flight from Castlebar had first been attempted on 28 August 1927, but the flight never made its destination and the crew and craft disappeared without trace.


Photograph taken at Castlebar Airport on occasion of departure of first transatlantic flight from the airport (Liam Lyons, via askaboutireland.ie).


Helicopter going through its paces for the crowd during the 1980 Castlebar Airshow (Castlebar.ie).


Undated photo of Castlebar Airport (Flickr)

The arfield was used by the Mayo flying Club until the airport closed in 2001. Its buildings were torn down in November 2001 to make room for a DIT retail park. Nothing remains of the former airfield.


Aerial photo of part of Castledrome in the 1990s (BikeRoute.com)


The remains of the station building, tower and airport bar in late 2001 (castlebar.ie)